Home to Montana by Charlotte Carter

Author:Charlotte Carter
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-09-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Nick was in the kitchen setting up for the dinner hour when Greg burst in from school.

Breathless, the boy gasped for air. “Did you get the motor fixed for the boat?”

“Sure did, sport. I borrowed some top-of-the-line fishing gear, too, and we’re all set to go.”

“All right!” Greg pumped his fist in the air. “I told Pete and Shaun and everybody we’re gonna catch the biggest fish they ever saw.”

“I don’t know about that, son.” The youngster’s eagerness tickled Nick. And made him nervous. He’d learned as a kid that if you get your hopes set too high, more often than not you end up disappointed. “Remember I’ve never caught anything, so don’t be surprised if we get skunked and somebody else wins.”

“Don’t worry. We’re gonna be the best fishermen in all of Bear Lake. I can feel it right here.” He thumbed his puffed up chest.

The tightness in Nick’s chest was telling him something different. “We have to be at the municipal dock early to get registered and get our boat in the water.”

The swinging door opened, and Alisa walked in. She was dressed for work but hadn’t yet pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “Hey, munchkin. You’re home from school.”

Greg raced over to his mom. “Nick got the motor fixed! We’re gonna catch tons of fish, Mom. I know we are.”

Laughing, she gave him a hug. “I hope so, honey, but you never know when the fish are going to bite. Even if you don’t catch any fish at all, you’ll still have fun.”

“But we will, Mom! I know we will!” He dropped his backpack on a nearby chair. “I’m gonna go call Pete and tell him we’re gonna be there real early in the morning.” He ran out, his feet soon thundering on the stairs up to the family’s quarters.

Nick perched on the edge of a stool with his back to the reflections in the stainless steel dishwashing machine—a habit he’d developed to avoid the images that could still taunt him. “I hope he won’t be too disappointed if we don’t catch anything.”

“I guess disappointment is part of growing up.” She glanced around the kitchen, her eyes alert for anything that might need her attention. Hector was busy at his station, the scent of hamburgers rising from the grill. The dishwasher was whooshing along doing its job. “What time did you plan to leave in the morning?”

“I’d like to leave about seven. I’ll hook up the boat trailer to my truck tonight before I turn in.”

“I’ll have him ready to go then. In fact, I doubt he’ll sleep at all tonight. He’s always been like that on Christmas Eve, too excited to sleep.” Her gentle smile spoke of happy memories.

After Nick’s mother died there hadn’t been any reason for him to be excited about Christmas. Just another day as far as his dad was concerned.

Pressing aside the thought, Nick pushed up from the stool. “Maybe I ought to run over to the grocery store, see if I can buy a couple of trout to hang on Greg’s hook.

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