by Lou Grimes
Louvette: You better not.
Arsen: I’ll think about it.
They met in the parking lot after the bell rang and before she headed to the gym.
“Fishing? I thought the activity was going to be way worse than that,” Louvette said, giggling. Thoughts of the mountains, desert, and the sea were fresh on her mind.
“Yes, fishing. I’m under the impression you’ve never been,” Arsen said.
“You feel right, then,” Louvette bantered.
“Besides, I go a couple times a year, but haven’t been able to lately,” Arsen said.
“So, you’re taking yourself fishing and bringing me along for company,” Louvette clarified.
“Pretty much. If I don’t go now, it will be too cold to go during winter,” Arsen said.
“Have you been ice fishing?” she asked.
“Yes, but that’s a whole different animal. I enjoy them both for different reasons,” Arsen replied.
“What do I get out of this fishing trip?” Louvette wondered.
“A nice sunset, my company, and dinner on the docks with me,” Arsen pointed out.
“Sounds kind of dreamy doesn’t it?” Louvette tantalized, sending him a wink.
“That’s me. Mr. Dreamy,” he taunted, rolling his eyes.
***
While she was getting ready, she barely had time for the bare minimum. Louvette figured it was only fishing and she didn’t have the time. She didn’t need more than a bit of eye liner.
She had on a black outdoor style jacket she had gotten from her favorite store when she had arrived. She also had on her black and white hiking boots she had acquired since Arsen’s comment about her lost footwear had led Campbell to suspect her of withholding information about the rogue.
Arsen arrived right as she finished collecting her gloves and knit cap. She couldn’t help but smirk at the fact they were color coordinated. He had on a water-resistant black jacket that had a blue logo, gray hiking boots, and blue jeans. The beanie he wore was a dark blue knit, making the color of his eyes pop. A pair of gloves hung out of his pocket. Louvette suspected his Lupine blood was causing him to run too hot for the time being, but later tonight they both might need more layers.
“Ready?” he asked immediately.
“Yeah, do I need to get anything?” she wondered.
“Just you, Winter,” he charmed her.
They drove out to Flathead Lake. The two of them arrived at the lake, but took a small detour around it, heading down a rough, overgrown snow patched trail. It wasn’t long before they came to a clearing by the lake. At the center of the clearing was a pier. This was the kind of scene plastered all over postcards. The mountains stood behind the lake. Giant evergreens surrounded the lake as well. The sun was low, still sitting above the lake. A sunset was starting to paint the sky.
He had been out here before setting things up because there was a little grill at the end of the pier. A tackle box and some fishing poles were placed strategically about.
“Did you go fishing while Matt was killing me?” she asked as snow fell lazily into the forest.
“No, I got all my lines set up so I didn’t have to spend half an hour adjusting the fishing poles while you were here,” Arsen said.
“I owe you for that,” Louvette said, and she meant it with all her heart. She planned to return the favor somehow.
“If he had more time, he would have got you to do more, so you’re welcome,” Arsen said.
“Uh huh, thanks for the favor,” she mocked.
“I’m going to catch some fish for us to cook for dinner. You’re welcome to try out any of them,” he said, pointing to the fishing poles.
“What are you going to do if nothing bites?” she asked.
“McDonalds, I’m afraid,” he teased.
“Then I hope you’re a master fisherman,” she declared.
“I’m more of a novice, but I figured I’d win some brownie points if I caught you fish and romantically served it for dinner.” He confessed his whole nefarious plan to her.
“It would be unforgettable,” she pointed out.
He started checking lines, rebaiting hooks, and untangling snares.
“Do you need any help?” she offered. Her lack of grace had her not desiring to cast any hooks in case she accidently caught herself or Arsen.
“Will you watch half of the poles for a jump?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said, sitting up straighter for a better view of her half of the poles. The word left her mouth in a cloud of steam. The day was getting colder as the night wore on.
“Is an expert fisherman what you would like to be when you leave high school?” Louvette asked in a slightly teasing tone.
“That would be the dream, but no. I’ll be half running the pack when I get out,” Arsen disclosed softly.
“We’ve never talked about the future because the present has been too complicated on its own. Put your thoughts of duties and family honor aside. What would you want to do if you could do anything?” Louvette asked.
“All things aside, I’d be an architect,” Arsen admitted, gazing deep into her eyes.
“That suits you better than master fisherman or alpha in training. Have you done anything with it?” Louvette wondered.
“I helped create the gym. I gave our own house a facelift about two years ago and I’ve planned a couple more pack-related buildings as well,” Arsen said.
“Was the wolf door you?” Louvette asked. The handmade door had seemed rather new for the style of the Whitecreek home.
“Guilty,” Arsen answered, grinning.
“That’s amazing, Arsen,” Louvette deemed. Though they were night and day, they still loved the art of things.
After only ten minutes of enjoying the birds cawing in the forest, she spotted a bob off of one of the lines.
“I think you caught one, but I could be wrong,” she said. Arsen glanced up from what he was doing. Louvette pointed toward the pole that had moved. He hurried over to check, lifting the pole out of the water.
