“Are you sure you know how todrive this thing?”
“If you’re scared, we could always just stay here and sit by the pool.”
Katarina put one hand on her hip. “I’m not scared.”
“Then, get that pretty little ass in the boat, kitten.”
I held out my hand, but she climbed in on her own.
We hugged the shore for twenty minutes until I found the reef I’d discovered on my last trip down here. The water was clear to the bottom, and schools of blue tang scattered when we cruised over them.
“Can you swim with the cast?”
She raised her chin. “I can do anything with the cast.”
I killed the engine, dropped anchor, and tossed her a mask and snorkel. She managed it one-handed, refusing my help when I offered it. She did, however, give in and let me help with the fins.
The visibility ran sixty feet, and the water was warm when we went over the side and plunged in together. She was a stronger swimmer than I’d expected, even handicapped by the cast.
“You’ve done this before,” I said when we came up for air.
“Mediterranean. Different water.”
We floated on the surface without talking, letting the current carry us north. We got out, walked the beach back to where the boat was anchored, then swam out to it.
On the ride home, she sat with her face to the sun. Her hair was in knots, salt dried white on her shoulders, and she was smiling.
We went out again the next day and the day after that. When she said she wanted to fish, I rigged the rods and showed her the basics, and by the second afternoon, she was landing yellowfin off a reef. What I thought would be the biggest one of the day got away when the rod bent double and the line snapped. She stared at the broken line for three seconds, then spun around. “What are you waiting for?” she asked, thrusting the rod at me.
I re-rigged it, and she caught a bigger one twenty minutes later.
On the fourth evening, she came into the kitchen while I was breaking down one of the yellowfin.
“Teach me.”
“You sure? It’s a little gruesome.”
She looked down at the fish. “I thought you were a soldier.”
“I was.”
“Ha! I don’t believe you. Not if you think this is gruesome.”
I put the knife in her hand and stood beside her. She picked it up fast. The second fillet was cleaner than the first.
“Not bad for a first-timer.”
“I had a good instructor.”
I cooked the fish on the grill while Katarina made a salad. We ate on the porch, then sat there until long after the sun had gone down.
“Bishop.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not a very good cook.”
“No? Well, it’s a good thing I’m marrying you for your body then.”
