Free Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe Page B

Island, really.”
    “It must be nice to have a big family.”
    “At times.”
    “Are you close?”
    He cast a quick glance. “I guess you could say we are. We have our spats, like most families. But we’ve been in these parts since before The War. Most everyone’s settled somewhere around Rockville or Charleston.”
    “Except Jim in Atlanta.” She said “Atlanta” with the same sour tone Uncle Will had used.
    That drew a reluctant laugh from Ethan. “Poor Uncle Will. He’s worse than my mother. He never can tolerate any of us moving off. I reckon it’s because we keeplosing bits of our land and he’s afraid we’re losing the family, too. He holds on pretty tight.”
    “I find that endearing.”
    Ethan barked off a laugh. “I’m sure he’d like to hear that.” He shook his head, muttering, “Endearing.”
    “Hey, it’s better than enamored. ”
    “I don’t know but I was right. My family was enamored with you. Especially Bigger.”
    “Your cousin is a real character.”
    A grin stretched freely across his face and affection gleamed in his eyes. “Yeah, that he is. One of a kind. You wouldn’t want to mess with him, but he’s got a heart of pure gold. Would give you the shirt off his back if you asked him. He’s saved my sorry ass a few times, I can tell you. Guys like him are a dying breed.”
    “Did you ever want to be a shrimper, like him? Or run Cherry Point?”
    His hands tightened on the wheel as the tires spun beneath them. “No,” he replied at length. “I never did. It’s not like I don’t enjoy going out on the shrimp boats and lending a hand from time to time. Some of my best memories were on board the Miss Peggy. But it’s a hard life. Long hours, tough work, hard men. The dock can be a pretty rough place at times. I used to work there in the summers coming up and some of the stuff I saw…”
    He shook his head. “It’s not for me. Never was. When I was a boy, I got a lot of ribbing for having my nose stuck in a book. I read about exotic places far away— Treasure Island, Narnia, Forty Leagues Under the Sea . If I ever dreamed of being a boat captain, it was Captain Nemo. My blood raced at the thought of getting in a boat and just…” He shrugged lightly. “Going.” He stretched outhis arm. “Sailing on and on and on. Seeing the world and not worrying about coming back.”
    “So, where did you end up going?”
    “I went to Woods Hole in Massachusetts for my graduate degree. It’s beautiful up there, but way too cold for a Southern boy. Once I’d left home, I just kept traveling. Farther and farther away. I did marine research in Fiji, the Caribbean, the reefs off Australia, Indonesia, then ended up in Costa Rica. I spent six years there, the longest I’ve ever spent in any one place.”
    “I heard that you discovered some kind of bottom dwelling invertebrate?”
    He nodded. “But I’m most proud of the work I did drumming up international support for sharks.”
    “When you add all that up, I can see how you were an ideal choice to run the Great Ocean Tank.”
    “You never know where the knowledge and experience you’ve gained is going to lead you in life. When I was chasing down black market shark poachers, I didn’t think I’d be caring for sharks in an Aquarium. It’s funny how life turns out sometimes.”
    “Did your father want you to take over the family business?”
    “Yes, sure. It’s only natural that he would. But I think he always knew I was more interested in studying the living fish, not the ones caught to be eaten. And between you and me, he’s the one who inspired my interest. He was the one who taught me the names of all the fish, about their habitats and habits. He never let me keep an undersized fish and was mindful of our role as stewards of the earth and sea. When I went off to study marine biology I got some raised brows from some of the family, but he never once criticized my decision. He always encouraged me to carve out my own