In the thick fog, Sam spotted Eve standing on the dock. Pale and trembling, she looked more like a lost puppy than his next tender.
“Jesus,” said Sam. “Don’t you have a jacket? It’s winter.”
Eve looked down at her faded hoodie. There were dark circles under her green eyes. “This is all I have.”
Sam shook his head. “Follow me.”
He unlocked the door to The Mermaid’s Purse Antiques Shop across the alley from the Compass Rose. Eve followed him inside. “Wait here,” he said.
He went upstairs into his apartment and pulled a snowboarding jacket from his closet. It would be enormous on her, but it was warm and fairly waterproof. It would have to do.
Eve took off her backpack and put the jacket on. It was comically big on her, but she didn’t seem to care. “Is this your shop?”
“Nope. It’s Judith’s. She rents the upstairs apartment to me.”
“Do you think I could leave my backpack here? I don’t have anywhere to stash it.”
He frowned. “Why’d you bring it with you anyway?”
“It…it’s not safe where I’m living. My roommates.”
“Give it to me.”
He brought the heavy bag back up the stairs and locked it up in his apartment. “All right. Now let’s get going,” he said impatiently.
Sam started up the engine of the Bravado and untied the boat. The fog was thick this morning. Eve watched as he maneuvered the boat out the slip to the fuel dock. After refueling, Sam slowly idled the Bravado out of the marina.
They approached a dinging buoy with a half-dozen sea lions snoozing on it. Once they passed the breakwater and Stearns’ Wharf, he pointed her attention to the equipment in the wheelhouse.
“Lesson one,” he said. Her eyes drifted to the different instruments as he pointed at them. “See this? That’s the shifter and throttle. That’s how we control the engine. The wheel, obviously. This is the depth meter and compass. Here’s the chart plotter and the GPS, so we don’t get lost. And this here is my video depth sounder. It shows the ocean floor and where to find fish.”
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to one of his screens.
“Autopilot. Maintains the course. Here. Take a closer look.” Taking her slender wrist in his hand, Sam pulled her up off her seat and stood him next to her, leaning her against the open doorframe to help her keep her balance. He pointed to each one. “Fuel gauge, like a car. Then oil pressure, tachometer, volt meter, water temperature—”
“Of the ocean?”
“No, the cooling system for the engine. This one is the wind meter. And this here is the VHF radio. I use it to talk to other vessels and to people on shore.” He went through the rest of the instruments and turned back to her. “Do you remember everything?”
She nodded.
“Really?” he said. “Show me.”
To his surprise, she pointed to and named every single gauge and instrument he’d reviewed with her. It had taken Kyle months to learn them all. Eve wasn’t lying about being a quick study.
“Okay. Before we make the crossing, one more thing.” Sam pointed forward and back. “Bow up front, stern in the back.” He pointed left. “Port.” Right. “Starboard. Got it?”
She nodded. Once they cleared the marina, he powered up the engine, and the Bravado roared to life. They started across the Santa Barbara Channel, picking up speed.
“Did it take long for you to learn how to pilot a boat?” asked Eve above the noise.
“Charlie was a good teacher. And the Bravado is a good boat, most of the time. I got a new outdrive last year that cost almost ten grand.”
Eve looked behind them at the shore. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the doorframe.
“You okay?” he asked.
Eve looked back at him. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m all right.”
Sam continued to review the instruments in the wheelhouse and talked to her about her basic duties as a tender. The Bravado jumped up on plane and bounced across the surface of the water.
“The weather report for Santa Rosa is winds from the north, fifteen to twenty miles per hour. Right now the swell is combined seas, six to eight feet. Not great conditions, but not horrible either.”
“Where are we going?”
“A place called Bee Rock. It’s a spot on the west side of Santa Rosa Island,” said Sam. “The depth is less than sixty feet. Warm water and cold water mix together off the coast of Santa Barbara. Lots of nutrients for the kelp. And good kelp means good urchin.”
They approached the island. Above sandy beaches stood steep cliffs, and above those, rolling hills covered in scrubby grass. Sam cut the engine and dropped anchor in a kelp bed. The sun broke through the clouds, giving way to a clear blue sky. A big wave crashed on the black rock, startling Eve and making her jump.
Standing on the rising and falling deck of the Bravado, Sam walked her through the pre-dive safety check. Then he told her what to expect once he resurfaced, how to keep the dive hose untangled, and how to operate the hydraulic davit. She listened and nodded. From the intelligent questions she asked, she’d taken in all the information and understood his instructions.
“Now what?” asked Eve.
“Now?” Sam studied her face. “Well, now I get naked.”