Page 2 of Hold Your Breath
“The ice is just under ten inches here,” Callum announced in his schoolteacher tone—the one that always made Lou want to act up like a contrary third-grader. “Is that thick enough for a group of people to walk on?”
“Wouldn’t it have been better to confirm thatbeforewe left shore?” Lou muttered, making Derek snicker. Callum sent a sharp look her way.
“It’s thick enough,” Chad answered, taking a step toward Callum. “It’d even be okay to drive on it.”
“Drive what?”
“A car or light truck,” Chad said quickly. “For anything more, twelve inches would be better.”
“That’s what she said,” Derek whispered loud enough to make everyone except Callum laugh. Even Chad grinned before dropping his chin to hide it.
Callum let his gaze fall on each person in turn. The chuckles died, replaced by awkward coughs.
“So this ice is safe?” he finally asked when silence had fallen over the team members.
“Yes.” Chad was the first to speak up again, and Lou winced. He’d obviously already forgotten the four hours they’d spent watching training videos that morning.
Wilt gave a slow, sad shake of his head. “No ice is safe,” he said in the Arkansas drawl he held on to even after forty years in Colorado. Lou liked Wilt. He was a soft-spoken man who kept quiet unless he had something important to say. When he spoke, everyone shut up and listened. Wilt was in his sixties, with a thick mustache that drooped over his mouth, giving him a perpetually mournful expression.
“Good, Wilt,” Callum said. “Glad someone was paying attention this morning. We have to be especially careful of weak spots after the warm spell last week. Even though it’s been cold the past couple of days, the ice probably hasn’t recovered yet.”
Chad’s shoulders sagged. Knowing all too well how it felt to be under the heavy weight of Callum’s displeasure, Lou shot him a sympathetic glance. He avoided her gaze.
“Okay!” Callum clapped his blue-gloved hands together. “Everyone in the water. First time in is the hardest, so it’s best to get it over with.”
Lou eyed the water doubtfully, shuffling a little closer to the edge of the hole. She had a lot of scuba diving experience, but most of it had been in tropical locations. This was new to her.
“What if my suit has a leak?” Chad asked. Lou whipped her head around to stare at him. Hell. She’d never thought about a leaky suit. Her newly panicked gaze flew to Callum’s face.
“Your suit is buoyant enough that it won’t matter, even if it fills with water to your armpits.” Callum waved a dismissive hand. “You’ll still float.”
Slightly relieved but trying not to think about how freaking cold thirty-two-degree water up to her armpits would be, she turned her attention back to the opening in the ice. Derek had already taken the plunge.
“C’mon in,” he said, letting his legs float to the surface and leaning back as if he were in an easy chair. “The water’s fine.”
Deciding to just get it done, Lou took a breath and jumped in. When her head went under, she instantly realized her mistake. Once the shockingly cold water hit her face, her lungs clamped down, squeezing out all her oxygen. She didn’t even try to figure out which way was up but just let her suit float her to the surface instead.
She felt a tap on the back of her hood and yanked her face out of the water. Callum was close enough for her to see the deep creases between his eyebrows.
“You good?” he asked.
“Y-yep.”
After examining her face carefully, he shook his head. “Never do anything halfway, do you, Sparks?”
Since she didn’t know if that was a compliment or an insult, she kept quiet. Her legs kept wanting to float to the surface behind her and tip her onto her front as the others climbed in more carefully. Scowling, she tried to force her lower half down but ended up flailing unsuccessfully.
“How are you staying upright?” she asked Callum, craning her neck to keep her face out of the water as her legs headed for the surface again.
“Tuck them to your chest and then push them straight down.” He swam toward the icy ledge as she struggled to master her buoyant suit. She finally managed to shove her legs down so her body was more or less upright.
“Ha!” she crowed, slapping the surface in victory. “Got you down, bitches!”
“Did you just call your legs ‘bitches’?” Derek asked from directly behind her, making her jump. Her upper body tilted forward, but she got herself back under control.
“Yep. Occasional evidence to the contrary, I am in charge ofallmy body parts.”
“Glad to hear it.”
