by Anne Jolin
“O-o-okay,” she stammered, movin’ toward the hallway. “Can you at least make some coffee then?” Her hand pointed to the kitchen.
“No need. Got Tim Horton’s in the truck,” I told her backside. “Hot Chocolate for Ryley ‘case she’s awake enough to want some.”
Was pretty sure I saw her smilin’ before she turned into the little lady’s room. Few minutes later, a sleepier-than-heck Ryley came wanderin’ out of her room in jeans and a black hoodie that ended somewhere below her knees.
“Owen?” She cracked open one sleepy eye with a little half glare and looked at me.
I smiled. Just like her momma, she was cute in the mornin’. Cute in the way bear cubs were—adorable, but still willin’ to kill yah if you made a wrong move.
“Mornin’, sweetheart.”
She wandered right over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “I’m tired.”
Her eyes closed and it seemed like she was fallin’ asleep again. “Let’s get you in the truck while your momma gets ready.”
Her lips mumbled somethin’ I didn’t understand, and she nodded.
Puttin’ my hands underneath her arms, I lifted her up. Long arms, in sleeves ten sizes too big wrapped around me and she tucked her face into my neck.
I stopped movin’, and my heart started beatin’ in a way it ain’t ever done before. Somethin’ about the little lady wormed her way deep into my heart, and I was gettin’ real comfortable havin’ her there.
Lookin’ up, I seen Rayne had come outta her room and was just starin’ at us. She was wearin’ ripped blue jeans and a grey sweatshirt with the jacket I’d leant her at London’s baby shower over top. Seein’ her in my clothes with that wild hair piled high on her head made me a happy man.
“Do we need to bring anything?” she asked, and I shook my head.
“Nah, darlin’. Just you two.” I adjusted Ryley in my arms and gestured to the house. “You go on and lock up, I’ll get her buckled up in the truck.”
Waitin’ ‘til I was sure she was lockin’ up, I carried Ryley out to the truck. I left it runnin’ so the girls wouldn’t be cold and opened up the back door. I settled her in, bucklin’ that seatbelt tight and watched as she curled into a little ball, knees to chest. She was cuter than hell. Pullin’ a fleece blanket over her, I shut the door just as Rayne climbed into the passenger seat.
“That’s yours.” I pointed to the coffee in the console. “And so are those.”
She opened the box of donuts and smiled. “Maple Dips.”
“Maple Dips,” I repeated, closin’ the door to the backseat and climbin’ behind the wheel. “Lake’s ‘bout thirty minutes from here if you wanna get some more shut eye.”
She shook her head and leaned up against the window. “I’m awake now,” she said.
‘Bout sixty seconds after that, she was sound asleep.
Turnin’ on the radio, I pulled outta their drive. Them two girls slept like the dead. They slept through the drive, through me unloadin’ the boat from the trailer, me unloadin’ the gear from the truck. Not a peep outta either one of ‘em. Ain’t ever seen nothin’ like it.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I whispered real low, unbucklin’ Ryley from her seat.
She groaned and opened one eye. “Are we here?”
“Sure are,” I told her, liftin’ her outta the truck and standin’ her on the ground in front of me. “Just needa put this on, okay?”
I held up the lifejacket, and like a rag doll my sisters used to play with, she let me pull it over her head and do it up.
Then she was asleep again.
Carryin’ her to the aluminum boat, I laid her down on the extra lifejackets in the front of the boat and covered her up with the blankets. Momma used to do it for us kids when Dad would take us all fishin’. Most of the time, all three of us kids were sleepin’ in the front of this boat until midday.
Sure she was warm and safe, I went back to the truck and opened Rayne’s door. Her eyes opened and she was lookin’ ‘round unsure until somethin’ clicked.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep.” She rested against the headrest.
Tippin’ my hat back off my head, I leaned in and pecked her soft on the lips. “Remember how I feel ‘bout you apologizin’ just for kicks, darlin’.”
She smiled at me.
“Ain’t no need for you to be doin’ that. Now come on, we got trout needs catchin’.”
