I’d asked for this, hadn’t I? It didn’t mean I had to be graceful about it the entire time. With a groan, I pretty much made a crying face and slowly nodded. Basically whining out a “Fine” that had him grinning in triumph. “I’m not touching it while it’s still alivethough.”
Aaron had a big grin on his face when heagreed, “Deal.”
* * *
“How haveyou never been fishingbefore?”
He hadn’t been lying when he said there were extra fishing rods at the house. Part of me had been hoping that he’d change his mind… or that it would rain, but neither thing had happened. After we’d gone to get four fishing licenses—one for him, one for me, another for Des and Brittany, who had overheard us arguing about going fishing and decided they should get one too—I’d started to accept that it was going to happen regardless of whether I wanted it toornot.
I could have donewithoutit.
Standing beside the truck, with both poles in my hands, I shrugged as he pulled out the minnows he’d bought at the same store we’d gotten our licenses at. Fresh minnows that I wasn’t going totouch.Nope.
“My dad took my brothers a few times from what I remember, just off the pier at the beach closest to us,” I explained, watching him. “After he moved back to California, there was never enough time when he’d come down to visit to just… take us fishing, you know?” I eyed the bucket he had the minnows in and grimaced. “Not that it’s ever really interested me tobeginwith.”
Aaron snickered with his back to me. “It’s pretty relaxing if you give it achance.”
I highlydoubtedthat.
“It won’t be that bad. If you hate it, you don’t ever have to do it again,” he told me, making it seem like that would be the case for the rest of my life. Just like that. I’d never have to do itagain.
While I appreciated what he was implying, I accepted that I needed to quit being a chicken and just… do things. Even if it meant touching a minnow to put it on the hook or whatever it was called. Even if I screamed while I did it and maybe cried during and after. “Did your dad take you fishing when you wereyounger?”
His head bobbed in a nod. “Almost every Sunday. He worked a lot, but Sundays were our days, after church, to go do things as a family. When we’d go on summer vacation, we’d always go somewhere where wecouldfish.”
“Thatsoundsnice.”
“Yeah. I still remember it. That’s the whole point about doing family things together. I remember most of them, especially after our mom left.” He’d been speaking so easily before he dropped the “M” word that I almost missed the way his entire body tensed up inreaction.
He’d rarely mentioned his mom before to me. I’d wondered what the deal with her was, but now that I knew, and now that I’d seen his reaction… I wished I hadn’t. It didn’t take a genius to know it was a sensitive spotforhim.
And it also made a ton of sense how he’d react to my mom being overprotective and his views on marriage. My dad had left too, but he’d still been an active member of my life even afterward. I would never call my dad my “biological father” or anything like that. He was my dad, my father figure through thick and thin. I’d never doubted helovedme.
As much as I wanted to contemplate what he’d just said, I knew I only had a matter of time to change the subject and act like his mention was no big deal. He didn’t want to talk about it, and I understood. So I changed the subject. “Our family bonding time in my family was on Sunday with everyone cleaning the house. My mom would make us all chip in making dinner. Then we’d all sit around and watch a movie. Every Sunday. My brothers wouldn’t even bother asking to go out with their friends on that day because it didn’t matter if they were seventeen,thatwas family day for whoever was still livingwithher.”
He chuckled and it only sounded partially forced. “Does she stilldothat?”
I snorted and watched as he rolled his shoulders back, as if willing them to relax. “No. She stopped after she married husband number three. By that point, I was already a sophomore in high school, Jasmine had her ice-skating going on, and my brothers and Tali were older. But now, everyone still comes over at least once every other week for dinner at the same time or breakfast or whatever. I don’t actually know how they schedule that to make it work. I guess I never thought about it. They justshowup.”
“Have you talked to any of them beside your mom since yougothere?”
“No. I don’t bother them when they go somewhere without me. None of them have messaged me except my little sister. I’m a little worried Jasmine hasn’t sent me any more texts, but I’m hoping it’s just because she’s mad and my mom has been relaying my messages to her,” I explained. “Either that or she’s taken all my stuff and she’s being sneaky.” I smiled. “Have you talked toyourdad?”
“No.” He slammed the tailgate closed and faced me. “He knows I’m here. I told you, we’re not all thatclose.”
That just sounded sad as hell to my ears. “Because of you going into themilitary?”
Aaron shrugged, and in this case, it didn’t seem to be an upset one. “We’ve always been like that. He’d… give and would do anything I needed financially, you know? The basics. More than the basics, I guess. He was there as much as he let himself. My dad doesn’t show a whole bunch of emotion. That’s just the way he is. He didn’t coddle or tuck us into bed every night or anything like that. He spent time with us. But after I told him I was going to enlist, things got strained between us.” I must have been making a face because Aaron winked. “It’s not that bad, Ruby. He loves me in his own way. He just wanted morefromme.”
“I’m not trying to criticize him. Nobody’s parents are perfect. But it just makes me a little sad that you aren’t closer to him, is all. But… I don’t know. Everyone deserves hugs and to know that someone in the world still worries about them, no matter what they’re doing, or even if they’re mad at one another. I’d never do that to anyone.” I made sure to meet his gaze when I said, “You’re great the way you are, military or not. I’d be proud of you regardless of what you did withyourlife.”
The smile had gradually crept off Aaron’s face the longer I talked, and I started to worry I’d said something wrong. I’d overstepped my boundaries,hadn’tI?
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to criticize yourfamily—”
“That’s not it,” he said almost cryptically, still standing there, watching me with that careful expression on his face. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and in three long strides he was standing in front of me, the hand not holding what he’d called our bait bucket, was cupping my cheek. As he pretty much towered over me, with his head tilted down, I could feel the hint of Aaron’s breath on my chin, just a little puff. Almost nonexistent like he was holding hisbreath.
Then his thumb moved, just a small swipe that might have only covered an inch of mycheekbone.
