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Ryan glared right back at me. “Yes, I am aware. I’m terribly sorry I wasn’t able to make it to the bar last night, Georgia. It would’ve been nice to have a drink with you. Unfortunately, my session at the local animal shelter got extended. Someone brought in a litter of pups.”
“Oh,” Georgia squealed. “You volunteer at the shelter. How nice. I love puppies.”
“Yeah. These were wolf puppies, actually, so you probably don’t wanna go by and see them or anything. But yeah, that’s why I didn’t go last night. To the bar.” Ryan nodded his head, trying to sell his story. He was full of shit, and we both knew it. Why he felt the need to make himself look good to Georgia, I didn’t know. Then he added, “Beau and I like to do lots of charitable activities together.”
“Really?” Georgia looked at me. I could only shrug. I gave a lot of money to local charities and to other organizations all around the world, but Ryan wasn’t aware of that. I didn’t need to lie to Georgia to make her like me more. “Are you going fishing with us?” she asked.
“Oh, no. Sadly, I just came to give this fishing gear to Beau. Um, it’s also for charity.” He extended his own gear to me, along with an overly exaggerated wink.
I could only shake my head. “Thank you, Ryan. Why don’t you take the gear to the charity drop-off point yourself on your way home?” Did he really want me to take his pole and tackle? I doubted it.
“Good idea.” He winked at me again. A glance at Georgia told me she was confused by all of this, and I couldn’t blame her. I would also be confused if I even bothered to try to figure out what the hell was going through Ryan’s head. “I’ll just take this down to Fishing Gear for the Homeless and drop it off. See you guys later.” He turned and grinned at Georgia, and then headed out the door—thank goodness.
“Sorry about that,” I told Georgia. “Ryan is an acquired taste.”
“He seems nice,” she said, and I actually thought she meant it.
“Do you wanna eat some breakfast really quickly before we head out?” I asked, gesturing at the refrigerator.
“That would be great. Why don’t I make us a couple of omelets?” she offered. “It’s the least I can do after how nice you’ve been to me.”
I’d never pass up a good omelet, so I stepped aside and let her go to work, keeping her company as she prepared what was probably the best omelet I’d ever eaten. She was a good cook, and we had a great discussion about raising chickens while she cooked, something we’d both done when we were younger and had more patience.
About an hour later, I had her out on the boat, showing her how to work the reels. Georgia was nervous, it was pretty clear, but she got in there and handled it like a champ, trying her best to get her line in the area where I told her I thought the salmon would bite. She followed directions well, and I had a feeling she’d be successful at catching her first fish.
“It’s such a beautiful day,” she said, looking up at the blue sky full of puffy white clouds.
“I know. It really is,” I agreed, also looking around and sniffing the fresh air. The water was pretty clear that day, and there was only a slight breeze rocking theSeaside Shantyfrom time to time.
Georgia smiled and tilted her face up to the sun. With the light catching her hair, a halo developed around her, making her locks look golden. She was a beautiful woman, but she didn’t even seem to know it. “You know, Beau, I’m sure I’ve been a bit of a pain in your ass, but I’m beginning to think missing that boat was a good thing for me. I’m having such a good time.”
I couldn’t help but grin at her. “You haven’t been a pain in the ass, Georgia. I’ve enjoyed this, too. I’m so glad you’re having a good time.”
Her lips parted slightly as she looked at me, and I realized we were standing much closer together than was necessary. The urge to kiss her bubbled up inside of me, and I found myself closing the distance even more when her reel suddenly began to go crazy.
Eyes wide, Georgia and I both turned our attention to her fishing rod. “Reel it in!” I told her.
Georgia grabbed hold of the reel, but she hesitated, not knowing what to do. “Like this?” She began to turn the crank on the reel.
“Yes, like that, but faster. Do you need help?” I wanted to put my hand over hers and help, but I also wanted her to be able to do it alone.
“I think I’ve got it.” She continued to crank until we saw the salmon break the surface of the water. Georgia let out a squeal and kept reeling until she managed to get the fish on the boat. I helped her pull it over the side.
The salmon wasn’t giant, but it was good sized. It flopped around for a moment on the boat until I hoisted it up. “Wow, Georgia. Look at this. Nice job! He’ll make for good eating.”
Georgia seemed hesitant to come near the fish. “We can’t eat him,” she argued. “He needs to go back to his family.”
“His family?” I questioned, wondering if she was joking. Her expression told me that she wasn’t.
“Yeah, he’s gotta go back in the water.”
How was I going to argue with that? It wasn’t like I needed to eat him. I had lots of frozen salmon at home and fresh fish on the boat in the refrigerator. “Well, okay then. Let me take your picture with him, though.”
She opened her mouth and closed it a few times, like the fish was doing, but agreed. I snapped a picture of her with her first catch on her phone and then sadly watched her throw it over. When she said, “Goodbye, Mr. Fish! Don’t be so stupid next time!” my frown turned into a laugh. Georgia was hilarious, and I loved how easily she could make me chuckle.
“Do you wanna go to dinner with me?” I asked her.
Georgia looked at me for a second, her eyes wide as she processed what I was asking her. When she said, “I’d love that,” we both smiled.
