“I’ll do what I can to help.” Anna Grace nodded.
“And I’ll take the guys fishing so you ladies can talk about us,” Tommy said.
“Thank you both.” Cricket pushed up out of the rocking chair. “I’m glad you’re staying all summer, Anna Grace.”
“Will you and Bryce come to Padre with us, and will you be my bridesmaid?” Anna Grace asked. “I’m only having one, and it will be really simple. We’ve decided on the first weekend in August.”
“I’d be honored,” Cricket said, “as long as the dress isn’t too frou-frou.”
“I can guarantee that,” Anna Grace assured her.
Cricket went to her room, and sent Bryce a text: Will you go with me to a wedding on Padre Island the first weekend in August?
The answer came right back: Yes!
She fell back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. If someone had told her a few months ago that her life would turn completely around in one short week and that Anna Grace Cramer would ask her to be her only bridesmaid, she would have thought they were drunk or insane.
“But it’s real,” she whispered, and picked up her phone to call Jennie Sue.
Chapter Eight
Cricket, I’d like you to meet my parents,” Bryce said. “This is my mother, Darlene, and my father, Tim.”
“I’m pleased to meet both of you.” Cricket shook hands with them. “And this is my friend and roommate, Anna Grace, and her fiancé, Tommy Bluestone.”
“This is really sweet of you to invite us out here,” Darlene said.
“Yes, it is, and I hear there’s a good fishing hole right here on your property,” Tim said.
“There sure is,” Tommy said. “I caught several catfish yesterday. I thought us guys might grill them along with whatever we catch today. Or we can have a fish fry. Whichever way y’all like them best.”
“Grilled,” Darlene and Tim said at the same time.
Bryce leaned down and whispered in Cricket’s ear. “Do you want us guys to stick around awhile?”
Cricket shook her head. “Anna Grace and I have already made a blackberry cobbler and a chocolate cake for dessert, and the vegetables are prepped for supper, so we thought that us girls would go fishing with y’all.”
“Well, halle-damn-lujah!” Darlene grinned. “I love to fish. Let’s have a contest. If the ladies catch more fish, the guys have to do cleanup after supper. If they bring in a bigger haul than we do, then we’ll do cleanup.”
Bryce shook his head. “That’s not fair. We’ll be doing the grilling, and that’s half of making the meal.”
Cricket raised both eyebrows. “And we’ve made dessert and will be making the sides.”
Darlene took a step over to stand beside Anna Grace and Cricket. “I think they’re afraid we’ll show them up, girls.”
Cricket liked this woman. She reminded her of Lettie and Nadine twenty years ago. “Losing a fishing contest would be humiliating,” Cricket added, taunting the men.
“You’re on,” Bryce said. “And we won’t lose. Let’s gather up the equipment. Can we all go in the truck?”
“Sure.” Cricket grinned. “You guys can have the back of the truck. Just hang on tight. I’m driving, and I could hit a few potholes.”
“Want some pillows to sit on?” Anna Grace teased.
“We’re tough.” Tommy gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’m just glad that dessert is already made. If you ladies lose the bet, you might burn it, and my sweet tooth would cry if a cobbler was ruined.”
“I’ll get the keys then and meet y’all at the truck.” Cricket headed into the house. She went straight to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, and took out a plastic container. She put it, several bottles of water, and some cookies into her tote bag; grabbed the keys for the truck from the end table; and went back outside.
The guys were already sitting in the back of the truck, but none of them was brave enough to sit on the tailgate.
Anna Grace pointed to her bag. “What’s that?”
“A few cookies in case we get hungry, some water if we get thirsty, and what’s going to help us win this bet,” Cricket answered. “And we are willing to share with the guys. We don’t want them to say they lost the bet because they were so thirsty and hungry that they couldn’t concentrate on their fishing powers.”
Anna Grace giggled. “I can’t believe I’ve missed out on all this fun for so many years.”
“Why’s that?” Darlene asked as she got into the truck and slid over to the middle of the bench seat.
“You’re the smart one,” Cricket said, smiling, as she settled in behind the steering wheel, “but there are no gates between here and the creek.”
“What does that mean?” Anna Grace asked.
“It means that the smart farmer always sits in the middle. Then she doesn’t have to get out and open and shut the gates,” Darlene explained. “Now, tell me why you missed out on fishing.”
“A week ago, I was employed by my father in an oil company,” Anna Grace began and went on to give her a brief explanation of what had happened in the last week, “and Cricket was kind enough to forgive me and hire me, and she’s teaching me to be independent. Today is the first time I’ve ever been fishing. I hope I don’t hold y’all back any and cause you to lose the bet.”
“You’ll be our ace in the hole. Beginner’s luck will be with you.” Darlene patted her on the knee. “And Cricket, please be careful with the potholes. I would like grandchildren in the near future.”
Cricket laughed out loud. “Yes, ma’am.” She had always been skeptical of people until she really got to know them, but she really did like Darlene—just like she’d been drawn to Bryce from the first time she met him. She parked under a tree, and a vision flashed through her mind of those kisses she had shared with Bryce a couple of nights ago. A nice rosy glow filled her cheeks, and her pulse jacked up a few notches just thinking about the way his lips on hers had heated her from the inside out.
“The race is on!” Bryce called out as he and the guys unloaded and carried the fishing rods and tackle boxes to the edge of the creek.
“I have no idea how to bait a hook,” Anna Grace whispered.
“I’ll teach you,” Darlene said. “There’s nothing to it. Just think of the worm as a piece of spaghetti. Come to think of it, we could use cooked spaghetti.”
Cricket opened the truck door. “That’s part of my secret recipe for bait. I brought some along, and we won’t be sharing that with the guys.”
“Do you share your recipe?” Darlene asked as she and Anna Grace got out on the other side.
“Not with many people, but I might with you,” Cricket whispered. “Men think that bait has to stink to high heaven. I’m of the opinion that any smell will bring a catfish to see what it is. Let’s see how you like it before you write it down.”
“Fair enough.” Darlene nodded.
The guys went upstream twenty yards and sat down on the bank. Cricket took Darlene and Anna Grace downstream about ten yards. “This is a better spot. It’s a little deeper and a little colder, and there’s shade. Catfish like murky waters. If you go follow the creek that way”—she pointed to the west—“the water clears up, and it’s a perfect place to lay out and let the clear water cool you off on a hot day.”