Far Country

by Malone, Karen

  Steve took in her appearance. Beth was pale and puffy eyed. She squinted at the brightness outside as if the light hurt her eyes. “You look awful,” he said truthfully.

  “Thanks for the news bulletin,” she snapped grumpily.

  “No, seriously,” Steve replied, looking concerned. “Are you sick? Need me to get you anything?”

  “No,” she answered, much of her annoyance draining away at the obvious concern in his voice. “I’m okay – I’ve just been getting to bed late.” That was no lie…

  “Then I guess you’ll want to skip the dive today,” he told her in an understanding voice.

  She had forgotten. “Yeah, maybe we should,” she agreed wearily.

  Steve nodded. “Maybe when I come back to visit Gracie, we can go one morning.”

  Beth looked up, startled. “Come back? Are you leaving?”

  Steve grinned, his excitement shining through his eyes. “Yeah, the doctor finally declared my leg fit to walk on! I’m heading back to Hanging Rock at the end of the week.

  “Umm,” he shifted a little self consciously. “I didn’t really think you’d want to go out today,” he told her truthfully. “But I didn’t want to leave with us out of sorts with each other, either. You helped me a lot this summer, Beth, and I’m grateful to you. Making me get my diving license was the best thing I’ve done in a long time. I’ve got you to thank for it.”

  Sadness washed over Beth. “I’m going to miss you,” she said sincerely.

  Steve smiled. “I’ll miss you too, Beth.” He stepped through the door and gave her a farewell hug. “I’ll let you get back to bed,” he said. “Good bye, for now.”

  Beth reached out and touched his arm suddenly. “Wait,” she said, glancing up the stairs. David would never know she had been gone, and she was tired of hanging around the house watching him drink. They could go and be back long before he ever woke up, if today was anything like the last few days. Why waste this opportunity?

  “I can’t skip your last chance to dive for who knows how long,” she told him. “I’ll get my suit and be right out.”

  Steve looked surprised and pleased. “Are you sure you’re up to it?” He cautioned.

  “Just fix me a couple pieces of toast while I change, okay?” She asked him, ignoring his implication regarding her appearance. Then she ran up the stairs to grab her suit and a t-shirt.

  A quick peek into the room confirmed that David was still very much out of it. She knew from experience that he would sleep for several more hours. Beth squelched a wave of annoyance. Only one email since he had gone back after Sarah's death, no phone calls at all, and now hardly sober since he’d returned! It had been the same every day for nearly two weeks.

  She had been pleased and hopeful when she had answered the door that first night. Beth hadn’t been sure when, or even if, she would see him after he got back. They had been together for a couple of days when David had come home for the funeral, talking late into the night about the boy who had betrayed his trust and killed his sister, and how he had arranged it so Steve Williams would never find out about the baby Sarah had borne him. But then he had just disappeared! She had been confused and disappointed, but she waited, and hoped that once his grief had lessened, he would come back to her again.

  How excited and hopeful she had been when he had appeared on her doorstep the same night he had returned home! Now, she didn’t know what to think. This was not the same David she had fallen in love with eighteen months ago. This David brooded. His words were often sarcastic and cruel. The only places they ever went out to together was to a couple of bars to hang out with some of his drinking buddies. Most nights, though, he sat in the living room methodically draining a bottle of Jack. He still had a couple more days until he had to go back on duty, and Beth felt sure that David had no intention of sobering up until that Tuesday morning at oh six hundred. This wasn’t the way she’d pictured their reunion…

  She closed the door firmly, and hurried back down the steps. Steve met her with a plate of toast and a tall mug of steaming coffee. “You looked like you could use it,” he said apologetically.

  She gave him a beatific smile as she inhaled the coffee aroma. “Bless you,” she told him gratefully, taking a huge gulp and closing her eyes in pleasure as the hot liquid flowed through her. She sighed in appreciation and then she smiled at Steve with a flicker of her old spirit. “Now let’s get going!”

