“Sure. There’s always room for something sweet.”
Hannah put the dishes in the sink to deal with later and got the strawberries out of the refrigerator, along with a can of whipped cream. She filled two dishes and handed David the whipped cream to add however much he liked.
They were just about done eating and Hannah was thinking what a perfectly lovely night it had been, when her phone dinged to announce a new email message. She glanced at it as she brought their bowls to the sink and had to grip the kitchen counter to steady herself as she reread the message.
“Hannah, what is it? Are you okay?” David couldn’t help but notice that Hannah’s face had lost all color as she read something on her phone. And that a mask slipped over her face when he asked the question. She turned to face him and smiled as if everything was perfectly normal.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I misread something, that’s all.” She yawned as she rinsed the bowl and David took that as his cue to leave. He stood and walked over to her.
“This was fun. Thanks for checking out the venue with me and for sharing dinner.” He wanted to pull her into his arms and brush the hair off her face and ease the worry that he saw there. He didn’t know what was troubling her, but it was pretty clear to him that something was. The vibe that he’d felt earlier was gone and he wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it or not.
“It was fun,” she agreed. “Thanks for bringing the steaks and the wine.”
“Anytime. Are you still up for fishing on Saturday?” He hoped that she’d been serious about wanting to learn.
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.” She walked him to the door and he noticed that as soon as he stepped outside and she closed the door, that he almost immediately heard a computerized voice say, ‘Armed stay’, meaning her house alarm had been activated. He wondered again what it was that had made her so jumpy.
Chapter 10
Hannah woke earlier than usual Saturday morning. She was excited and a bit nervous about her fishing lesson. She’d sensed something from David at dinner, a fleeting hint of interest that she wasn’t sure was real. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part. She’d always found David Quinn very attractive. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair and piercing green eyes that seemed to notice everything.
He was smart and successful, and was close to his siblings and his mother. So, if she was looking—he ticked all of her boxes. And when he’d stopped being a grouch, he was surprisingly fun to be around. Their ride to Lewiston and back had flown by as they’d laughed and sung along with the radio. It was easy to be with him, when she wasn’t thinking about how attractive he was.
When she thought about him as a potential boyfriend, though, she felt a confusing mix of emotions ranging from excitement to apprehension. She also knew that David didn’t have a great track record in that he’d never had a very serious relationship. And Hannah wasn’t interested in anything casual. It was common in her industry for people to have flings on the road, but the thought of it made her shudder. It just wasn’t how she was wired. She cared too much, felt too deeply and hurt too easily. All of her protective senses were warning her to keep David as a friend and not to cross that line because she knew how easy it would be to fall fast if she did.
So, she chose something that was more practical than cute. A pair of old jeans, rubber heeled shoes so she wouldn’t slip on the boat, and a long-sleeved pink t-shirt with a navy fleece pullover. The air was cool when she stepped out on the deck, but she knew the sun would warm it up quickly and she’d be glad for the layers. She sipped her coffee and nibbled on some toast while she waited for David to arrive. And she dabbed a bit of sunscreen on her nose and found a baseball cap to keep the sun off her face. When she caught a glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror she laughed. Her hair was in a ponytail and with the hat on, she almost looked college aged.
She was just putting her empty coffee mug in the dishwasher when the front doorbell rang. A glance at the camera on her cell phone confirmed that David was waiting outside. She used her phone app to turn off the alarm system and went to let him in. When she opened the front door, she saw that his truck was parked out front and the boat trailer with his boat was attached to the back.
He grinned. “Are you ready to go?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She locked the door behind her and followed him to his truck. Once they were both in, he backed down the boat ramp, then jumped out to crank the boat into the water and tied it to a post. Hannah waited nearby while he drove his truck back to his house.
He jogged over a few minutes later and helped her to climb into the boat, then untied it and hopped in himself. She noticed that there was a cooler on the boat and several fishing poles laying next to it. The boat was a sleek Boston Whaler, with two bucket seats up front and two benches in the back. She guessed that it could hold up to six people.
David backed the boat up slowly, then turned it around and headed out into the lake. It was early enough that there was little boat traffic aside from a few others out fishing. They waved as they passed the other boats and about ten minutes later, David slowed the engine and they drifted into a cove of sorts. It was a quiet spot with no visible homes in the area just lots of woods.
“Is this a tested spot?” She teased him.
He laughed. “Yes. This is one of my favorites. I’ve had the best luck here recently.”
She watched as he got everything ready. He pulled out a small radio and set it on a built-in table.
“Are you thirsty?” He reached into the cooler and pulled out two bottled waters.
“No, not yet, thanks.” He put one back and opened the other, then set it on the table by the radio.
“Do you want to find us a good station?”
She flipped through the stations until she found one that came in and had some good music playing. Meanwhile, David opened his tackle box and pulled out two lures. One was a bright pink, the other a reddish orange.
