“Where is what?”
“You know, the bright-colored feathery-looking thing that you use to catch fish?”
“Come again?” He almost scowled at me, and I wished I had asked Cole some questions about this fishing stuff when we were on our camping trip.
“Cole had this yellow little poof of something that almost looked like feathers that he put on the end of the hook…” I started, and then I had a sudden rush of internal thoughts.
What if that little feather ball was going to be a joke on me, but I fell in the river so they hadn’t needed it? Of course people don’t fish with feathers. Do fish try to eat birds? Camdyn, you are so ridiculous.
“Never mind,” I concluded. “I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“You’re talking about a jig,” he told me. “We’re using worms today.”
Oh, so it’s a jig? Not crazy after all? Small victory, perhaps.
But worms? Ewww.
I followed Ted to the edge of the river with a keen eye on the coffee can in his hand, now aware that it was full of disgusting, little slimy dirt dwellers. Watching keenly as he seemed to fold the worm over on top of itself while plunging the hook into its body, I made a face to show my disdain for the practice. Not seeming to notice, Ted held the coffee can out towards me.
“Yeah, that’s so gross,” I muttered, wrinkling up my nose.
“Just take a worm,” he ordered. “If you’re going to be my daughter-in-law, you’re going to learn how to bait your own hook.” I reluctantly stuck my fingers into the dirt and drew out one of the slimy creatures, which must have instinctively known that I was going to be inflicting death upon it because the wiggling went into overdrive.
“I didn’t know baiting a hook was considered a necessary social skill,” I muttered, smirking at Ted.
“Well, now you know,” he told me with a smile. When I began to lose my battle with the worm, Ted reached over and helped me secure it to the hook. Afterwards, he patiently showed me how to cast and watch the line, although not without teasing me as the opportunities presented themselves. The first time I cast, he acted as though I was going to hook him and jumped out of the way. The second time, he told me it looked like I was having a seizure. By the third time, he said my form looked better, even though my hook only traveled about two feet from me and landed in the water with a plunk. After that, my worm was gone so I had to begin the process all over again. When I finally had the line in the water and was waiting patiently, he simply looked over with a smile and gave me a small nod, and I knew instinctively that I had met with his approval.
“You’re funnier than I expected,” I said, sneaking a sideways glance at him. “I had you pegged for the strong, silent type.”
“Hmmm…” he breathed out, staring at the river. “Most of the time I think it’s more entertaining to study other people than hear myself talk, I reckon.”
“So what do you think of me?” I wanted to know. “Let me guess – prissy city girl?”
“Don’t go putting words in my mouth!” he chuckled in a deep voice. “You seem like a good girl, and Lizzie thinks the world of ya, so that moves you up a few notches in my book.”
“That’s nice,” I told him. “You and Liz and Rosalie have been so great helping me with the wedding. I want you to know that I really appreciate it.”
“Well, don’t go thanking me. I’m happy to help you, of course, but it was all Lizzie and Rosalie. Of course, Lizzie was afraid Cole would never get married, and she’s so tickled she would do anything to make it happen.”
Ted got a nibble on his line right about then, and in a whisper he began giving me the fish versus man play-by-play. I almost laughed at the way he was describing the action, but then I reminded myself to pay attention, because he would probably expect me to replicate his behavior. The fish wound up on his line, although I wasn’t really certain how it happened and knew without a doubt that I couldn’t do the same thing. If I were going to catch a fish, it would have to be by sheer dumb luck.
“So what was Cole like, as a kid?” I found myself asking Ted as he removed the fish from the hook.
“Oh, he was easy raisin’, I guess. Didn’t really get into much trouble – good at nearly everything. All he ever wanted to do was play baseball, and he did, a lot of the time.”
“Well, he was so good at it, you can’t blame him for that,” I stated, looking back out at my line. “Were you shocked when he gave it up?”
“Yeah, but it seemed to work out okay.”
