Clearing his throat, he broke the intimate tension of the moment and turned to get the container of crickets. As before, as soon as the things got some attention, they got noisy.
“They’re really loud, aren’t they?” she asked, as he brought the mesh-covered jug nearer.
He smiled. “Don’t worry. They’ll hush up again after we get the ones we need.” Cupping his hand over the end, he slid the cap to the side and then let one of the crawling bugs enter his waiting palm.
Destiny tried not to cringe, but she couldn’t help it.
He winked at her. “You might want to turn your head while I put him on the hook.”
She whipped her head to the side so quickly her ponytail smacked her opposite cheek. “Okay, tell me when you’re done.” He didn’t do a very good job at muffling his laughter, so she said, “You’re the one who told me not to look.”
“I know, but I thought for a minute there you were going to sling your head right off.”
“Very funny. Are you done?”
“All done,” he said, and she turned to see him releasing a bug-covered hook toward the water. “You can drop it in now so you don’t have to see the bait.”
She plunked it in the water until the red of the cork balanced on top. “Now what?”
“Now I’ll bait mine while you watch yours.”
“I just watch it? I don’t need to move it or anything like that? When I’ve seen fishing on TV, they’re pretty active.”
He baited his hook so quickly Destiny didn’t have time to get grossed out by the cricket, and then he dropped his in a little ways from hers. “On TV, they’re probably using a rod and reel and fishing for bass, or maybe even something bigger. For what we’re doing, we sit and watch.”
She looked at the two corks, floating peacefully on top of the water, barely moving at all. “How long does it take?”
He propped his pole on his knee and shifted his eyes from the cork to Destiny. “Just depends.”
“On what?”
“On when the fish get hungry.”
She still grasped her pole in both hands, figuring if a fish grabbed the bait it might give her a good run for her money, if this was anything like the fishing she saw on television. She was surprised he sounded so relaxed. Fishing was a sport, after all, which meant it took concentration. She was concentrating. Troy, however, didn’t seem to be. She took a quick glance at him to verify that, as she suspected, he was totally looking at her and not even watching his cork. “Don’t you need to pay attention?”
He grinned. “I am.”
She felt her cheeks flush and found herself once again falling into a deep pit of longing for this guy. He was so perfect. Why did he have to have the woman he described in those letters? Because that was so not Destiny. She didn’t have his faith. She didn’t have the honesty he wanted in a woman, or she wouldn’t be trying to get close enough to him to ask him to publish those letters.
“Hey,” he said, and she realized she was staring.
She blinked, cleared her throat. “Yeah?”
“I think you’ve got one.”
Destiny turned her attention from the good-looking guy beside her to her cork, which had—to her amazement—plunged beneath the water. “What do I do now?”
He laughed. “Pull it up.”
She yanked the pole upward. “That’s it?” she asked, as a small but fat fish hurled out of the water on the end of her line and made a beeline for Troy’s face. He reached out and grabbed the thing before it smacked him.
Propping his own pole beneath his leg, he removed her fish from her line. “Nice catch, Destiny.”
“Wow, that’s pretty cool.” She examined the silver scales with hints of yellow and green near the gills. The fish’s eyes bulged prominently, as if it’d seen a ghost or something, and its gills flexed in and out like an asthmatic. “Oh, he’s pretty, but he doesn’t look so good. Is it going to kill him because I caught him?”
Troy smiled. “No, hold this while I show you what he can still do.” He handed her his fishing pole and then kneeled forward to lower the fish to the water. Then he released it, and Destiny watched the silver scales until they disappeared. “He just needed to be back where he belonged. Good as new now.”
Back where he belonged. Destiny thought about how well Troy belonged here, in the country, amid the fishing and his family and his friends. She didn’t belong here, yet he was helping her to blend.
“Okay,” he said, baiting her hook again while Destiny tried not to watch.
“Okay, what?” She handed him his fishing pole and then kept her eyes on her cork as it hit the water.
“Okay, what did you just think about that took all of the happiness off your face? The fish will be fine, you know. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
She nodded and, unable to look at him for fear he’d see through her turmoil, kept her eyes on the cork. He wouldn’t lie to her, and that was part of the problem. The entire time she’d been in town, she’d been lying to him. “I know the fish will be fine. I guess my mind went somewhere else for a moment.” A pitiful explanation, but she hoped it’d do.
“You want to talk about it? Does it have something to do with what you said earlier, about your mother thinking you’re wasting your life?”
Nope, that wasn’t what she’d been thinking about, but oddly enough, that was a safer subject, and Destiny decided to run with it. “It’s crazy, isn’t it? Twenty-six years old and still wanting my mother’s approval?”
“I don’t think there’s any time in life when you don’t want approval from your parents. I’ve always related it to our spiritual life. I mean, we all want approval from our Heavenly Father, too, right? Only makes sense we’d want approval from our earthly folks, as well.”
And there it was, the faith he always mentioned in his letters. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
“So your mother wants you to get your work in front of publishers? And you said that, even though you won’t admit it to her, that’s what you want, too, right?”
