want to cancel your reservation for transportation,” Bob Shamansky said as he strode into the room. “Looks like both of us are going to have to find more lab-and paperwork to do for a while.”
“What? Why?”
“Just heard that John Stewart notified the base supervisor that he’s keeping the tub docked in Chile because of the weather. Forty-knot storm on Drake Passage right now, and with the ship full, he doesn’t want to risk it. Planning to wait a couple days and see if it calms down.”
“Damn.” Zeke pressed his palms to the table, trying to figure out how to get rolling on fieldwork without waiting another four or five days. “Maybe you can be my dive partner. Just to be ready to throw me a line if something happens.”
“Pretty sure you need someone who can actually dive with you, in case you get the bends or a tear in your hose or whatever the hell can happen down there. Those things being why I don’t participate in that particular activity.”
“Yeah.” Diving alone wasn’t a great idea under normal circumstances, and here in Antarctica? Doing that would qualify as just plain stupid. “I’m going to see if anybody who’s already here is a diver.”
Except he already knew of one. Jordan Flynn. Would she be interested in diving with just him? Thinking about the excitement in her eyes when she’d spoken about it, he had a feeling the answer was a clear yes.
“Might be,” Bob said. “Don’t worry. If I know you, you’ll get that grant money done come hell or high water.” He clapped Zeke on the shoulder. “Time for first-round lunch. Why don’t you go to the galley and ask around to see if there’s a diver you don’t know?”
“It’s worth a try.” Without much hope that he’d get lucky and find someone, he headed to the galley and, as expected, struck out. Feeling too restless to go back to his paperwork, he decided to see if Jordan was willing to dive with just him, and if she was, find out when she could take the time to do it. And it wasn’t just an excuse to see her. He needed to get to work on gathering samples.
Though he couldn’t lie to himself—the thought of seeing her did make his step feel a little lighter, whether he wanted it to or not.
He found her in the storage room of the clinic, sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. Bags of medicines and medical supplies were sorted in front of her, next to multiple zippered satchels, her head tipped forward, a waterfall of smooth hair covering her profile. He knew how soft it felt from when he’d glued her wound and now stood there a moment, wishing he had an excuse to skim his hand down all that dark silk.
He cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk with you, but looks like you’re busy.”
Her head lifted and her eyes met his, her fingers pushing her hair behind her ear as she smiled up at him. “No, just getting travel bags ready. Which I’m sure you know all about.”
“What are you packing?”
“Drugs, syringes and other equipment, labeling each bag. Catheter. Fluid. Trauma. Circulation. IV. The usual.”
“The usual for Antarctica. I’m impressed that a hospital-based surgeon knows everything you might need down here for out in the field.”
“Well, much as I like to impress people whenever possible, I can’t lie. I was given a list when I was hired, before I even came down here.” She held up a sheaf of papers with a cute self-deprecating smile on her face. “Want to take a look and see if anything’s missing?”
He lowered himself to sit next to her and liked the way his shoulder felt pressed against hers as he leaned in to read it. “Looks pretty complete to me. You’re ready to go if there’s an accident or illness in the field, Dr. Flynn.”
“Good. I was a little worried that I hadn’t finished this yet, so I’m glad to get it done.”
“I’m glad, too. Because I came to talk to you about your work schedule and diving.”
She began to push to her feet, and he regretted no longer getting to sit so close to her, oddly comfortable considering how hard the floor was. He stood and held out his hand to finish helping her up, taking as long as possible to release her hand’s warmth. She didn’t seem in too big a hurry, either, looking up at him expectantly until she finally slid her hand from his.
“Do you have a dive scheduled with the new crew that I can come on?”
“Not exactly. Drake Passage is acting up again, and nobody’s getting here for a few days. I don’t want to get behind on gathering the samples I need for my grant application so I’m wondering—are you willing to dive with me alone?”
“Well, let me think.” She tapped her finger against her chin. “You’ve been diving in Antarctica during thirteen trips and I doubt if anyone coming can beat that. So, is that a real question?”
“Wasn’t sure if you’d feel safer as part of a bigger group, since you haven’t been under the ice before.”
“I know I’ll feel totally safe with you,” she said. The eyes meeting his were serious and trusting, and a strange feeling filled his chest that she seemed to truly feel those ways about him.
“We won’t wander too far from the hole, and stick close together. And whenever you’re ready to go back up, just let me know and we’ll finish right away.”
“When can we go?”
“Does tomorrow afternoon work for you? Bob Shamansky said he’d come with us whenever I get a dive pulled together, and I know he won’t be free until about three o’clock. He doesn’t dive, but whenever we go out, we have at least one tender along to help with all the equipment and keep an eye out up above.”
“An eye out? For what?”
“Marine mammals, among other things. Most are fun to see, like the penguins and the various seals, though you’ll notice that some of the male seals glare at you if you get too close. Especially underwater, so give them a wide berth if you can.”
“Sounds amazing.”
“It is. Except there is one thing you have to steer clear of—leopard seals. They’re dangerous, and if we see any in the water we move on and keep our distance.”
“Do they attack people?”
“Sometimes, and even follow divers occasionally, like the predators they are. They have sharklike teeth and are huge. Males are about a thousand pounds and females even bigger. A few years ago, an intern was badly mauled by one at a station south of here. Just one more reason why diving here isn’t like diving other places.”
“Being mauled by a leopard seal sounds about as appealing as hypothermia,” Jordan said, and her captivating smile showed him why he’d felt so attracted to her that very first day on the ship when she’d joked about that. “Which do you think would be worse?”
“Probably a toss-up. And I don’t want to experience either one to find out the answer.” But experiencing diving with the smart and fascinating Jordan Flynn? That he couldn’t wait to do. “Can you be ready tomorrow at three in the vehicle hangar? I’ll have all the equipment we need for when you and Bob get there.”
“I