I held a hand out for her as she folded out of the truck and this time, I didn’t let go. Sure glad because she let me hold that hand of hers all the way down the dock. Ain’t liked holdin’ a girl’s hand this much since I was fifteen and even then I wasn’t sure it felt as excitin’ as holdin’ Rayne’s for the first time.
She climbed into the boat, sittin’ on one of the little built-in benches and tucked one of Ryley’s feet back under the blanket.
“Where’s her dad?” I asked.
Somethin’ ‘bout seein’ ‘em there made me wonder how a man couldn’t be takin’ care of somethin’ so precious.
Her face got real sad when she turned back to me. “He’s not with us anymore.”
“I’m sorry, darlin’,” I said, wrappin’ a blanket around her shoulders. “My momma passed too. Pancreatic cancer awhile back. Losin’ a parent ain’t easy.”
“I’m sorry.” Rayne reached out ‘n touched my face before I settled in next to the motor. “She never knew him. Sometimes I think that’s a blessing. Harder to lose somethin’ you never had.”
“Losin’ ain’t easy, no matter which way you look at it, darlin’.”
I watched her as I steered the boat out into the lake, fog still risin’ off the water. Seems she wasn’t real fond of talkin’ ‘bout Ryley’s dad, so I figured it best not to push. I’d noticed there weren’t any pictures of him in their house. Not a single one. Figured she’d come ‘round when she was ready, and I was hopin’ to be ‘round when she did.
“Is this for her?” she asked, pointing to the smaller rod next to the other two.
I nodded. “Sure is.” It was a pink rod, couple feet shorter than a normal rod and much easier for little girls to be usin’ to catch trout, or even pike.
“You brought her a special rod?”
Shruggin’, I stopped the motor and opened up the tackle box. “It used to be London’s, then Aurora’s. Figured Dad still had it ‘round somewhere so I went lookin’ and sure enough, he did.”
She didn’t answer, just kept watchin’ me funny as I attached the lures to one of the rods.
“You got somethin’ needs sayin’ Rayne? Then spit it out of that pretty mouth and quit lookin’ at me like that.”
Her face twisted and she half smiled. “Like what?”
“Like I damn near grown two heads overnight.”
She laughed, an honest to God from her belly laugh and I started fallin’. It was the prettiest damn sound and hearin’ it echo off the lake was a little bit of heaven on a Sunday mornin’.
“Why don’t you just shut up and fish?” She shook her head at me.
I handed her a rod. “That I can do, darlin’.”
She was a natural. Didn’t need much explainin’ to get her goin’, and before I even had a second line in the water, she was hollerin’.
“I got one!” She jumped up quick, and the boat rocked hard from side to side.
Tryin’ my best not to laugh at her, I tapped her thigh. “Easy does it, or you’ll tip the boat over. Go on and sit back down, just keep reelin’ her in.”
She heeded my advice and sat down, yankin’ the tip of her rod up in the air.
“He’s just a trout now, darlin’. You keep yankin’ on him like that, you’re gonna pull the hook right outta his mouth. Slow and steady.”
Listenin’, she reeled in good, and I leaned the net over the boat, scoopin’ up the fish.
“Look at that.” I pulled the net inside the aluminum. “You caught a perfect little rainbow trout.”
“I caught a fish,” Rayne yelled, droppi
n’ her rod and throwin’ her body at me.
I dropped the net. Catchin’ her with a thud as my ass hit the bottom of the aluminum boat. I figured it was nothing short of a damn miracle she hadn’t capsized us yet.
“You did real good.” I laughed, grabbin’ both sides of her face and kissin’ the hell outta her.
She kissed back, hands pullin’ on my flannel tryin’ to get closer.
“There’s a fish in the boat!”
Pullin’ our lips apart, I looked up seein’ a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Ryley pointing to the ground, partially disgusted and partially intrigued.
“Is it dead?” she asked me, then looked to her momma and raised an eyebrow. “What are you guys doing? Were you kissing?”
