might disrupt the silence and scare Nessie away.
Gail started to lean forward more and more until she slouched sideways against him, resting her head on his shoulder, sound asleep. It had been so long since he'd had a woman sleep against him. Sparks crackled inside him, stoked by the light, rosy scent of her hair. She looked so peaceful once her eyes were closed. Flynn had the urge to kiss her freckled cheek.
"Quite a layover from Boston, eh?" Tom's snarky voice made Flynn jerk up, waking Gail.
Gail rubbed her eyes and repositioned herself away from Flynn. "The layover's a killer. I'm still adjusting to all those hours I lost."
Flynn's pocket vibrated. He pulled out his cell and checked the caller. Tabitha. Now wasn't the best time to talk with Gail and Tom present, so he shut it off, feeling a jab of guilt. I'll call her back as soon as I get to shore.
"Well, it doesn't look like we're going to find anything else out here tonight, and Gail needs some rest, so I say we call it quits." Flynn stood and walked to the cabin just as a mournful call erupted over the water, rumbling the coffee he'd drunk an hour ago.
Flynn whirled around. Gail's eyes were as wide as two full moons. She sprinted to her equipment and read the screen. "It's coming from underwater, to the north."
Tom whispered, filming back and forth across the waters. "I can't see anything. Should we get closer for a better shot?"
"And scare it away! No way." Flynn turned to Gail. "Can you send Nessie back a message?"
Gail's gaze was glued to the controls. Her fingers flicked over the buttons. "Sure."
A sound much higher than the mysterious call reverberated underneath them. Gail whispered, "It's the call of a bottlenose dolphin. It's the closest sound I could find."
A long moment of silence passed as they waited for a response. Flynn squeezed his hands into fists and closed his eyes.
Please, please respond. He'd spent too much of his life going after a dream for it to be nothing. In fact, he didn't know what he'd do if the noise was proven to be something else besides Nessie. His touring company would go out of business, and he'd let down poor Tabitha right before the end, the time she needed dreams the most.
A singular sound called back from the open waters with the same pulse and frequency as the dolphin call, the only difference being its pitch was a significant amount lower than that of the original pitch.
To Flynn, the call was music to his ears. He inhaled in wonder, tears brimming. "It's her."
Gail's mouth dropped open as she studied the readings. "This is impossible."
Flynn came over and peered next to her, his arm brushing hers. "What? What does this line mean?"
"It's gauging the intensity of the call."
"And?"
She refreshed the screen and squinted as though she had trouble interpreting the readings. "It says the intensity of the call is twice as great as a noise produced from a 10-foot pilot whale. But it's not the same call. I've never heard this call before."
"A pilot whale? How big are they?"
Gail gave him a dead stare. "Big."
"How big?"
"Males can grow up to twenty feet long and weigh three tons."
Flynn ran his hand through his hair, trying to imagine the size compared to his twenty-foot touring boat. "That's pretty darn big."
"Yeah." Gail returned to the screen. "I'm trying to see if I can get an image on radar at least."
Flynn resisted the urge to jump up and down or pump his fist in the air. Gail looked scared, and he wasn't about to gloat. "Where's the origin?"
"It's coming from the debris at the bottom." Gail's fingers flew over the controls. She'd done this before.
"Can you send the camera?"
She gave him a steady look as if she'd braced herself for bad news. "Already have."
Chapter Three
Shadows
Gail hit her equipment. Static sizzled and the imaging from the drop camera blinked on and off. Had it been damaged in shipping? Or did some sort of strange electromagnetic field jam the frequencies, making it almost
Gail started to lean forward more and more until she slouched sideways against him, resting her head on his shoulder, sound asleep. It had been so long since he'd had a woman sleep against him. Sparks crackled inside him, stoked by the light, rosy scent of her hair. She looked so peaceful once her eyes were closed. Flynn had the urge to kiss her freckled cheek.
"Quite a layover from Boston, eh?" Tom's snarky voice made Flynn jerk up, waking Gail.
Gail rubbed her eyes and repositioned herself away from Flynn. "The layover's a killer. I'm still adjusting to all those hours I lost."
Flynn's pocket vibrated. He pulled out his cell and checked the caller. Tabitha. Now wasn't the best time to talk with Gail and Tom present, so he shut it off, feeling a jab of guilt. I'll call her back as soon as I get to shore.
"Well, it doesn't look like we're going to find anything else out here tonight, and Gail needs some rest, so I say we call it quits." Flynn stood and walked to the cabin just as a mournful call erupted over the water, rumbling the coffee he'd drunk an hour ago.
Flynn whirled around. Gail's eyes were as wide as two full moons. She sprinted to her equipment and read the screen. "It's coming from underwater, to the north."
Tom whispered, filming back and forth across the waters. "I can't see anything. Should we get closer for a better shot?"
"And scare it away! No way." Flynn turned to Gail. "Can you send Nessie back a message?"
Gail's gaze was glued to the controls. Her fingers flicked over the buttons. "Sure."
A sound much higher than the mysterious call reverberated underneath them. Gail whispered, "It's the call of a bottlenose dolphin. It's the closest sound I could find."
A long moment of silence passed as they waited for a response. Flynn squeezed his hands into fists and closed his eyes.
Please, please respond. He'd spent too much of his life going after a dream for it to be nothing. In fact, he didn't know what he'd do if the noise was proven to be something else besides Nessie. His touring company would go out of business, and he'd let down poor Tabitha right before the end, the time she needed dreams the most.
A singular sound called back from the open waters with the same pulse and frequency as the dolphin call, the only difference being its pitch was a significant amount lower than that of the original pitch.
To Flynn, the call was music to his ears. He inhaled in wonder, tears brimming. "It's her."
Gail's mouth dropped open as she studied the readings. "This is impossible."
Flynn came over and peered next to her, his arm brushing hers. "What? What does this line mean?"
"It's gauging the intensity of the call."
"And?"
She refreshed the screen and squinted as though she had trouble interpreting the readings. "It says the intensity of the call is twice as great as a noise produced from a 10-foot pilot whale. But it's not the same call. I've never heard this call before."
"A pilot whale? How big are they?"
Gail gave him a dead stare. "Big."
"How big?"
"Males can grow up to twenty feet long and weigh three tons."
Flynn ran his hand through his hair, trying to imagine the size compared to his twenty-foot touring boat. "That's pretty darn big."
"Yeah." Gail returned to the screen. "I'm trying to see if I can get an image on radar at least."
Flynn resisted the urge to jump up and down or pump his fist in the air. Gail looked scared, and he wasn't about to gloat. "Where's the origin?"
"It's coming from the debris at the bottom." Gail's fingers flew over the controls. She'd done this before.
"Can you send the camera?"
She gave him a steady look as if she'd braced herself for bad news. "Already have."
Chapter Three
Shadows
Gail hit her equipment. Static sizzled and the imaging from the drop camera blinked on and off. Had it been damaged in shipping? Or did some sort of strange electromagnetic field jam the frequencies, making it almost
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