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It’s what I do, he reminded her silently

Especially where there was such an abundance of colors And since they weren’t deep, the sunlight penetrated beautifully He had shot and filmed in so many exotic places And yet, his own backyard offered so underwater locations around

He saw soranules to find a little ray nestled there, happy to move, even sit in his hand and puff as Katie joined hier just brushed a wing But then her attention was diverted

And it hile they were there, kneeling in the sand at about forty feet, that Katie suddenly ain

She was touching the little ray…

Then she was frozen

Staring wide-eyed

And she wasn’t breathing No bubbles were escaping froripped her shoulder Her eyesin thee behind the lenses of her mask…

She didn’t appear to be afraid of him

In fact…

She wasn’t afraid at all

She suddenly looked as if she were about to cry

He tapped her chest She inhaled; her bubbles began again

He signaled that they go topside She shook her head, but he was firm She lowered her head, and then she nodded

He crawled up the stern ladder first, doffing his flippers and then, once up, his tank She removed her flippers and threw theht of her tank She stripped off her dive skin and accepted the bottle of water he gave her He studied her, and waited for her to speak

She sat in the cushioned seat behind the hel

"Katie"

"Hmoing on with you?" he asked

She looked out at the water She started to speak, hesitated, then didn’t Then she looked at him "Do you…do you believe in drea to tell us things that ically?"

Like seeing an i to communicate?

He shook his head "Katie…no Not really"

"Experts know that our dreams reflect our lives," she said defensively

"I’ about?"

He didn’t want to be lost Her hair was tousled and soaked and flying around her head, and she was just curled on the cushion, staring off She was still beautiful He wanted to reach out, touch her, tell her that whatever it was, it was okay

Her legs were endless, -suit top She had a belly-button ring, a little dangling silver dolphin, and it made her belly seeined…

"I just had a dreaht, that’s all," she said

"Good drea to tell me about it?" he asked It wouldn’t explain what had happened in the water, but it h at aze froh at you And," he added, hearing his own voice grow huskier, "I won’t hate you"

She spoke quickly, suddenly "I dreamed about Tanya"

He started to move; the words made hiood dream," Katie said Her hand fell on his knee

His knee had never felt so naked Nor had he had ever known that a kneecap could suddenly be such an erogenous zone

"Tell ht

"She didn’t knoho had killed her in the dream She did know that you didn’t do it"

"Great We can put that in the newspaper"

She flushed She looked as if she would have walked away from him-if she could have walked away

"Look, I’m sorry," he said "I just don’t really believe in that kind of thing I mean, maybe dreauilty, and since I swear to God I’rateful that you feel that way But…" He leaned toward her A ne, even though she was drenched in salt water She seemed to emit an aura of warmth that lured hi her

He eased back "Katie, last night was scary And freezing like that when you’re diving, well, that’s damned scary Why did you freeze in the water?"