“You ready?” he asks, holding the door open.
“Not sure why we have to be up and out of the house when I can still see the moon. I don’t know many stores that are open this early,” I push. I’m dying to know what he has planned.
“The fish bite the best in the morning.” He slaps my ass as he closes the door.
“Fish?” I choke. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Wyatt throws a box in the back of some vehicle now parked outside the house. “Hop in.”
It’s a mix of a truck with no roof and smaller tires, a golf cart, and some sort of wagon. There’s dirt and mud all along the side, which makes me think the boys use it for more outdoorsy stuff, which I definitely don’t do.
“Angie.” Wyatt waves his hand. “Get in the Gator.”
“Wouldn’t you rather go see a movie? Or maybe have a day at the spa? Do you have a spa close?” I ask with hope.
He laughs. “Do I look like I go to the spa? Get in. It’ll be fun and relaxing, I promise.”
I don’t like the outdoors so much. But I promised myself I would step outside the box, and Wyatt did bake cupcakes, which was clearly not his thing. When in Rome.
I climb in and search for a seat belt, but there is none. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. How am I supposed to not fall out?”
“You hold on,” he says as if it makes perfect sense.
There’s a bar in front of my seat that I guess is what I hold on to? “This is nuts. Is this safe?” It doesn’t seem very safe.
“You’re safe with me. Always.” Wyatt has a huge grin on his face as he starts the Gator. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll make you country yet.”
“I doubt that.”
“We’ll see.” He heads down the road, and I hold on to the bar for dear life. My hair whips around my face, and I silently curse the fact that I forgot a hair tie. The trail is bumpy, and I feel slightly motion sick. Thankfully, we reach the lake fairly quickly.
Wyatt and I exit the vehicle, and he starts getting the supplies out of the back. He has two blankets, some fishing poles, a tackle box, and what looks like a basket of food. When I offer to carry something, he gives me a sideways look and a smirk.
It’s gorgeous out here. There’s a lot of trees around it, and beautiful views. Everything looks untouched by man, it’s so serene.
“This is really gorgeous, is this the same lake Presley and Zach are on?” I ask, scanning the tree line again for their house.
“No. They’re over on the east lake.”
I stop and look at him, and I’m sure I look silly with my mouth hanging open and my hair a wind-blown mess. “Wait. How many lakes do you guys have?”
“Five, but we only stock this one so that we can fish when we want. I love fishing at the river, but this is much calmer, and I didn’t think you wanted to do fly fishing.”
Yeah. No. “I don’t know the difference really, but I’m going to assume you’re correct.”
He laughs. “I’ll grab the canoe, you stay put.”
I’m sorry, did he say “canoe”? “I can’t go in a canoe.”
“Well, it’s actually a Jon boat. And it’s going to be awful hard to fish if you don’t get in.”
“Can’t we just stay on the shore? That way if a bear or some other hungry animal shows up, we can get to the truck thing?” His eyes gleam with humor. It seems I’m entertaining him. I slap his chest. “I’m serious!”
“I bet you are, baby.” Wyatt kisses my temple. “I never picked you for being a chicken shit. I figured a tough city girl like you could handle bein’ out on a boat. But,” he puts his palms out, “I guess you’re not up for the challenge.”
Well played, my friend. He knows damn well what he did. I have two choices. I can steal the Gator, as he calls it, or I can go out there and show him I’m not a wuss. I’ve never been fishing. I’ve never even contemplated wanting to do this.
There’s also no way I can back down.
“Fine.” I surrender. “Go get the boat.”
Wyatt steps forward, grips my elbows and pulls me against him. “I’ll reward you, I promise.”
I lean in, letting my lips graze against his. “I plan to make you pay.”
“I have no doubt about that.”
He lets me go and gets busy. I never realized how intensive fishing is. He’s got all kinds of gadgets and different boxes. I’m praying the Jon boat or whatever it’s called is bigger than what I’m imagining, because I don’t know where all this crap will go.