“These are my favorite spinners, the Yakima Bait Wordens original Rooster Tail. Which color do you want?” The two lures had fluffy tails and were identical. The only difference was the color.
“I’ll take the pink one.”
David showed her how to attach the lure to the fishing rod and demonstrated with his own pole how to cast it out into the water.
“Want to give it a try?”
“Sure.” She grabbed hold of the pole and carefully swung it so that the line cast out over the water. When it splashed in a few feet away from David’s she breathed a sigh of relief. She’d done it!
“Nice job! You sure you haven’t done this before?” He teased her.
She laughed. “So, now what do we do?”
“Now we wait. When you get something on the line, you’ll feel it move and then we reel it in. If we’re lucky, we’ll land a trout or two and eat well for dinner.”
“Is that mostly what you catch here?” She’d wondered about that.
He nodded. “With these lures it’s mostly rainbow trout. There are large-mouth bass around but I use different lures for those. I prefer to catch trout. It’s my favorite eating fish.”
“How long does it usually take to catch one?” Hannah knew that her brother was often gone for hours when he went fishing.
“It’s hard to say. Sometimes it’s hours and we catch nothing. Other times they’re biting right away. If we don’t have any luck here, we’ll try another spot further down.”
Just ten minutes later, Hannah felt a tug on her line and got excited. She stood and looked at David for guidance.
“Slowly reel it in and hold on tight. Some of these fish are strong. If you let go, you could lose your pole.”
Hannah did as he said. She held on and excitedly reeled the line in. She held her breath as the lure flew up and out of the water, but instead of a fish on the other end, it was a leather sandal that was tangled in the lure. She laughed when it flopped onto the boat. David grabbed it and untangled it from the line.
&nbs
p; “False alarm,” he said and grinned. “I forgot to mention that sometimes you catch other things. Cast it over again.”
She did and settled back down. They stayed like that for well over an hour with neither pole budging. It was relaxing, though, drifting along, listening to the radio and basking in the warmth of the sun. After a while, it got so warm that Hannah took off her sweatshirt and David did the same. She almost fell asleep at one point as her eyes grew heavy with the sun shining down and the soothing sound of the water lapping against the side of the boat.
But then sudden movement from David jerked her wide awake and she opened her eyes to see him standing and excitedly reeling his line in.
“Hopefully it’s not another sandal,” he said and she laughed as a wriggling fish flew into the air, then landed with a splat in the back of the boat. She was surprised to see David carefully remove the lure from the fish and then gently toss it back into the water.
“It was too small to keep,” he explained. “Do you want to reel yours in? Let’s try our luck at that other spot I mentioned.”
She did and they traveled for another fifteen minutes or so, to the opposite side of the lake. There were two other boats in the area, which David explained was a good sign that the fish might be there, too. They cast their lines out again and Hannah grabbed the water that she wasn’t ready for before. She noticed two sandwiches in the cooler and a big bag of potato ships.
“I figured we’d be out here for lunch, so I packed turkey sandwiches for us,” David said. “I hope you like turkey?”
“That sounds great.”
Once they were settled, David handed her a sandwich and set the big bag of chips between them. They munched happily and waited for the fish to bite. Hannah wondered what it was that David enjoyed so much about fishing. It was a little slow and somewhat boring to her, but it was nice to just be out and on the water, relaxing in the sun.
“I’d like to say that it’s usually more exciting than this,” David began. “But it’s not. This is a pretty typical day. I just like being out on the water either hanging with a friend or just relaxing and getting my mind off work.”
“It is relaxing out here. I can see why you enjoy it.”
David laughed. “You’re being polite. You think it’s boring. I can tell.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say boring. Relaxing is a good word. I really do get it. Sometimes it’s just nice to be alone and think, or not think at all and let your mind drift. Do you ever fall asleep out here? I almost did, until you caught that fish,” she admitted.
“Sometimes. A tug on the line always wakes me up, though.”
Hannah finished her sandwich and a healthy amount of chips and stretched, feeling full and almost ready for another nap.
“I have some iced coffee in the cooler, too, if you need a little pick me up.” It was almost as if he’d read her mind. She didn’t really want to fall asleep in front of David.
“Do you want some? I’m going to have a little.” She found the thermos of coffee and opened it.
“Sure. I’ll take a splash.”
She poured them both a half cup and added a little cream and sugar to hers. David drank his totally black.
“So, how did you get discovered? Did you always know you wanted to sing?” David asked as he leaned back and sipped his coffee.
“No. I never really wanted to perform. But I always loved music and have been writing songs for as long as I can remember. I took piano lessons first, when I was about seven, and the teacher said I had a natural ear for music and perfect pitch. I could hear something on the radio and then sit down and play it almost perfectly.”
“That’s impressive.” He grinned. “I’m pretty much tone deaf. But I sound fantastic in the shower. At least I think so.”
She laughed. “Everyone else in my family is tone deaf, too. I’m not sure where I got it from.”
“So, did you go to Nashville right after graduating college?”
