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Fourteen
Emery
The drive had been only forty-five minutes. I’d passed all kinds of pickups hauling boats, pontoons, and campers, but once I turned down the narrow road to Stetson’s cabin, it’d been nothing but peaceful.
He owned this little piece of paradise. I sat on his private dock with him, Landon, and Holden. Boats floated or sped over the water in the distance, but it was almost like we had the lake to ourselves.
My heart clawed its way into my throat as Nora and Avery each rowed by in a kayak. Avery’s life vest was the perfect size. The ones Stetson had brought were all adult sized, but Holden had stopped at the gas station before he’d come out. The place on the edge of town was more like a sporting goods shop than a convenience store.
His thoughtfulness warmed me down to my toes.
Nora hadn’t let Avery kayak far from shore, and she’d taken all the kids, wading by Riley and Afton in the water next to them. Holden’s sister was young, and at first glance, she seemed timid and shy. But the girl had confidence.
She’d sat the three older kids down and reviewed water safety. Then she’d gone over the kayak and what to expect. The spiel sounded rehearsed, and when she explained that she used to be a youth counselor at summer camps on the river, it made sense. One by one, she’d taken each kid out.
The experience so far was priceless. The kids had forgotten that their dad dropped half their weekend together.
Landon and I hadn’t caught more than weeds, but between him and Afton, they’d pointed out frogs, turtles, a muskrat, and even a pelican.
“Is it time for s’mores?” Landon asked.
Holden was on the other side of me. Landon and Afton had lost interest in their rods. Afton played with Isla like she was her own personal Barbie doll. They were doing cartwheels across the lawn. Riley ran back and forth between them and the dock, trying to mimic them with Lyric. I angled my chair to keep an eye on her, not that I had to, but I couldn’t not do it.
Holden had put his hoodie back on. I’d been able to stay focused on fishing after he did that. Stetson had his feet propped on the railing, his rod in a holder that was welded to the railing, and he’d tipped his ball cap over his eyes.
Landon had been starstruck when he saw that both of his coaches were camping with us.
“In the next hour,” Holden answered. “But if your momma wants you to eat something healthy first, you know Stetson and I can’t make the s’mores until everyone follows her orders.”
Landon rolled his eyes but grinned. He draped his arms over the railing and peered into the water. “Think we’ll catch a fish?”
“I dunno.” Holden slowly reeled in. “This time of year, the fishing is really good by Garrison Dam.”
“Mom, can we go there?”
“Maybe another time.” I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my pink hoodie. I hadn’t thought about Garrison Dam in years. “I used to go fishing there with Grandpa.”
“What’d you catch?” Holden asked. “When you went with your dad?”
“Walleye.”
He groaned and put his hand on his belly. “The filet mignon of the sea.”
Stetson grunted. “If you catch a northern, throw that thing back. I don’t need it sliming my dock.”
“Have you seen a northern’s teeth?” Holden asked Landon.
“Fish don’t have teeth!”
Holden cast and put his rod in the holder. He and Landon bent over Holden’s phone and pored over pictures of walleye and northern and other fish that were common in the lake.
“Mom!” Afton called. “Look!”
She did the best cartwheel I’d seen all day. Isla applauded her.
“That was awesome, honey!”
“Mama—wook!” Riley tried to do the same, putting her hands in the grass while Lyric flipped her legs into the air.
