Out Of Focus: An Adams Grove Novel Part 30

"Yes, I was just getting ready to head down to the boathouse," Scott said. "I'm glad you came. Did you bring a jacket? It's cooler on the water."

"No," Kasey said, feeling stupid. "I didn't think about that."

A hooded sweats.h.i.+rt hung on the hook next to the door. "Here, take this along just in case."

"Thanks." Kasey lifted a thermos. "I did bring coffee, though."

"Ahh, you do have your priorities straight." He smiled. "That was thoughtful. I'm ready. Are you?" He started to lead the way, then turned back. "Are you crying?"

She dropped her hands to her side. "I'm sorry. I'm so tired. I feel wired, and I'm just a bundle of raw emotions. I shouldn't have come."

He put his hands on her shoulders, then hugged her to him. "It's okay. You have every right to be a basket case. It's exactly why you should call on your friends."

She cried into his s.h.i.+rt, then backed away. "The time is dragging by, and today is probably going to be even worse than yesterday. I just didn't know what to do with myself. I'm sorry." She sniffed and wiped her face with her sleeve.

"It's okay. I talked to my friend last night. We can look at the evidence from the crash site tomorrow. He'll have it all worked out for us, so we've got that to look forward to."

"You barely know me and you've done so much." Kasey cleared her throat and nervously ran her hand through her hair.

"I know. That's how we heroes roll." He dipped a little to look her in the eye. "Not even a little smile at that?"

She smiled and let out a sigh.

He wiped a tear from her cheek. "Let's make the best of today. They say water relaxes you."

"It better be a huge-a.s.s river then, because I'm about as far from relaxed as you can get."

Scott smiled. "I think it's big enough. Come on." He pulled the door behind him and guided her toward the dock. They stopped in the boathouse to pick up the gear. Scott selected fis.h.i.+ng poles from a rack while Kasey watched Maggie's family frolic in the kiddy pool. The puppies snarled and yapped, still clumsy. They rolled over each other as they wrestled Maggie split up a couple of sibling fights and nudged the puppies underneath her.

"She's such a good mother," Kasey said as she watched them, her back to Scott.

Scott pulled down another rod, and then went to the refrigerator to get some bait. "She should be. It's her fourth litter."

He closed the refrigerator and, when he turned, he saw Kasey's shoulders rising and falling. He put down his stuff, walked to her side, and wrapped his arms around her.

"I was a good mother," she said softly.

"I'm sure you're a wonderful mother, Kasey." He put his hand behind her head and rocked her in his arms. "Shhh, it's okay." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "You're going to have Jake back soon. We're getting close."

She nodded against his chest. "I know."

He looked into her eyes. "Repeat after me. Jake is coming home."

"Jake is coming home." Her words were tight, her voice raspy from crying.

"I know it in my heart." He tapped her chest. "And in my mind." He tapped on her forehead.

"I know it in my heart and mind," she repeated.

"I'll pray for his safe return, and know that G.o.d will bring him home."

"I pray for his safe return. G.o.d will bring him home," she said, squeaking out the last few words, her voice trembling.

"And in the meantime, Scott is really hot and such a great guy. How could I go wrong?"

She laughed and punched him in the gut playfully.

He feigned injury and let out a hearty laugh. "Can't blame a guy for trying. You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. For now." She shook her head. "You're not funny."

"Yes, I am. Come on, admit it. And by the way, tears don't scare me away. So just let them fall. They make your eyes sparkle pretty, anyway."

And one did fall, right down her cheek to her lips.

"Let's go." He tugged on her sleeve. "The fish are waiting on us."

Chapter Thirty.

Scott loaded the fis.h.i.+ng gear, then steadied Kasey as she crossed from the dock into the glittery boat and settled into the red-and-white leather seat.

"Am I going to be scared? You aren't going to go real fast, are you?"

"This isn't a speedboat. It's a fis.h.i.+ng boat."

"It's got a huge motor." She cast him a suspicious glance.

"Relax, that's just for tournament speed. We're just going to chill. Today is all about relaxing." He tossed her a hat and she tugged it down on her head.

She leaned back and prepared for the ride. He used the quiet trolling motor until they got out to open water, then he started the big engine. As they paraded slowly along the river, the birds seemed to chirp a h.e.l.lo as they cruised by, and the ripples the boat splashed against the sh.o.r.eline sounded like applause.

"I'm going to take you to my favorite cove." He steered the boat toward the center of the river that widened, then snaked off down small tributaries left and right. In some places, Spanish moss hung soft and gray from the winter trees. A moment later, they slowed. He shut down the noisy motor, letting the boat drift along, as they floated into the prettiest cove Kasey had ever seen. Scott put on a ball cap with a fis.h.i.+ng logo on it and started shuffling through the gear.

"This is pretty secluded," she said looking around.

"It's my favorite fis.h.i.+ng hole. I've never shared this location with anyone." He held out his pinky. "Pinky swear that it's our secret."

"Or what?" she challenged.

