Page 49 of Visions of You

Hailey raised her eyes to mine. “You told me you weren’t an instructor.”

“I’m not. Divemasters can teach this class.” I hid a smile, pleased at how sharp she was. Then again, her father wasn’t lacking in the brains department, either, so that wasn’t a surprise.

She played with the Velcro cummerbund on the BCD. “How come you haven’t become an instructor? I bet you’d be good at it.”

“Thanks. A couple of reasons. One—it’s expensive. But most importantly, most instructors spend the majority of their time teaching classes. I love being in the ocean and leading dives.”

“Corbin told me once he wishes he led dives more often.”

I smiled at her. “Then he should be happy. That’s what he’s doing right now.”

Hailey pressed the purge button on the mouthpiece, and the regulator issued a hiss. She gave me a measured look. “Can I breathe off this?”

“Sure. The regulator sounds different in air, so you’ll hear noise when youexhale. Go ahead.”

She placed the black mouthpiece into her mouth and inhaled. A deep hiss issued out of the regulator, followed by a loud honking noise as she exhaled. Hailey spat it out and giggled. “I sounded like Darth Vader! But that got kind of ruined by the loud farting noise when I breathed out.”

Joining her laughter, I pressed the purge button, eliciting a long, loud hiss. “In water, this is just a bunch of bubbles escaping. It’s not making the farting noise because I’m purging it—expelling the air forcefully. The sound you noticed happens because your exhalation is traveling through air, not water.”

Hailey shifted her eyes to the clear water of the pool, then lifted them to meet mine. “Can I breathe off it underwater?”

My heart sank.

Uh-oh. Probably should have seen this coming.

I shook my head and smiled sadly. “Not without your dad’s permission.”

“Please? Just a breath or two?”

“Sorry, sweetie. I can teach intro classes to adults, but not to kids. Besides, knowing your dad, he’d probably want to be right next to you.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I know. The last time I brought up diving, he wasn’t too happy about the idea.” Then her smile reappeared. I loved her sunny disposition. “Can I breathe off it again up here in the air?”

“Absolutely. That’s completely safe.”

Hailey commenced breathing in Darth Vader hisses and farting exhales, stopping for fits of giggles now and again. I helped her into the BCD, and she sat on the pool deck with her legs sticking straight out, the heavy tank resting on the concrete behind her. I disassembled the other kit, laughing with her.

“Hailey, what are you doing?” Gabe’s voice was so unexpected, I jumped.

She took the second stage from her mouth and smiled up at him. “April’s letting me breathe off a scuba kit!”

“Isee that.” His voice was pleasant, but he held his shoulders rigidly. Then he smiled at Hailey. “There are fresh donuts in the break room at the dive shop. Why don’t you grab one before they’re all gone?”

Hailey had ripped open the BCD and scrambled to her feet before he even finished his sentence. “I’m on my way!”

I smiled as she took off at full speed.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Gabe’s low voice was harsh and gruff, completely opposite to what he’d used with Hailey.

I stood and faced him, my brow lined. Both hands were parked on his hips, his mouth set in a gash. Hot Grumpy Guy was back.

“Showing Hailey how a scuba regulator works.”

His jaw bulged as he ground his teeth together. “So you thought you could take it upon yourself to teach my daughter to dive?”

I stepped forward, surprise turning to anger. Heat sliced through me. “No, Gabe. I let her breathe off the mouthpiece. In air. She asked to use it underwater, and I told her not without your permission.Andthat I’m not qualified to teach her. Do I look stupid to you?”

At least no one else was nearby. Several couples sat around the large free-form pool but in other sections.

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