Nikki reached into the bucket and got another wiggling worm. “It’ll only hurt for a minute,” she said and quickly threaded her hook. The worm wiggled and she stabbed herself.
Retaliation. She should’ve guessed the worm would exact some measure of revenge. Not that it did it any good. She reared back and flung the pole forward.
Nothing happened.
Well, except the worm became a trapeze act without a trapeze as it went flying through the air.
Fly away, fly away worm and be free. She watched until it made a little plop in the water. A fish flopped near where it had landed. Maybe not exactly free.
Crap. Now she would have to start over.
“You didn’t push the button down.”
“Oh.” Darn, she’d forgotten that step. She threaded another worm on the hook, and this time when she threw her line out it actually went into the water. She was starting to like the whistle it made as the line stretched out across the river, then plopped down and disappeared.
“Got one,” Cal said and began to reel his line in.
Excitement flittered through her. Who knew she would have just as much fun watching him reel in a fish as she had when she’d snagged hers. And even better, now she wouldn’t have to share her fish.
“It’s a big one,” he said.
She frowned. Bigger than hers? Maybe he’d share his fish with her since hers was kind of small.
“Don’t lose it,” she said.
“I don’t plan to.”
“Good.”
He raised his pole, turning the reel, then brought it down and repeated it again. The fish flopped out of the water, its body twisting and turning before it went beneath the surface again.
“It’s huge,” she said.
He looked at her and grinned. “Bigger than yours.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not through fishing, either.” She might be a rookie fisherwoman, but she was a fast learner and she didn’t give up easily. She’d get her fish and the story. Her parents had taught her the value of winning and she didn’t take losing without a damned good fight.
Chapter 20
Nikki felt a tug on her line. “Ha! I have another one.” She’d started to worry there weren’t any fish left in the river. That little fish she’d caught earlier had started to look smaller and smaller.
“Don’t lose it,” Cal said, then smiled.
She smiled back, then repeated what he’d told her, “I don’t plan to.”
She did exactly as he had and reeled in as she brought the pole up, then gave the fish a little bit of line as she lowered it.
“You’re doing good.”
She grinned. “Yes, I am, aren’t I?”
Until she reeled it in and saw the fish was about the same size as the last one she’d caught, but it had put up a bigger fight. Not that it mattered that much. It was enough for a meal.
Cal caught two more, smaller than his first. Okay, so maybe she didn’t beat him, but at least she’d given it her best shot.
“I’m starved,” he said as he raised the stringer. “What about you?”
She nodded, reeling her line in. “I could eat a horse.” Taffy raised his head and whinnied. They both laughed. What were the odds?
“We’ll need to get a fire started,” Cal said. “Why don’t you do that and I’ll clean the fish.”
Starting a fire sounded much better than cleaning. “What do I need?”
“Some rocks about this size.” He made a fist. “And some wood, small branches and a couple of bigger ones. Don’t get anything too green. You want it as dry as possible so it’ll burn better.”
The task wasn’t that difficult. She had a feeling he was cutting her a little slack, which was fine with her. Looking at fish guts would probably be a whole lot harder than threading a worm on a hook.
She’d just as soon not see the fish die, either. She glanced over her shoulder and watched him for a moment- well, until he began to slice open the fish they’d caught. Bleh. She’d never look at fish on a menu in quite the same way.
And they called her The Barracuda? Some tough predator she was. It wasn’t as though she’d never eaten fish before. She loved fish-as long as it arrived on her plate fully cooked and minus its head.
But fishing had been fun-more than she wanted to admit. She was a city girl, but it certainly didn’t mean she couldn’t like country-to an extent. She sat down on a rock and picked up a stick, and aimlessly drew circles in the dirt.
She liked a whole lot of things, actually. Maybe she should just drop the article. Marge wouldn’t kill her if she didn’t write it. Her boss had even told her as much. Not that Nikki thought Marge had really meant what she was saying. Not when she’d made it sound like a challenge.
Marge might not bother her so much, but what would her parents think? They would look at each other and shake their heads, that’s what they would do. Even if it was a fluff piece, it was still the principle of the matter that counted. She’d taken the job and she had to follow through.
And now that her mother knew about it, she’d want to know what happened. They might not see each other very often but they knew what the other was doing in her career. So maybe she would write the story just to keep everyone off her back.
She was so confused. Damn, she’d never been one to linger on the fence. She always knew what side she was on. Indecision didn’t sit well with her at all. Before the end of this trip, she would decide exactly what she was going to do one way or the other.
Nikki quickly gathered some of the broken branches that were on the ground and went back to camp, not even glancing in the direction of where Cal was still preparing the fish.
By the time she’d gathered rocks along the bank of the river and returned, Cal had finished with the fish.
She watched him as he quickly put a fire together and marveled at how enterprising he was. “I feel as though I’m on an episode of
“Brian and I used to come here a lot to fish and camp out. Sometimes we’d stay for a week.”
“You love your brother a lot.”
He looked up. “We don’t spend nearly as much time together, though. He doesn’t get to the city as much as I’d like, but yeah, I enjoy his company. We’ve always been close.”
“And do you miss all this?”
He looked around. “I do. There’s a peacefulness out here that you can’t find in the city.”
Hadn’t he said his brother worked too hard? Apparently, the ranch was left to both of them since it had belonged to their grandparents. Cal had said he was thinking about retiring. She wondered if that meant he’d be going into business with Brian.
She glanced around, absorbing the quiet. Nothing moved, not even a leaf. Sure, fishing had been fun, but she certainly wouldn’t want to make the country her home. It was as she’d first thought: she and Cal were total opposites.
“Do you have brothers or sisters?” Cal asked, breaking the silence.
She’d welcome any conversation right now. “No. It’s only me and my parents.”
Nikki sat on the ground, crossing her legs, but as soon as she felt the muscles pull, she uncrossed them and stretched them out in front of her instead. You’d think working out in the gym would have kept her from being so sore.
“Do you see them often?” he asked.
“I guess. We meet the second Saturday every other month. We usually take in a play and go out to eat.” She smiled. “Quality time.”
