Boon stepped up beside her to look out over the area. There was indeed a creek running through the land, and water flowed through it quickly enough to keep it clear but not nearly so strong as to be considered a river of any kind, and nearer to them was a pond, obviously man-made that the water trickled into, then narrowed at one end to allow the water to flow out more slowly. The land was beautiful, rolling gently, in a way that was reminiscent of a dairy farm. The clearing allowed about eighty feet on either side of the creek before the woods began to take over again, but the length of the clearing went on for acres. The grass was so well manicured on either side that it almostresembled a golf course. He’d never seen one in person, but he’d seen photos. The birds could be heard chirping, and the small animals in the woods were chattering away, not the least bit disturbed by their presence. “Angelle, this is beautiful.”
“I think so, too,” she said.
“I can see why you love it here so much.”
“Bet I can catch more fish than you,” she challenged with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“Bet you can’t!” he counter challenged.
“What do I get if I win?” she asked.
His grin morphed from a mischievous one to a gentle indulgent smile. “Anything you want, Angelle. I will always give you anything you want.”
Chapter 4
Boon stood in water that hit a couple of inches below his knees, his fishing pole in hand, the line submerged twenty or so feet from him following the creek’s flow. He scowled as Angelle called out to him.
“I got another!”
“Shhh! You’re scaring the fish,” he whisper-screamed to her.
Angelle burst out laughing, almost falling into the water they fished in.
It was difficult, but he did manage to hide the wide grin that threatened to show itself across his lips. “Give me a minute. I’ll catch up,” he said, in the same raspy ‘whisper’ she could hear though she was fifteen feet or so away from him.
“I told you you should be fishing in the pond with me,” she finally said as she managed to get her laughter under control.
“That’s cheating. They’re resting there,” he said, forgetting to feign a whisper.
“It’s not cheating! This is where they are. If they’re moving through the creek, they’re ready to move on, not eat.”
He let his hands drop to his sides, pole grasped in one of them. “You didn’t say that.”
“I shouldn’t have to.”
“Fine,” he said, wading out of the water to move toward her on the bank. “Make room for me.”
“No problem.” She lifted her line and hook from the pond the clan had installed to make sure they would have a place to fish, and moved farther toward the opposite end of the pond.
“Now we’ll see who’s the best fisherman,” Boon said.
“Fisherperson,” Angelle corrected.
“No, I meant fisherman.”
“I know you did. But you’re wrong. You’ll see.”
Ten minutes later Angelle shouted triumphantly once again. “Got one!”
He glared playfully at her, but kept fishing.
Fifteen minutes later, he got a bite. “I got one!” he cried out excitedly as he started reeling it in. All it took was two cranks to lose the fish. It pulled free and quickly swam away.
Angelle watched, waiting to see if he truly caught a fish.
He gave her a bit of side-eye, along with a very real pout as he reeled the hook the rest of the way in and checked his bait before throwing it back out again. “It got away.”
“Aww. I’m so sorry,” she said.
