Chapter Twenty

Day Nine, Morning

Moving Sam to the Sea Doo was harder than expected. They took a break when his leg got jostled and he couldn't hide the pain. It was hard not to call off the crazy idea. Kate almost said exactly this aloud when Sam gave her the look. It had been a while since she'd seen it—I know what you're thinking and it won't matter.

He was as stubborn as her, reminding her of their earlier marriage. Until the affair, he had been opinionated and had no problem arguing when it was called for. His accommodating habits took over when he admitted to infidelity and became worse after her accident. Right now, he reminded her of the old Sam. She'd missed him.

By the time Ryan brought the wheelchair back, Kate was an emotional wreck. When she wheeled herself to Sam, he was pale and sweating. Even though his hand trembled, he lifted it in a halfhearted wave when he saw her.

"I'm okay, I just need a moment." He held her hand with his daughter leaning against his side in abject misery.

Ryan disliked the idea of him leaving them and she'd made her anger very clear. Her red and puffy eyes, appearing bigger than normal, held fear and her five-year-old brand of stubbornness. Ryan was in no mood for compliments and Kate would not dare mention how adorable she looked in her matching pink shorts and tee. Ryan stayed quiet in her self-imposed gloom with only mumbled replies when she couldn't get out of answering a direct question.

"I'm okay now," Sam said after a few minutes. "It's time to chum the water. Hopefully he'll gobble our prize roast and stay busy at the stern," he added in an upbeat tone for Ryan's benefit but received no response and turned back to Kate. "You can help me onto the Sea Doo as soon as he takes the bait." The shark chose that second to hit the underside of the yacht. "Let's get him out from under our boat." It was the needed rallying cry and even Ryan offered a small grin.

For the first time since the power went out, Kate felt proactive. Sam would find help and she would keep Ryan safe while he was gone. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Ryan had moved to the rail and was holding her hand up, her shark tooth necklace dangling from her fingers.

"I hate you shark, but I'm giving you a tooth back so you'll feel better," she said in her little girl voice. She threw the necklace her grandpop gave her over the side and watched it sink. She turned back to her parents and stubbornly crossed her arms.

Sam winked at Kate when she looked at him.

"I believe she's more like you than your father," he said proudly.

No, Ryan was a combination of all three of them.

"She'll stay mad so hurry back," she said with a partial grin that was all she could manage.

"I'm set."

Kate examined him. She knew he hid his pain for her benefit. Regardless of his damp skin and the slight shake of his hands, Sam's eyes held determination. She had to let him do this, they had no other option.

Earlier she had cut up the rest of the roast they'd had for breakfast. She had placed half of it in the empty bucket when she finished and added more thawed meat to keep the shark busy. She'd left half of the meat in the freezer and placed the bucket on the deck beside the swim platform. Because of Ryan's fall into the ocean, she and Kate were attached to safety lines. They were set.

Kate left her wheelchair and settled on the casting platform at the bow. Ryan helped her lift the bucket before sitting next to her.

"Toss smaller pieces a few feet away," Kate said. "When we have his attention, we'll give him half the roast. After I help your father onto the Sea Doo, we'll feed him the rest." This would leave enough meat in the bucket to entice the shark after Sam took off.

Ryan looked at the bucket's contents and her tiny nose scrunched up before she pinched it closed. "It stinks," she said in a nasal tone.

"The stinkier, the better," Kate replied.

This received the first giggle of the morning. Ryan was five and sometimes she acted the part. She had her sullen moments but they never lasted long.

Kate tossed the first piece overboard and Ryan refused to be outdone and tossed the next one. They waited. Nothing.

"Again," Kate said, and they threw out more.

On the third round, the shark came to investigate. Its size was truly colossal especially for a male. Great white females grew larger though it was hard to contemplate anything bigger as the powerful creature coasted past them. It turned in a slow, easy manner and brushed the yacht with the side of its body. After making the pass, it returned for another one. This time when its head drew even with Kate and Ryan, it stared at them while continuing to drift past. Even though Kate knew the malevolence in the eye contact was in her imagination, she couldn't stop the shiver that spread across her exposed flesh on the warm day. She shook it off and tossed a larger piece of meat into the water.

The shark made a sudden strike toward the chum. The meat disappeared within its large jaws like it had never been there. The shark turned and its tail fin jolted the yacht with so much force it caused a splash that sprayed onto the deck.

