“Why?” he said and touched one of the boxes. “I like this one.”
“Put it in the cart,” I told him. “We need tackle to catch fish.”
“I thought tackle was for football,” he said as we moved down the aisle.
“It is, but this is tackle for fishing. It basically means supplies. Grab some of those.” I pointed to some neon bobbers that we wouldn’t use but I remembered how much I loved bobbers when I was a kid.
“Those are cool,” he said and pointed out another package.
“Grab them,” I said without hesitating.
“What about these?” he asked and held up some neon worms.
“Toss them in. Those too.”
We were only halfway down one aisle and we were already looking at buying a second tackle box to fit all of our gear in. “What about this one?” he asked and pointed to a very large box with telescoping shelves.
I nodded. “I like it. Let’s do it. This one you’ll take home with you.”
“No,” Saige said. “You don’t need to do that. I think one sensible box thingy is enough.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s a tackle box and we need a lot of stuff. You don’t want it scattered all over your house, do you?”
“No, but we don’t need every little thing they have,” she argued.
“Saige, when is the last time you went fishing?”
“That’s not the point,” she argued.
Jace was watching me. This was the part when I was supposed to be a man. I didn’t want him to grow up and be a prick thinking it was okay to talk down to women. “I would like to buy these things,” I said calmly. “Having the right gear for any occasion is the key to success. Please, let me buy this stuff.”
She was looking at me like I’d sprouted a second head. It wasn’t my usual style, but I didn’t usually have an eight-year-old hanging on my every word. She seemed to understand. “Thank you. Jace, what do you say to Nash?”
Jace grinned. “Thanks, Nash. What about poles?” he asked and got right back into the shopping mode.
“Let’s go to the next aisle. This is going to be one of the most important decisions we make all day. This is critical to catching fish.”
He looked at me wide-eyed. “Okay.”
We spent a good thirty minutes handling just about every pole they had. A salesman tried to help, but this was something I wanted to do with the kid. It was fun to dig up all that stuff I remembered from when I was his age. It took me back to a time that was simpler. I wouldn’t say happier, but it was a hell of a lot easier.
“This is really too much,” Saige hissed as we made our way over to the clothing department.
“It’s just enough,” I replied and picked up a camo hoodie that looked like it might fit Jace. “Is this his size?”
“You are not buying him a hoodie,” she argued.
“I’m buying all of us hoodies,” I replied. “We have to look the part. Oh, I want to get one of those vests too!”
“I like it,” Jace said when Saige started to put the hoodie back.
“We’ll wear matching ones,” I told him. “We’ll be down by the water and it’s going to be a little chilly.”
I browsed the fishing vests and found one for each of us. “Don’t even think about it,” Saige said when I held one up to her torso. “There are lines that will not be crossed. I might wear that hoodie, but I am not wearing an ugly hat or that vest.”
I snapped my fingers. “That’s what we need!”
“What?” Jace asked with excitement in his eyes.
“We need the hat. All fishermen wear the hat.”
“What hat?”
It wasn’t long before I found the hats. Our cart was loaded with stuff. I ignored the looks from the hardened men that were real fishermen. I didn’t care if I looked out of place and like a total putz with my shiny new gear. This was a teaching expedition, and I was confident Jace was absorbing every word I said.
I bought licenses for all of us as well. I didn’t want to ruin our day by getting a ticket. Plus, I was hoping it was a lesson Jace would remember. Of course, a license meant he needed a plastic protector to keep it in. By the time we were finished shopping, Jace and I were almost best buddies.
We carried our tackle and poles down to the shore. “Are we going to eat the fish?” Jace asked.
I looked to Saige to answer the question. “I don’t know if we can,” she said.
“Can we?” Jace asked and looked at me. It was the first time he made eye contact with me.
“We can if we catch the right kind,” I explained. “This is saltwater fishing so the city says we can. If we went to the park and we caught fish, we would have to put them back. It’s called catch and release.”
His eyes practically glazed over. I was giving too much information and losing his interest. Instead of getting into the laws and all the boring stuff, I focused on finding the perfect spot.
“There’s a fence,” Saige pointed out.
I saw a sign posted on a fence that blocked the part of the shore I wanted to get to. I searched the fence until I found the spot I was looking for. I peeled back the wires and gestured for the two of them to go through.
“What are you doing?” she hissed. “You can’t trespass.”
“I know the guy that owns this land. He won’t mind.”
“He put up a fence with a sign that very clearly says he does mind,” she argued.
“He’s not trying to keep me out.” I grinned. “We go way back. He’s trying to keep out everyone else.”
“Come on, Mom,” Jace said and crawled through the opening.
“Great, I let you near my kid and you’re teaching him how to commit felonies.”
I smiled and followed her through. “I don’t think trespassing is a felony. Probably a misdemeanor, but every good boy needs to learn how to be a little bad.”
She stopped walking and shot me a dirty look. “Do they though?”
I laughed and led the way down to the shore. “This way we get the whole place to ourselves. We don’t have to share with anyone.”
“Great, another good lesson,” she muttered. “Don’t share. When committing a crime, don’t share the wealth.”
“That’s actually not a terrible piece of advice,” I told her.
“Mom, he said he knows the guy,” Jace said.
I grinned and winked at her. “Exactly,” I said.
The kid was warming up to me. It might not be so bad hanging out with the little dude. Granted, it had only been about five minutes, but I was hopeful we could get along.
Chapter 39
Saige
I was grateful for the hoodie. It was uglier than sin, but it was warm. My light sweater did nothing to ward off the chill coming from the water. I huddled in the folding chair Nash insisted on buying. We all had one, with Jace’s chair being smaller and perfect for his size.
“All right,” Nash said as he opened up the white Styrofoam bowl. “Reach in there and grab a worm.”
I felt my lip involuntarily curling at the thought of Jace grabbing a worm. I watched as he dug his fingers into the dirt and came up with a worm. “Now what?” he asked Nash.