She handed him the spray and he took care of applying it.
“Do you want me to get your line and pole ready?” he asked.
“No, I can do it.”
He smiled, figuring she’d want to prove to him that she was capable. Not that he had any doubts.
He’d grabbed some chicken livers at the bait shop, because it was the best bait for catching catfish, in his opinion. He watched as Erin adeptly wound the liver onto the hook, set her line and dropped her pole into the water.
“You’re pretty good at this,” he said as he did the same with his line.
She took a seat and grabbed her cup of coffee, popped the top off the lid and took a sip. “I didn’t have much choice. My dad was determined to make all of us learn how to fish.”
He sat in the chair next to hers and opened up his coffee to take a long swallow. “But did you enjoy it?”
“The first couple of times? No. It was messy and then he taught us to clean the fish we caught and that was even worse. Brenna was the best at it. For some reason fish guts didn’t seem to bother her in the least. But after a while I learned that I was the best at actually catching the fish, and when you have two other sisters, everything is a competition.”
“I see. And what was Honor the best at?”
“Cooking the fish after we caught it.”
He laughed. “Hey, everyone’s got their talents.”
“The three of us have managed to split them up pretty well.” She checked her line. Nothing was happening, so she opened her breakfast sandwich, and Jason decided he’d eat as well.
“This is pretty decent,” Erin said. “Eggs, cheese, sausage, and the biscuit is yum.”
“Yeah, they do a good job on the food there. They make great lunch sandwiches, too.”
“Oh. I’ve got something, I think.” She laid her sandwich and coffee on top of the cooler.
Jason saw the tug as well, so he stood and went over to watch her reel in the line, ready to offer help if she needed it.
She didn’t. It may have been a while since she’d been fishing, but she obviously hadn’t lost a step. She expertly gave the fish a little line, then gently reeled him in.
It wasn’t a huge catfish, but it was a good start. He swept it up in the net, then detached it from the hook and deposited it in the fish cooler.
“Nice job,” he said.
She smiled. “Thanks. It feels good to get that first catch under me.” She washed her hands, then went back to finish her sandwich.
He liked that she wasn’t at all grossed out by handling a fish, that she hadn’t once complained—about anything, even though he knew this wasn’t her jam, and she seemed totally relaxed, which was what he’d brought her here for.
After they finished eating, they settled into their chairs. Jason stared out over the water.
“How often do you get to fish?” she asked.
“I try to get out at least once or twice a month, depending on what else is going on. But I rotate Saturdays at the clinic with the other veterinarians, and I’m on call the weekend I work, so I don’t get out here as often as I’d like to.”
“Do you come out here by yourself?”
He nodded. “Mostly. Sometimes Clay will come out with me, and Owen used to until he bought the brew pub, but I like being out here on my own.”
“Why?”
“It gives me time to think, to process.”
She looked over at him. “Do you have a lot to process?”
“Sometimes. Work stuff, house things, dating.”
“Really. Tell me.”
“Nothing to talk about right now. Work’s going well, the house is moving along, and I’m not dating anyone but you.”
She paused and stared at him.
“What?”
“Do you think we’re dating?”
Now it was his turn to pause. “What do you think we’re doing, Erin?”
“I . . .” She didn’t finish, just looked out over the water again.
So maybe they did have something to talk about. But then he got a tug on his line and it was his turn to reel in a fish. And his took longer because it was a big one. So by the time he’d struggled with it and pulled it out of the water and they both got it into the net and in the cooler, they were sweating and ready for a cold ice water.
He pulled the water out and handed a bottle to her, then took a long guzzle of his.
“That was a great catch,” she said.
“Yeah, it was.” And then her line went off, and they were onto another catch, which kept them busy for another fifteen minutes reeling it in. By the time they’d put that one in the cooler they had two nice-sized fish.
“Wow, two good fish in a row,” he said.
“I know. That was fun.”
“And hey, we were in the middle of a conversation before those fish.”
She arched a questioning brow. “We were? About what?”
“You asked if I thought we were dating. And I asked you what you thought we were doing. And then you paused.”
“Oh, right.” And then she paused again. Only this time she wasn’t saved by a fish.
Jason decided to let her talk whenever she was ready, but he wasn’t going to say anything until she did. He was content to watch the sun come up over the lake like a big orange fireball, sending streaks of red across the lower horizon and a shimmering glow skimming across the surface of the water.
“I don’t know what’s happening with us, Jason. You know I’m not looking for a relationship. I just want to have some fun.”
“Which we are. At least I am. You’re having fun, aren’t you?”
Her lips curved. “Yes.”
“We’re going out and doing things together, right?”
“Yes.”
“Are you seeing anyone else?”
She frowned. “Of course not.”
“And I’m pretty sure we’re having sex.”
He watched her sharp inhale, followed by her very satisfied smile. “We sure are.”
He grabbed his sunglasses from the front of his baseball cap and slid them on, then looked over at her and shot her a grin. “Then I’d call that dating. It’s not a big deal, Erin. No promises are being made here.”
“You’re right. I just don’t want you to think I’m stringing you along.”
He laughed. “I don’t feel strung. Relax, okay?”
“Okay.”
They went quiet and let their lines do the talking in the water, and Jason had time to think. Of course he had feelings for Erin. He’d always had feelings for Erin. But after Owen had stepped in and things had gotten serious between the two of them, Jason had buried those feelings deep. He’d thought they were gone.
They weren’t. Now that she and Owen had broken up and the two of them were doing . . . whatever it was they were doing, those feelings had resurfaced. And every minute he spent with Erin made how he felt for her even stronger. But if that wasn’t how she felt, he was going to have to give her some space, let things between them develop slowly, and see how it went. He knew she was still raw over the breakup with Owen. What woman wouldn’t be after that disaster?
All he wanted to do was be there for her, to show her that he wasn’t going to leave her when she needed him, that he was the kind of guy who was always going to be by her side, no matter what.