Chapter Twenty-Two
“Seriously, Hunter,” Jade said from behind him in the dark, “I don’t think this is a good idea. I’m not cut out for it.”
He looked over his shoulder to watch her wade through the three feet of water with measured steps and a worried expression on her face. The hip-waders she was wearing almost swallowed her whole.
But he’d never get her out here again if he laughed at her.
“If you’re going to date me, which you are”—even if he’d had to convince her of the fact, and even if they were being careful to keep their relationship on the down-low until the condo contract was awarded—“then you have to know how to gig for flounder.”
She shot him a disgusted look. “So handling live, slimy, stinky fish is a requirement to date you?”
It was true that fishing really was a big part of his life, and he wanted her to be involved with it somehow.
“Don’t forget about cleaning them.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I like a girl who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Cleaning them? As in, washing them off?”
He gave her a wide grin. “Gutting them, sweetheart. Preparing them for cooking.”
She shook her head and turned back toward the shore. “Nope, I’m out. I am not touching any fish guts. Not unless you want to wear my dinner on your shirt.”
He reached out and snatched her wrist, holding her in place. “You’re not going anywhere, Red. You have been citified for too long. It’s time you learned where the food you eat comes from.”
She looked up at him, biting her lip. “Fine. But you are not making me cut them up.”
“We’ll work on that.”
For further encouragement, he bent down and took her luscious mouth in a hard kiss, plunging his tongue inside for several seconds before pulling away. He just smiled when she glared at him.
“That’s not fair,” she complained.
“Kill some fish tonight and I’ll give you more of that action.” He gave her another kiss, and whispered, “On a different set of lips.”
She blushed, and he had to pull away before he really lost himself in her taste. He continued wading through the water.
“Just promise I won’t get stabbed in the ankle by a stingray,” she said. “Or attacked by a lemon shark, or something.”
“Lemon sharks are found in more tropical waters,” he said. “Besides, do you really think I’d let anything happen to you?”
“Oh God, what about snakes?” she shrieked.
He grunted. “Jade, quit being a sissy and get that fine ass moving.”
They were only about twenty yards from the beach—not in the middle of the ocean or tromping through swampy waters—but he knew she was nervous. She had never done anything like this before. In fact, he wasn’t sure if she had ever handled a live animal in her life, except maybe a puppy.
He shone his flashlight on the water, searching for evidence of fish on the bottom.
“Hey, come here,” he called. When she was next to him, he pointed down at the water where his light was shining. “See those indentations in the sand?”
“Yeah.”
“Those are flounder beds. Flounder like to rest on the bottom like that and wait for their food to swim by, like baitfish or shrimp. The little fish probably just left the beds, so we’re getting close.”
It had been about two weeks since they’d made their dating status official—though no one else knew about it. Except for Finn, who’d probably told Maggie, who had most likely informed Mia. But that was it.
He and Jade had agreed to keep things hush-hush until they’d been together a little longer—ostensibly to prevent the town’s gossipmongers from breathing down their necks. But the truth was, he didn’t need his crazy ex getting wind of his relationship with Jade and somehow ruining his chances with the Seaside Properties condo contract. He’d just received word last week that Seaside was taking his bid to the next level. They were now in negotiations. Nothing had been signed yet, but it was looking good for his company.
This deal represented everything he’d worked so hard to achieve all these years. He wasn’t about to lose it because his ex was a jealous psycho. After the contract was signed, he’d tell Rebecca to go stuff it.
Truthfully, though, he hadn’t had a lot of time to worry about her threats. He’d been too busy enjoying hanging out with Jade and showing her things. Teaching her things. Practical stuff that no one had ever taught her before. Like how to change a tire on her car, how to properly grill a steak, how to use her new lawn mower, and even how to start her own small garden.
Watching her soak up the various elements of his everyday life was like witnessing someone discovering a new world. That she was eager to learn from him was refreshing. It made him feel valued, relied upon. That he had a purpose.
Aside from just…being with her. Which was the best part of all.
He spotted movement in the water in front of his left foot and froze. Yep, that’s a fin. “Okay, here’s one,” he announced. “Come here.”
She hesitated. “Won’t they get spooked?”
He shook his head. “Nah, they can’t really see anything from this angle.” She came up next to him, her two-pronged gig held tightly in her hand. He had his own at the ready if necessary, but he was going to let her take the lead. “All right, this one’s yours. What you want to do is—”
“Why don’t you get the first one?” she asked nervously. “So I can see how it’s done.”
“Because I’m holding the light. And also because you won’t be so freaked out once you get the first one out of the way.”
“Okay, fine.” She took a deep breath and spread her feet.
He bit back a smile. That’s my girl. Her damn stepmother and stepbrother didn’t give her enough credit. She was a strong, capable woman. Brave and unflappable. Always willing to take on any challenge. Which was all a testament to her willpower.
Apparently, all her stepfamily had ever done was tear her down, make her feel less than worthy of anyone’s love or praise. Instead of encouraging her, over the years they had done everything they could to break her.
And that pissed him the fuck off.
But she wasn’t letting their negativity ruin her. No way in hell. Considering all she’d been through, she had a remarkably positive attitude about life.
“All right, so you want to hit it right above its head, behind the gills,” he explained. “When you stab it, thrust hard and hold it there against the bottom for a minute until it stops wriggling. But don’t lift the gig straight up out of the water. You want to ease it up at an angle, like you’re shoveling something out of the ground. That prevents the fish from sliding off the prongs. Think you’ve got it?”
“I think so.” She lifted the gig up above the water and paused. “But what if I miss and it swims away?”
“Then we’ll move on and find another one,” he said with a shrug. “No worries. There’s plenty of fish out there.”
She nodded and took a few deep breaths, a look of steely determination settling over her features. That was the inner strength coming out in her that he loved to see. The look that said she wouldn’t let anything or anyone conquer her. That she would take on the world, one flounder at a time, if she had to.
When she struck with her gig, he immediately knew the shot was true. He moved the light, and there was her flounder, stuck on the end of her prong.
“Holy crap, I did it!”
He laughed and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I knew you would, baby. I had no doubt.”
Her head lifted at his words. “Really?”
The grateful look she gave him nearly tore his heart in two.
“Of course.”
Her eyebrow quirked. “Even though I’m a city girl?”
He chuckled. “Even city girls can be converted.”
She lifted her gig up the way he’d instructed, allowing him to pry the fish off the tines.
“Don’t be so sure of that,” she said. “I might go gigging with you and eat fried food instead of a salad. I might even say y’all once in a while. But there is no way I’m ever going to favor football over tennis, or trade in my wine for beer. Those are the facts of life. Deal with it.”
As long as she never high-tailed it back to her old life in DC or Connecticut, he was fine with all of it. Hell, he would start drinking wine if it prevented her from ever leaving him.
He just wanted their life in Shell Grove to be good enough for her.
He wanted to be good enough for her.
He shook his head at her in mock disapproval. “I’ve done all I can here.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I wash my hands of the situation.”
She nodded, smiling in satisfaction. “Thank you. Now, let’s go find you a fish.”
“And then we cut them open.”
Her smile disappeared, her face paling. “I just threw up in my mouth a little.”
He nodded, unconcerned. “Yeah, that might happen the first time. And you might find a bone or two in your filet at some point, but you just spit them out. No big deal.”
“Ugh! Hunter!”
Yep. This was what he’d always wanted. This was making him happy.
He just hoped to hell it would last.