Chapter 13 #3
“I might as well warn you,” Cort said, “Robin started a petition to get new safety rules set for all kids, whether on the dock at her restaurant or the public beach. We’ve never lost one of our own, and that accident with Benny was too close.”
“It’s a good idea.” Someone should have done it long before now, in Brogan’s opinion.
“She’s set on your heading it up.”
Brogan froze in the middle of examining the rod. He’d never fished before, so he hoped Cort didn’t expect him to know what he was doing. “What do you mean? Head up what?”
“Initially, a program on water safety. She wants you to teach it.”
“I’m not a lifeguard.”
“You’re a SEAL.”
“Right. I’m military. I don’t compete in swimming meets. I don’t even know traditional strokes.” He laughed at the idea. Every swimmer he’d ever seen was extra lean and hard—not bulky and covered in scars. “I’m trained for combat.”
“You’re trained to survive,” Cort said while fastening the many clips on Andy’s vest. “That’s good enough. Plus, you know safety and survival. Wouldn’t hurt to share a little of that knowledge.”
“I’m not a teacher.”
“I disagree. Every time I’m around you, I see you teaching something to Andy or Shayna. It comes naturally to you, and you do it in an easy way. That’s not a knack everyone has.”
At that very moment, Andy swung up his small rod, barely missing Brogan’s face. He said, “Whoa, hold up there, bud.” Kneeling down, he showed Andy how to hold the rod. “Keep it out in front of you, okay? You don’t want to smack me or your uncle Cort.”
Cort straightened with a smile. “Case in point.”
Bemused, Brogan came back to his feet. “I hope you’re a teacher as well, because I’ve never fished a day in my life.”
“No way.”
“First time I’ve ever held a fishing rod. No idea what I’m doing.”
“Will you be squeamish about putting bait on the hook?”
“Guess that depends on the bait.”
Cort laughed out loud. He opened a small fridge in his garage and got out a small foam container. As they started down the hill, a big fish splashed as if in welcome and two geese glided by, honking noisily.
The green water looked cold, disturbed by an undercurrent that kept it washing against the rocky shoreline in a melodic rhythm.
Brogan drew a deep breath and relaxed. It was his last easy breath for an hour. The second he cast out, he got a nibble, and it was a helluva lot more exciting than he’d expected. He had his hands full with the fish, listening to Cort, and keeping Andy from going headfirst into the lake.
After a time, Cort said, “It’s peaceful, right?”
More than Brogan had imagined was possible. “Yeah.”
“I used to fish here nearly every morning, at least until Marlow rented the cottage. Then she’d come down to the dock in cute shorts to watch the sunrise. She’d sit there drinking her coffee until I’d forget about the fish.”
It was an amusing image, a Marine getting sidelined by a pretty woman. Amusing, but not surprising. “Got to you, huh?”
“From day one.”
That’s how he felt about Pixie.
Andy laid aside his fishing pole and wanted to see the rubber worms. Cort had made sure the ones in Andy’s tackle box were without hooks. They still had to watch him so he didn’t try to eat the things, but mostly he just wanted to squish them in his hands, then stretch them out.
Brogan got curious enough that he squatted down beside Andy and tested the worms, too.
Cort said, “I should take you both to the bait shop. There’s a guy on the lake who makes custom lures. I could look at them for hours.”
Brogan’s curiosity was piqued. “They sell live bait, too?”
“Sure. Worms, minnows, crayfish, crickets … I get stuff there, but sometimes I just walk along the road and turn over rocks. Plenty of bait available.” He grinned.
“Once, I ran out of bait and caught a spider. Marlow was not happy. She made me scrub my hands and arms up to my elbows before I could touch her.”
Brogan laughed. “I don’t know too many people who are fond of spiders.”
“A fisherman will use whatever he has to.” Cort spent a few minutes casting out before he continued. “With Marlow, I was surprised. Generally, she’s not afraid of anything.”
“Especially hard work?”
Cort snorted. “I haven’t known many people who’d take on what she does. Pixie doesn’t realize it, but she’s a blessing to Marlow.”
He didn’t doubt it; she was a huge blessing to him, too. “Do you mean in some specific way?”
“In all ways, but when Marlow first came here, she was looking for acceptance.” He flashed a look at Cort, then took a quick glance at Andy, too. The toddler had lain back and was now putting all the colorful lure worms on his stomach.
Brogan guessed there was no accounting for what entertained a toddler.
“Marlow had this idea of getting back to her roots, and that meant opening up her shop and running it with the same professionalism that she’d applied to the corporate world, but on a much smaller and more personal scale. First, though, she accepted a job at the Dry Frog Tavern.”
“Hell of a name.”
“Right? It catches your interest, though. Marlow was hooked. I think she took the job as something of a dare, to prove to Herman and me that she could do it.”
“And she could?”
“She makes it look easy, when I know it’s not.” When Cort got a bite, he grew quiet, concentrating on moving his rod this way and that, teasing the fish—until a few minutes later, he reeled in a big bass.
