CHAPTER 18
Marina
Marina checked the compass, then glanced toward the foredeck. Ryan was still asleep, stretched out on the cushions as though he'd been there all afternoon. She smiled. Fresh air, sunshine, and a full stomach had finally defeated him.
Wayfinder slipped steadily along the coast under sail. Katrina had settled on the foredeck with her back against the cabin top, enjoying the sunshine. Every now and then she glanced over at Ryan and smiled, clearly amused that he'd slept through most of the afternoon.
Marina rested one hand lightly on the wheel and looked ahead. There was no need to fight the boat. Wayfinder was well balanced, holding her course with only the occasional adjustment.
The wind was lighter now, and Wayfinder moved with an easy, unhurried rhythm. The hull sliced quietly through the blue-green water while the cliffs drifted by off the port side. Every so often Marina made a small correction at the wheel, more out of habit than necessity.
She closed her eyes for just a second and listened. The steady hiss of water along the hull, the quiet creak of the rigging, and the low flutter of the sails whenever the wind shifted. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed this.
For years, every thought of taking Wayfinder out had ended the same way. She would remember the storm, the Coast Guard, and the empty boat drifting beneath a gray sky.
She hadn't sailed at all for a long time after the accident. When she finally came back, it wasn't because she was ready. It was because the charters helped pay the bills, and Wayfinder would have to be sold if she couldn't make her earn her keep.
So she learned to sail again — but only for work.
She took guests out, smiled, pointed out seals and sea otters, and brought everyone safely home. When the charter ended, she headed straight back to the marina.
She never came out simply because it was a beautiful day, never anchored in quiet coves just to swim. In fact, she had forgotten sailing could be fun.
Today the memories were still there, but they no longer crowded out everything else.
Now she found herself remembering Dad laughing as he tried to cook chili underway, Mom teasing him for spilling half of it, and Katrina insisting she hadn't cried when she'd dropped her snorkel overboard.
The happy memories had finally found their way back.
A quiet smile spread across her face. Maybe healing wasn't about forgetting. Maybe it was simply making room for something besides grief.
She opened her eyes and looked toward Ryan again. He shifted slightly in his sleep, one hand falling across his chest. Cute. The thought escaped before she could stop it. She felt warmth creep into her cheeks and laughed softly at herself.
She was in trouble — real trouble. Not because Ryan liked her, but because she liked him. A lot more than she wanted to admit.
She glanced toward Katrina. Her sister caught her eye, smiled knowingly, and raised an eyebrow.
Marina immediately looked away.
Of course Kat had noticed. She noticed everything.
A few minutes later Ryan stirred, rubbed the back of his neck, and blinked against the afternoon sun.
"Good nap?" Marina asked with a smile.
He looked around, momentarily disoriented, before his eyes settled on the cliffs ahead. "What time is it?"
"Time for the best part of the trip," Katrina said, climbing lightly to her feet and walking forward. She pointed toward the narrow gap between two pale cliffs. "Welcome to Hidden Cove."
Marina watched Ryan's expression change from sleepy confusion to quiet amazement.
It happened to almost everyone.
From offshore, the opening barely looked wide enough for a kayak. Few people guessed there was an entire sheltered cove waiting beyond it.
Ryan joined Katrina at the bow while she explained how impossible it was to reach from land. Marina listened with half an ear while concentrating on the approach.
The entrance was narrow, but she'd threaded Wayfinder through it dozens of times.
The water changed almost immediately. The swells softened, the wind faded, and the sea turned a clear blue-green that let her see straight to the rocky bottom.
She felt herself relax.
"This never gets old," Katrina murmured.
"No," Marina agreed quietly. "It doesn't."
She guided Wayfinder to her usual anchoring spot, shifted briefly into reverse to set the anchor, then cut the engine.
Silence settled over the cove. Not true silence because water lapped softly against the hull.
Somewhere high above, gulls called to one another.
Katrina was already pulling masks and fins from the cockpit locker.
Marina laughed. Some things never changed. Her sister was as eager as ever.
Ryan watched the growing pile of snorkel gear with obvious uncertainty.