Seemed to work out okay. Back to the strong, silent type. If only I wasn’t a prodder, I might let it drop here.
“What did he tell you, when he quit?” He gave me a very quizzical look, almost like I shouldn’t be asking him things that I already knew. After a few seconds, though, he turned his head back to the river.
“He didn’t tell us much of anything,” he said. “Just came home and acted like nothing happened. But then those years he was at college… Well, he was just so different, we never really knew what was happening anyway. You’ve got a bite.”
A bite? I’ve got a bite? What is that supposed to…
Oh, the fish!
I frantically jerked the pole and started reeling as fast as I could, only to find my line suddenly free and sailing through the air in my direction. I looked guiltily at Ted, knowing that I might have caught the fish had I not been acting like a chatterbox. When I pulled the hook from the water, he calmly informed me that I let the fish eat the worm, and told me to get another. I slid the worm onto the hook like an expert (okay, not quite an expert, but I managed to do it on my own) and cast my line out into the water, not actually reaching the area of the river I was aiming for, but much better than my previous attempts. I even managed to keep myself quiet for a few minutes, but eventually I couldn’t take it anymore.
“How was it having Rosalie as an older sister?” I asked him. He chuckled and tilted his head to the side, giving me a smirking smile.
“You’re quite the little talker, aren’t you?” he asked teasingly. “Come on, let’s take a break for a minute.” He reeled in his line and sat on the rocky riverbank, and I followed suit. When I started to set my pole on the ground, he was quick to show me how to store the hook so it would be safe. I stared downriver for a moment, and when I turned back to him, he was eating a snack cake. I narrowed my eyes as I gazed at him.
“Are you holding out on me?” I questioned accusingly. He shrugged and pulled another snack cake out of his pocket.
“Aren’t you watching your figure for the big day?” he teasingly wondered as he handed me the cake. It was slightly smashed, but I didn’t care.
“I ran four miles this morning, so I think I’m good,” I told him.
“You ran this morning?” When I nodded, he made a funny noise in his throat. “You just seem to be favoring your right leg a little, so I thought you might have hurt yourself.”
“Yes, I did!” I exclaimed through a mouthful of cake. “This woman almost ran me down. I had to dive into the ditch.”
“Well, maybe you need to find a new place to run, then. We can’t have something happening to you.” I couldn’t help but smile at the fatherly way he was looking at me.
“I guess in two weeks I won’t have to worry about it anymore,” I said slyly, after which Ted promptly let me know that I had chocolate on my face.
We fished for a while longer, and I somehow ended up catching two, although I’m not sure how that happened. Ted commented that at least this time I caught them with the pole and not with my shirt, which I had to admit was pretty funny. He refused to take them off the hook for me, too, which seemed pretty mean, but he insisted that he was teaching me to be self-sufficient.
I suppose that would come in handy, if I ever found myself lost and alone by the river with nothing to eat. No, scratch that – it would never come in handy. How would I catch the fish without a hook? Self-sufficient my eye.
Finally heading back to the house, Ted t
old me that I did much better than he expected. I decided that was his version of a compliment, so I took it and told him thank you. When we pulled into the driveway, not only was Liz’s vehicle back, but Cole’s truck was there as well. Ted took the poles out of the back of his truck and handed me the fish, so I walked along behind him holding them aloft. Within a few seconds, Cole and Liz came out the front door to meet us.
“I was wondering where you were,” Cole stated. “I never would have guessed that you were with Dad.”
“I was teaching your woman to fish,” Ted told him. “You’re welcome.”
“Did you catch those?” Cole asked me incredulously.
“Yes, I did,” I stated defiantly. “Well, two of them, anyway. Your dad made me skewer a couple worms. It was disgusting.”
“He made you bait your own hook?” he wondered with a smile at his dad, who smiled right back.
“Of course, and I made her take the fish off the hook, too,” Ted stated matter-of-factly, being certain to throw a wink in my direction. “She did good.”