Brogan was fascinated. He observed how Cort unhooked the bass, careful of the sharp fins. “That’s a big one.”
“Big enough to be dinner.”
Andy cheered, “F’sh, f’sh!”
“You want to pet this one, Andy?”
Not only did he rush over to gently pet it, but before Cort could pull back, Andy bent down and gave it a loud, firm kiss.
Both men froze, then looked at each other before cracking up. Brogan swooped Andy into his arms and quickly wiped his mouth. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell Mam about that.”
Still laughing, Cort said, “Andy will do his best to share, but let’s hope his explanation isn’t clear enough for either woman to figure out.”
Since they were still chuckling, Andy clapped his hands and laughed, too.
After Cort got the fish in a basket, he returned to his story. “Back when I first moved my mother here, I didn’t know how much I’d enjoy fishing. I just knew I wanted my mother somewhere safe.”
Brogan had no idea what that meant, and he didn’t ask. Cort was usually pretty quiet, so he figured the other man would tell him when he was ready.
“My dad was the type who liked to talk with his fists. It’s a long story, and I won’t go into it all, but you can imagine that I was still pretty young when I tried to defend her.”
“Your dad turned on you?”
“He was an abusive drunk. He could have bloodied us both and he wouldn’t have cared. Mom took off with me, we got by, and when I was old enough, I joined the Marines. Unfortunately, while I was away, he found her.”
Cort’s tone of voice, quiet and flat, conveyed the fury he still felt.
“It was bad?”
“Bad enough that the hospital contacted me and I got emergency leave.”
Hell of a situation for a man to be in. Caught between serving his country and saving his mother. For the first time, Brogan thought that maybe he’d gotten off easy. As least while he’d served, he hadn’t worried about anyone. Until Connie’s death, he hadn’t known he had anyone to worry about.
“I had to get Mom settled somewhere, so I bought this house and the lake house you’re renting.
I figured whenever I was home, Mom and I could have our privacy.
As soon as she recovered enough, she got a job with Herman, and liked it as much as Marlow does.
With me away so often, Herman really stepped up to help her. Other locals did, too.”
It sounded as if Cort was as confused by it all as Brogan was.
“I bought this place because Bramble is so small and remote. I figured Mom would be safe here. Until I got to know the town, I didn’t know there were places like this.”
“Or people like these,” Brogan said in agreement, thinking of Pixie’s protective coworker, Renee; Benny and his awesome mom, Ellen; Dee, who’d been so generous to a stranger; and Gunther and Lily, such openly loving parents.
Any one of them was a marvel, but together?
All from the same place? It defied belief, and yet it was true.
“Exactly. These people looked out for Mom when I couldn’t, and when I was home, they treated me like family—the biggest, best family I’d ever had.”
“More so than the military?” Brogan felt disloyal for even asking.
“Different, for sure.” Cort gave a crooked grin. “Warmer. This is home now, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Mom was really happy here for her last years.”
“She’s gone now?”
Cort nodded. “I was up for reenlistment when we found out about her lung cancer. Much as I loved serving, I needed to be here with her.”
He’d had a mother he could love more than the Marines. The notion gave Brogan a lot to think about because that was how he’d felt about Shayna from the moment he found out she needed him.
It was how he now felt about Pixie.
“Herman and I are close. He’s been more of a father to me than my own ever was.”
Damn, he and Cort had a lot in common.
Yet they had some huge differences, too. The main one being that Cort had stood by his mother, and Brogan had bailed on Connie.
“I don’t think Marlow knew she was looking for acceptance. She just wanted to be herself instead of the person she’d become during an unhappy marriage.”
“People here love her.”
“Big-time,” Cort confirmed. “Serving one drink or burger at a time, she won over the entire town. Herman is especially close to her. She dressed down, let her hair loose, got back to her roots, and found her forever place—where she was liked for being herself, not a hyped-up model of business success or wealth.”
Acceptance. Brogan had felt it, too, and it was powerfully addictive.
Thirty minutes later, when Andy rubbed his face against Brogan’s shoulder and let out a yawn, he figured it was time to head home. “I have a napper on my hands,” Brogan said quietly.
Cort glanced at him, then smiled as Andy nodded off and went boneless. He took the rod from Brogan. “What did you think of fishing?”
“I didn’t catch anything, but I wouldn’t mind trying again.”
“It’s a little easier when you’re not holding a toddler.”
Brogan turned so his cheek pressed the top of Andy’s head. His sunglasses were now crooked and his hat was off to the side. “I don’t mind holding him.” The second he spoke, he laughed at himself. “I’d never even thought about holding an infant or a toddler until I met Shayna and Andy.”
“Didn’t know what you were missing, huh?”
“I had no clue.” Opening a hand on Andy’s back, Brogan looked out over the water. Sunlight glinted off the surface, and the air smelled so fresh. “I could get used to this.”
“Consider yourself invited anytime. I have more than enough gear. Andy is always welcome, too.”
Though he’d never given fishing a thought before today, Brogan already anticipated the next time.