  Fall was finally reaching the Carolinas, Beth mused as they drove to the marina and walked out to where her little boat was berthed. There was a definite coolness in the air, instead of the muggy heat that had pervaded the coastline for weeks. She jumped into the Pearl and knocked on the cabin door. “George?” She called. “Geooorge!”

  George appeared a minute later, rumpled and sleepy eyed. “Hey Beth,” he acknowledged with a yawn. “Goin’ out?”

  “Yeah,” she told him. “Steve’s going back to Hanging Rock next week. This will be his last chance to dive for awhile. Thought I’d take him to the Civil War wreck near Frying Pan Shoals, – want to come along?”

  George shook his head. “Nah, Nick is coming over around nine to work on our bikes. Thanks, though.” He stretched and scratched his tousled head as he headed back into the cabin. “Let me grab my stuff, and I’ll be out of here in a minute.”

  “No rush, George,” Beth called after him, but he reappeared a half a minute later with a backpack slung over his shoulder. “No problem,” he replied. “I’ll just grab a bite downtown at the café.” He nodded fondly at the Pearl. “She’s gassed up and ready to go, so enjoy.”

  “Thanks,” Beth answered with a smile. George gave them a lazy wave as he slouched down the gangplank and headed for his beat up motorcycle. Beth turned the key in the ignition and felt the boat’s motor purr to life. A few minutes later, they were following a course to the south, skimming over the smooth early morning sea.

  “What are you going to do about your little girl when you leave?” Beth asked, all too aware that Gracie and Steve had a lot to do with the amount of whiskey David had been drinking since he had come home. She checked their heading and adjusted their course slightly, swigging heavily on a bottle of water. Beth inhaled the salty air, feeling almost human again.

  “Gracie will stay here with her grandparents,” Steve replied, talking over the growl of the engine. “All her friends are here, and Lee Ann and Richard aren’t really ready to let her go. They’ve been her only family. I won’t ask her to move up with me until she’s ready.”

  “How’s that going?” Beth asked detecting the sadness in his voice as he talked about leaving her behind in Jacksonville.

  Steve grinned. “Its pure joy,” he rhapsodized. “She’s a great little girl. Too bad you weren’t in church on Sunday. We all came together as a family. Even Richard came!”

  Beth kept her eyes on the water, offering no explanation as to her absence last week from church. “Sorry I missed that. I bet that you make a fine Daddy.”

  Steve laughed. “I’m working on it. Every day is something new. Lee Ann says I spoil her too much, though. She says I need to learn about discipline and boundaries.”

  Steve shook his head. “I don’t know what the big deal is, though. She’s a perfect angel already – hardly ever gets into trouble.”

  Beth laughed. “That’s because Lee Ann has already taught her ‘discipline and boundaries’, silly. Let Gracie find out that you don’t have the grit to say ‘no’, and I guarantee that child will be walking all over you!”

  Steve grimaced and shrugged. “You’re probably right,” he told her, although he sounded unconvinced.

  “You bet I am!” She scolded him.

  Steve changed the subject. “So, Bible Study tomorrow night,” Steve reminded her. “Reverend Graham is turning it into a sort of farewell party. Can you be there? We missed you last week.”

  “I don’t know,” she answered vaguely. “I’ve had a lot come up the last couple of weeks, but I’ll try,” she pro
mised him.

  Aware that he had been put off and guessing the reason why, Steve said no more, and they rode in silence for a while. Finally Beth checked her bearings. “We’re about to the site!” She called to Steve. A minute later she cut the motor down to an idle. Steve tossed the anchor, and then helped Beth with her gear. There was a troubled look on his face as he helped her slip the air tank onto her back.

  “Are you seeing David Bolton, Beth?” Steve asked abruptly. Beth froze for an instant, before resuming her preparations for going over the side.

  “Some,” she replied evasively. “Not that it’s any of your business,” she chided him in a cool voice.

  “Generally, it’s not my business,” he agreed. “But Deborah Graham told me she thought you’d been dating David after they broke up and...”

  “Deborah should keep her nose out of other people’s lives!” Beth snapped, buckling her belt with sharp jerky motions.

