Page 10 of Wet and Welder
“Yeah, you’re right. I just don’t like this new face mask is all I meant.”
“Is the mask making you so uncomfortable, or might it be somethin’ or someone else?”
The smart-ass misses nothing, but this is not a conversation I’m ready for.
“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout, man. I know we’re here to get a job done, though. Here,” I say, giving the young man a sheet of steel to lay over the smaller hole. “The bulk of the welding is going to be underwater, so let’s get this fixed so we can keep the air here.”
“Okay, avoiding the conversation about the new boss lady. Got it.”
A groan escapes my throat. My sharp apprentice never misses a detail, no matter how small. That makes him a great welder and crew member but an utter pain in the ass when it comes to personal shit.
“There’s nothing to talk about. End of story,” I say, hoping it’ll get him off my back.
“Oh, okay, cool. I’m definitely gonna ask her out when this job is done, then. For a second there, I thought I saw little hearts in your eyes pointed right at the firecracker, but if you’re not interested, I certainly am.”
My fist tightens on the handle of my welding wand, and I can’t help but grit my teeth. This is a lose-lose conversation. I know he’s baiting me. I can hear it in his smug tone. He read me like a book when I laid eyes on Mallory again after missing her for a full fucking week. Truth be told, I never thought I’d see her again, so my brain short-circuited. Leave it to this numbskull to notice. That’s just my luck.
“Don’t even think about it,” I grit out between locked teeth but turn, making eye contact to make myself one hundred percent clear.
Cooper, being Cooper, chuckles at my reaction, knowing he’s got to me.
“That’s what I thought. Don’t worry, boss, she’s all yours. Considering her reaction to you, I’d say you’ve got a pretty good chance.”
The boy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. She didn’t have a reaction to me. As a matter of fact, she barely looked at me and pretended we were meeting for the first time, and she was less than impressed. Remembering her stoic face makes my blood boil, and I stomp off without a reply.
We work for the next several hours without saying anything else, which is easy to do when welding. The first patch is done when Captain Hook comes over our radio, telling us to get up to the surface.
“This storm is getting rocky. All hands on deck.”
We pack the essentials, leaving the metal sheets for tomorrow’s patch work, then head for the surface.
The weather is beating down on the Omega vessel by the time we make it up. The waves rock her back and forth under angry black clouds that pour down on us. Getting back to the boat is challenging and made worse with our equipment on our backs, but we make it.
Once I find my footing, I go to make my way inside, but a flash of red hair stops me. Swaying with the boat and taking the wrath of a tall and skinny guy with glasses is the boss lady herself. Mallory is clearly fighting for balance as rain pours down on her. That gorgeous red hair sticks to her yellow raincoat and forehead. Damn, she’s still beautiful even in these conditions. I don’t know what the two are arguing about, but I can’t seem to stop my feet from moving to her side, even though I know it’s not my place.
“This is exactly what I told you would happen. You are as incompetent as you are unfit to lead this mission. When we lose the sub-camera, it’s your ass.”
I keep my anger at a simmer, knowing she can handle her own battles, but I love the fear that hits the weasel once he notices me behind her.
Mallory’s small frame fights for footing, and I’m tempted to lay my hands on her shoulders, but I fear my touch won’t be welcomed, so I keep my guard up and my arms down.
“As someone who’s fought storms before, I assure you that you’re overreacting. Make all the calls you want Nelson, but this job is getting done despite your efforts to keep the camera out of the water.”
“I want to keep the camera intact, Montgomery.”
I take another step forward at his rise in tone, and he balks, looking up at me. Just then, a large wave pushes up against the boat and pours onto the deck.
Nelson loses footing and is swept off with the water that pummels him into the side of the boat.
Tiny Mallory loses her footing, but I don’t let her meet the same fate. My arms wrap around her waist, and I scoop her against me. I hear her sharp intake of breath but can’t exactly let her go yet. The rain is still beating down on us, but the majority of the water washes out the open ports of the deck. I turn toward the door and let her down gently.
At first, she just stands with her back to me. I assume she’s about to turn and crap me out, but instead, she doesn’t so much as acknowledge me and moves to the door, leaving me with more question, and damn it, I’m so tired of her bolting on me with no explanation. So, while the crew is in high gear, getting everything locked down as we sway in the storm, I take the moment of chaos to make some of my own and follow her inside.
CHAPTER SEVEN
MALLORY
Even under a huge raincoat, my clothes are soaked. I shake my hair and ring out the dripping water as I walk back to my room to change. The perk of being the boss of a finely tuned ship is that they all know exactly what to do. If I were out there barking orders, I would just fall like Nelson and lose whatever respect I’m still clinging to.