Page 24 of Pick Me This Time

“I think that sounds like a plan.” I picked up a little tub of bait and adjusted my grip on the fishing rod I was borrowing from him. “Let’s do it. If Jake is still as good as I remember, he’s going to catch everything once he gets here. We need a head start.”

“It’s just luck,” Eric grumbled, doubling back to the fridge to get a couple more beers before we headed out.

I stepped back into the sunshine outside and inhaled a deep breath of air. Closing my eyes for just a moment, I relished the simple experience and appreciated it more than I ever had before. There was just something about being outdoors like this that couldn’t be replicated.

Certainly not on my regular running trails in the city. A few trees did not constitute a forest.

When I opened my eyes again, Eric was watching me with a grin but he didn’t give me any shit about it. Instead, he led me down a dirt path heading away from the cabin, ground crunching under our feet as we walked around the lake to the fishing creek.

The scent of damp earth wafted in the air and the birdsong intensified as we got closer to the gurgling water running through the trees. When we arrived at its bank, we set our things down in the shade along the edge of the woods and silently worked at putting hooks on our lines.

Once that was done, we strode to the water and cast in. The sound of the lines reeling out zipped through the air. For the first time in weeks, I finally felt centered as I stood there, wrapped in the sounds of nature with my best friend.

Eric’s line suddenly started whirring and he whooped, shooting a beaming, smug grin at me. “Told you Jake wasn’t going to get them all. Just call me the fish master.”

The line tugged in his hands and he lost balance. He dropped the rod and his arms pinwheeled out as he tried to stay upright. Landing with a splash in the shallow water, he sputtered and grabbed for his rod, but when he finally managed to sit up and start reeling again, there was nothing on the end of the line.

I laughed, doubling over and leaving him to struggle with getting up in the muddy water and getting out by himself.

“You see that?” I called. “It’s called karma.”

“Karma?” he echoed laughingly. “For what?”

“For poking fun at me for wanting to sleep in the hammock,” I said. “Nature is taking a jab at you on my behalf.”

“Is that right?” he asked, an evil glint in his eyes as finally got to his feet and shook off the water.

I watched him carefully, knowing him too well to let him out of my sight right then. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“How about this? Is this also nature?” Bending over, he scooped water into his palms and splashed it at me. I turned to avoid it. Taking advantage of my distraction, he charged and managed to grab hold of me. He pulled me into the icy water with him, getting a grip on my shoulders and trying to dunk me before I’d even wrapped my head around what was happening.

Surprised by how naturally it all came back, I remembered us horsing around in the water like this back in the day, and I went under, ducking back to grab his ankle when he tried coming after me. He barked with laughter as I jerked him down.

When he surfaced, he put up his hands. “Peace?” he asked.

I nodded. “Sure, man. Ready to try fishing again, fish master, or should we head back?”

“We’re already in the water. We might as well swim a bit and then bake for a while before we head back. We’ve got time.”

“Fair enough.” The water was too crisp to be nice, but it was refreshing.

Eric and I floated around for a while, soaking in the scenery. Eventually we climbed out, wrung out our shirts, and moved into the sun to dry off while we cast our lines back into the water. Later on, we headed back to the cabin empty-handed, but despite our lack of a catch, I still felt better than I had in years.

As we trudged back up the path to the fire pit, I realized the others had arrived. My muscles tensed, my eyes immediately starting to search for Daphne.

I didn’t see her, but it was like the air was somehow different now. She was here. Somewhere.

Jake waved at us, looking happy and relaxed even as he juggled more bags than any three people could possibly need for a weekend.

“Did you guys go swimming or fishing?” he called as he paused in the doorway, shoulders shaking with silent laughter as if he knew what had happened despite not having been there.

Eric shrugged. “Both. Who said it had to be one or the other? Where are the girls?”

“Rachel’s gone to have a nap and Daphne said she’d get started on dinner.” Jake walked in and took their things inside with him, calling at us over his shoulder. “Have you shown Sterling the new boat yet?”

“Not yet,” Eric replied easily, dropping his fishing tackle outside before following our friend in. “You want to come check it out? I’m still not sure about that knock in the engine.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” he said. “Let me just bring Rachel’s bags to her.”