Page 21 of Handling Skylar (Hope Parish #5)

“Right. I’m the asshole.”

“Well, yeah, you are.”

Suddenly we both laughed. We flew over the Grand Isle Bridge and Chase pointed out where the Army Corps of Engineers had blockaded the MR-GO which was short for Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal.

He came into a smooth landing at Hopedale’s Breton Sound Marina.

“I keep boats down in Venice for charters.”

“The Amy ? That was…nice naming it after Momma.”

He nodded. “I missed her. I can show it to you if you’d like to see it. I’ve got an extra set of keys.”

“Sure, if we have time, but the reds are waiting.”

We unloaded the gear and got a canoe. He grinned and lobbed a paddle at me. “You did some rowing in school, right?”

I laughed and clutching the paddle, stepped into the canoe. Chase nodded in approval. “Okay, the boy has his sea legs.” He sat down and maneuvered us away from the dock. “The MR-GO is no more than four hundred yards down that way.”

I spied a rock dam maybe three hundred yards away, rising about seven feet above the surface.

“This blockade is a result of the terrible toll of Hurricane Katrina, finally getting the nation to begin repairing the damage the canal had caused. When it had been dug in the 1960s, it put a vital wetlands ecosystem on a fast path to collapse and increased the threat of hurricane storm surge to nearby communities,” he said.

There were already a number of boats anchored there. “A happy circumstance for us,” I said. “Fishermen, of course, knew that putting rocks in this water would also have another benefit. It would create an artificial reef, which would concentrate fish in one spot.”

He nodded. “The dam was part of a project to halt wetlands loss and it’s worked well.

” He paddled some more in silence. “Hunting reds is all about stealth.” We took the run down the river hopping wakes and riding swells to wrap around the tip of rocks on the western end of the pass.

We curled back up, and the line of rocks buffeted the rollers being pushed along the Gulf by the southeast winds.

Chase and I worked our way to the north, and stopped at an area where the rocks had washed away, letting the water move back and forth with the tides.

“This is a perfect ambush point. The river is low and slow. The last two days the winds have been light and allowed the water to settle. It’s much prettier here than Audubon Park. Look at that,” he said peering into the water. “Visibility is four feet.”

When we reached the southwest rocks, Chase said, “Go slow now. Large pulses through the water can be detected by the fish.” We paddled a bit more, then Chase said, “Stop here.”

We threw our lines in and it was almost non-stop reds between eighteen to twenty-two inches, filling up the first cooler and some of the second. The sun was beginning to dip lower in the sky. “We’d better get going,” he said. “Would you like to come over and we can grill some of this catch?”

It was Thursday and my planned Lafayette dinner with Sky, but knowing her I suspected she would enjoy this more. “Yeah, can I…uh…bring someone?”

“Anna Kate doesn’t like Samantha and I don’t intend to expose her to that woman’s nasty comments,” Chase said firmly.

“It’s not Anna Kate.”

“Oh? Then, okay. That’s fine. Do you mind if I ask who it is?”

“If you keep it on the down low. I haven’t exactly broken it off with Anna Kate. I think she’s avoiding me and the obvious.”

“Doesn’t surprise me, and I’m really glad to hear you’re cutting that shrew loose.”

“I can’t argue. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll be bringing Sky.”

“It’s about damn time. Samantha really likes her. That’s good, Jake.”

I smiled. It was good. Damn good.

Back at the Marina, we loaded the plane and took off.

“Have you thought anymore about my request?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I have. You’ve made several attempts to apologize to me.”

“I know it’s been tough and a lot of water has run under the bridge.

But, Jake, I am sorry about leaving you high and dry.

I wasn’t thinking about you. I was running for my life.

I was disillusioned and also felt betrayed.

I’m sorry if you endured even a fraction of what I felt, and I’m sorry you thought I didn’t care.

But that’s as far from the truth as can be.

I swear it. I regret the way I left, but not that I left. ”

“I’ve been angry a long time at you, and I just don’t want to be angry anymore, Chase. I’m trying to say that I want to stand up with you. You’re my brother, and it’s time we put this feud to bed.”

He reached over and clasped my forearm and squeezed.

“Thank you for meeting me halfway. I know we have shit to deal with, but as far as the family business goes. I’m not interested in working full-time at the orchard.

I’m interested as a family member who, whether I want it or not, is now a part of it because I promised Daddy I would be.

I tried to argue with him, but he wouldn’t listen.

I don’t have any intentions of taking over, Jake.

This belongs to you. You’ve worked for it and earned it. ”

“Speaking of that,” I said as we came in for a landing at his dock. “Have you noticed how preoccupied he is lately. He seems like he’s working on a deal, but has left me in the dark. Has he confided in you?”

“You think he’s doing what…planning on selling?”

“Shit, I don’t know. He does what he wants. I’m not sure if he even intends to make me lead on the orchard. For all I know, he could be planning on bringing in a manager.”

“I don’t think so, Jake. He talks highly about your efforts to expand and manage the trees. You have your masters in plant pathology for Christ sake.”

“You know about that?”

“Of course I do. I went to your graduation both at Harvard and LSU.”

“I didn’t know that, Chase. Really?”

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to miss it. I just didn’t think you would react well to me being there, but I wanted to be.”

His support had always been there. I was just too blind to see it and Sky had been right all along. Chase did care about me.

Now, before I went any further, I had to make sure to make things right between me and Anna Kate.

I feared it wasn’t going to be as smooth as it had gone with Chase.