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“A bit. I go with Andrew sometimes. But he ain’t as pretty to look at,” I said.
“Haha! Caught anything like that one fish?” she asked.
“I still can’t believe how big that thing was,” I said with a snicker. “Thing took up half the damn bucket. To answer your question, I’ve yet to catch one near that size.”
“Well, maybe we could go fishing while I’m in town and see if we can’t catch one even bigger.”
“I’ll take you fishin’ whenever you want.”
“Is that creek still running strong?” she asked.
“It is. Not much has changed around the ol’ homestead. Crickets are still chirpin’, deer are still gettin’ in the way, and the fish are still jumpin’.”
“I miss the beauty of that place. Don’t get me wrong, the city was wonderful. Full of life and loud with sounds of hustle and bustle. But there’s nothing like the peacefulness of the countryside.”
“Got that right,” I said.
I grabbed Hunter’s beer and tipped it up, feeling Katie’s eyes on me. I tossed back a couple of swigs before I handed it to her, watching as her eyes fell to the long-necked bottle.
She plucked it from the bar and wrapped her lips around the top. Her first few sips were tentative, but when she closed her eyes, I knew that bottle was a goner. I watched her neck bob as she swallowed it down, moaning lightly as the skin on her body puckered.
Goosebumps.
She had missed drinking beer so much that her skin crawled at the taste of it.
Something told me the old Katie was making her way back.
One step at a time.
“You owe me another one,” Hunter said, coming back to the bar.
“Don’t worry. I think I’ll have one with you,” Katie said. “Man, that tasted good.”
“Bartender, set ‘em up. I gotta get back to work,” I said.
“See you around?” Katie asked.
I slid from my seat and turned my eyes toward her, throwing her a tiny smile before I nodded my head.
“Sure hope so,” I said.
“See you ‘round, Caleb,” Hunter said.
“Don’t drink too much. I ain’t draggin’ your ass back to your room,” I said.
“Don’t worry. I got him,” Katie said.
“No, Katie. You let someone get you for once,” I said.
It was the look in her eye that made my blood boil. Like I’d spoken some foreign language to her. The thought of someone taking care of her was n
ow a foreign concept.
I turned my back and made quick work getting back to my office so Katie couldn't see the anger bubbling behind my eyes. Then I punched my metal filing cabinet, denting the side of it as I let out the breath I was holding. The whole time I was picturing Michael in front of me.
What had that man done to her?
CHAPTER 4