Rayne’s cheeks burned red and she climbed awkwardly off me, this time real careful as to how much she was movin’ the boat. “Good morning, honey,” she said, wipin’ the hair from her face.
I sat up, my ass a bit wet from the boat, and readjusted the hat on my head. “Mornin’, sweetheart.”
Ryley watched us both real close before seemin’ to let it go. “Morning. Why is there a fish in the boat? And is it dead?”
Just then, the fish started movin’ in the net, and both girls damn well screamed bloody murder. Couldn’t help but laugh; it was the funniest thing I’d ever seen. That fish couldn’t have been more than eight inches, yet they were losin’ their minds.
I practically doubled over on the spot.
“Quit laughing and kill it,” Rayne hollered, jumpin’ to the other side of the boat.
It rocked hard and I had to grab the sides just to keep from fallin’ in.
“Sit down,” I told the two of ‘em. “Ain’t safe you two jumpin’ round the boat like that. I’ll get him.” I laughed. “Just calm down.”
They obliged as I picked up the net and knocked him over the head with the butt of a wooden clobber.
It was quiet a few beats before Ryley piped up. “I want to fish now!”
“All right, little lady.” Hookin’ the fish up real secure, I hung it over the side of the boat so it would stay fresh and cold. “Come on over here nice and slow.”
She held a hand out to her momma and used it to steady her as she crawled across the boat to me. I settled her onto the seat next to mine and picked up the pink rod.
“This rod is yours.” I placed her hands around it and used mine to drop the line. “Now, we’re trollin’ real slow, so you’ll feel that weight bouncin’. Can you feel it?”
Ryley nodded. “Yes.”
“Good, now when a fish bites, it ain’t gonna feel like that. It’s gonna feel like a harder pull.” She stuck her tongue out as she concentrated on my instructions. “When you feel that, you wanna give a little tug to set the hook and then start reelin’ in. Okay?”
“Okay.” She grinned.
“Oh, and one last thing.” I leaned into the cooler I’d brought and pulled out one of my rodeo hats. “All real fisherwomen need a ball cap, sweetheart.”
Placin’ it on her head, I adjusted it to fit her smaller head. She was practically beamin’, and it made my whole world a better place seein’ her so happy. But of course, just like her momma, I hadn’t even had time to get my line in the water when she started hollerin’.
“I got something! I think I got something!” She looked over her shoulder at me. “Owen! Check if I got something!”
I put my hands around hers on the rod and waited…then I felt it. “You got a fish on, little lady. Tug up like I showed yah.”
She pulled up and started reelin’ in like a mad woman.
Gettin’ the net ready, I guided her line toward me and scooped the fish up into the net.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” I grinned at her. “Looks like eleven inches long.”
Ryley looked over at Rayne. “Is that bigger than yours, Mom?”
She looked at me, and I answered for her. “’Bout two inches bigger than your momma’s.”
“Yessss!” She did that fist pump again with one hand while the other still held her rod.
I took the fish off the hook and showed her how to attach it to the line in the water. She was completely fascinated by the whole darn process, and it was adorable to watch. I couldn’t get her line back in the water fast enough. In fact, between the two of them, wasn’t sure I ever even got my line in the water.
Didn’t matter, though. Wasn’t about me and seein’ the look on their faces every time they reeled one in was as good a trophy as any for this man.
We fished all day, eatin’ the lunch I brought in the cooler, and before she was even buckled in the truck that evenin’, Ryley was out cold, and her momma let me hold her hand all the way back to town.
It was a real good day.
One Month Later
THE LAST MONTH HAD TAKEN me by surprise. If I thought Owen had been around a lot prior to our kiss, since the lake, he had become a pretty permanent fixture in our lives.
He had finished the roof before the October rain hit, just like he’d promised, but he’d also added other projects to his honey-do list (though I hadn’t actually told him to do any of them) along the way. This had included mowing our lawn, which was a task considering in some places the grass was up to my knees, and replanting the flowerbeds around the porch. Once the weather got too cool for the garden, he’d alternated to laying new gravel in our driveway and cleaning out the gutters.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped telling him he didn’t have to do these things because he’d just do them anyway. Then he’d end up teasing me about it in that nonchalant way he seemed so fond of. The way that made me settle whether I wanted to or not.
