Becky looked at him blankly for a moment, then realized what he was referring to. “Oh. Fishing.” She struggled not to come across like a simpleton. “Right. Sure. Let’s do this.”
If either Steve or his daughter had noticed her verbal stumbling, they gave no indication, earning her eternal gratitude.
With Steve carrying the fishing poles and Stephanie the bucket of bait, they all went to the edge of the lake.
The girl got right down to business like a pro. Baiting her hook, she cast out the line with one smooth motion. In Becky’s eyes, the execution was a thing of beauty.
She felt guilty about being the reason that Steve had to hang back. “Look, if you want to join your daughter, I can just sit here and watch the two of you do the hard work.”
“Can’t catch anything just by watching,” he told her. “You said you wanted to fish.”
“Yes, I did,” she responded, wishing with all her heart that she hadn’t.
“All right,” Steve said, beginning her lesson. “Some people like to use fancy lures. I’ve seen people spend hours working over just one. But Stephanie and I are down-to-earth. We like to use worms.”
“Real worms?” Somehow, Becky had hoped that this part would never come. She heard Stephanie laugh at her question. “I take it that means yes.”
“Real ones work better,” he stated. He reached for the bucket Stephanie had been carrying, which Becky hadn’t paid all that much attention to until now.
She looked into it and wasn’t overly thrilled with what she saw. “They’re alive,” she declared.
“Tell you what,” Steve volunteered. “I’ll bait the hook for you.”
Becky really wanted to say yes, but felt she couldn’t shirk this part of it. Not when Stephanie was able to handle it so easily.
“No, I’ll do it,” she told him, manning up to the task. “Just show me how. I’ve never impaled a live worm before.”
This time he did laugh, because she looked so cute despite her obvious aversion to all this. The fact that she was doing it meant a great deal.
“Nothing to it,” he assured her. “Here, I’ll show you.”
Standing right behind her, Steve placed his hands over hers, and together, they succeeded in baiting the hook.
They also made a connection that neither of them had counted on. Having him standing so close like that, guiding her hands as she threaded the worm on the hook, made her infinitely aware of him. Aware of his slightly musky scent and of the fact that it had been an extremely long time since she had had any sort of relationship with a man.
As for Steve, he was almost startled to feel the very strong pull weaving through his body, the kind a man experienced when he found himself yearning for a woman.
That sort of thing hadn’t happened to him since Cindy had died. Six whole years had passed and he hadn’t even entertained the notion of going out with a woman, of becoming close to one.
And now this.
Standing here at the edge of the water, concentrating on helping Becky bait a damn hook, he found the notion flying at him, out of the blue. And while it captivated him, making him remember how things could be, it also disturbed him.
It made him feel as if he was being disloyal.
“Why aren’t you showing her how to cast, Dad?” Stephanie asked, looking over toward the duo. “She’s all set with a worm on the hook.”
His daughter’s voice managed to shatter the moment and break up the mood. It forced him to focus his attention on the subject at hand.
“That she is, Stephanie. Time for lesson number two,” he told Becky. “Casting.”
Again he went through the motions, keeping his hand on top of hers and showing her how to cast the baited line into the water as far as she was able.
The first few times were failures, partially due to the fact that his presence interfered with her ability to concentrate. Becky forced herself to focus harder. Eventually, after several more attempts, she was able to perform a successful cast.
It was silly, she knew, but she felt proud of herself.
* * *
“That had to be the best fish I ever had,” Stephanie announced, as she set down her empty tin plate and beamed at Becky. “How about you? How did it feel catching your first fish? Did you feel good?”
“I have to admit,” Becky said, “after I got over wanting to set it free, I was kind of proud that I actually got one.”
“The biggest one,” Steve pointed out. “You sure you’ve never been fishing before?”
“Very sure,” Becky answered. She knew he was just being kind, but she appreciated it.
“We’ve got to bring you out again the next time we go,” Stephanie said.
Becky turned toward her. Steve was sitting right next to his daughter and he mouthed “Thank you” to her just before she acknowledged the invitation.
“Sure—I’d love to come. Count me in.” She looked around the campfire area. “Well, now that we finished eating, what do we do next?”
“Now,” Stephanie declared, sounding every bit like a ten-year-old rather than the cool teenager she had been attempting to project, “we roast marshmallows!”
She said it with such gusto, Becky knew that this had to be another treasured tradition. “Sounds great to me,” she agreed. “Let’s get the sticks.”
It was surprising how fast Stephanie could move when she wanted to.
Chapter Thirteen
After they had roasted enough marshmallows to stuff a small mattress, while nostalgically reliving previous camping trips, it was finally time to call an end to the first day of the trip and go to bed.
“No, not yet,” Stephanie protested, as she struggled to stifle the yawns that were coming with more and more frequency. “C’mon, Dad,” she pleaded, “bedtime rules don’t apply to camping trips.”
“You’re right—they don’t,” Steve agreed. “Because if they did, you would have been in that sleeping bag of yours almost two hours ago.”
Stephanie turned toward her ally for help. “Becky?”
