She’d found the list of wrecks off North Carolina alone extensive. But these, she’d thought, had already been located, documented. The adventure there was over. One day, because of the chain her father had started and she’d continued, the Liberty would be among them.

Fretfully, Kate waited for Ky to surface. She thought of her father. He’d pored over this same book as well—planning, calculating. Yet his calculations hadn’t taken him beyond the initial stage. If he’d shared his goal with her, would he have taken her on his summer quests? She’d never know, because she’d never been given the choice.

She was making her own choices now, Kate mused. Her first had been to return to Ocracoke, accepting the consequences. Her next had been to give herself to Ky without conditions. Her last, she thought as she stared down at the quiet water, would be to leave him again. Yet, in reality, perhaps she’d still been given no choice. It was all a matter of currents. She could only swim against them for so long.

Relief washed over her when she spotted the flow of bubbles. Ky grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder as he pushed up his mask. “Waiting for me?”

Relief mixed with annoyance for the time she’d spent worrying about him. “You cut it close.”

“Yeah, a little.” He passed up his tanks. “I had to stop and get you a present.”

“It’s not a joke, Ky.” Kate watched him come over the side, agile, lean and energetic. “You’d be furious with me if I’d cut my time that close.”

“Leave it up to Linda to fuss,” he advised as he pulled down the zipper of his wet suit. “She was born that way.” Then he grabbed her, crushing her against him so that she felt the excitement he’d brought up with him. His mouth closed over hers, tasting of salt from the sea. Because he was wet, her clothes clung to him, binding them together for the brief instant he held her. But when he would have released her, she held fast, drawing the kiss out into something that warmed his cool skin.

“I worry about you, Ky.” For one last moment, she held on fiercely. “Damn it, is that what you want to hear?”

“No.” He took her face in his hands and shook his head. “No.”

Kate broke away, afraid she’d say too much, afraid she’d say things neither of them were ready to hear. She knew the rules this time. She groped for something calm, something simple. “I suppose I got a bit frantic waiting up here. It’s different when you’re down.”

“Yeah.” What did she want from him, he wondered? Why was it that every time she started to show her concern for him, she clammed up? “I’ve got some more things to add to the chart.”