Chapter 33
GRADY
I t had been two days since the pizza party. Was it a pizza party? I had not been able to stop thinking about Cece and her daughter.
I had a feeling her mom was still trying to decide where I fit in the picture. She wasn’t the only one. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I understood why Cece wanted me to see their dynamic. She wanted me to see her family made her stronger, not weaker.
I sat in my office, staring at the weather report on my computer screen. The storm was still a possibility, though the models were inconsistent. My fingers drummed against the desk as I tried to focus, but my mind kept drifting back to Cece and her family.
She was strong—stronger than I’d given her credit for.
Watching her with Sophie, seeing the way she balanced motherhood with her ambitions, had been a revelation.
And her mom, Maggie, was a force of nature.
A pilot, a single mother, a woman who’d carved out a life for herself and her daughter without apology.
Cece had clearly inherited that strength, that determination to live life on her own terms.
But still, the dive loomed in my mind like a dark cloud.
I couldn’t shake the unease that settled in my gut every time I thought about it.
It wasn’t just about the storm—though that was part of it.
It was about Cece. About Sophie. About the weight of responsibility that came with putting someone else’s life in your hands.
I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair. I’d spent most of my life avoiding attachments, convincing myself that caring too much would only lead to pain. But Cece had shattered that illusion with just a single day out with her family.
And yet, the thought of something happening to her on this dive made my chest tighten.
I’d seen enough accidents in my career to know how quickly things could go sideways.
All I could do was be careful. Insist all of us were careful.
We’d pay attention to the weather. If I got a bad feeling, I’d listen and call the whole thing off. That was all I could do.
I shut down the computer and collected my bag.
It was go time. There was some apprehension, but it was tamped down by my excitement.
I loved exploring. I couldn’t wait to do it with Cece.
She was a good diver and I knew she loved diving as much as I did.
It wasn’t my professional focus, but I dove often.
Seeing the shipwreck with her would make it all the better.
I slung my duffel bag over my shoulder and walked outside.
The van was already packed with gear, ready for the drive to the dive facility.
I was about to toss my bag in when I spotted Cece climbing out of her mom’s car, her red hair catching the sunlight like a flame.
Sophie was in the back seat, her little face pressed against the window as she waved enthusiastically.
I hesitated for a moment, then walked over to say hello. Cece turned as I approached, her blue eyes widening slightly in surprise. She looked effortlessly beautiful in a simple tank top and cargo pants.
“Morning,” I said, my voice a little gruff after getting very little sleep. I’d been up most of the night going over dive plans and weather reports.
“Morning,” she replied with a smile. She glanced back at Sophie, who was now bouncing in her seat, clearly excited about something.
“Granny says I can have ice cream for breakfast if I’m good!” Sophie announced through the open window.
Maggie chuckled from the driver’s seat, shaking her head. “I said maybe ice cream for dessert tonight if you’re good.”
Sophie pouted dramatically, but her attention quickly shifted to me. “Are you going diving with Mommy?”
“I am,” I said, crouching down to her level. “We’re going to explore some really cool stuff underwater.”
Her eyes lit up. “Like treasure?”
“I hope so,” I said. “I’ll take good care of her.”
Maggie frowned and then looked confused.
I realized what I said and quickly took a step back.
I couldn’t help it. I did feel responsible for Cece.
I wanted her mom and daughter to know she was going to be safe.
But they didn’t need me to tell them that.
They trusted her. They knew her and what she could do.
I cleared my throat. “I’ll see you at the van.” I quickly walked away feeling like an idiot.
Felix and Lina showed up a few minutes later.
We loaded up and set off. The facility right on the coast was run by the university.
It had dorms big enough to hold twenty people, for expeditions like ours.
There was a little store nearby where we’d be able to pick up groceries and other essentials.
The property had a firepit, grill, and plenty of outdoor seating.
From there, it was a quick walk down to the docks where the university boats were moored.
It was a research facility, but going out there always felt a bit like a vacation.
If only there were more opportunities to use it.
Unfortunately, that required money. Money to pay for the gas.
Money to pay for the time and everything else.
It wasn’t always a huge expense, but a few grand was a few grand.
My department had to fight for every penny.
I adjusted the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of Lina and Felix in the back seat.
Lina was scrolling through her phone, while Felix was leaning forward, his arms resting on the back of my seat.
Cece sat shotgun, a travel mug of coffee cradled in her hands.
She looked relaxed, but I could feel the tension radiating off her—or maybe that was just me projecting.