  “Hold on,” Steve retorted with a frown. “She was concerned. David has a real problem with me – worse, now that Gracie’s involved. But until our last dive, you never said a word about knowing him, and after all this time, I had convinced myself she was wrong, or if you had dated him, it was over. But you’ve been changing, Beth, since he’s back, and frankly, I’m concerned for you.”

  She gave him a brittle smile. “Thanks, but I can take care of my own love life.”

  “But you were so into Bible Study and active at church!” Steve argued. “Now suddenly, you’ve just…disappeared.”

  Beth shrugged. “I don’t know that church is really for me. I started attending because I was bored – looking for something to do with myself after he left.” She laughed. “He hadn’t called me in forever. I was hurt and confused, and thought maybe church would help me get some answers.

  “I was really surprised when I realized who you were,” she told Steve. “David had told me about his former best friend who had killed his sister in a car crash and then skipped town, but you didn’t seem like the sort of guy who’d do something that cold hearted. I got curious, so I invited you to go diving.”

  She gave him a sour smile. “I have to admit, one of the reasons I wanted to go out with you was because David hated you so much. But you were really nice, and I began to enjoy your company. I even began to think that maybe you and I…well, then Deborah stuck her nose into the picture. I knew who she was right off, and after that weekend, it was clear you’d lost interest in starting anything between us.”

  Steve smiled sadly acknowledging the truth in her words. “It wasn’t so much Deborah. Sarah hasn’t been dead a year yet, Beth. I enjoyed flirting with you, but I really wasn’t ready for a relationship then, anyway.”

  “And definitely not with one of David’s old girlfriends?” She asked pointedly.

  “It – would have been an obstacle.” He admitted.

  “Well, he’s back and he says he loves me, so you don’t have to worry about me chasing you anymore,” she said, a bitter edge to her voice.

  Steve chose to ignore the less than happy tone of her voice. “I’m glad he’s treating you well then,” he told her sincerely.

  Beth closed her eyes briefly as a memory of David, drunk and cursing half the night flashed though her mind. She forced another smile of reassurance to her lips. “Yeah, everything’s great between us.”

  Steve pulled her into a brotherly one armed hug. “Then I’m happy for you Beth, although it probably means we won’t be taking any more dives after today. I don’t think it would be wise. He’s not going to appreciate me hanging out with the girl he loves.”

  Steve kissed her on the nose and released her. “David was my best friend, once, no matter how he feels about me now. He’s lucky to have you in his life, and I don’t want to mess anything up between you.”

  Beth realized that she was crying. She wiped her hands across her moist eyes. “Now look what you made me do!” She sniffed and gave an embarrassed little laugh. Then she stepped away from Steve and concentrated on preparing their equipment for the next few minutes. When she spoke to him again, the tears were gone and she had switched to her Instructor-to-student tone of voice.

  “I think you’ll really enjoy exploring this wreck. It’s a freighter that foundered in the 1920's. It was over three hundred feet in length and there's such a variety of fish that inhabit the wreck.

  “Sounds interesting,” he agreed, zipping up his wet suit and checking the gauges on his oxygen tank. “Let’s do it.”

  The water was clear, and in places, surprisingly shallow, Steve realized, as he kicked his way toward the ruined hulk. He supposed that accounted for this particular wreck. From the surface, land was a mere ribbon on the horizon, and deceptively far away. He would have expected fathoms of water beneath the little cruiser he and Beth were diving from, but instead the bottom rose steeply. Steve kicked past several outcroppings of rock, any one of which could have been responsible for tearing the wicked gash in the hull of the old ship, sending it to an early grave. Had the sailors aboard her had time to abandon the ship and reach safety? He would look up the ship’s history on the computer tonight…suddenly Beth caught his attention with a wave, and he changed directions, following her through the gaping wound near the bow.

  He switched on his head lamp as the water around them grew murky. Carefully they weaved their way through the cargo hold and up a gangway ladder then out through another wide hole in the keel. Nearly all the surface area of the ship were covered in a colorful variety of corals, sponges, and algae. Time was methodically reclaiming the vessel, but there was still much to see and wonder at. As always, Steve was struck by the irony of sharks and parrot fish gliding in and out of port holes and around the huge remains of the ships boilers, all once the domain of men. Eventually, Beth tapped on her watch: time to return to the surface.

