Chapter 20 #2
“Perfect.” He returns to his side-by-side and grabs the rest of the gear, including the two bags from the back seat. “The cookies stay by me,” he adds, setting my bag down in front of one of the chairs.
After a few minutes of getting everything situated, he starts to prep the fishing poles. “All right, beautiful, let’s bait the hooks.”
When he pulls a little white container of worms from the cooler, I make a face. “I’ll let you do that part.”
He chuckles and nods. “It’s not bad, let me show you.”
I move closer as he sits down, the pole lying across his lap. He pulls a worm out of the container and holds it up. “You just sort of thread it on, like this,” he says, moving the worm onto the hook with ease.
“That’s it? Well, I can do that,” I insist.
“Well, you can do the next one, how about that?”
“Fine,” I state. I’m a nurse, for God’s sake. I can put a worm on a hook.
When it’s all set, he stands up. “Come ’ere, and I’ll show you how to cast.”
I step over to him and let him position me in front of his body.
“Take the pole, like so,” he instructs, demonstrating what I need to do.
“Push in this button and angle the tip behind you. Make sure you’re clear of people, trees, and everything else you can get caught on, and then throw, releasing the button as you do it. ”
He shows me a few times, and I watch every step he takes.
Nodding, I take the pole and get into the same position he was in, even with him standing directly behind me.
I move my arm a few times, just like he did and get a feel for the motion.
Then, I push the button in and take a deep breath.
I bring the end of the pole forward and release the button, as instructed, and watch the worm fly through the air. It lands with a plop in the water.
“Damn, that was good for your first time. Reel your line until you hear the click, letting you know you have it set.”
Again, I do as instructed, hearing the distinct sound of the click. “That’s it?”
He nods. “That’s it. Now, you wait.”
He opens his tackle box and pulls out a little forked post. He easily slides it into the ground and then takes my pole from my hand, placing it between the teeth. “There. Now you can bait my hook,” he says with a wink.
Cade gets the hook ready while I stare down at the little container of worms. They’re moving around and looking a little nasty, covered in slime and thick dirt. I reach in and grip the closest squiggly worm and pull it out. Exhaling, I mutter, “You can do this.”
“You got this, Oaklee.”
I move it to the hook and stick the hook into the end. “I’m a nurse. I touch gross stuff all the time.”
He snickers, reaching over to help guide me. “Yes, but this is different than what you do on a daily basis.”
When the task is complete, I exhale dramatically. “I did it,” I whisper, looking up at Cade.
He’s grinning from ear to ear. “You sure did. You’re a total badass.”
I bark out a laugh. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“No, you are. Most people won’t do that.”
Just then, I glance over to watch my pole move. “Did you see that?” I murmur.
Cade sets his pole down on the ground and takes the seat beside me. “Very slowly, lift the pole from the stand. Try not to jostle it.”
I do as instructed, carefully lifting the pole. When it’s firmly in my hand, I feel the bounce. “I think it’s on there.”
“We’re gonna set the hook and reel it in, all right? You’re gonna give it a little jerk up and start reeling. Not too far,” he coaches. “When you feel it jerk, give it a tug and reel.”
I nod, my eyes wide as I watch the tip of my pole for movement, despite being able to feel it. Just then, I feel the now-familiar yank and lurch the pole up. The end of the pole bends down hard as I try to reel in the fish.
“Keep it steady. Pull your pole up and then reel as you bring it back down, like this,” he says, reaching over and demonstrating what he’s saying.
I do that a few times, and gasp when I hear the splash and see the fish pop up from the water. “Oh my God! It’s huge,” I holler.
“That’s what she said!” Cade bellows, reaching for a net and moving to the edge of the water. “Slowly reel it in, and I’m gonna grab it with the net.”
He does, scooping up the fish and carrying it toward me. I’m standing, trying to hold the pole up as he reaches into the net and grabs the fish. Glancing at me, he asks, “Wanna take the hook out?”
I shake my head, making him chuckle.
“Wait, are you gonna hold it?”
My eyebrows draw together. “Are we still talking about the fish?”
He laughs. “For now, yes. We need a picture to document your first time fishing and first catch. So, do you want to hold the pole and line or the fish.”
I think about my options, not really liking the idea of grabbing the fish directly. That’s why I choose the other. “The pole and line.”
He nods and moves to the side. “Come stand here.” He hands over the pole and line.
“It’s heavier than I expected.”
“It’s a good-sized fish,” he replies, grabbing his phone from his pocket. “Smile.”
I do, proudly holding my catch as he snaps a few pics.
Cade drops his phone on the chair and takes the fish from me. I watch as he maneuvers the hook out and carefully sets the pole aside. With the fish in his bare hand, he holds it up and asks, “Wanna give it a kiss before we set it free?”
“We’re not keeping it?”
“Not this time. If we were fishing for the freezer, it would be a keeper, but since we’re just having fun, drowning worms, we’ll let this guy go.”
“Okay. And no, I don’t want to kiss him.”
Cade moves to the edge and lowers the fish before giving him a gentle toss into the water.
He swims away, making me smile. My fishing partner drops down to the water and dips his hands in to clean them off.
Then, he heads to his tackle box and grabs a container of wipes.
Finally, he turns his attention to me and smiles.
“Not bad, Miss Fisherwoman. Probably about a three-pound channel cat.”
“Only three pounds? It felt like fifteen,” I grumble, recalling how it felt so heavy pulling against me while I reeled.
He crouches down in front of me and flashes a grin. “Wanna bait your hook and do it again?”
I nod eagerly.
This time, baiting the hook goes a little smoother, as does the cast, and we spend the next hour sitting in his favorite spot, watching the water, and feeling the light breeze on our faces. It’s, without a doubt, one of the best days I’ve ever had.
And it all started with a fish.