“Did you hear that? I did good,” I repeated, staring up into Cole’s brown eyes. He slid his arms around me and gave me a quick kiss, but then he wrinkled his nose and made a face.
“You smell like you took the fish off the hook,” he said with a laugh. Ted grabbed the fish from my hand and gave me a quick smile.
“Oh, by the way, son, you start letting her run on the trail at your house,” Ted suddenly changed the subject, looking intently at Cole. “She darn near got killed this morning.”
“What?” Cole looked at me questioningly. “Is that true?”
“I had to hit the ditch,” I explained carefully. “This woman wasn’t paying attention, but I’m fine, really. I’m fine.” I felt I needed to reiterate that last bit to him, because he was staring intently at me and touching my face as though I really did almost die, and I wasn’t exactly certain that was true.
“Dad’s right,” he whispered in a hoarse voice. “You only run at my house from now on, okay?” He pulled me into his arms and rested his chin against my hair. “What would I have done if something happened to you? Please promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I’ll be careful,” I assured him. He leaned back to look at me again and offered a pathetic excuse of a smile, and I stood on tiptoe to press a kiss against his lips.
“You’ve been eating chocolate, haven’t you?” he asked with a laugh.
“I might have eaten a smashed chocolate snack cake retrieved from your father’s pocket,” I told him guiltily, which caused him to laugh. Together we walked into the house, where Liz had prepared lunch, and I enjoyed my precious few minutes with Cole, because I knew he would be leaving to go back to work. Sure enough, as soon as lunch was finished, Cole announced that Artie and Jake were waiting for him, and he had to go. I gave him the biggest hug possible and told him I would take a shower before I saw him that night, for which he was very grateful.
I hung out with Liz while Ted cleaned the fish, and I helped her tidy up the kitchen a bit before she insisted I go home and take a shower. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before I went outside to find Ted. He had finished fileting and was rinsing off his knife when I walked up to him.
“Just wanted to say thank you for today,” I told him with a smile. He set the knife down and nodded, looking at me like he wasn’t quite sure what to say.
“Well, that’s alright,” he finally stated. “You’re welcome anytime.” I reached up to hug him and only considered a moment too late that it might have been weird, but the deed had been done. Instead of acting goofy about it, I gave him a good squeeze.
“Cole’s a lucky man,” I said. “It would be an honor to call you dad.” To my surprise, I actually felt him hugging me back. He cleared his throat a little, and I pulled away from him.
Why did you say that, Camdyn? Do you have to make everything uncomfortable all the time?
“That’d be fine by me,” he replied. “If you call me dad, I mean.”
Dad. The word hung in the air like a ball that was lobbed towards home plate, and I knew that I could smack it out of the park if I was so inclined. The problem was, if I chose to swing, I wasn’t sure I could run. What good would it do to send that ball flying over the fence if all I could do in response was stand there pathetically staring after it? I just wasn’t ready.
So, I decided to let it hang there, and I smiled at Ted and told him goodbye.
-§-
Back at the bed and breakfast, Rosalie was hard at work when I rambled in. I hurriedly offered to help her, and to my surprise she accepted my offer. She had accidentally spilled some cleaning solution on the stairs, and she was in the process of trying to get the liquid mopped up. I retrieved some extra towels, and nearly as soon as I deposited them she asked me to take the laundry out of the dryer. Close to two hours later, both of us flopped together onto the couch.
“Thank you, honey,” she sighed. “I don’t know what I would do without you. It’s gonna be strange not having you here, when you leave.”
“It’s not like I’ll be far away,” I told her. “Besides, any time you need me, I’m only a phone call from you. That includes cleaning up messes or doing the laundry.”
“Imagine me calling the new bride to see if she could wash my towels,” she laughed. “What took you so long this morning? Were you hanging out with Liz?”
“No, actually, I went fishing with Ted,” I said with a smile, secretly loving the shocked expression that flashed across her face.
