Jailbird Read Free Page B

cut a notch
in the tip of the branch. A few deft maneuvers and the line was
attached. A few more and the sinker and hook were as well.
    “I think I might have left my manhood back at
the car,” Charlie’s expression was a little incredulous.
    “I wouldn’t expect a paleface to know how to
rig a good fishing line,” I winked with a smile. That wasn’t
entirely true. My French-Creole grandpapa was the one who’d taught
me to fish.
    “So I take that to mean you’re not really a
Torres?” Charlie accepted the pole I handed him.
    “No, I’m not a Torres,” I couldn’t help
smiling a little at that. “But they’ve certainly welcomed me as if
I were.”
    “Are we ready to fish?” Cara’s hook dangled
precariously close to her father’s arm.
    “I don’t think the fish are going to just
grab hold of the line without some encouragement,” Charlie gingerly
caught her hook before it could snag him.
    “That’s right. Do you want worms or
bugs?”
    “Ewww,” Cara wrinkled her petite nose.
    “Sorry sweetie, your daddy’s right… the fish
aren’t going to just jump out of the water at you. How about we
stick with bugs and I’ll bait your hook for you? Just this once,” I
promised.
    Cara still looked skeptical but went along as
Charlie and I proceeded with our bug hunt. Once her hook was
baited, her father taught her how to cast. It was all very exciting
for 60 whole seconds. Then Cara got bored and went off to pick
wildflowers while Charlie manned her pole and his. She was quick to
rush back to claim the prize when her line got the first catch of
the day.
    Charlie’s eyes met mine as she bounced with
excitement in between us. Something in them made my cheeks hot and
I quickly knelt to help Cara pull the hook out of her fish’s mouth.
Or rather, to do it for her because the first time she went to
touch the fish it began to flop on the line, eliciting a
squeal.
    “That’s definitely a keeper,” I smiled and
placed it on my makeshift stringer. “You’ve officially contributed
to dinner.”
    “Cool,” she beamed then darted off again.
Charlie shrugged and turned back to his own line. Mine was the next
to get a hit and Cara darted back to see the excitement. She was
off again once the lines were back in the water.
    If I’d stopped to think about who I was, or
the fact that I didn’t know this man, I might not have enjoyed the
afternoon quite as much. But I didn’t want to think too hard about
anything just then. It was nice to feel the sun kissing my face and
the breeze caressing my skin.
    I liked talking to Charlie. He was funny and
his voice made me feel happy. So maybe I was borrowing trouble, but
I let myself forget for one afternoon that we were anything other
than just an ordinary man and an ordinary woman.
    I heard the rumble of a boat’s motor before I
saw the boat. Out of instinct, I froze, trying to figure out who
was heading our way.
    “Looks like the game warden. You’d better get
your fishing license out,” Charlie put his pole down and pulled his
wallet out of his pocket.
    “License?” Shoot. I hadn’t thought of that.
“We don’t exactly worry about that kind of thing where I’m from.
Can we just say you’ve had a good day?”
    Charlie frowned a little at me as I
discreetly slid my gear into the thicket beside me. It was an
unexpected perk to using a branch for a fishing pole—it was easy to
hide.
    “I don’t know…” he hesitated. I could see
that it would pain him to lie, but I wasn’t about to wind up back
in prison because I’d been caught fishing. Without giving him much
time to mull it over, I darted off to find Cara. Maybe she needed
help picking flowers. Of course, maybe I needed a permit for that,
too, in this crazy place.
    The sound of voices drifted our way. I
couldn’t make out the words, but the tone seemed friendly enough.
Then the voices stopped. The boat left but I found myself too
chicken to go see what had been said. Turns out I didn’t have to.
It