"Or I'll call Deputy Dan."

She wrapped her pinky around his and winked. "Your secret is safe with me. Heck, I can barely get to your house. I know I couldn't find my way down a river to a clump of trees." That splash along the sh.o.r.e had made her wonder. "There aren't gators out here are there?"

"Uh, no. No gators."

She relaxed a little.

"Turtles, muskrats, birds, fish-that's about all you'll see out here. No snakes this time of year to speak of."

"Good. I wouldn't want to be gator bait."

"No, that wouldn't be good. But speaking of bait, let's get these hooks baited and cast a few."

"I'm going to need a refresher course," she said as she picked through dozens of lures and tackle. She picked up one of the rubber worms. It reminded her of the day Nick proposed. She'd been pregnant with Jake then.

Scott rigged s.h.i.+ny spoons and bright jigs on their lines, then threaded worms on the hooks. He handed her a rod and demonstrated a cast. She watched in earnest, but when she tried her first cast, the lure clanked in the boat right next to her feet. "I'm rusty."

"Try again."

She did, but with the same results.

"You're not rusty. You suck." Scott tugged on his ball cap. "Here, let me help you out." He stepped up behind her, held his hands over hers on the rod, and guided her through the motions. "See. Nice and easy. Up and back, and then release when you have it right about...here."

"Oh. It's way easier with you helping me."

"There's more to fis.h.i.+ng than just getting in the boat."

"Let me try."

"Sure. Just reel it in by pus.h.i.+ng this b.u.t.ton and then spinning this." He stepped back and let her cast. "Perfect. You're a natural." Scott tugged his hat and reeled in his own line to recast.

Kasey smiled, feeling suddenly hopeful that she could be good at this sport. Once she had the lure reeled back in, she went through the motions and tried a cast. "c.r.a.p."

"You doing all right back there?" Scott spun around.

"Well..." She bit her bottom lip and looked skyward. "Unless there are any treefish, I don't think I'm going to catch much." She tugged on the line, but it didn't budge.

"You're snagged."

"Yep. A little more decoration for my lure. Like camoflouge."

"Happens to the best of us." He stepped over and took the pole from her. He worked the rod back and forth and, by some miracle or maybe years of practice, he was able to tug the bright gear out of the tree.

She cheered and clapped as the limb bedazzled line splashed in the water.

Scott squinted. "I don't want to sound like a pill. But I think you probably just scared all the fish out of my favorite fis.h.i.+ng hole with all that noise."

She clamped her hands over her mouth. "Oh. Sorry. I knew that. You're supposed to be quiet when you're fis.h.i.+ng, huh?"

"Yep." He didn't look mad, but she figured he wasn't thrilled about relocating. He moved toward the trolling motor, started it, and began inching through the water.

"Sorry."

"No problem. I hadn't caught anything anyway. It was time to move."

"I'll be quiet in the next spot."

"Somehow, I doubt that."

Kasey didn't catch a single fish, but Scott caught at least half a dozen.

She enjoyed the day even though she didn't catch anything. Scott didn't make her bait her own hook and, luckily for her, he was a master at untangling her line. She'd snagged it in at least four trees.

"Ready to head back?" he asked.

"Sure. If you are." She removed her hat and fluffed her bangs. "Scott?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you for being supportive, and thanks for today, too."

He nodded. "I love being the hero."

"It fits you well," she teased. "But seriously, thanks for believing me."

"I wouldn't doubt a mother's intuition." He stepped away from the motor and sat next to her. "A mother's bond, her connection to her child. It's real."

Kasey knew exactly what he meant. "Thanks for sharing your secret fis.h.i.+ng hole. I wouldn't have made it through the day alone."

"Wanna drive?"

"I bet I'm a better boat driver than a fisherman."

"Well, that's not saying much." Scott started the motor, and Kasey moved into the driver's seat. She maneuvered according to his directions, guiding the boat back down the river to his dock.

The closer she got to the dock, the more panicky she became. "You better take over so I don't wreck us," she called to him.

"You're doing fine."

"I don't know how to stop." She looked around. "There's not a brake on this thing."

Scott came to her side, leaned over her, and took the controls. He eased back on the throttle. He was so close to her she felt his breath whisper against her neck. When the boat neared the dock, he killed the motor and let it drift the rest of the way. He stood and leaped from the boat to the dock, then wrapped a line around one of the pilings.

Comfortable on the small boat now, Kasey chose not to wait for Scott's a.s.sistance to disembark. She leaped from the boat, but missed the dock completely.

She screamed as she hit the water with a splash. Maggie came running out of the boathouse barking. Scott stood wide-eyed for a moment as she flailed, reaching for the pilings, pus.h.i.+ng her bangs out of her face and spitting water.

She could tell he was stifling a laugh. "It's not funny."

"Got a little c.o.c.ky, didn't ya?"

"Shut up and help me out." She held on to the dock with one hand and reached the other toward him. He took her hand. She tried to pull him in the frigid water with her.