  As they reached the first rest stop, Steve squinted up in surprise. A second boat had arrived while they were inside the old wreck. Steve looked around, but he did not see any other divers nearby. He shook off a premonition of trouble. All that meant was that the divers hadn’t gone over the side yet, he chided himself. There was nothing ominous about that. Besides, what choice did they have but to continue up? They were nearly out of air.

  Steve and Beth broke the surface near the stern of the Pearl. She pulled off her flippers and climbed the ladder. Steve was about to swing up behind her when she stopped abruptly on the top step.

  “Welcome back!”

  The voice was loud, but the tone was sardonic, not welcoming.

  Beth recovered from her momentary shock. What was he doing here? She wondered in dismay, a sickening feeling of dread twisting her stomach into knots.

  He lounged on the captain's chair, dressed in swim shorts, and a tight sleeveless shirt that accented his heavily muscled shoulders and powerful biceps. Despite his relaxed and non-threatening demeanor, Beth had no illusions about how quickly that could change. Summoning her courage, she smiled at the unexpected visitor.

  “Hello, David,” she said mildly, trying to sound more pleased than she felt. She stepped over the side and casually began to unbuckle her oxygen tank. “This is early for you. I didn’t think you liked getting up before noon.”

  “There are a lot of things I've been compelled to do that I haven't always liked doing,” David replied conversationally. His gaze centered on Steve as he stepped into the boat. Steve nodded at him. “Hello, David.” Warily Steve began to unbuckle his tank as well.

  “What a surprise,” David said with cool irony. “My former best friend.” He looked at Steve with the slightest hint of distaste. “Most men don’t survive falling off a cliff,” he observed. “You must be extremely lucky.”

  Steve paused and looked into David’s icy gray eyes. “Not lucky, blessed,” he answered firmly.

  David snorted in derision. Beth hurried to distract David from his conversation with Steve.

  “Have you waited long for us?” Beth asked brightly. “If I had known you
were coming out to join us, we wouldn’t have stayed down so long.”

  David’s lips tightened as he turned his cool gray eyes in Beth’s direction. “Long enough,” he answered, “but I found plenty to keep me entertained while I waited.”

  Beth frowned at the enigmatic reply. “Like what?” She asked.

  David merely shrugged. “This and that. Worked on my suntan, cleaned up the cabin…”

  “Glad you weren’t too bored then,” she answered with a smile, straightening up and stretching her back out. “But you haven’t gotten up before noon in a week, and you never did like recreational diving. What brings you out of the house and all the way out to a shipwreck this early in the day?”

  “Picnic,” David replied

  “Picnic?” Beth repeated blankly.

  “I thought I’d surprise you. Take a picnic lunch. Anchor by one the islands, and swim, maybe do a little fishing. It’s a beautiful day.”

  Beth smiled in surprised confusion. She had been braced for a confrontation between the two men, and she was regretting slipping out with Steve to go diving. With David standing only a few feet from Steve on the same boat, it had seemed like a profoundly stupid decision. Yet, while David wasn’t exactly being pleasant, he seemed calm enough…perhaps when he had come to this morning and found her gone, he had realized she needed more than an angry drunken boyfriend in her bed. A small glimmer of hope blossomed in her and Beth’s eyes lit up in cautious pleasure, wanting to believe that he was coming out of his dark mood of the past two weeks. “That sounds wonderful, David,” she said sincerely. “If you follow us back to the Marina so I can drop Steve off…”

  “Not necessary, Beth,” David cut in. “Steve can take the cruiser back to the Marina, can’t you, Steve? Or did you hit your head when you fell off your mountain and forget how to pilot a boat?”

  David’s sarcasm set Steve’s teeth on edge. He struggled not to respond to the baiting. “I can pilot the boat,” he replied evenly.

  “You see?” David told Beth. “We can head out from here. Steve says he is perfectly capable of piloting the boat.”