Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
“All right, then I’m gonna take the boat out.” He looks around the kitchen. “Anyone want to go fishing?”
“I’ll go,” I say when no one else offers to join him.
“Really?” He eyes me doubtfully.
“Sure, I haven’t fished before, but I’ve always wanted to try.”
“All right, then let me get the poles ready, and you can meet me at the boathouse when you’re done here.”
“Okay.” I watch him head out the door, and I feel Janelle get close.
“You don’t know it, but you just made his day.”
“Good,” I say quietly, and her face softens, and she touches the side of her head to my shoulder.
“I’ll finish this up. You go get on some shoes.” She ushers me away from the sink, and I dry off my hands before I head for my room.
When I get back to the kitchen a few minutes later, it’s empty, but I find Janelle and Janet sitting on the porch, so I say goodbye to the two of them, then head down the stairs. And as I walk toward the boathouse, I swear I feel eyes on me, but I don’t turn to look to see if I’ll find Jace watching from the upstairs window.
Even though I really, really want to.
Chapter 22
Dick
“I can’t believe you got another one.” Sammy laughs as I start to reel in my line.
“We should enter you into a fishing competition.” Ian grabs the net off the seat where he rested it earlier.
“It’s just beginner’s luck,” Mel grumbles, and I don’t even look at her. Or maybe it’s I can’t look at her after what I heard last night.
“You sound like a hater.” Troy takes the net from Ian and leans over the side of the boat to help me bring the fish in.
“Are you gonna remove this hook?” Daniel asks me from where he’s reeling in his own line, and I shake my head.
“No, I’ll let you do it,” I tell him, and he laughs.
“Gonna do you like I did my boys. You wanna fish, you gotta bait your own hook and take the fish off.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Me, sharp objects, a slippery fish, and lots of water might be a recipe for disaster.
“This is true,” he mumbles, and I laugh as Troy brings my fish onto the boat. I step back as it starts to flop around at my feet, but I don’t jump around like I did the first time, since I learned earlier the boat might be big, but it’s still wobbly in the water when you’re screaming and running around.
“Are we keeping this one or tossing it back?” Ian asks while removing the hook from the fish’s mouth.
“Toss it. If we come home with an entire cooler full of fish, Janelle might kill me.”
“Got it.” Ian leans over the side of the boat and waits for the fish to swing its tail before he lets it go.
“Do you want to toss out your line again?” Ian asks, and I look at Daniel, since he’s the one in charge, and he looks at his watch.
“I think we should probably start heading back.”
“Yeah, my mom is probably wondering where we are,” Sammy says from where she’s been sunbathing next to Mel since they joined us on the boat.
When Daniel and I were getting ready to take off, Ian, Troy, Sammy, and Mel were pulling back in after taking out the jet skis, and when they heard we were going fishing, they decided to join us. It’s been fun and more relaxing than I thought it would be, but still, I’m starting to get hungry. And honestly, I’m ready to get my feet back on solid ground.
“All right, I’ll start packing stuff up.” Sammy gets up, and I help her put our soda cans and water bottles into a trash bag while the guys put away all the fishing gear. When we’re done, I take a seat next to the captain’s chair and soak in the view as we drive back toward the house. It takes about fifteen minutes for us to arrive, and after Daniel parks in the boathouse, we all help him clean up, and the guys unload all the gear before helping us girls off.
When Troy holds out his hand to me, I take it and start to step over the side of the boat, but I stumble and fall against him when Sammy gasps, “Did you lose your ring?”
“No,” I tell her, just as Troy asks, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I right myself, taking a step out of his space, and start to walk up the dock, only to come to a stop when I spot Jace standing next to the wide-open doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes on me.
Great.
Even with him not saying a word, I can tell he’s annoyed.