Page 48 of Chasing Sunrise

“It’s time to eat and take your meds.”

“I’m not hungry.”

He walked over and kissed her forehead again. A spike of worry speared through him. “Sweetheart, you’re hotter than hell.”

“Said in a slightly different tone, that might be a compliment.”

Kasey loved her playfulness. Even sick she kept her spirits up. Not everyone could do the same. “You’re a smoke show, and it’s definitely a compliment, but right now we have to get your fever down. You want to take a cool bath?”

She shook her head. “Too much effort.”

“Feed a fever it is.” He coaxed her into eating a cup of soup and a piece of bread before she drank a sip of ginger ale and swallowed her meds. By the time Kasey got back from bringing her bowl into the kitchen, she’d fallen asleep again.

After cleaning the kitchen, he went into the bathroom. Needing something to do, he pulled out the tiles and glue. While doing most things, he listened to music or a podcast, but wanting to be able to hear Amanda, he worked in silence.

He thought no music would drive him crazy, but there was a captivating peace in the quiet—in filling in a small area with glue and finding and fitting the exact right tile for each empty space.

“It’s not enough to love animals; we must actively protect and preserve them. It’s our duty and responsibility as custodians of this planet.” ~ Daphne Sheldrick

Chapter Eleven

Dressed in the bestneoprene wetsuit on the market and a diving mask on his face, Kasey exited the trailer. White mountains surrounded them. The sun peeked through puffy white clouds. The days were transitioning from summer to winter. Soon the continent would be draped in darkness for months. Antarctica had no fall or spring, only summer and winter.

TheHunter Kasecrew had graciously been invited to use the Doorman Research Facility while shooting, but it was miles away from this penguin colony. Workers from the facility drove them in the winterized trailer to this spot. Although they’d flown in yesterday, they hoped to complete the shoot and fly to Argentina tonight. The entire crew agreed to this location, yet no one wanted to stay longer than necessary. Three cameramen had been taking turns getting footage of the penguins on the ice since the sun rose. Because of the extreme temp, a person could only stay outside for thirty minutes.

Luckily, their entry point into the water was close. Kasey put the scuba mouthpiece into his mouth to check the tank air.

“I thought it might be too cold to smell anything out here.” Beau set the tank on Kasey’s back. “Until we got to this area. This might be the worst stench I’ve ever come across.”

Kasey couldn’t smell anything in the mask.

“I warned you.” Lilly descended from the trailer, dressed in white.

“Don’t get lost or fall,” Kasey warned her. “You’ll be indistinguishable from the snow.”

“Yeah, I should’ve chosen a different color.” She shivered.

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