Chuckling, he replies, “That’s okay, you don’t have to. I think between your daddy and I, we can bait the hooks just fine.”
Pressing my hand to her shoulder, I say, “Why don’t you set the chairs up, princess. That way, we have somewhere to sit once we’re ready.”
Uncrossing her arms, she looks up at me with a sharp nod. “I can do that!”
A little while later, we have our lines cast and we’re sitting in the camping chairs Suzy set up for us. Grady and I are both on the outside, while Suzy is in the middle. The sun is now shiningdown on us, the sky crystal clear, and it’s still cool out. But I’m sure that won’t last long. It’s quiet out here, serene… That, too, won’t last very long.
I’m proven right not even thirty seconds later when Suzy asks, “When do we catch the fish?”
I can’t help but huff a laugh because the lines have been in the water formaybethree minutes. Before I have a chance to explain the process to her again, Grady speaks up. “Fishing is a waiting game, pretty girl,” he tells her. “It can sometimes take a while. A long while. There’re fish all over this lake, but that doesn’t mean there’re fish specifically where our lines are cast. We have to wait for them to see and bite our bait.”
Her shoulders slump a little. “Well, what are we ’posed to do while we wait?”
Grady reaches into the pocket of the sweats he’s wearing and pulls out his phone. “Let’s put on some music,” he says in a hushed tone. “But we have to keep it nice and quiet, otherwise the fish won’t come to us, okay?”
Suzy nods, whispering loudly, “Okay.”
Alan Jackson’sChattahoocheestarts playing, and I snort. Grady’s eyes dart to mine, a smile spreading on his face as he takes in my barely contained laugh. “What? You cannot tell me this isn’t the perfect fishing song.”
Holding my hands up in front of me, I murmur, “I didn’t say a word.”
Suzy and Grady end up playing a quiet but heated game ofI Spywhile we sit around and wait for anything to happen. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if all three of us don’t catch a single fish because every time Suzy calls out what Grady is spying, she giggles and jumps up and down, most likely scaring off any potential winners. But to be honest, I don’t mind. Watching them play together is better than catching fish.
“Okay, your turn.” Grady gestures to Suzy.
Suzy does a quick shimmy in her seat as she scans the area, her pointer finger tapping on her chin. “Um…okay! I spy with my little eye something brown.”
A quick glance around our surrounding area, I find a huge cottonwood tree, and I’m willing to bet the trunk is the something brown she’s referring to. One look at Grady, and I know he sees it too, but he continues to look around like he has no clue.
“Hmm, that’s a toughie, Suzy Q,” he muses. “Brown… Let’s see…”
She giggles, antsy in her seat, so I know she’s getting excited, thinking she’s won.
“Is it the sand?” he asks facetiously, lips pursed like he’s deep in thought.
“Uncle Grady!” Suzy stands up and laughs. “The sand isn’t brown, silly goose. It was the tree behind Daddy!”
“Oh, the tree!” Smacking his palm against his forehead, he says, “That was my second guess.”
They continue on like this for a while. Something deep in my chest squeezes as I watch my daughter interact with him. I know he’s her uncle, but he’s so good with her. She loves him, and it’s clear how much he loves her too, but because of college, he’s never really gotten to spend much time with her. I feel ridiculous for getting upset with Jade for saying he could stay with us for the summer. I should’ve known it would’ve been fine. Every once in a while, he’ll flit his gaze over to me, and the smile on his face as he looks at me makes my heart thump a little harder, and I wish I knew why.
By some miracle, Suzy passes out with her head rested against my shoulder. She was getting restless and whiny, and I figured she was probably tired, but I didn’t think she’d actually sleep out here. The music still plays at a quiet volume, and that, paired with the calmness of the water, makes for a relaxingmoment. Glancing over at Grady, he’s messing around on his phone. His brows are furrowed and his bottom lip is tucked between his teeth.
“When do you have to go back to school?” I ask him, finding myself wanting to talk with him over sitting in silence, which kind of surprises me.
Tucking his phone into his pocket, his gaze flits over to me without actually meeting my eyes before looking ahead. I can’t help but notice how his shoulders hike up, like he’s tense all of the sudden. “Fall quarter starts in September,” he replies softly. “You excited to hit the road again?”
“Yeah, I am.” My lips curl into a grin. “The last bit of the season after this mini break is always fun. It’s like after Stampede Days, we rest and recharge at home, and then hit the last wind of the season with our all.
His gaze finds Suzy before meeting mine. “I bet it’s been hard not having her on the road with you this season.”
“Yeah, it has,” I admit.
“She’s gone with you every year since she’s been born, right?”
“Pretty much.”
I can tell he wants to ask more about me and Jade separating, but he doesn’t, and I appreciate it. I shouldn’t have even said anything to him about it, but it felt good to get it off my chest. Jade’s brother or not, there’s something about Grady that makes me feel like I can trust him. Can confide in him. But in the same breath, I also don’t want to do that because that’s his sister. It’s a fine line, and it feels like some kind of sick cosmic joke that the one person I felt comfortable enough to confide in about this huge secret Jade and I have been carrying for the last year is somebody I probably shouldn’t be confiding in. What’s done is done, though, and it was a weight lifted. He probably doesn’t even realize how much him listening that night helped me.