“You spent your morning fishing with my brother?” she asked with a laugh. “That certainly surprises me.”
“I think we had a good time, up until I made things weird. Ugh, I don’t know why I can’t act like a normal person! I knew I was being crazy, too, as soon as I started up.”
“Oh, good grief,” Rosalie sighed. “What did you do, honey?”
“I hugged Ted.” I cringed when I thought about it again.
“Well, now, that’s not so bad,” she chuckled.
“Oh, but it was,” I assured her. “It wasn’t even that. I started to feel awkward about hugging him, so I made some comment about Cole being lucky to have him for a dad.”
“Again, that seems harmless.”
“But then he said it would be fine with him if I called him Dad, and I sort of panicked. I stood there staring at him like an idiot, and then I just told him goodbye.” When she only smiled and shook her head, I assumed she didn’t understand the full impact of what I said. “I can only imagine what an imbecile he thinks I am.”
“Honestly, hon, I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl who can be so unnecessarily dramatic!” she stated. “Why should it bother you that he’s okay with you calling him Dad? Seems to me that’s a nice thing for him to say.”
“It was nice, that’s not the point,” I replied, trying to think of a way to make her see things from my perspective. “I’m just not sure that I want to call anyone Dad, ever. I mean, I had a father, and I don’t want to dismiss his importance by letting someone else take his place.” She rose and started dusting the furniture without answering me, and I started to wonder if she was finished with our conversation. Slightly confused and wishing she would try to talk some sense into me, I absently stared out the window. Finally, she turned and looked at me, one hand on her hip.
“Seems like a few weeks ago at that wedding, someone told Tyler that he should be glad he was getting a stepdad because he was lucky to have someone who volunteered to be in his family. Don’t suppose you remember who that was?”
“I guess I did say that,” I admitted sheepishly.
“Well, you always did seem like a smart girl, so I would listen if I were you,” she continued. “Anyway, why didn’t you have any qualms about telling me that I was like a mother to you? What’s the difference?”
Why is it that nothing feels worse than having your own words come back to bite you?
“The difference is, Rita relinquished the whole
mother title and all the benefits that go along with it. Why would I feel badly about taking something from her that she didn’t want in the first place?” A slight grimace crossed her face, and I thought for a split second that I should have worded things differently, or I could have been a little more diplomatic, but I worried in vain. She came back to the couch, sat next to me, and put her arm around my shoulders.
“Camdyn, honestly, sometimes I just don’t know what to say to you,” she sighed. “I hope you won’t waste any more of your time thinking about things that aren’t worth your energy. You have so many things going for you, and to see all the beauty in your life through the prism of not having the right kind of mother… Well, it just seems like a shame, that’s all.”
The right kind of mother? Rita is not any kind of mother. Wow, she is so right, though. Why do I even care about Rita anymore? I can guarantee she’s not sitting around thinking about me. And I do have a pretty marvelous life, don’t I? Too incredible to be mucking it up with some junk bin memories.
“You’re right, of course,” I whispered, letting out a deep breath. “I’m determined not to let her get to me, starting now. And I hope that Ted already forgot what I said.”
At that last statement, Rosalie laughed, and eventually I joined in.
Chapter Eighteen
I pulled up at Cole’s house at six o’clock for the “premarital counseling.” Being fairly certain there would be no actual counseling taking place, I couldn’t help but wonder what Tony had up his sleeve. Cole was probably at least partially correct in his concerns about Tony, but I had faith that he could pull through okay. Tony and I were both sort of misfits, so having him around would make me feel a little less awkward.
Can you really feel less awkward, Camdyn?
No, probably not.
Sara answered the door when I knocked, which was surprising because I expected Tony to be alone. She smiled at me warmly before moving back inside and informing me that the boys were grilling. I couldn’t imagine Tony grilling, so I mentally decided Cole must be doing the brunt of the work.
A Reason to Be Alone (The Camdyn Series Book 2) Page 23