I wasn’t the only one who had gotten accustomed to having him around in such a short time.
Ryley had become permanently attached to his hip. If she wasn’t at school, or with Sadie and Nora, she was glued to Owen. She sat next to him when we went fishing. She fell asleep on him when we watched movies (he set up our cable box, too) and she begged me to let him take her after school some days, though I hadn’t yet agreed to that.
It was as obvious to anyone that Ryley loved Owen. In fact, I was pretty sure the only two people in town who didn’t know Ryley loved Owen, were Owen and Ryley.
That scared me.
“So, did you always want to be a vet?”
I looked up to see Owen’s sister London smiling at me from across their dining room table.
She’d been put on bed rest about two weeks ago, and as far as I’d heard, she wasn’t handling all the down time very well. Thus, her and Branson had invited us over for dinner to keep her entertained. A dinner that Branson had demanded she let him cook.
This was hardly an ordeal for us, or at least me. They were lovely, and their house was magnificent. From what Owen had told me about their story, I understood that this house had originally just been Branson’s, but now it was theirs, and they’d lived here together since before the wedding.
It was massive. If our house married a house and then had five baby houses, they could all still fit in London and Branson’s house. I had to wonder if they ever got lost it was so big.
It was these thoughts that had my answer forming slower on my lips than I had intended.
“Well, yes and no.” I stopped the desert fork that was halfway to my mouth. Branson oddly enough made a mean apple crumble, or else he hired someone to make a mean apple crumble.
“I’d originally wanted to be a lawyer, but I ended up taking care of an injured horse my senior year of high school, and the entire process became somewhat therapeutic for me.” My smile faltered a bit. “After that, considering it was also my father’s profession, it just seemed like a good fit.”
London clapped her hands together and leaned in to her husband. “I love that. That’s a beautiful story.”
I felt Owen’s hand settle on my thigh as I smiled. I didn’t know how to agree with her, so instead I chose not to say anything at all in response to her awe.
Owen
had become attune to me in a natural way that I’d grown to find comfort in, doing so now in this moment.
“Gee’s doing really well,” she beamed. “Aurora said she had him out this morning.”
“I’m glad.” I squeezed Owen’s hand absentmindedly, feeling awkward.
That didn’t matter, though. The Daniels sisters were not only kind but also intuitive and very chatty. London rolled with the change in atmosphere and quickly adjusted the conversation.
I never liked talking about Gee.
“I can’t wait to meet Ryley. Owen won’t stop talking about that sweet girl.” Her eyes were bright and she rubbed her big belly as she spoke. “Maybe she could come over to see Aurora and I one day? With Owen?”
She looked at him and back at me, but Owen spoke. “Ryley’s been buggin’ Rayne somethin’ fierce on that one.” He laughed.
“Actually.” I turned my head to look up at his face. His stubble was definitely a few days past due for a shave, but it suited him.
He wasn’t wearing his cowboy hat, so I was awarded with an unobstructed view. He never wore his hat during dinner and he always hung it on the back of his chair until we were finished eating. Owen may have been a rough and ready man, but he’d been raised a gentleman, and it showed.
“I got called out to the Clayton’s ranch to look at their cattle on Saturday.” I spoke softly, and he swept a stray curl behind my ear as I did, like he was reminding me he hadn’t gone anywhere. “I was going to ask Nora and Sadie if they’d take Ryley, but maybe if you’re free, she could spend the day with you instead?”
I was so nervous asking but I couldn’t put my finger on why. He adored Ryley, and she’d be over the moon to spend a day alone with him at their stable. Something about it just seemed like a big step.
Owen leaned in, his lips brushing over the shell of my ear. “I’m thinkin’ you just made ma week, darlin’.”
I opened my mouth to speak when London let out a gut wrenching sound.
“Bridge,” Owen growled as we both turned our heads to see her face twisted in pain.