The Best Man Plan, стр. 43

CHAPTER

•  •  •  •  •  •

twenty

JASON COULD TELL from the moment he picked up Erin that she was not at all thrilled about having to get up before dawn. But he also knew she’d never back down from a challenge. Maybe fishing wasn’t really a challenge. He knew from her dad that he’d taken all the girls fishing when they were little, and had taught them how to bait a line. Jason had been fishing with Johnny Bellini, and he’d told him hilarious stories of the girls squealing about worms and lures and wriggling fish. He’d said that’s how they’d learned patience. Jason could only imagine how much patience Johnny’d had to have to teach three little girls how to fish.

Maybe someday Jason would have daughters of his own, and he could teach them how to fish. Everyone should learn. It was a great way to capture your own food, something everyone should know how to do.

Erin had fallen back to sleep in the truck on the way to the lake. He’d left her alone, figuring she’d likely been up late last night dealing with the wedding. Plus, she looked pretty with her head propped against her sweatshirt as she leaned against the window, her long dark lashes resting against her cheeks. If he wasn’t driving he’d curl up next to her and grab a little sleep himself.

He’d spent a lot longer working in the bathroom yesterday than he’d planned, but now the tile floor was finished and he could set the vanity. It wouldn’t be long now and he’d have an actual working bathroom.

One step at a time. He was looking forward to the day he could stop sleeping in the guest room.

Then he’d invite Erin over to check it out and see if she approved.

She yawned and stretched as she woke, blinking her eyes open to survey the road ahead of them. “How close are we?”

“Nearly there.”

“Great. I need to pee.”

“There’s a place just up ahead. We can get some coffee and breakfast sandwiches, and you can use the restroom there.”

He pulled into the shop and parked. They went inside and used the restrooms, then made a beeline for the coffee, grabbed a couple of sandwiches, and Jason bought some bait and a fishing license for Erin since he already had his. They loaded back up in the truck and Jason headed down the road for about a mile, then took a right turn.

“Have you got a favorite fishing spot?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’ve used it several times. It’s remote and quiet, so I don’t think anyone else will be there. Plus, the fishing is good in that location.”

“So, like a secret spot.”

He glanced over at her and smiled. “Kind of, yeah.”

He parked at a small spot near the edge of the lake. It was still dark, and he knew his way around this area and didn’t really want to set up lights. But Erin wasn’t familiar with the area, so he stuck close to her as he unpacked the fishing gear, coolers and chairs. He got Erin positioned at the water’s edge and then handed everything off to her, and she set it all up. She did a great job organizing it all, which came as no surprise to him. By the time he grabbed the poles and climbed off the back of the truck, she had the chairs set up, their coffee cups and sandwiches were sitting on top of one of the coolers, and she was already spraying herself down with mosquito repellant.

She handed him the spray and he took care of applying it.

“Do you want me to get your line and pole ready?” he asked.

“No, I can do it.”

He smiled, figuring she’d want to prove to him that she was capable. Not that he had any doubts.

He’d grabbed some chicken livers at the bait shop, because it was the best bait for catching catfish, in his opinion. He watched as Erin adeptly wound the liver onto the hook, set her line and dropped her pole into the water.

“You’re pretty good at this,” he said as he did the same with his line.

She took a seat and grabbed her cup of coffee, popped the top off the lid and took a sip. “I didn’t have much choice. My dad was determined to make all of us learn how to fish.”

He sat in the chair next to hers and opened up his coffee to take a long swallow. “But did you enjoy it?”

“The first couple of times? No. It was messy and then he taught us to clean the fish we caught and that was even worse. Brenna was the best at it. For some reason fish guts didn’t seem to bother her in the least. But after a while I learned that I was the best at actually catching the fish, and when you have two other sisters, everything is a competition.”

“I see. And what was Honor the best at?”

“Cooking the fish after we caught it.”

He laughed. “Hey, everyone’s got their talents.”

“The three of us have managed to split them up pretty well.” She checked her line. Nothing was happening, so she opened her breakfast sandwich, and Jason decided he’d eat as well.

“This is pretty decent,” Erin said. “Eggs, cheese, sausage, and the biscuit is yum.”

“Yeah, they do a good job on the food there. They make great lunch sandwiches, too.”

“Oh. I’ve got something, I think.” She laid her sandwich and coffee on top of the cooler.

Jason saw the tug as well, so he stood and went over to watch her reel in the line, ready to offer help if she needed it.

She didn’t. It may have been a while since she’d been fishing, but she obviously hadn’t lost a step. She expertly gave the fish a little line, then gently reeled him in.

It wasn’t a huge catfish, but it was a good start. He swept it up in the net,