Chapter 2
Merle
“Hey are you looking for me?”
I turned around, hoping that it was Kevin, but it wasn’t and my face must have showed my disappointment.
“Not used to that sort of reaction.”
“Sorry, I thought you were Kevin. I have been waiting out here for quite some time. His boat is here, but Kevin is nowhere to be seen.”
“He is most likely passed out in there the whole time. He must not have been sober enough to get it started. That pull start can be a bitch. Do you want me to check and see if he is in there for you?”
I looked to the rigged up boat in front of me and I knew that if what he said was true, I was going to be pissed. I had been waiting for quite some time for this guy and if he was in the boat the whole time, I knew that I was going to be pissed. I was freezing and I didn’t have to wait this long, yeah I was going to be mad that I hadn’t thought to check.
The man that had walked up and asked if I was looking for him was studying my face.
“You are new around here, huh?”
I told him that I was. It was a small town and I was sure that everyone would know that I was new here soon enough.
“Yeah, just got in this afternoon and I have been looking for Kevin ever since. I have a job with him, but I haven’t made contact yet. Would you mind checking the boat? I don’t know if barging in on him with me being new and all is a good idea.”
“Sure, Kevin is a bear in the morning, but you just ignore him and he is fine after he gets some coffee in him.”
“Well thanks for the heads up. I am starting to worry that I hitched my wagon to the wrong boat. Is he doing any good this year?”
The man that introduced himself as Charlie grinned and then shrugged a little. “When he is sober, he does well. Always have someone else on deck to keep you safe while you are down there. Don’t trust Kevin to do it for you. And I think he is going to have a field day with a pretty thing like you. Does he know what you look like?”
I thought that was a weird question and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to take that as a compliment or not. It was hard to tell and I wasn’t sure which was to go about it. Charlie had a disabling smile that I was trying hard to ignore, but in a way I didn’t want to. It had been so long since I had flirted with a guy that I had just met and in Nome no less. I hadn’t saw that coming.
“No, I don’t think so. I mean, I didn’t put my face on the resume.”
He just shook his head. “Well I doubt he is going to be able to talk around you. We don’t get many women that look like you out here. What are you supposed to be doing?”
“Diving.”
He looked at me as if he didn’t believe me and that bothered me a little bit. I knew that it was going to be an uphill battle with the area men, but I wasn’t ready for it like I thought I would be. It was a shame that just because I was a woman I was going to have to prove myself, but it wasn’t anything that I hadn’t saw coming nonetheless.
“Yeah, diving.”
“Well I can’t say that I have seen someone your size diving. The equipment is rather heavy.”
I tried not to sigh too loudly. He was trying to be helpful, but he wasn’t being very helpful in my eyes.
“Yeah I have done it before, so I am sure I will be okay. Do you work out on the boats?”
“I have a couple out there right now, but I don’t dive anymore. It is easier to get the young ones like you to do it so I don’t have to break my back getting out there every morning. I was thinking that they should be back by now, but it looked like I have a little time on my hands. Seems to be good luck.”
“Well I would appreciate any help you can give me in locating Kevin. I just want to get my things put up and find a bed for the night.”
“There are a couple of places in town that will take boarders. Some people live in tents and yurts down on the beach. Even though the weather is nice, I wouldn’t recommend that route for you. It can be a dangerous place for women on their own.”
“Yeah that’s what I hear. I think that most of the people that know I came up here think that I’m going to get attacked by a local or a bear.”
“It happens.”
He left it like that and I felt a little ominous in the way that he was being so serious. There wasn’t a smile on his face or anything else. He couldn’t be for real, right? I mean, it’s not like there is something wrong with a woman being out on her own, even in Alaska.
“Well I am sure I will be okay. I have lived a lot of places and I haven’t been afraid yet.”
“Good, don’t let the stories get you down. It is a great place to live if you are willing to work for it. There is no easy life out here, but if you are planning on diving, then I guess that’s not what you are looking for. Let me go grab Kevin and get you two acquainted. If you are any good, I am always looking for another diver for my own boats.”
I nodded, but didn’t say anything more. I was promised to Kevin as long as he was going out and it was time for the day to begin. I was ready to hit the ground running.