Destiny thought about how excited she was earlier when Rita mentioned that Lamont Sharp had read her blog. “Can I be honest with you?”
“I’d hope that you would.”
She’d never confided this to anyone, not her parents, not even Rita, but she knew she could trust Troy. And she wanted him to understand her, the way she understood him. “The truth is, I’m afraid.”
“Afraid to submit it?” he asked, securing his pole beneath his leg and then turning so he could focus on Destiny.
Destiny wasn’t even looking at her cork anymore. She was lost in the blue depths of Troy’s eyes and in the tender way he looked at her, as though nothing she could say would disappoint him. “Afraid that they would say no.”
“Remember Wednesday night’s lesson about Philippians?” he asked.
Destiny nodded but wasn’t sure what the lesson had to do with her fear.
“Remember how Brother Henry was talking about rejoicing? Right after that verse, he brought up another that’s one of my favorites.” Troy paused, then said, “‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’”
She knew what Troy referred to, but she’d never in her life presented a request to God. And she wasn’t sure now was the best time to start. So she turned her focus back to the cork, floating peacefully in the water. Then she felt Troy’s finger beneath her chin, and he gently turned her face toward his.
“You ask God for His help, tell Him to guide you when you submit your work, and He won’t let you down.”
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“So, what if I ask God to help, submit my work, and then God’s answer is no?”
�
�Then He has a better plan for you,” Troy said, then glanced toward the water. “And right now, His plan involves you catching a fish.”
Destiny’s pole started to teeter from the fish’s tugging, and she grabbed it before it fell into the pond. Yanking it up, she saw a huge fish on the end. “That one must be the daddy.”
Troy caught the dangling fish and freed the flapping thing from the hook. “Actually, we call him Big Daddy. See that gold spot by his right gill? That’s the way we identify him. He’s the biggest bream we’ve got out here, and it’s kind of rare for him to let himself get caught.”
“So what do you think that means?” Destiny said as Troy lowered Big Daddy to the water and the fish splashed him before diving away.
“Maybe it means that you’re meant to do things that some don’t think are possible,” Troy said.
“Like submit my work and get it published?”
“Maybe that, too, but I was thinking more along the lines of catching two big fish without me getting a single bite. Now, that should be impossible.”
She started to laugh, but a loud growl from her stomach nearly drowned out the sound. “Oh, my, I think I’m hungry. You think your grandma meant for us to wait for her to get back before we eat lunch?”
“No, indeed. Besides, I’m ready to take a break from fishing, since you’re killing me.” He put the poles by the tree, stood and held out a hand to help Destiny to her feet. And once again, the contact with Troy, skin to skin, sent a shiver of awareness down her spine. She was enjoying this way too much, but she didn’t want it to end. Rita had said that she needed to get his permission soon to publish those letters, but Destiny couldn’t do it, not today. She’d enjoy the afternoon and maybe she’d find the courage to ask him tomorrow. She glanced at the guy now walking beside her toward the store. Maybe.
They washed up and then loaded a picnic basket with chicken fingers, potato salad, sweet tea and chocolate pie. Then they headed back to the quilt beneath the tree to enjoy their lunch. Destiny hummed her contentment through every mouthwatering bite, and Troy grinned at her enthusiasm.
“Told you I could eat,” she said, polishing off the last smidgen of meringue from the chocolate pie.
“And you didn’t lie. I’m pretty sure you ate more than me.”
“I most certainly didn’t.” She poked him in the chest and tried to ignore the feeling she got from connecting with the hard plane.
He laughed, rolled onto his back and laced his hands behind his head. “Just messing with you, Destiny.” Then he turned his head to look at her, and she felt the same sensation she’d had a moment ago, when she pressed her finger to his chest. “I’m enjoying spending time with you,” he said.
“I’m enjoying it, too.” And she was, way too much. Because she really needed to ask him about those letters, and once she did, she feared this connection that had started between them would be gone. She wasn’t ready for that yet.
“Why don’t we—” His words were cut short by a yodel from the store.
“Troy!” His grandmother stood on the front porch with her arms cradled around something small and black. “Can you come here? I need to tell you something!”
“I didn’t hear her drive up.” He stood from the quilt and reached out to help Destiny to her feet. “Guess we should go see what she needs.”
Destiny followed along as he walked toward the store, where Mrs. Bowers fidgeted from one foot to the other.
“What have you got?” Troy asked. “Is that Lily’s cat?”
“Well, after what you told me earlier, I decided to help you out today and I borrowed it.” She turned her head as a vehicle started up the dirt road leading to the fishing hole. “Oh, my, I thought it would take her longer.”
“Take who longer?” Troy asked while Destiny focused on the driver of the blue truck and knew that her one-on-one time with Troy had just ended. Haley Calhoun waved as she parked the pickup next to Destiny’s Beemer.
“I was about to close the clinic when I got your call,” she said to Mrs. Bowers. “We’re only open until noon on Saturdays, so I’m glad you phoned when you did.”
“Me, too,” Troy’s grandmother said. Her face had turned beet red, and she shrugged guiltily at Troy while Haley reached for the kitten in her arms.