"You've snorkeled before?" Katrina asked.
He shook his head.
Marina caught the grin spreading across Katrina's face and rolled her eyes.
Ryan had just made her day. Katrina loved introducing people to the ocean. Surfing, sailing, snorkeling—it didn't matter. She never seemed to get tired of watching someone discover it for the first time.
Katrina began explaining masks, snorkels, and fins while Marina quietly checked the anchor one last time before joining them.
Ryan listened carefully, asking thoughtful questions whenever something didn't make sense.
He always did that. It was one of the things she admired about him. He never felt the need to pretend he knew more than he did. If he didn't understand something, he simply asked.
When Katrina had him practice breathing through the snorkel, Ryan looked skeptical.
Marina couldn't help smiling. She remembered feeling exactly the same way the first time Dad had shown her.
"You'll be fine," Marina said as she adjusted the strap behind Ryan's head. "It feels strange for about thirty seconds."
He looked at her. "I'm not worried."
Marina raised an eyebrow.
He smiled sheepishly. "Okay. Maybe a little."
"I figured." She gave the mask one last tug to check the seal before stepping back. For just a second she caught herself noticing how close they were.
The warmth of his skin. The faint scent of sunscreen mixed with salt air. She cleared her throat. "Ready?"
Katrina answered by stepping cleanly off the stern into the water. Marina laughed and followed.
The Pacific closed around her in a rush of coolness. Not cold. Familiar.
She surfaced, pushed wet hair away from her face, and looked back toward the boat.
Ryan was still sitting on the swim step. Thinking. Overthinking, probably. She recognized the expression.
"Come on, Cowboy," she called. "It gets easier after the first five seconds."
He looked down at the water, took one last breath, and slipped in beside them.
Marina smiled. He had no idea yet. He thought he was about to learn how to snorkel.
What he was really about to discover was one of the places she loved most in the world.
Below the surface, everything became quiet. The sounds above vanished, replaced by silence broken only by the steady rhythm of her breathing through the snorkel.
Sunlight danced across the sandy bottom in shifting ribbons. Small fish scattered around the rocks before settling again once they realized the three strange visitors weren't interested in chasing them.
She looked back.
Ryan was moving cautiously, remembering every instruction Katrina had given him. His kicks were a little stiff, but much smoother than Marina had expected. Not bad.
She swam beside him and pointed toward a bright orange sea star clinging to a boulder.
He followed her finger, then turned to look at her through his mask. Even without seeing his face clearly, she could tell he was smiling.
They drifted farther into the cove.
Kelp rose from the rocky bottom in long amber strands that swayed gently with the swell. Schools of silver fish flashed between the stalks while purple sea urchins nestled in the cracks below.
Marina tapped Ryan's shoulder and pointed again.
A bright orange garibaldi hovered beside a rock, staring back at them with complete confidence.
Ryan stopped swimming altogether. The fish didn't seem impressed.
Marina laughed into her snorkel. Some things never changed. She had probably seen thousands of garibaldi in her life, yet they still made her smile.
Ahead of them Katrina surfaced first. She slipped the snorkel from her mouth and pushed her mask onto her forehead. "How's our rookie doing?"
Ryan surfaced beside her. He removed his snorkel with a grin. "I keep forgetting to relax."
"You're trying to swim," Katrina said. "Don't. Just float."
Ryan laughed. "Easier said than done."
"It'll come."
Marina watched him take another slow breath before slipping the mouthpiece back between his lips and lowering his face back into the water.
This time he looked different. He had stopped trying to figure everything out. Instead, he relaxed and let the water carry him.
She felt a quiet satisfaction. Not because he was learning quickly, but because she understood the feeling.
She had grown up here. Dad had taught both of them the same lesson years ago. Stop fighting the water. Trust it.
Funny. It had taken her much longer to learn the same lesson about life.
They spent the next half hour wandering through the cove without any particular destination.
Sometimes Katrina called them over to look at a crab wedged between two rocks or another sea star clinging to the cliff. Other times Marina pointed out sea urchins hidden beneath the kelp or little fish Ryan would have swum straight past.
Nobody hurried. There was no need.
