Treasures Lost, Treasures Found

her to be. “As far as diving goes, I’m willing to leave that to you for the next couple of days, but…” She paused, wanting to be certain he knew she was negotiating, not conceding. “I’m going out on the Vortex with you. And I’m going out this morning.”
    He lifted a brow. She’d never intended to dive, but she’d used it as a pressure point to get what she wanted. He couldn’t blame her. Ky remembered recovering from a broken leg when he was fourteen. The pain was vague in his mind now, but the boredom was still perfectly clear. “You’ll lie down in the cabin when you’re told.”
    She smiled and shook her head. “I’ll lie down in the cabin if I need to.”
    He took her chin in his hand and squeezed. “Damn right you will. Okay, let’s go. I want an early start.”
    Once he was resigned, Ky moved quickly. She could either keep up, or be left behind. Within minutes he parked his car near his slip at Silver Lake Harbor and was boarding the Vortex . Content, Kate took a seat beside him at the helm and prepared to enjoy the sun and the wind. Already she felt the energy begin to churn.
    “I’ve done a chart of the wreck as of yesterday’s dive,” he told her as he maneuvered out of the harbor.
    “A chart?” Automatically she pushed at her hair as she turned toward him. “You didn’t show me.”
    “Because you were asleep when I finished it.”
    “I’ve been asleep ninety percent of the time,” she mumbled.
    As he headed out to sea, Ky laid a hand on her shoulder. “You look better, Kate, no shadows. No strain. That’s more important.”
    For a moment, just a moment, she pressed her cheek against his hand. Few women could resist such soft concern, and yet…she didn’t want his concern to cloud their reason for being together. Concern could turn to pity. She needed him to see her as a partner, as equal. As long as she was his lover, it was vital that they meet on the same ground. Then when she left… When she left there’d be no regrets.
    “I don’t need to be pampered anymore, Ky.”
    His shoulders moved as he glanced at the compass. “I enjoyed it.”
    She was resisting being cared for. He understood it, appreciated it and regretted it. There had been somethingappealing about seeing to her needs, about having her depend on him. He didn’t know how to tell her he wanted her to be well and strong just as much as he wanted her to turn to him in times of need.
    Somehow, he felt their time together had been too short for him to speak. He didn’t deal well with caution. As a diver, he knew its importance, but as a man… As a man he fretted to go with his instincts, with his impulses.
    His fingers brushed her neck briefly before he turned to the wheel. He’d already decided he’d have to approach his relationship with Kate as he’d approach a very deep, very dangerous dive—with an eye on currents, pressure and the unexpected.
    “That chart’s in the cabin,” he told her as he cut the engine. “You might want to look it over while I’m down.”
    She agreed with a nod, but the restlessness was already on her as Ky began to don his equipment. She didn’t want to make an issue of his diving alone. He wouldn’t listen to her in any case; if anything came of it, it would only be an argument. In silence she watched him check his tanks. He’d be down for an hour. Kate was already marking time.
    “There are cold drinks in the galley.” He adjusted the strap of his mask before climbing over the side. “Don’t sit in the sun too long.”
    “Be careful,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.
    Ky grinned, then was gone with a quiet splash.
    Though she ran over to the side, Kate was too late to watch him dive. For a long time after, she simply leaned over the boat, staring at the water’s surface. She imagined Ky going deeper, deeper, adjusting his pressure, moving out with power until he’d reached the bottom and the wreck.
    He’d brought back the bowl and ladle the evening before. They sat on the dresser in his bedroom while the broken rigging and pieces of crockery were stored downstairs. Thus far he’d done no more than gather what they’d already found together, but today, Kate thought with a twinge of impatience, he’d extend the search. Whatever he found, he’d find alone.
    She turned away from the water, frustrated that she was excluded. It occurred to her that all her life she’d been an onlooker, someone who analyzed and explained the action