“You treat those things like newborns,” Ethan said, his voice dry but not unkind. Liam glanced up, smiling faintly. “They’re more valuable than I am. If I lose them, I might as well start over from scratch.” “Then don’t lose them,” Ethan replied simply, turning his gaze back to the horizon. For a while, the only sound was the soft flap of canvas and the slap of waves against the hull.
Liam eventually sat cross-legged, notebook balanced on his knee, scribbling ideas about coral bleaching and fish migrations. Ethan let him be. The younger man had his head full of numbers and data, while Ethan had only the sea and its moods to measure.