The cove had always felt separate from the rest of the coast, tucked away behind the cliffs like a secret the ocean kept for itself.
They drifted slowly toward the northern end of the cove.
Marina spotted the familiar opening. The sea cave looked exactly as she remembered it, a narrow gap beneath the cliffs with sunlight spilling across the water just inside the entrance. She slowed instinctively.
How many times had she swum through that opening as a little girl? She couldn't even guess. Dad had always gone first, pretending there might be sea monsters inside until Katrina squealed and chased after him anyway. Some places never seemed to change.
Ryan noticed the opening a moment later and stopped swimming. Marina understood immediately. From the outside, it looked much smaller than it really was. She swam over without a word, and when their eyes met through their masks, she reached out and took his hand.
It was only a gentle squeeze. I'm here.
He squeezed back, and together they ducked through the opening.
The cave opened around them almost immediately. Sunlight streamed through the entrance behind them, breaking into wavering ribbons that danced across the reddish-brown walls. The water reached only to Marina's waist, so clear she could see every pebble scattered across the sandy bottom.
Marina rose to her feet. Ryan straightened beside her, pulling the snorkel from his mouth as he stared around in amazement.
Katrina was already leaning against the far wall, watching them with a smile.
Marina looked around the cave. The stone seemed smaller than she remembered, though perhaps she had simply grown up. The low rock ledge at the back was still there.
"There’s the dining room," Katrina said, pointing.
Marina laughed. Mom had always insisted they eat lunch there whenever they visited, while Dad claimed it was the only restaurant on the coast where customers had to swim to their table. She could almost hear him saying it.
For a moment, she closed her eyes.
The cave hadn't changed. Only the people inside it.
When she opened them again, Ryan was slowly turning in a circle, studying the walls with quiet fascination. He wasn't trying to fill the silence or impress anyone. He simply stood there, letting the place reveal itself in its own time.
He gave the cave his full attention, as though he understood it was special.
Without thinking, she slipped her hand into his again. He looked at her, his eyes warm behind the mask, and neither of them spoke. There wasn't anything to say.
The cave had a language of its own: the gentle echo of water against stone, the rhythmic dripping from the ceiling, the shifting light that never stayed in one place for long.
For years she had believed coming back here would only remind her of what she had lost. Instead, it reminded her of what she had been lucky enough to have. The laughter. The adventures. The family.
The memories no longer belonged to the storm.
They belonged here.
She smiled to herself. Maybe that was what healing looked like. Not forgetting, but remembering without breaking.
"Okay," she said at last, giving Ryan's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go.
He smiled. "Ready."
They swam out through the narrow opening into the afternoon sunlight. The warmth settled across her shoulders almost immediately. Marina lifted her head above the surface and slipped the snorkel from her mouth. Behind her, Katrina surfaced laughing as she pushed her mask onto her forehead.
"I still think this is the best place in Cliff Harbor."
Marina glanced back one last time at the hidden entrance before turning toward Wayfinder.
"I think you're right."
They swam back to Wayfinder slowly, none of them in any hurry to leave the cove.
Ryan's strokes were noticeably different now. He no longer fought the water or splashed through it. He simply floated between strokes, letting the swell carry him. Dad would have approved.
Marina smiled to herself and followed behind.
Ryan climbed the swim ladder first and sat for a moment on the swim step, water dripping from his swim trunks as he looked back toward the cliffs. She knew exactly what he was looking for. From here the cave had disappeared again, hidden behind the curve of the rock as though it had never existed.
Katrina climbed aboard beside him and pulled off her fins.
"First time snorkeling," she said. "And I took you to the best spot on the coast."
Marina didn't need to see Ryan's face to know he was smiling.
"You did."
Katrina leaned back on her hands, turning her face toward the sun.
"You're welcome."
Marina climbed the ladder a moment later, pushing wet hair back from her face.
"All right," she said. "Rinse off before the salt dries on you. Then I want everyone resting for a bit before we head back."
"Aye aye, Captain," Katrina replied.
Marina rolled her eyes.
Ryan laughed, and somehow the sound fit the cove as naturally as the wind and the water.