Nash had the hook in his hand. I was picturing the thing embedding in Jace’s finger or a gust of wind coming up and catching it in his eye. “We need to put the worm on the hook,” he announced.
“How?” Jace asked as the worm stretched and curled between his fingers.
“We have to poke it on the hook,” Nash answered. “I’ll do the first one. Then you can do the next one.”
Jace watched with wonderment as Nash put the worm on the hook. “Does it hurt him?” he asked.
Nash shook his head. “Nah, worms don’t mind.”
I was about to give them a wet wipe to clean the dirt and worm goo from their hands, but Nash wiped his hands on his jeans. His expensive designer jeans that were not exactly meant for dirt and grime. Jace imitated him and never looked prouder to get dirty.
I watched as Nash went through every step of casting the line. He was so patient with Jace. The Nash standing on the shoreline was nothing like the man I saw in the office every day. I found myself imagining the two of them spending more time together. I could already see the positive influence Nash was having on Jace. My little man looked like he was on top of the world with that fishing pole in his hand. He constantly looked up at Nash and adjusted his hands or the way he stood to perfectly imitate Nash.
“Let’s sit down,” Nash said after they cast out a few times.
“Do you want a wipe?” I asked Jace.
He sat down with his pole between his legs. “Nope. I’m good.”
Nash winked. “He’s catching on quick.”
“He’s having fun,” I agreed.
“Are you warm enough?” he asked.
I smiled and looked down at the ugly green hoodie. “I am. Thanks for this. I’ll pay you when we get back to the car.”
“No, you won’t. I like that look on you. We’re going to have to get you matching pants.”
“Not a chance in hell.” I laughed.
He grinned. “Give it some time. Jace is going to convince you to go hunting next.”
I scoffed. “When pigs fly, you’ll see me traipsing through the woods with a gun in hand.”
“Nash?” Jace said.
He turned his attention to Jace. “What’s up, buddy?”
My heart warmed at the way he spoke to him. “Something’s wrong with my pole,” Jace said.
“What’s wrong?”
“It keeps jerking,” Jace said with confusion.
Nash jumped out of his chair. “You got a fish!”
Jace looked panicked. “What?”
“Get up! We have to reel it in!”
Even I got to my feet and watched Nash help Jace reel in the fish on the line. I clapped my hands and immediately reached for my phone. I had to document this event. I snapped twenty pictures of every expression on Jace’s face as he pulled the fish out of the water. I took pics of Nash taking it off the hook while Jace watched with rapt attention.
“You have to hold it up,” Nash instructed. “This is your first fish. It’s a big deal and requires a picture.”
Nash stood out of the way while I took another full series of pictures. “You get in with him,” I instructed without thinking about what I was doing.
Nash bent forward and pointed at the fish with a huge smile on his face. Jace’s matching smile said it all. This was exactly what I wanted for him. “All right, I think I got it,” I said.
“Do we put him back now?” Jace asked.
Nash looked to me. I gave a subtle nod. Nash smiled before helping Jace return the fish back to the water. After they were all set up again, Nash sat down while Jace stood next to the shore.
“I don’t suppose you’ve ever cleaned a fish?” he asked.
“Um, I’ve cleaned the fish I buy at the grocery store,” I told him.
He laughed. “We’ll save that for next time.”
“Thanks. I need to ease into this. Scales and all that are not my thing.”
“It’s been a while for me,” he said. “I can’t say I’m thrilled to do it, but it’s good for him to learn. If he wants to fish, he needs to know.”
“I agree.”
“I bet he would like to shoot guns,” he said.
“No.”
“BB gun?” he questioned.
I cringed at the thought, but I had to remember Jace wasn’t a baby. “Maybe. I need to work up to that.”
“My pole is broken,” Jace complained.
Nash hopped up and went to help him. Watching the two of them together was making my mama heart do some pretty crazy things. It was a strange warm and fluttery thing. Nash was actually really good with him. I thought Jace would have been hesitant to be around a stranger, but he was taking to him like they’d known each other for years.
When it was time to go back, I was a little sad that it was over too soon. “Do you want to come in for a snack?” I asked him.
“Sure,” he said.
Jace helped him carry all their new fishing gear into the basement. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the stuff, but maybe there was a slim chance I could take Jace fishing by myself. We’d have to look into fake worms though. I wasn’t about to touch those nasty things.
I grabbed the crackers from the cupboard and sliced some cheese. “Do you catch big fish?” Jace asked Nash.
“I have not been fishing in a really long time. I have a boat. Maybe one of these days we’ll go out and do some real fishing.”
Jace’s eyes grew wide. “You have a boat?”
“Yes, I do. When your mom says it’s okay, we’ll go for a ride.”
Jace looked at me. “Can we?”
“We’ll see,” I said.
It was going to be difficult to explain to Jace that Nash wasn’t someone that would be in his life for a long time. I was certain this was a one-off. Nash would feel better about doing whatever it was he was doing and then go back to his life. He did not want a kid around.
We finished our snack before Nash said he had to go. “Thanks for hanging out with me today,” Nash said to Jace.
Jace surprised us both when he launched himself at Nash. He threw his arms around Nash’s waist and hugged. “Thank you for showing me how to fish,” he said.
Nash looked at me with what looked like horror and confusion. He patted Jace’s head. “I had fun today,” he said. “I hope we can do it again really soon.”
“Jace, go wash up and change your clothes please,” I told him.
“Bye, Nash,” he said and waved before dashing down the hall to his bedroom.
I walked Nash to the door and stepped outside. “Thanks again for doing this,” I said.
“It wasn’t a big deal. It was fun.”
I smiled. “You had fun hanging out with a little kid who had no idea how to fish?”
“I did. It’s been a while since I just hung out without thinking about what I needed to do at work.”
“I appreciate it more than you can ever know,” I told him. “I think you made a big difference in his life.”
“I hope so,” he said. “I know what it’s like to feel like you are all alone.”
“I’ll see you Monday,” I told him. “Thanks again. For all of it. The hoodies and gear and just everything.”