“What are you doing?” she asked when he made a few upward movements.
“I’m trying to feel the pull of the fish. If there is one, and it’s not just caught on something,” he said. The line tightened, and then released.
“Definitely have one,” he said, and he began to reel the line in. Then he paused and stared at Louvette.
“Would you like to do it?” he asked.
“Sure, as long as I’m not going to pull out something that will eat me,” she said.
“Here, reel it in. Do it kind of fast in case the fish isn’t caught right,” he told her. She did as he told her.
A large silver fish was writhing at the end of the pole.
“What kind of fish is it?” she wondered.
“A trout, and it’s big enough to eat. Now, we only need one more this size,” he said happily. He threw the trout into the ice chest he had brought.
“Great job,” he said, giving her a high five. Louvette smacked back as hard as she could.
“Thanks, but it was a team effort,” she told him.
“I like the sound of that,” Arsen murmured, glancing at her lips as if they were taunting him.
A couple more minutes passed again.
“I got one on one of my lines,” he announced. When he reeled the line in himself this time, the fish was tiny compared to the others.
“Darn. So, now what do we do with it?” she asked.
“We throw this one back,” Arsen said as he unhooked the small fish.
“Are you sure you want to? Maybe we can catch something bigger using it,” Louvette asked.
“I would, but I don’t have a strong enough line for something that would go for a trout,” Arsen explained, throwing the little guy back into the water.
He started rebaiting his line when Louvette saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She was unsure which one the motion had come from so she waited and watched. The one line finally bounced ag
ain.
“That one caught something,” Louvette told Arsen after witnessing the second move. Arsen came over.
“Reel it in,” he said.
“No, you won a redo since your fish was so small. You’re the fisherman,” she countered.
“If you’re sure,” he caved. He reeled this one. Another silver fish was wiggling at the end of the pole. This one was about the right size.
“Dinner is on!” he called. He even threw his head back and howled into the air.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty impressed,” she said, laughing.
“I try. That only took us about an hour. I’m so glad I set up before you got here. It probably would have been at least two if I hadn’t,” he said.
“Well, thank you for doing all that hard work for me,” she told him.
“Anything for you,” he breathed. Her heart fluttered. She couldn’t stop herself from stepping forward and pulling him into a kiss brimming with passion. His hand twisted into her hair, tightening to the point it was almost painful, pulling her closer. It was the right kind of pain.
“Time to gut the fish,” he said. Arsen got the fish out of the bucket. He gutted them, cleaned them, and then stripped the meat out of them. Louvette observed the process, fascinated.
She couldn’t help but realize how much she had changed. Not just physically, but also mentally. Before becoming a Lupine, she would have puked her guts out on the deck. Things that had been important before were no longer important. The opposite was true as well. All she could think about was finding out what happened to her father, and they were approaching the date of their trip to California.
Time was flying for her and she suspected the same if not more for Arsen as well as they savored the surrounding peacefulness.
Arsen’s eyes flicked up from his preparation of the fish.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Louvette said, not wanting to ruin the moment by talking about the potential problem of Thomas Hollows.
“I know you better than that,” Arsen said, pointing the knife at her.
“You don’t even know me,” Louvette countered.
“I’m the only one who does,” Arsen reiterated. Louvette didn’t respond. She had no words because nothing could do justice to the true weight of what that meant to her. He was the one who knew her the most or at least thought he did.
The wish to come clean on her Gift burdened her mind once again. Thomas Hollows was but an afterthought in that instant. She opened her mouth to purge what she wasn’t telling him in an effort to clean her soul, so lies weren’t standing between them.
The fact that he was keeping things from her too stopped her from divulging her secrets. She wasn’t the only one who needed to confess. He had put a tracker on her and didn’t tell her she had almost caused him to be ambushed.
The date was another reason why she didn’t want to come clean, but at this rate she never would. This was perfect and telling him what her Gift was would leave a nasty aftertaste.
Louvette made herself a promise she would confess the next time they were alone together. Her confession would be similar to ripping off a band-aid. The quicker she ripped it, the less drawn out and painful it would be.
Arsen’s voice brought her back to the present. She refocused on him in an effort to not lose the momentum of this magical night.
“We are now ready to cook,” he said. He clicked the grill a few times, attempting to start it. His work proved successful.
“Sounds great– I’m starving,” Louvette agreed as she caught sight of some fish filets covered in seasonings. As she inhaled, the citrus aroma of lemon pepper flooded her senses. Her stomach growled at the promise of food.
Arsen laughed. He grilled for a few minutes, then started pulling out the side dishes.
“So, I cheated and already had sides made,” Arsen said. Louvette’s thoughts went back to their first night, leaving her to suspect his mother had made the sides that night.
“Did your mother make them?” she wondered.
“Yes, she made biscuits, green beans, and pasta noodles,” Arsen revealed.
“I don’t think your mother likes me,” Louvette broached the subject, wondering if Arsen was picking up on that fact or not. She highly doubted it.
“Don’t be silly. She loves you,” Arsen said. He was clueless.
