Page 19 of You Shouldn't Have Come Here

“It’s not fishing unless you have a beer,” I said.

Grace clinked her bottle against mine and we both swigged.

“This is really nice.” She set the bottle down and cast again. She was a determined woman. I could see that the first day I laid eyes on her.

I picked up my pole and baited the hook, casting right next to her, careful not to cross lines. “Shall we make it interesting?”

She raised an eyebrow and glanced over at me. “What’d you have in mind?”

“First one to catch a fish, the other one has to jump in this river.”

“Let’s make it more interesting,” she said.

“Oh yeah? Like how?”

“First one to catch a fish, the other one has to jump in this river... naked.”

There she was, surprising me again. I couldn’t help but smile.

She cast her line again and looked over, sizing me up. The corner of her mouth lifted in a challenging way.

“You got yourself a bet, Grace,” I said, casting my line in again.

Her brows drew together as she focused on her task.

“Hope you like fish because you’re going to be swimming with them,” I teased as I cast another line.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Mr. Wells.” She peered up at me through her lashes and bit her bottom lip. If that was the look I’d get from Grace if she won, I’d lose every day of my life for her.

“Hey,” a voice from behind us called. Over my shoulder, Charlotte walked across the green pasture toward Grace and me. Her long, silky brown hair blew in the wind, and the sun highlighted her freckles and tan skin. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and her Dubois Super Foods polo, so I knew she’d come straight from work.

Grace glanced over her shoulder. “Who’s that?”

“That’s Charlotte. She’s the one I was telling you about that helps out on the ranch.”

“Oh, your girlfriend?” she teased.

“My friend that’s a girl,” I said in a low voice.

“She’s pretty.”

I didn’t agree or disagree and just kept my mouth shut instead. It was a trap I was familiar with.

“Who’s this?” Charlotte asked, raising her chin.

“Hi, I’m Grace, Calvin’s Airbnb guest,” Grace said, extending her free hand while the other held the fishing pole.

Charlotte looked at her hand and hesitated before finally finding her manners and shaking.

“I’m Charlotte, Calvin’s good friend.” She pulled away from the handshake rather quickly. “How long you in town for?” Char asked. Her eyes briefly tightened.

“’Til next week.” Grace flashed a faint smile at me.

The two seemed to appraise one another like I do with my vegetables, deciding whether or not they’re ripe for the picking or, in some cases, rotten from the inside out and needing to be tossed instead.

“That’ll be here in no time.” Charlotte’s eyes bounced to me. “What are you two doing?”

It was obvious what we were doing. Charlotte was acting funny. It was like she had staked some sort of claim to me or thought she was being protective. She and I were friends, and we’d always be friends no matter what happened or didn’t happen between us.