Page 20

Chapter 20

Eleri

W e talked about island life, our voices blending harmoniously with the lapping of the water against the rocks. My heart soared, knowing that this male, with his quick wit and infectious laughter, was slowly weaving his way into the depths of my heart. I kept stealing glances at him, captivated by the way the moonlight lit up his features.

Minutes ticked on as we sat side by side.

“I’m beginning to think the fish have decided to spend the night preparing their homes for the coming tempest,” I said. “They’re not biting.”

“They’re here. We just have to woo them. Like you , mate. I’m wooing you.”

He was right. It was nice sitting here with him, talking with him. He opened his heart to me, and I treasured that he felt comfortable doing so with me.

Something tugged on my line, and I gasped, scrambling up to stand on the rock.

I carefully rolled my line in, but when the hook emerged from the sea, it was empty.

“Something stole my bait,” I said, scowling at the water.

“I’ll add more.” Odik soon had me back in business again, my line drifting deeper into the gorgeous sea.

Finally, my patience paid off.

My line skimmed out to sea as if the fish hoped to catch the storm, but I held tight, slowly bringing it in.

“You’ve got it,” Odik cried, standing behind me with his hands resting on my arms, ready to help me haul in my catch if I had need.

I wiggled in anticipation.

When I tugged the last of the line from the water, I held up a fish about the length of my arm. It was such a heavy thing that it was all I could do to hold it aloft long enough to brag.

“Looks like I'm winning,” I teased, leaning back in his arms triumphantly.

He groaned. “You might be ahead for now, but the night is young, little mate.”

As if the sea heard his challenge, a sudden surge of activity filled the water beneath us, a school of fish swarming around his line.

After removing the hook from my fish, I placed it in the container, then quickly rebaited my line, tossing it into the water while the fish still swarmed beneath us.

“Go, bait, go,” I cried. “Do your thing and give me another fish!”

Time seemed to stand still as we hauled in one fish after another. Our laughter skipped across the water, mixing with the gentle swirl of the water on the rocks below. While the moon bathed everything in its ethereal glow, it was his presence that truly illuminated my world.

I was falling in love with him, and I didn’t want to hold myself back. He was kind and gentle, and he had an old soul, one I wanted to hold in my hands and keep safe. I hated that the world was determined to hurt him, and I wanted to create a place for him where he could feel secure.

That would be with me.

As the night progressed, we laughed and shared bits from our lives. With catch after catch, the scales kept tipping in his favor.

“How many fish do we want to catch?” I asked as I pulled in my fifth. Or was it my sixth? “We’re going to be eating fish for the rest of our lives.”

“We’ll share. Some who live on the island can’t get around as well as they used to. I provide for them and do all I can to make their lives easy.”

He kept giving to everyone around him.

I wanted to give to him.

“As for how many, I think we’ve got enough.” He glanced back at the overflowing container. “We still need to clean them, but I can do that while you sit and savor what’s probably your victory.”

“I think we might be even, though it’s hard to tell. We didn’t identify who caught what.”

He smiled down at me. “A draw then?”

“I think so, though I’ve still won, because you’re going to sing!” My laughter pealed out.

His low chuckle joined in. “My mother always said I have an amazing voice.”

“I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Could I persuade you to hold off on collecting your victory prize until tomorrow night?”

“Why not now? You can sing me to sleep or share your tune while we clean the fish.”

“I want to set up a nice evening for you tomorrow and singing will be part of it.”

“The storm may be here by then.”

“We can do this inside. I know a special place.”

I couldn’t wait. Each moment with Odik felt better than the last, and I was beginning to believe this was the future I could look forward to.

He handed me our poles and lifted the container, his muscles bulging from the load. I doubted I could lift it, but he strode along the rock with ease, hopping down onto the rocky shore.

We cleaned the fish, never a fun task. After rinsing out the container, we placed our catch inside, and he shut the lid.

“Let’s take this up to the house and store the fish in the cool box. I’ve got a second inside the shed we can use if we need to.” He smiled down at me. “And then, my pretty mate, I believe it’s time for your swimming lesson.”