“So, what’s the plan when we get there?” Felix asked. “Dive straight in or do we get to enjoy the scenic route first?”
I glanced at him in the mirror. “We’ll check the equipment first. Make sure everything’s in order. Then dinner. We’ll dive first thing in the morning. Water should be calm.”
“What are our chances of finding something cool down there?” Felix asked.
“There’s always a chance,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road. “But we know a ship is down there. The question is whose ship was it and if there’s anything interesting worth bringing up.”
“Still cool,” Felix said, leaning back in his seat. “A shipwreck is a shipwreck.”
Lina finally looked up from her phone. “You guys realize this isn’t a vacation, right? We’re here to work.”
“Work can be fun,” Felix said, smiling at her. “You should try it sometime.”
Lina rolled her eyes. “Fun is clubbing. Shopping. Lying on a beach. This is serious.”
I nodded. “This is definitely serious business. Everyone remember that when we’re underwater.”
Cece shifted in her seat, stretching her legs out in front of her. I glanced over at her and had a sudden image of me standing between her legs in my kitchen. Shit . No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget the image.
“You okay?” she asked softly, her voice low enough that only I could hear.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice rough. “Just running through safety checklists.”
The rest of the drive passed in relative peace, broken only by Felix’s occasional commentary on the scenery and Lina’s questions about the dive. By the time we reached the dive facility, the sun was high in the sky, casting a golden glow over everything.
We arrived at the field station’s main lodge.
I had keys and quickly unlocked the heavy steel door.
It wasn’t a pretty building by any means and far from the five-star hotels Lina was probably used to.
We hauled in our duffels and gear. The facility was already stocked with most of what we would need for the dive.
I dropped my duffel bag on the bed in the room I’d claimed, glancing around at the sparse furnishings.
The walls were bare except for a faded map of the coastline, and the bed looked like it had seen better decades.
But it was clean, and that was all that mattered.
It was better than a lot of other places I’d slept.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway caught my attention, followed by Cece’s voice as she called out to Lina about which room she wanted.
I hesitated for a moment, then stepped out into the hall.
Cece was standing a few doors down, her bag slung over one shoulder as she surveyed the room she’d chosen.
“We’ll meet in the dining hall in ten to go over the plan for tomorrow,” I said loud enough for everyone down the hall to hear me.
“Got it,” Cece said from the room she had chosen.
“Yes, sir,” Lina replied from across the hall.
“No time for a nap then,” Felix said sulkily from behind me.
I forced myself to turn away and head back to my room, where I quickly unpacked my gear and double-checked everything.
When I walked into the dining hall a few minutes later, Felix and Lina were already there, sitting at one of the long wooden tables with maps and dive plans spread out in front of them.
Cece arrived shortly after, her hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and a notebook in hand.
“Alright,” I said, taking a seat at the head of the table. “Let’s go over what we know.”
I laid out the details of the dive site—the coordinates we’d be targeting, the depth we expected to reach, and what we hoped to find.
Felix chimed in with some technical details about the equipment we’d be using, while Lina asked questions about safety protocols and contingency plans.
I was actually impressed with her questions.
She really was taking this seriously. Good for her.
Cece listened intently, occasionally jotting down notes in her notebook. When I mentioned the possibility of strong currents near the wreck site, she looked up at me with a furrowed brow.
“How strong are we talking?” she asked.
“Strong enough to be dangerous if we’re not careful,” I said honestly. “We’ll need to stay close together and keep an eye on each other.”
She nodded, her expression serious but determined. “Got it.”
“Alright,” I said after an hour. “Let’s figure out dinner.”
Lina and Cece went to the store to get supplies for our barbecue.
Felix and I got the grill going. The smell of charcoal and lighter fluid filled the air, mingling with the salty breeze coming off the ocean.
Cece and Lina returned from the store with bags of groceries, their laughter carrying across the yard as they unloaded everything onto the picnic table.
“Got everything we need,” Lina announced, holding up a pack of hot dog buns like a trophy. “And I even found some marshmallows for later.”
“Marshmallows?” Felix perked up, his eyes lighting up like a kid’s. “Are we talking s’mores? Because if we’re talking s’mores, this trip just got even better.”
“Of course we’re talking s’mores,” Lina said with a grin, setting the bag down on the table. “What’s a barbecue without s’mores?”
When the hotdogs were properly covered in a layer of black skin, we pressed them into buns and added ketchup, mustard, and relish. The girls had picked up a twelve-pack of beer too. We all took seats facing the water and enjoyed our meal, feeling like a real team.