Ryan fell slightly to her side when it happened. The safety line would not allow them to fall overboard but Ryan's expression held the terror from her earlier fall.

"It won't get you," Kate said. "Help me toss more in."

Ryan stared at her for a moment and made up her mind. She helped toss more meat over the side. The shark's behavior changed suddenly and it began to frenzy feed, grabbing meat it hadn't originally caught, rolling, and splashing.

"Now we help your father onto the Sea Doo." Kate scooted her butt to the inside edge of the platform and situated herself in the wheelchair. Ryan detached both safety lines so they could move to the stern.

"We have his attention," Kate said when she was next to Sam. She handed him one of the two-way radios so she could tell him when to leave. The radio would stay behind when he took off.

Getting him on the Sea Doo was painful and almost as hard as getting him on deck, but he managed to stay silent through the process. Ryan decided to be angry again and she simply stood back and watched.

"You need a moment," Kate told Sam when he was situated. Sweat covered his brow and his skin appeared gray in the sunlight. He breathed out then took in short gasps of air for a minute. They adjusted his leg and Kate checked the makeshift bandage covered in duct tape. She saw no signs of blood. When he was finally able to give a thumbs up, Kate unlatched the bar that held the craft.

"I've got this," Sam assured her and pulled his good luck, floppy brown hat down so it wouldn't fly off. He reached over and smoothed Kate's hair from her face. "Take care of Ryan, and I will see you both soon," he promised. "I'll start the engine when you signal you have the shark engaged." He hesitated and the look in his eyes changed. It was the old Sam, the one who always fought for his family. "I love you. We'll get through this and put our lives back together. No shark will stop us."

Kate grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I love you too." She added a bit of pressure. "Be sure to call my father."

"Got it. Come here, my little mermaid," he told Ryan.

She stayed still for about three seconds before running into her father's arms. He held her close and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle. Kate looked on with a sad smile. Dealing with Ryan while Sam went for help would be no fun. Kate would need to keep her busy. She looked up to see Sam watching her.

"Let's do this," he said, the strain of the past hour written in every line of his face.

Kate had smeared sunblock all over him and when she'd done it, she had noticed his weight loss. The dark circles beneath his eyes had grown worse. But Sam, her Sam, would never give up.

Carrying the two-way, Kate and Ryan made their way to the bow, reattached their safety lines, and situated themselves on the casting platform again. The shark hadn't gone under the yacht, he was waiting. Kate tossed a chunk of meat over the rail and he charged it.

"He's here," she called over the radio.

"I'll start the engine," Sam said. "If he leaves to investigate, tell me." The Sea Doo's engine rumbled to life, and thankfully, the shark stayed with them, more interested in feeding than the machine as Sam revved it.

"He's still here," Kate said over the radio. "I'm going to toss him half the roast, and you're good to go."

"I'm ready."

Kate lifted the heavy piece from the bucket and threw it into the water. The shark went after it immediately, and she gave the news to Sam. They heard him take off, and Kate tossed the other half of the roast in.

"Keep giving him small pieces," she told Ryan then looked in the direction Sam had taken and watched for a moment. She turned back around and glanced at the water. The shark was gone. "Throw more meat," Kate said urgently. They watched the bait float slightly and start sinking, but the shark didn't come for it.

"I'm getting down," she told Ryan. "You will stay here to keep tossing meat into the water," Kate said. Crap. She was breathing too fast and panicking. Ryan had noticed. Her eyes scanned the water, her expression filled with terror. The Sea Doo picked up speed giving Kate hope. She had no way of letting Sam know that the shark could be heading in his direction.

"Mommy," Ryan said shakily.

"Do what I say," Kate snapped. "Take this radio, and I'll get the one your dad left."

"Okay," was the pathetic tear-filled reply, but Kate was too busy fighting the safety line to pay attention. Her fingers slipped off the clip and she had to clumsily grab it again before she was free. The entire time she examined the water, looking for a dorsal fin. Slight waves from the Sea Doo rocked the yacht. She wheeled herself frantically toward the stern.

"Can you see the shark?" Kate asked her daughter over the radio when she stopped at the dive platform.

"No."

Sam was almost a hundred yards out, and there was no sign of the shark. Kate thought of the flare gun. Maybe if she shot it off, Sam would head back to the boat. Stupid thought because at this point it would be more dangerous. She watched with mounting hope as he hit the throttle again.

Everything changed.

The shark breached.