At first, Louvette debated if the food she sent was safe and not poisoned, but Mrs. Whitecreek would never risk the life of her son to get rid of Louvette.
They sat down on the dock and ate under the fleeting light of the sunset. As soon as she took the first bite, she reveled in the levels of complexity and different flavors the fish had—lemon, black pepper, salt, garlic—and those were only the ones that stood out the most.
“Much better than McDonalds,” she razzed.
“This is mediocre at best,” Arsen wisecracked.
They finished eating in peaceful silence. The silence of the forest was a different kind, more of a faint undertone current of noises from birds cawing, twigs breaking, and animals chattering.
She took this time to talk about what was going to happen this coming weekend.
“Are you ready to go to Eureka?” Louvette asked. She was ready. She had been ready since she read the journal and found out Thomas might have betrayed her father.
“Yes, we have everything packed already,” he said.
“If he did betray my family, how will we make people believe us? He’s an upstanding member of the community in their eyes,” Louvette wondered.
“I’m hoping whatever is on the phone will be blatant evidence against him. He sure seems bound and determined to find it. At that point, it will be Wilder Blackwood’s testimony against him,” Arsen explained.
“Me too,” she affirmed.
During their conversation, time had flown away similar to a bird heading north for the winter. The night was dark. Stars were twinkling about.
The two of them gazed at the stars while sitting on the edge of the dock with their feet swinging. He nonchalantly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her into his side.
After enjoying the closeness for a few minutes, Louvette felt his fingertips under her chin. He raised it up to steal a kiss from her. The fireworks exploded. Her heart went fluttery as if it had fairy wings. Just after his mouth left hers, she smiled dreamily. She was melting from the power of his lips.
He chuckled and went in for another sweet peck.
Something flared to life in front of Louvette’s eyes. Her breathing stopped. The thing emitting light appeared to be a firefly, but that was impossible because this was Montana.
Louvette glanced at Arsen, narrowing her eyes. A sliver of fire reflecting in his eyes danced back.
She focused back on the firefly. However, she caught sight of more. They swarmed all around them until there were thousands.
Fireflies suffused the lake, creating the most beautiful scene she’d ever seen. This was fire and ice battling it out in a dance performance. With Arsen’s homemade fireflies and the blue-white stars dancing in the sky, it was spectacular.
“Your official nickname is now Firefly; I hope you like that,” she said, astounded at the art he had created for her.
The bits of fire flew around them, enveloping them. They were the only things that existed.
“I’ve been called worse,” he teased back.
His body began to put off more heat next to her, similar to sitting next to a roaring fire. The need to move away from the heat filled her on the functioning organism level, but she ignored the call.
The fireflies smoked out, disappearing into the sky. She was disappointed to see them go.
“Thank you for that. This was amazing, Firefly,” she said, half-smiling.
“Anytime,” he replied.
They cuddled for a while longer.
“I hate to ask this, but what time is it?” Louvette questioned. Arsen pressed a button. His watch lit up, revealing the t
ime to him.
“It is midnight,” he said.
“I guess you better take me home. Otherwise, I’ll be useless this weekend,” she said.
“All right, let’s pack up and go,” he told her. He collected the grill and heavier items he brought. She grabbed about half of the poles and awkwardly walked them to the truck. Just to spend time together, the two of them made a two-person job out of carrying the remainder of the poles.
They left to return her home. When Arsen dropped her off at her house, he walked her in for a few seconds.
He gave her a deep kiss, but soon broke it off. Louvette’s heart nearly broke from his removal, but understood why when her mother stumbled all bleary eyed out of her bedroom.
“Hi, Arsen. Glad you got her back safely, though she might not need help anymore once she learns everything from her defense class,” her mother said.
“Sorry to wake you, Mrs. Lynskey. That’s what I’m worried about,” Arsen said, earning himself a light punch from Louvette.
Bewilderment was the state of Louvette’s mind, recalling the fact her mother was supposed to be on her own date.
“Hey, Mom. What happened to your date?” Louvette asked.
“Thomas had to cancel at the last minute. He had a client in California he had to take care of,” her mother explained in a slightly sad tone.
Louvette’s heart stopped.
“In California? He must have had to take a last-minute plane ride there,” Louvette pointed out, not sure she had heard right.
A squeeze so light her mother wouldn’t have noticed unless she was staring right at Louvette’s and Arsen’s locked arms told her Arsen had heard the location, too.
“Yeah, he came to the house to tell me and then left,” her mother said. Her mother would never recognize the correlation between where Thomas had gone and the location where Blaise Campbell had so cruelly dispatched Louvette’s grandfather because she had ignored the situation when it had occurred.
Louvette peeked at Arsen out of the corner of her eye. He did the same.
Dread entered her heart similar to how poison would. He would have two entire days on them to start looking for the phone.
“I have to go, but I’ll text you about our assignment before I go to bed,” Arsen said in a too-even tone. Louvette frowned for a second. Only after a few seconds did she understand he was talking code. There was no assignment between the two of them that they had to talk about.