An Ordinary Drowning, Book One of The Mermaid's Pendant

Read An Ordinary Drowning, Book One of The Mermaid's Pendant for Free Online Page B

Book: Read An Ordinary Drowning, Book One of The Mermaid's Pendant for Free Online
Authors: LeAnn Neal Reilly
his chest
tight. Chris had been friendly and chatty on Saturday, saying it was good to
see someone from the States in the off-season, and told John that his diving
schedule was wide open for the next two weeks. John knew that getting certified
to dive was more important than satisfying an insane need to spend the day on a
deserted cay, but he just couldn’t think beyond renting a kayak. Would this
genial guy deny him one after he confessed that he’d lost the snorkeling gear
in Luís Peña Canal?
    He found
out two minutes later when Chris, his mutt Murphy at his heels, strolled
through the doorway from the back office. He carried a flat wooden box that
looked like it had been rescued from the wreck of a Spanish galleon. John would
love to see what was inside.
    “Hey,”
Chris said. He set the box on the counter between them. “I thought I’d see you
today.”
    That
made John nervous. “Why?”
    Chris
pursed his lips, opened the box. It contained receipts for the shop. John’s
disappointment couldn’t overshadow his anxiety at Chris’s next words, however.
“I saw the flyer at Isla Encantada. I figured you lost the gear.”
    John
closed his eyes, took a breath, squared his shoulders, and looked at Chris.
“Yes, I did.”
    Chris
shook his head slightly. Sighed. Then he pulled out the top receipt and noted
something on it. “Shoulda made you wear a vest. I’m gonna have to charge you
for the gear.”
    For the
first time since the near-drowning, John felt like an idiot. “I still have
these.” He held out the mesh bag that stored the gear and the lone flipper.
    Chris
accepted them, his face thoughtful. “Well, I can use the mesh bag, but no one’s
lost a leg to shark bite in years.” He grinned at John’s dumbfounded look and
laid the items aside. “A new set will cost me seventy dollars.”
    “No
problem.” John handed Chris a credit card, simultaneously relieved that his
stupidity was out in the open and angry with himself for the cost. And then he
remembered that the cost had nearly been his life and he let the anger go.
Instead, while Chris swiped the card, he screwed up his courage. Time to ask.
“I don’t suppose I can talk you into renting me a kayak?”
    Chris
dropped the card machine into the box and shut it with a satisfying snick. He
studied John while scratching his stubbly chin. “Kayaking alone? Depends. Where
you plan to go?”
    That was
the best John could hope for. At least Chris hadn’t said no outright.
    “To the
cay across the canal.” He paused, took a breath. “Listen, I’ve been white-water
kayaking with friends since high school. The trip to the cay will be a piece of
cake after all the rapids I’ve gone over.”
    Chris
nodded. “I believe you, but I’m gonna need to know what happened the other day,
before I take you out in open water. That is, if you still wanna dive.”
    John
looked out the window. He’d gotten the kayak, but he still needed the lessons.
All the coursework and confined diving in Pittsburgh meant nothing without the
open-water dives. What else could he say about his accident? He returned his
gaze to the lanky instructor and then looked down at the glass case. The
emerald winked at him.
    “I have
these attacks sometimes. They’ve always been at night before so I didn’t expect
this one.”
    Chris’s
large eyes grew larger. “Attacks? Like your heart? Man, that’s not something I
think we should mess with.”
    John’s
mouth went dry. How would he make what happened sound mundane? “No, nothing
like that. I just wake up sometimes feeling like the room is going to swallow
me.” He sounded weak. He spread his fingers on the counter, forced an easy grin
and some apology into his voice. “What can I say? Thought of my girlfriend and
suddenly I couldn’t breathe. Got some water down my gullet and suddenly I was
drowning.”
    Chris
frowned. “Tell the truth, that makes me a little nervous.” He turned, pulled a
thick navy binder down from a shelf

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