He drained the last of his hot chocolate and stood up, banging his mug on the table. “Well, suit up, Blister. It’s time to go catch our lunch.”
The color drained from my face. “What, now?”
“You heard me. Suit up.”
I looked at him like he was stupid. “In what? All my clothes are in my car.”
“You’ve got boots and a coat. And I just so happen to have an extra pair of overalls.”
I clutched my warm mug tight in my hands. “Well, I’m sorry, but I need to write.”
“You need to eat too, and if you think I’m going to let you just eat all my bacon, you’re in for disappointment.”
“I wouldn’t just eat the bacon. I’m a big fan ofallbreakfast food,” I said, kindly.
He glared at me. “Well, I’m not big on handouts, but I am a fan of teaching a man to fish. Or in this case, woman. So, if you are planning on eating this week, you might want to go get dressed.”
I glared at him. “I know how to fish.” I didn’t at all actually, but that didn’t stop my chin from jutting out as I added boldly, “I love it.”
“Really? Then this will be fun. We can exchange notes.”
When I took my cup to the sink and headed toward my room, he poked his head out of his bedroom and flung a pair of overalls at me.
“Be ready to go in five minutes.”
Chapter 4
Ihad to roll the bottoms of the overalls three times, so they wouldn’t drag on the ground. Thank goodness there were suspenders holding it all up because it would have never worked otherwise. My coat was tight around me as I zipped it up over the extra girth, leaving me feeling puffy, pudgy, and all around unattractive. I waddled out of the room exactly seven minutes later, for the sole reason of annoying Chase. Although, the last two minutes of pacing my room, fully dressed, not allowing myself to be punctual — probably hurt me much more than him.
Chase did a double take when I entered the living room, but beyond a slightly raised eyebrow, he wisely said nothing. He was dressed in thick, khaki overalls and a coat, with what looked like a sweatshirt underneath it all, as a hood stuck out from behind. He carried a backpack on one shoulder, a folded camp chair on his other shoulder, and in his hands he held two fishing poles.
“You brought two fishing poles, even though you weren’t planning on a guest?”
He looked back at me as he reached the back door. “A real man always fishes with two poles.”
“Why doyouhave two then?”
He opened the door and turned around to scowl at me while I glided past, the cold air knocking the breath from my lungs. “This ought to be fun. I’ll bet an outdoors master like you could teach me a lot.”
That shut me up.
Thankfully, Gina’s cabin, although lacking in the fancy amenities department, had a beautiful lakefront property. As we neared the ice-covered pond, my breath was once again taken away, but this time, not by the cold. Snow covered pines completely encased the rounded lake. Fog from earlier this morning lingered on the tips of the trees, making me feel as if I had stepped into a snow globe. The ice steamed in spots, and all I could think was that I had somehow stumbled upon one of the most beautiful Christmas scenes my mind could have never conjured up. I had never felt so alive and so secluded at the same time. I noticed Chase seemed to study the picture before him with awe as well.
“Not bad, huh?”
I could only nod. “It feels like we’re the only two people in the world.”
Bite my Hallmark tongue.
I hadn’t a clue where a hair-brained remark like that came from, especially given my current company and situation. I could only blame my loose tongue on the wonder of nature before my eyes, and the fact that I wrote romance novels for a living.
An arm came around me and settled onto my shoulders, pulling my stiff body into an awkward embrace. “Are you coming on to me right now, Penny?”
Blushing, I pushed him away. He chuckled and handed me a fishing pole, which felt as familiar to me as a nurse handing me a scalpel and telling me to start the surgery. Okay, I had obviously seen people fishing before, and I had the general idea of it all, but I had never once been. I had never even touched a pole that I could recall, and I definitely didn’t know how to fling it into the water.
He motioned me forward. “Alright, let’s go about ten or fifteen yards ahead and we’ll drill a hole.”
Drill? Like with a power tool?