Treasures Lost, Treasures Found

time I want to leave still being friends. He’s…” She hesitated again because this phrasing was even more important. “He’s always been a very important part of my life.”
    Linda waited a moment, then narrowed her eyes. “That’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
    Despite herself, Kate laughed. “Linda—”
    Holding up her hands, she shook her head and cut Kate off. “No, I can’t talk about it anymore, I get too mad and I’m supposed to be taking care of you.” She let out her breath on a huff as she removed Kate’s tray. “I just can’t understand how anyone so smart could be so stupid, but the more I think about it the more I can see that you and Ky deserve each other.”
    “That sounds more like an insult than a compliment.”
    “It was.”
    Kate pushed her tongue against her teeth to hold back a smile. “I see.”
    “Don’t look so smug just because you’ve made me so angry I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” She drew her shoulders back. “I might just give Ky a piece of my mind when he gets home.”
    “That’s his problem,” Kate said cheerfully. “Where’d he go?”
    “Diving.”
    Amusement faded. “Alone?”
    “There’s no use worrying about it.” Linda spoke briskly as she cursed herself for not thinking of a simple lie. “He dives alone ninety percent of the time.”
    “I know.” But Kate folded her hands, preparing to worry until he returned.

Chapter 9
    “I ’m going with you.”
    The sunlight was strong, the scent of the ocean pure. Through the screen the sound of gulls from a quarter of a mile away could be heard clearly. Ky turned from the stove where he poured the last cup of coffee and eyed Kate as she stood in the doorway.
    She’d pinned her hair up and had dressed in thin cotton pants and a shirt, both of which were baggy and cool. It occured to him that she looked more like a student than a college professor.
    He knew enough of women and their illusions to see that she’d added color to her cheeks. She hadn’t needed blusher the evening before when he’d returned from the wreck. Then she had been angry, and passionate. He nearly smiled as he lifted his cup.
    “You wasted your time getting dressed,” he said easily. “You’re going back to bed.”
    Kate disliked stubborn people, people who demanded their own way flatly and unreasonably. At that moment, she decided they were both stubborn. “No.” On the surface she remained as calm as he was while she walked into the kitchen. “I’m going with you.”
    Unlike Kate, Ky never minded a good argument. Preparing for one, he leaned back against the stove. “I don’t take down a diver against doctor’s orders.”
    She’d expected that. With a shrug, she opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of juice. She knew she was being bad tempered, and though it was completely out of character, she was enjoying the experience. The simple truth was that she had to do something or go mad.
    As far as she could remember, she’d never spent two more listless days. She had to move, think, feel the sun. It might have been satisfying to stomp her feet and demand, but, she thought, fruitless. If she had to compromise to get her way, then compromise she would.
    “I can rent a boat and equipment and go down on my own.” With the glass in hand, she turned, challenging. “You can’t stop me.”
    “Try me.”
    It was said simply, quietly, but she’d seen the flare of anger in his eyes. Better, she thought. Much better. “I’ve a right to do precisely as I choose. We both know it.” Perhaps her leg was uncomfortable, but as to the rest of her body, it was charged up and ready to move. Nor wasthere anything wrong with her mind. Kate had plotted her strategy very well. After all, she thought grimly, there’d certainly been enough time to think it through.
    “We both know you’re not in any shape to dive.” His first urge was to carry her back to bed, his second to shake her until she rattled. Ky did neither, only drank his coffee and watched her over the rim. A power struggle wasn’t something he’d expected, but he wouldn’t back away from it. “You’re not stupid Kate. You know you can’t go down yet, and you know I won’t let you.”
    “I’ve rested for two days. I feel fine.” As she walked toward him she was pleased to see him frown. He understood she had a mind of her own, and that he had to deal with it. The truth was, she was stronger than either of them had expected