“Is this the sick cat?” Haley asked.
“Well, now, you see, she was acting like she might be sick, poor dear. But now she seems like she’s doing much better, don’t you think?”
“How was she acting sick?” Haley continued, looking into the tiny cat’s eyes and then gently pressing her fingers against its side. The cat purred contentedly and rubbed affectionately against her new friend.
“Well, I don’t really know. Just seemed a little peaked, I guess. Maybe she needs a little rest. I can put her in the store and see if she feels better after a good nap. And since your clinic is closed for the day, maybe you could stay and relax a little while, too. Troy and Destiny have already set up a place for fishing. Would you like to fish with them? Destiny’s gathering information for her books, and Troy’s a fine teacher for fishing.”
“I hadn’t planned to go fishing, but it does sound like fun.” Haley glanced from Mrs. Bowers to Troy.
“Actually, I’ve got all the information I needed about the fishing hole,” Destiny said. “I should probably get on back to the bed-and-breakfast so I can write everything up while it’s fresh.” She hurriedly said her goodbyes and tried not to analyze Troy’s expression too much. Did he look like he wanted her to stay, or was he ready for her to go so he could start fishing with the vet?
Destiny got into her car and attempted not to answer that question, but her phone rang, and Rita told her exactly...what she didn’t want to hear.
“Hey, how’d it go at the fishing hole? Did you get the rights to print the letters?”
“Not yet.” She glanced in the rearview mirror but couldn’t see anything other than the dust in her wake. She’d wanted one more look at Troy, even if he was walking back to their quilt with Haley.
“Well, I need you to mail those letters back to me as soon as possible if you haven’t already.”
Destiny frowned. “What? Why?” She was hoping to stall another day or two. Somehow, she felt as though they were hers. She knew they weren’t, and she knew she should send them back, but she hadn’t been able to do it yet.
“His grandmother called again today. You know, we’re lucky she doesn’t actually subscribe to the magazine. She got the information for the contest from a bookstore that received one of our flyers. Can you imagine if she subscribed to the blog and read your post, and then put it together that it was her grandson? Anyway, she says she needs us to send them ASAP. She said it’s extremely urgent now.”
“Rita,” Destiny whispered, “did she say why it was so urgent now?”
“She said that she needed to put them back where she found them before he realizes that some are missing. She said he’s going to need them soon, and she wants to make sure they’re there.”
“He’s going to need them soon?” Destiny’s mind raced. “She said that?”
“Yes, she said Troy told her he’d found the one, the woman he’s been writing to, and he’ll be giving her those letters soon.”
“Troy told her that?” Her pulse throbbed so hard she felt it in her ears. “Did she say when?”
“Yeah, she said he told her last night.”
Last night. When he went out with Haley. Destiny’s throat clenched, her chest tightened and she pulled the car over. She’d never been able to drive when she cried.
Chapter Seven
Dear Bride-to-be,
Today is my twenty-second birthday. I’ve been writing to you for ten years now, a minimum of once a week for the past decade. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t planned on it taking this long to fi
nd you. I know, nowadays people typically wait awhile before settling down, taking advantage of time on their own to travel or establish their careers. But you know from my previous letters that wasn’t what I’d planned. I want to be a young husband, the kind that’s still overwhelmed with life in general and wants to share all of the new and exciting aspects of adulthood with his wife. And I want to be a young dad, like my dad was. He was only twenty when he married mom and just twenty-two when they had me. I remember him doing everything with me—playing outside, teaching me how to ride a bike, how to fish, how to play ball. He coached every team I was on and would get just as excited as all of us when we’d win. And after my last Little League game, the last team that he’d be able to coach for me, I saw my father cry for the first time. It didn’t matter that I had four younger brothers he’d also coach. His times like that with me were ending. And he was such a part of all of it with me, and then with all of my siblings, that it hurt him as much as it hurt us when any phase of that life ended.
I want to be like that, young enough to be a big part of their lives, to celebrate their triumphs and to cry along with them when it’s time to move on. But in order to become a dad soon, I’d have needed to have met you and set those wheels in motion. Falling in love with the woman I’ve been writing to all this time and showing you how much I want you to be a part of my world. Sometimes I think of how it will be, early marriage. Learning all of the intimacies of life and each other together. I know it’s old-fashioned and hardly heard of during this day and age, but my first time will be with you. I’ve put too much thought and effort into finding the woman God has planned for me, and I don’t want to ruin the beauty of our love by not experiencing that aspect of it with you for the first time on our wedding night.
I’m going to be honest with you again (aren’t I always?) and let you know that I’m VERY anxious for that and again, that I sure didn’t think it’d take me this long to find you. But it has. And oddly enough, I don’t think I’ve even met you yet. I know that everything happens in God’s time, and I’m praying that He will put you in my life at the precise moment you should enter, and I also pray that He’ll let me know when I find you. I know He will. He’s never let me down. Well, okay, I guess if you consider the fact that I really wanted to be married by twenty-two, and I honestly don’t think I’ve met my bride yet; well, that’s a bit of a disappointment. But then I remember Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.”
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