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“Can you put another worm on the hook for me?”
“You’re losing a lot of worms and have no fish to show for it.” Matthew gave her a broad grin when she showed him the empty hook.
Alanna shot him a harassed look. “The fish are against me.”
Matthew reached into the plastic cup beside him to pull out another fat worm. Scooting over on the blanket he had brought, he took her fishing pole to put the worm on the hook.
“You’re good to go,” he said, handing the pole back. Remaining seated where he was, Matthew laughed at her grossed-out expression. “It doesn’t hurt them.”
“Who told you that? I bet it wasn’t a worm.”
Matthew laughed. “My dad, and I’d bet his told him the same thing.”
“There has to be a more humane way to fish.”
“There is, but fresh bait is always best. I could look for some crickets when we run out of worms.”
Alanna gave him a withering stare. “I meant something that doesn’t involve killing another living creature.”
Matthew cocked his head sideways. “You do know I plan to clean and fry the fish we catch, right?”
“I’ll worry about that when we catch one.”
“Ye of little faith,” he mocked.
“Pretty sure you saying that is sacrilegious,” she chastised.
Matthew released a low whistle of appreciation. “Look at you sounding like a Kentucky girl. Next thing I know, you’ll be sneaking off to go to church with Greer.”
Alanna lowered her eyes to half-mast. “Do you have a death wish?” she asked sweetly.
He raised a cocky eyebrow at her. “Who would you get to kill me? You can’t stand to hurt a worm.”
“You mention Deputy Porter again, I’ll make an exception.”
“Good luck with that. I plan to live forever.”
“No one lives forever.”
“I might not live forever, but I do plan to live long enough to break the record of being the oldest person to ever live.”
Alanna’s eyebrows climbed. “How old is the current record holder?”
“One hundred and twenty-two years and a hundred and sixty-four days.”
Her eyebrows climbed higher. “You want to live to be over one hundred and twenty-two years?”
“Don’t you?”
Alanna looked toward where her bobber was floating in the water. “I’ve never thought about it. My parents both died young. I’ve never pictured myself as an old woman.”
“You think you’re going to die young?”
Matthew saw her slightly nod.
“You’re not,” he said confidently. “You’re going to live forever, like me. I’m going to share the secret to longevity with you.”
Alanna turned to smile at him from over her shoulder. “Tell me, oh wise one,” she mocked.
