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What a pity I was too skinny for Axe.Give me a few months to put some meat back on my bones.
I had to admit that being with the dwarves did wonders for soothing my frayed nerves. Even Hunter sitting so close had faded to the back of my mind.
“My woman’s going to be a beauty,” Hunter declared. “Like Snow, here.” At this, he waggled his eyebrows.
A small stone thumped him in the arm.
“Leave her alone,” Rake declared.
Teeny clutched his stomach as he laughed, leaning so far back he had to catch himself to keep from rolling backward.
“You’re not spoken for, are you?” Rake asked me.
“Oh,no, you’re not, you sleaze bag.” Hunter climbed to his feet, hands clenched into fists, his eyes blazing like coals.
“Fish!” Axe shouted.
I sprang to my feet as Hunter and Rake wrestled it out, their boots crunching on the rocks.
“Ignore them,” Teeny said as we hurried to Axe’s side. “They’re like a pack of dogs. They always go crazy over the latest female.”
“Good to know,” I said, standing by Axe as he held on to his rod, winding the twine around the round metal ring, hauling in the fish.
One of the other rods curled downward as another fish fought its capture. I grabbed on to the wood with one hand and hooked the twine in the other, wrapping it around the ring.
“Boy, this is a big one,” I said, my line jerking, the strength of the fish on the other end almost dragging me into the water.
“Let me help you,” Teeny said, reaching up to take my line.
“No, thanks.” I slowly wrapped the twine around the ring, hauling in the fish, drawing it to the surface, where it thrashed, flipping in the water. “Come on.”
“It’s a juicy one,” Axe announced, his gaze jumping between my line and his until his catch flapped at the edge of the water.
The dwarf scrambled over to it, lifted it by the tail, and beat its head against the rock. Silence. Stillness. The fish was dead.
Mine wasn’t being as cooperative, splashing water everywhere, the line ripping at my arms, and I stumbled forward, losing my footing on the slippery rocks.
“Snow,” Teeny said, rushing to my aid.
But I didn’t let go of that line. Kneeling, I tugged on it with all my might, whipping the line back, circling the twine fast, intent on catching this beast. I didn’t care if my dress got muddy. This fish was mine.
By now, I had an audience. Hunter and Rake had stopped their fight and were by my side, cheering me on. Soon, I had the fish on the banks. It jumped around like mad. Axe grabbed the sucker, but it slid out of his grasp. Rake tried next, and his hands kept slipping. Finally, Hunter showed the fish who was boss and gave it a good thump, ending its life.
“Well done, Snow,” Teeny said, giving me a supportive clap on the back.
“Thanks.”
I was so caught up in my success I didn’t jerk at the connection…until Hunter hugged my thigh, and that was a bit too much for me. I pried free.
That night the resistance would celebrate the catch with a feast. The fish was about three feet long and almost a foot wide. It would easily feed at least ten people. Maybe more if the cooks baked it in a pie.
Suddenly, everything was starting to feel a little like home. Every day, I grew more comfortable with my surroundings. I felt a little spark of hope ignite in my chest that maybe, just maybe, I could be normal again. Regain some of the old Snow again while retaining my newfound caution, too.
But a woman’s scream from somewhere in the woods ended my temporary enjoyment.
The dwarves’ heads snapped toward the sound.
My instincts launched into alert. Muscles taut and ready, I felt like a crouched mountain lion ready to spring away at the first sign of danger. Who was that? Was she all right? Did she need help?