Becky was torn, but in the end, she had to side with Steve. “I’ve got to call it the way I see it, Stephanie. Your eyelids are definitely drooping.”
“No, they’re not,” Stephanie protested indignantly. Then, because both adults were looking at her knowingly, she was forced to amend her statement. “Well, maybe they are just a little.” And then she glanced up at her father. “Ten more minutes, Dad?”
Because this trip had turned out so well and was, in reality, like a precious, unexpected gift, Steve allowed her the extra time she was begging for. “Okay, ten more minutes.”
Stephanie’s grin was practically blinding.
But by the time the ten minutes were up, despite her efforts not to, Stephanie had dozed off. She was still sitting by the campfire, but was leaning her head against Becky’s shoulder.
Becky looked toward Steve. “I think she’s ready to go to bed,” she whispered.
He glanced at his daughter’s face. “Gee, how can you tell?” he deadpanned.
“I have this sixth sense,” Becky quipped. She looked at Stephanie again. “Think we can get her into her sleeping bag without waking her?”
At first, Steve thought she was kidding. But then he realized that she was perfectly serious. “You don’t know how a sleeping bag works, do you?”
If she said that she didn’t, she knew he would think she was inept. But even so, she went with the truth.
“Haven’t a clue,” Becky confessed. “I really am a city kid.”
His expression told her that he’d thought as much. “Okay, let me leave her with you for a little longer while I get her sleeping bag ready.” And then he slipped inside the tent.
Becky felt almost maternal, sitting there with the sleeping ten-year-old leaning against her as if she was totally c
omfortable doing so.
Maybe someday, Becky told herself.
“Okay, all set up,” Steve announced as he returned. He nodded as he looked at his daughter. “And she’s still asleep. Good.”
Becky’s arm and shoulder were beginning to ache a little. “I haven’t moved an inch,” she whispered.
“Well, we’ll soon fix that.” Steve bent over and scooped his daughter into his arms. “Okay, Stevi, time for bed,” he murmured. Glancing toward Becky as he rose to his feet, he said, “She’s asleep and can’t hear me. I can call her Stevi when she’s sleeping.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Becky responded, spreading her hands innocently.
“Maybe not out loud,” he allowed. “But you were thinking it.”
The corners of her eyes crinkled just a little bit. “I’ll never tell.”
Moving ahead of him, she held back the tent flap, allowing Steve to walk in first.
Becky saw that he had spread out the sleeping bag in the middle of the tent, unzipped. As she watched, he laid his daughter down, then slowly zipped the bag up around her until she was snuggly sealed inside.
Becky felt a little foolish. “So that’s how it’s done,” she murmured.
“That’s how it’s done. Another mystery of life solved,” Steve chuckled.
“Not a mystery,” she responded defensively, thinking he was having fun at her expense. Shrugging, she admitted, “I just thought you crawled into the sleeping bag. Obviously, I was wrong.”
Steve chose to let the matter go. He wasn’t looking to embarrass her. “You know, it is getting late, and knowing Stephanie, she’s probably going to want to get an early start in the morning.” His eyes met Becky’s. “What do you say we turn in?”
“We?” she repeated.
Concerned with everything else, she hadn’t thought about the sleeping arrangements until now. The tent had seemed so huge when they were putting it up, but now it suddenly felt a lot smaller and more intimate.
“Yes,” Steve answered. “You and me and the sleeping bags. I thought you could take that side.” He pointed to the left of Stephanie. “And I’d take the other side—unless you would rather reverse that order...”
His voice trailed off, as he left the decision up to her.
“No, no, that side’s fine,” Becky quickly assured him, her voice going up just a wee bit too high, even to her own ears.
“I can help you zip up your sleeping bag if you need help,” Steve offered, nodding at it.
Right now, she thought it best if she maintained space between them. The man was just too tempting for her own good.
“No need,” she answered quickly. “I can manage.”
“There’s no reason for you to be nervous,” he told her quietly.
She looked at him with wide eyes, thinking that he was telling her he was going to be a gentleman. That he wasn’t going to try anything.
“I’m not nervous,” she stated, even though she could feel her pulse accelerating.
“Good, because there is nothing to be afraid of,” he assured her. “The tent is secure and there really are no bears in this area.”
She watched him and suddenly realized that he was talking about her being safe camping out here, not safe from him. The latter apparently hadn’t even entered his mind.
Becky turned away and slowly let out a long breath. She really had to stop letting her imagination run away with her. Steve wasn’t interested in her, and he certainly couldn’t help being good-looking.
“You’re sure about that?” she asked him, letting him think she was worried about their safety from the wildlife out here.
There wasn’t a trace of doubt in his voice. “Absolutely.”
The fact was, now that she thought about it, she was worried about being out here in the wilderness, and she gave voice to that. “I’m still going to think that every sound I hear is some bear, looking for a late-night snack.”
“Well, we can stay up and talk if that’ll make you feel better,” he offered. He sat down, leaving his sleeping bag unzipped. “I’m not really sleepy.”
