Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Now, on to the not-so-fun stuff.
Ms. S, Ms. S, Ms. S.
Couplegate? Really? I feel like you might be running out of things to write about because surely you can find something more interesting than little ol’ me! It leads one to think you might have a crush on this angler. If that’s the case, I can tell you I’m one hundred percent in love with and committed to Ms. Harlee Tilson. Let’s see Doc Mason declare his love to my sister so publicly. Oh wait—he did! I might have to up my game the more I think about this. Surely my declaration in the column pulls us into the lead over Palmer and the Doc.
And a new title? How about I throw out some suggestions for you. The Angler King. Seaside’s Prince of Fishing. The Chronicles’s Hero. Ms. S’s Bestie. Or we could go with my personal favorite…The Lucky Angler. Of course, these are merely suggestions, so I’ll leave it up to you.
Until next time,
The Lucky Angler
AKA Prince of Seaside by default.
PS. I know something you don’t know!
* * *
I couldn’t help but smile as I set the paper down on my desk. I’d come into the office early in hopes of catching my father before he started his Friday morning meetings. He only worked half a day on Fridays, so if I didn’t catch him first thing, I wouldn’t be able to talk to him again until Monday. He and my mother were heading to Boston for the weekend, and I didn’t want to have this conversation over the phone.
My cell buzzed with a text from the man himself.
Daddy: Got your text. I’m free right now.
Perfect. I stood and smoothed down the pencil skirt I’d worn today since I was attending a marketing meeting in about an hour. Clearing my throat, I straightened my shoulders and walked out of my office and down the hall to my father’s.
“Good morning, Harlee!” Beth said cheerfully as I approached.
“Morning, Beth.”
“Head on in, he’s expecting you.”
“Thanks.” I opened up the door and stepped inside.
My father sat behind his large oak desk, his head down as he read something. When he looked up, he smiled. “The Lucky Angler? I think my favorite one is Ms. S’s Bestie.”
I chuckled and made my way over to one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk. “Brax is enjoying the weekly column.”
Dad nodded. “I think once the fishing season starts, he’ll really hit his stride. So far, everyone’s loving his column, though. Especially the banter with Ms. Seaside.”
“You know he’ll start talking more and more about fishing when the season picks up.”
“I know,” Dad said on an exhale. “I still think the column will do well. I mean, we’re a seaside town, so it only makes sense to have something about fishing in there.” He picked up a pen and circled something in Brax’s article.
“Dad, I wanted to talk to you about Ms. Seaside.”
Not looking up, he shuffled some papers around on his desk and grabbed a file. “Okay, what about her?”
“I’m going to start slowly phasing her out.”
That caused him to look up sharply. “What do you mean, phasing her out?”
“I’m going to start pulling back on her.”
“On the things she talks about?”
I twisted my hands together as I nodded. “That…and start publishing less.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I see. I thought you loved doing the column.”
“I did. But now that I’m with Braxton, things are different.”
“You don’t have to keep writing about him, you know. There are plenty of other people in town, Harlee. I mean, last week you didn’t mention him at all. You talked about Mrs. Pritcher and the library. And the week before that, you reported that Mr. Hall was seen on a date with an unknown woman.” He chuckled and shook his head. “He was so pissed off about that. I can’t tell you how many times he called and left me a message, demanding to know who Ms. Seaside is.”
“For a man who thrives on gossip, he doesn’t like getting a taste of his own medicine,” I stated with a grin.
“No, he sure doesn’t.”
I drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Dad, it’s more than that. I’m tired of lying…and the fact that I’m so good at it bothers me. I want to have a normal life without having to worry that I might say something that will give out a clue about who I am, or that someone will find out and the whole town will hate me.”
He waved me off. “No one would hate you, Harlee. You do too much for this town. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have the new pet shelter. Or the programs you’ve set up with some of the local businesses and the high school. Not to mention all the holiday events you put on.”