Page 9 of Building Courage
“I’ve only been here about half an hour. I just caught the last few minutes of your shoot. The way you use your camera makes it seem like it’s an extension of your body and your vision.”
“It is.” She released the straps from her pack from around her waist and rocked forward to pull it free. She set it on the ground. She first removed the memory card from the camera and then the lens. She secured the card into a plastic sleeve and pocketed it, then packed both the camera body and lens into the pack and zipped it. She lifted it protectively onto the seat between her and Tucker, then settled back.
“Have you been to Australia?” she asked.
He’d thought about it, but Uncle Sam always had other ideas. “Not yet. Maybe one day.”
“Because it’s not a trouble spot?” she asked.
So, Natalie had told her he was a SEAL. He’d thought she might just say he was in the Navy. “The Navy likes to keep active-duty personnel close in case they need to be called up at a moment’s notice. We have to file paperwork and apply for special permission to leave the country. And we have to accumulate the necessary leave.”
“You have a pushy boss, too.”
She had no idea. He shrugged. “I knew what I was getting into when I signed on the dotted line.”
“I haven’t yet—signed a contract with Natalie for this assignment, that is.”
“So, if you don’t feel comfortable diving, you’re not obligated to go.” He agreed with that, but it would be a shame if she missed out on the trip.
“Natalie’s hoping I’ll get the diving bug, and underwater photography will be a new skill I’ll want to pursue.”
“Is it?”
Her smile was rueful and much more natural. “It probably will be. I’m obsessed with what I do, and I think I might enjoy it. I did buy a few pieces of equipment when I was surfing, but I didn’t tell Natalie.”
He grinned. “Was a wet suit one of those pieces of equipment?”
“Of course.” She hunched her shoulders as though ashamed. “And an underwater housing for my favorite camera and some lights and a strobe or two.”
He chuckled. “When do you want to start?”
She leaned forward to tug her phone free of the back pocket of her jeans and scrolled through her calendar. “I need to download and edit the pictures I took today and get them to the company in the next couple of days. I have four other shoots this week. One for a real estate company and one for an animal rescue. And two for commercial things. But I’m free Sunday.”
He was free most weekends…unless Uncle Sam said otherwise. “Okay. I’ll need your cell number. If something…work-related comes up to interfere with our plans, I’ll call or text you.”
He opened his phone to the contact screen and handed it to her to type in her number. When she did and handed it back, he accessed it to text her his number.
“You’ll start out in a swimming pool,” he said.
“A pool?”
“You have to learn the basics before you take the leap. The safest place for that is a pool.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding.
“I’ll get things organized and text you the address.”
“Besides my wet suit, what should I bring?”
“Nothing. I’ll supply the equipment. Natalie and I already discussed it.”
“Okay.” She rose, and he followed suit.
Her dark eyes held just a hint of warmth. “Thank you, Tucker.”
She was lowering the walls enough to call him by name. Her tone triggered a quick smile and other physical responses he tried to ignore. This was business; he needed to remember that. “I’ll walk you to your car if you’re ready to leave.”
“You don’t have to.”