He didn’t fool her. “Yes, you are.” She inclined her head. She was just going to have to be brave about this. “Thank you, but I am not going to be the reason for you missing out on your sleep.”
Little did she realize that she already was, Steve couldn’t help thinking. But that was something he needed to deal with and resolve on his own, without bringing her into it.
“Why don’t you let me worry about that?” Steve said, amused.
Her eyes met his and she made her decision. “Okay,” she said, sitting down.
They talked for a while. He told her about the project he was working on, carefully editing his words before speaking and leaving several crucial things out. Very quickly he found it fascinating that she could not only keep up with what he was saying, but had a few pertinent, interesting observations to make about the project.
Stimulated, Steve went on talking for a lot longer than he’d originally intended. But eventually, sleep finally overtook Becky.
“I think I’d better say good-night before I wind up falling asleep midword,” she told him.
“Good night,” he said. He doubted that she even heard him. Relieved that she’d fallen asleep, he was asleep himself within five minutes.
* * *
The second day of camping was a reenactment of the first and yet it felt different, somehow more intimate and comfortable than the first had to Becky. Stephanie was totally relaxed, having let the last remnants of her defensive guard down. She appeared to be in her element.
When they went on a hike, Stephanie enjoyed pointing things out along the route. And when they got down to fishing again, Becky was no longer the total novice she’d been the day before.
They caught a few more fish, and this time around, Becky felt confident enough to ask if she could clean them.
“You sure you want to do that?” Steve asked. “You know you’re still technically our guest and can beg off from having to do chores like that.”
But she didn’t want to beg off. “Being waited on was never really my thing,” she confided to him. “I watched you yesterday and it didn’t look as if it was all that hard.”
“It’s not hard. It’s just messy and tedious,” he told her. He thought for a moment, secretly pleased that she’d offered to clean the fish. “Tell you what. If it’ll make you happy, we’ll split up the catch. You can clean half of them.”
“I think you’re crazy,” Stephanie declared, shaking her head. It was obvious that cleaning fish was not high on her list of fun things to do. “Is this going to take long?” she added, looking from her father to Becky and then at the bucket filled with fish. “I’m getting really hungry.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll work as fast as we can,” Becky promised.
“Unless you want to pitch in,” Steve suggested with a straight face.
Stephanie held her hands up in the air. “I’ll wait,” she told them.
* * *
“I can’t believe the time went by so fast,” Becky remarked several hours later. The fish had been cleaned, fried, then eaten, and were now being happily digested by all of them.
“Do we really have to go home tonight?” Stephanie asked her father. With summer school over, Monday was wide open for her.
But not for Steve. “I wish we didn’t, but I’m afraid so. I’ve got to be at work in the morning, honey.”
Stephanie pouted. “They work you too hard, Dad.”
Steve laughed at the face she made. Sitting at the campfire, he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
“No argument here,” he told her.
“Then stay an extra day,” Stephanie pleaded. She looked up at him. “You deserve it.”
“Tell you what. Why don’t we make
plans to do this again really soon?” Steve suggested.
Suspicion was already entering the girl’s eyes. She was bracing herself for disappointment. “How soon?”
Eager not to let this opportunity slip away, and worried that Stephanie would change her mind, Becky was quick to step in.
“How about a week from next Saturday?” she asked, looking at Steve. “Does that work for you?”
He thought of his schedule for the next month. Work was being ramped up in order to make sure that they didn’t miss their next deadline. But thanks in part to Becky, he had managed to recapture a little of the time he used to enjoy spending with his daughter. He wanted to hold on to that for as long as possible.
He might have to put in extra long hours during the week, but it would be worth it if it allowed him to spend another weekend with his daughter and this woman who seemed to have a knack for making things happen.
“That absolutely works for me,” he said. “How about you, Stephanie? Does that work for you?”
“Yes!” She paused for a moment, biting her lower lip as she chewed on a thought. “And, Dad?”
“Yes?”
“It’s okay if you want to call me Stevi when it’s just the two of us—and Becky,” she added, glancing her way. “Just don’t do it when there are other people around.” She raised her eyes to her father’s. “All right?”
“Okay,” he agreed, smiling at her so widely that his lips felt in danger of splitting. Again he shifted his eyes toward Becky.
But he didn’t have to say anything to her. She knew what he was thinking.
Becky smiled back.
* * *
Her backpack felt even heavier as they made their way back to the car.
Maybe because they didn’t want to leave, Becky thought. She had to admit that she had never been exactly enthralled with Mother Nature, but the camping trip had done its trick. It had brought Stephanie and her father closer together. And because it had, Becky felt as if she had accomplished something herself, and that felt good.
The fact that she had sustained a number of bug bites this weekend and was trying very hard not to scratch her skin off was a small price to pay for this success. And because this weekend had been so successful, she wasn’t entirely dreading the camping weekend that was looming on the horizon—even though she still would have been just as content spending the weekend in some hotel with room service and a large TV screen where she could view films about nature if she was so inclined.
Adding Up to Family Page 12
