Page 37 of The Other Half

With the longing to press back up against her slowing me down, I moved to the edge of the water and grabbed ahold of the line. After a couple slow pulls, I saw the walleye rise to the top, and he put up no fight when I pulled him out of the water.

“Well done, Cassie! You caught your first fish!”

“Oh, my God! I did it! We did it!” She squealed again and the sounds of her excitement had me wondering what she’d sound like in bed.

Trying to force the recurring vision from my head of her writhing in my sheets, I lifted the fish triumphantly out of the water.

“What kind is it?” Wide eyes stared at the silver fish I held suspended by the gills.

“Walleye. A nice one, too! One of the bigger ones. Easily a five pounder. Atta girl!”

“It’s a big one?” she asked, stepping closer to examine the fish.

“It’s a really nice fish. It’s going to be great for dinner.”

“Dinner?” Her voice jumped several octaves.

“Yeah. Dinner. You know... to eat?” I set the fish down on the rocks and it flapped its tail.

“Wait! We can’t eat it!” she shrieked, her eyes darting to the fish lying by my feet.

“Seriously? You don’t want to eat your first fish?”

“No! Help it! Is it dead? Did I kill it?” Tears welled in her eyes and it felt like she had her hand wrapped around my heart instead of that rod.

“No. It’s fine. Just resting.”

“Put it back. Please! I don’t want to kill it!”

Raising my hands, I nodded. “Okay, okay. Calm down. I’ll put it back.”

“Oh, my God.” She bit her nails while I picked up the exhausted fish and plucked my hook from its mouth. “It looks dead. I killed it. I’m a monster.”

With a deep chuckle, I shook my head. “You’re not a monster. He’s fine. He just needed a rest. It was a long battle on both ends of that line.”

Holding the walleye gently, I lowered him into the water and held him upright.

“He’s not moving!” She nibbled her nails faster.

“Just give him a minute,” I said, giving her a reassuring look. Rocking the fish back and forth, I waited for the moment I knew was coming. Right on cue, the tail flicked, then his whole body exploded in movement sending water spraying. Releasing my grip, the fish darted out of my hands and disappeared beneath the surface.

“It’s alive!” Jumping up and down, she clapped her hands.

When I turned to see her, the single tear sliding down her cheek dried before it made it off her chin. “I can’t believe you made me let that fish go. That was a nice fish and would have made an excellent dinner.”

“I just couldn’t. After I looked into its eyes, I knew there was no way I could kill it. I’ve never killed a living thing before.”

“You’d have slaughtered that snake if given the chance.” I snorted.

“That was different! It would have been self-defense!”

“It was no more harm to you than that fish.”

Furrowing her brow, she crossed her arms.

“So, it’s going to be catch and release with you when we go fishing?”

“Yeah. There’s no way I can kill a fish.”