“No, I actually went to Hollywood first. My roommate was a theater major and wanted to get into TV or film. I wasn’t ready to go to Nashville by myself so I went with her. I started playing open mic nights there because it was the only way to get attention for my songs, and a few months later, a record producer from Nashville was at one of my sets and he liked what he heard.”
“Did he offer you a record deal?”
“He invited me to come to Nashville to create a demo tape that he could show to his bosses. I explained to him that my real interest was writing, not performing, but he said my voice was a big part of his interest and he thought his bosses would agree. And they did. They offered me a deal and we put together a full collection of songs. I moved to Nashville and started playing whenever I could get a booking around town. Once my album started getting radio play, things went a little crazy.”
“I think I remember that.” David started singing the opening verse to her first hit single and she couldn’t help laughing. He wasn’t kidding when he said he couldn’t hold a tune. He was totally off key but his enthusiasm was endearing. When they’d sung together in the car with the radio playing, she hadn’t noticed how bad he was.
“I can’t believe you know that song and know all the words.”
“It’s a good song. I can see why it was so popular. Do you write all of your songs?”
“Most of them, yes. Though now and then someone brings me a song and if I like it, I’ll do it. There are a lot of talented writers out there. What about you? Tell me more about your business.”
“Well, it’s not nearly as exciting as what you do, but I enjoy it. There’s about thirty or so people in the company now. We have a big warehouse on the Riston line, and trucks and drivers that cover the whole region. We mostly serve smaller restaurants and pizza shops. I really like the buying part the most, getting a really good deal on cheese for instance and buying up a bunch of it, betting on the market not going lower.”
“Like cheese futures.”
“Exactly. The prices fluctuate and I’ve had customers quit me over a five cent difference in cheese. That doesn’t happen as much now.”
“And you love it.” It was a statement, not a question. David’s passion for his business was clear when he spoke about it.
“I do. It’s been fun building the company. I’m lucky to enjoy what I do. I’m sure you feel the same way?”
“I do, usually.” She grew quiet for a minute, thinking of the stalker but David assumed she just meant she was tired.
“It must be hard to travel so much, being on the road for weeks or months at a time?”
She smiled. “Some people really love it. But I’m more of a homebody. I like to be home creating the music more than out performing it. I’ve actually been selling more of my songs recently and having other people perform them.”
“Is that strange? To see someone else singing your words?”
“Not really. It’s actually pretty wonderful to see them bring it to life and to put their own spin on it.” She jumped as she suddenly felt a tug on her line and the pole dipped. She grabbed it tightly and reeled the line in. She was half-expecting another sandal or something other than a fish and was thrilled to see what looked like a big trout fly into the air and then land on the boat. She felt bad as it struggled, though, and was somewhat relieved when David said her fish was too small too, by only a half inch, and he tossed it back over the side. As much as she enjoyed eating fish, she didn’t like seeing them in pain.
They continued to fish for another hour and just when they were about to call it quits and head in, David’s pole started jumping and he reeled in what looked like a huge trout to Hannah.
“Is that one a keeper?” she asked once he got it free from the line.
“It is. I’m going to put it out of its misery now, so it won’t suffer while we transport it back.”
Hannah turned, so she didn’t have to see how David was going to do that to the fish. She liked that he said it would be quick so the fish wouldn’t su
ffer. She couldn’t help feeling a little guilty though.
“You can turn around now. And don’t feel guilty. It’s a natural thing to eat fish,” he assured her.
“I know. It’s just different to see it up close.” She grinned. “I’m used to having it arrive on my plate, fully cooked.”
“Well, if you don’t have plans tonight, I can make that happen. I’m pretty good at grilling fish and there’s plenty here.”
“I don’t have plans tonight,” she said.
“Good. Why don’t you stop over around six, then?”
Hannah agreed and they made their way back to the neighborhood dock. As David was about to pull the boat up, Hannah had a better idea.
“You’re welcome to tie it up on my dock. There’s room for several boats there and at the moment, I don’t have any.”
He looked at her uncertainly, “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not. Really. It’s the least I can do since I stole your house.” She grinned and he laughed.
“All right. I’ll tie up there for now. But feel free to tell me to take it back anytime.”
He pulled the boat up to the dock, jumped out and tied it securely to the pier.
He held out his hand to help Hannah out of the boat and she felt a tingle when their hands touched. She wondered if he felt it, too. He didn’t show any reaction, so she just smiled, thanked him again and asked what she could bring for dinner.
“I don’t really need anything. Just come over.”
“I have to bring something. How about a bottle of red wine?”
“I won’t say no to that.”
Chapter 11
David put the fish in his refrigerator, jumped in the shower and then headed to the supermarket. He’d invited Hannah for dinner and he didn’t have much else in the house besides fish. And it had been a very long time since he’d cooked for anyone, especially a girl. He didn’t want to screw it up. As he walked into the market, he decided to consult an expert. Maggie answered on the first ring.
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