Brenda Minton - Thanksgiving Groom

The rushing water of the stream could be heard before the stream came into view. But when she saw it, she had to stop, had to stare. Clear water rushed, pounding over rocks and boulders. Downstream, just a short distance, the swift moving water slowed and pooled.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” Tucker held her elbow and guided her over the rough terrain. “You’re stubborn.”

“So I’ve been told. And people always manage to make it seem like a bad thing. But it could be good, if you think about it.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Sure. Of course.”

“Wilma sent lunch with me.”

“Did she really?” He led her to a place at the edge of the stream where animals had stopped to drink. Hoof and paw prints were still visible in the soft earth. Something had dug near the edge of the water.

Penelope studied the paw prints. “What made these?”

He shrugged. “Everything. Elk, bear, fox. Up here, so far from any kind of settlement or town, there is just about anything you could imagine.”

“Do you think we’ll catch fish for dinner?”

He handed her the pole. “We can try.”

“What do I do?”

He laughed. “Cast your line into the water.”

“You say ‘cast’ like I should know what that is.”

He moved behind her, his arms wrapping around her. He took the fishing pole in his hands and guided hers. “Cast it easy. Don’t throw it out there. Just a nice, easy swing, and then you have to remember to set the hook if you feel a fish bite it.”

“Okay, I can do that.” She breathed in deep, trying to ignore the way he leaned in close, the way his chin brushed her cheek as he held her, showing her the way to cast out.

She tried, but couldn’t ignore the fact that his arms were strong and he smelled like soap and the outdoors. His hands were rough but gentle.

“Of course you can do it.” He whispered close to her ear as he helped her cast. “But careful or you’ll tangle your line. Don’t cast too far or you’ll end up with your hook in a tree.”

“I can do this,” she repeated and swung the rod, watching as the line and the bait flew through the air, and then landed with a soft plunk in the calmer pool of water.

“Good job.” He chuckled a little. “You know what you’re doing, right?”

“No, not at all.”

“Then hang in there. You’re doing great.” He stood back a short distance, arms crossed, and watched her. She glanced back, making quick eye contact before settling her attention on the fishing line.

“Don’t stand there like that.” She didn’t look at him again.

“Why?”

“You look stern and disapproving. Build a fire. Do something.”

He laughed, but she caught movement from the corner of her eye and knew that he was doing what she’d asked. And she relaxed, taking in a deep breath. Another glance over her shoulder and she saw that he was gathering wood. Penelope turned back to the water and to fishing. And she smiled, because it was easy to smile out here. Even lost, it was easy to smile.

And then the sudden jerk on the rod. She pulled up on the pole. She could see the gray of the fish. She could feel it tugging, trying to get away. She cranked on the handle of the reel, trying to draw in the fishing line and thus, the fish.

“Tucker!” She glanced over her shoulder. He wasn’t there.

She cranked the reel again. The fish pulled, trying to swim away from the hook that had caught it. She took a step backward.

“Tucker. I can’t do this.”

She glanced over her other shoulder and didn’t see him in that direction. She couldn’t reel in the fish. She couldn’t find Tucker. She yelled his name again and heard crashing in the woods behind her. When she turned, he was there. He took the fishing pole from her hands and pulled it back and then reeled in, pulled it back again and reeled.

“Where were you?” She watched as the fish she had caught came closer to the bank. Fear was replaced by awe. “I caught a fish.”

He shook his head. “Yeah, you caught a fish.”

“What?”

“I think I helped.”

She could give him that. “Okay, you helped. We caught a fish.”

She was responsible for providing food for them to eat. She wanted to dwell on that, but then she remembered that he’d disappeared.

“Where did you go?”

“To look for wood for the fire, remember?”

But there was something in his eyes, something in the way he said it that made her doubt. Firewood didn’t crease a man’s brow in worry.

And firewood shouldn’t cause her own stomach to curl just a little, wondering what he was keeping from her.

But she had caught a fish. She had provided for herself.

Now what?

She shivered a little, not certain if she wanted the answer to that question. What caused the shimmer of fear or danger to crawl up her spine? Tucker? Or whatever it was he wasn’t telling her?

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