again. She’d had such a good rein over them until Dan came along. She overcame the insanity and aimed for the dark water beneath the mangrove branches where he said the fish liked to hide. On her third cast, she felt something jerk her line in a big way.
“Dan!” she whispered, trying to remember the fishing lingo. “I’ve got a hit!”
He seated his rod and came over. The line went taut, and then her rod bent. She held on tight, determined to put up a fight and see it through.
“Just start reeling him in, nice and slow.”
Her heart was pumping as she fought the fish. It jumped out of the water with a horrific splash, bringing shouts of excitement from some of the nearby fishermen. A gaping yellow mouth thrashed in the water, and she caught a glimpse of teeth. Even the dogs, who had jumped up on the side to see what the commotion was about, jumped back to the deck.
“What is it, a piranha?”
“I doubt that.” He leaned over the edge of the boat. “Holy schmoly, Cassie, I think you got yourself a gator trout.”
His excitement was contagious, and she fought even harder. “Is that good?”
“It’s excellent, and it’s also dinner.”
“Cool!”
Dan hovered just behind her, but let her reel in the fish. “Atta girl,” he’d say. Or “Great job, Cass.”
Those words were as gratifying as catching the fish. Finally the scaly devil gave in, and she reeled it up to the boat. She was determined to land the bugger on her own. With his words of praise singing through her veins, she used all her strength to jerk her rod upward.
The toothy fish sailed gracefully through the air, catching the sunlight as it…headed right at her!
“Eek!” She ducked, but the fish’s tail caught her in the cheek. She batted it away, and the fish batted her back. “Yuck!”
If Dan didn’t have such a wonderful laugh, she might have been agitated. Instead, she laughed with him.
He removed the hook with a pair of pliers and put it in the scale. “Damn, Cassie, you caught yourself an eight-pound trout.”
“Is that good?” she asked, coming up behind him. She could already tell it was by the tone in his voice. Why his pleasure gave her a thrill was beyond her. After all, it was just her ex-husband, just a fish.
“It’s great,” he said, though he wasn’t looking at the fish. “You’re giving me a case of fish envy.” He tossed the trout in the live well and flopped down beside her, landing a little too close for comfort. “So, you still sleep in the nude?”
And there went the rest of her comfort. “Pardon?”
“Since we’re going to be sharing close quarters tonight, I wanted to know what I was getting myself into. Er, so to speak.”
She stood, already getting too much of close quarters and not liking his wicked gleam at all. “What are you talking about? I’m not sleeping on this boat.”
“You going to hang over the side all night like a bait bucket?”
“No, you’re going to take me back to the docks tonight.”
He stretched out on the bench and propped his feet on the back of the transom. “I thought you knew the tournament was all weekend.”
“Yeah, but I figured you went back at night.”
“Nope, it’s a marathon tournament. We’re on the boat all weekend. Just you, me, the dogs…” He nodded toward the bin. “And your trout.”
Sammy barked, and Thor jumped in, too.
“No way, uh-uh.” She started pacing. “You’ve got to take me back. It’s not that far.”
“No can do, Cass. No one’s allowed to leave the vicinity.”
“I don’t have any clothes. Just my bathing suit underneath this.”
He was smiling, his hands behind his head. “I don’t hear a good reason to take you back yet.”
“Dan!” She threw down her hands in frustration. “I have no toothpaste, no food. I’m not prepared to spend two days on a boat.”
“Then you should have read the brochure more closely, Miss Prepared-with-her-lists. It said right in the rules that contestants are required to stay on their boats the whole weekend. It’s part of the fun. And even though I’m not an official contestant, I have to abide by the rules, too. You know, sportsmanship and all that.”
“For your information, Mister-no-rules-at-all-so-I’m-surprised-you-even-read-them, I only found out about this tournament late yesterday. I had a few minutes to read the brochure and get the pertinent details. This is exactly why I don’t like to act impulsively.” She shot him a meaningful look. “It gets me into trouble every time.” She picked up Sammy, plopped down on the other end of the bench seat, and fussed with his hair. She made sure his bell jingled sufficiently. A minute later, Thor jumped up and settled next to her. Dan’s gaze flicked from him back to her, and she didn’t much like that fire in his eyes as he leaned toward her.
“You know what I think? I think you’re afraid to spend the night on this boat…with me.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Am not.” Are, too.
He was enjoying this. He had a lazy grin as he leaned closer yet. The bill of his cap touched her forehead. “I think you’re crazy about me all over again, and you don’t trust yourself to be around me in that little cabin.”
She moved back. “And I think you’re a few peas short of a casserole.”
He leaned closer. “I think you want to see if making love with me would still be as hot as it used to be.”
She pressed her hand against his chest and pushed him away. “You’re a few clowns short of a circus, too.” His bare skin was warm beneath her touch, not to mention solid as a mountain.
His mouth twitched, but he removed his cap and leaned closer yet. Just as Sammy started to jump up, Dan put his hand over his head. Dan’s nose nearly touched hers, and that hint of aftershave mixed with his own scent. “I think you’re afraid you wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off me.”
“You’re surfing in Nebraska, buddy boy!” she said, pushing him back, getting to her feet and sending dogs sprawling everywhere. She took a deep breath of salty air, realizing she’d had her hands on him a few times already. Needles of sensation prickled through her, and she took another breath to clear them. “And you’re one feather shy of a whole duck to boot.”
He had an infuriatingly smug grin on his face. “Then why are you running away from me?”
“Puh-leeze!” She pulled a butter rum from her tote bag. “You were crowding my zone.”
“If I’m wrong, prove it. What’s the big deal about spending the night on the boat with me?”
“There
