Roots and Wings (City Limits #1)(20)

I might have lived with my dad in town, but that little cabin by the river was all mine. Dad came out every now and again, but on many weekends when the weather was nice and the water was low, I was out here.

Dad played cards with some of the guys in town on Tuesdays. Sometimes they were at our place, but they moved around. That’s why I started coming out on card nights, just to get out of their hair. It was quiet and the fishing was good.

“Yep, it’s all mine. Want to see inside? It isn’t much. Kitchen, living room, bathroom, and a room. With a bed.” I set my pole next to my chair and pulled my beer from the cup holder, downing the little that was left.

“Sure, I’ve never been in a cabin with legs.”

“All right, I’ll give you the nickel tour. Grab us a beer,” I said as I headed for the stairs that led up to the wraparound porch at the top. It was an A-framed cabin with sliding doors on the front and back.

It really wasn’t much, but it was great in the summer. Coming out here. Swimming off my small dock, fishing and boating around with the other river people.

He followed behind me as we took the stairs up. The cabin sat about twenty feet off the ground on stilts, and those steps were tricky bastards the more I drank.

“The view is great in the morning. That’s my favorite time out here.”

He walked straight to the front edge of the deck and looked out, handing me the extra beer he’d brought up and grabbing my bottle opener off the small table so he could open his.

“It’s awesome up here. Crazy how much more you can see.” That was true. From up here you could see down the river a little more, and looking down at it somehow made it seem bigger, wider than when you were standing on the bank.

The sun was setting and the sky turned pink, orange, and purple, causing the water to look like it was on fire.

“It’s beautiful out here,” he said quietly, almost like it was only for him to hear.

“I think so, too. It’s peaceful and I can think.”

We silently leaned on the rail, having put off the tour for the minute. We drank our beers, not saying a word, but it was also comfortable. It was nice letting someone appreciate something I cherished so much.

After a little while, he turned to face me, and flashes of our almost kiss raced through my mind. We weren’t nearly as close at the moment, but we were leaps and bounds closer than the last time I’d thought about it—which was about every five minutes all day long.

I wasn’t sure what was happening. I wasn’t sure if it was the same for him. For all I knew, I was growing a crush on the town’s new shiny toy and he was trying to score off a rebound. I was so different around him, not knowing how to behave—like a fish out of water.

Surely I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed how handsome he was. How he walked with a rhythmic gait, or how when he smiled it was devastating and contagious at the same time.

Nevertheless, he hadn’t kissed me. And I didn’t kiss him. So there we were. Standing in front of each other, beers in hand, watching the sun play tricks with the way the brilliant colors lit up his eyes and made the short whisker stubble on his cheeks almost look red.

I was staring, but, if I was right, he was staring, too. Then I remembered I looked like hell warmed over.

“Do you want to look around inside? I’m going to the bathroom.” I tipped my head for him to follow me. “Or you can stay out here. Whatever you like.”

“No, I want to see this place.”

As we followed the deck to the far side of the cabin, where the other door was unlocked, his hand touched the small of my back, and I swear I almost tripped over my clumsy feet.

I had to find a way to say, “Hi, I’m available, if you’re interested,” without actually saying it.

He was just out of a relationship, from what I knew, and he probably wasn’t ready to jump into another this fast. But, hopefully, while I was being patient, he’d pick up what I was putting down.

As I took pleasure in the feeling of his hand on me, I knew I could be patient. I’d let him take the lead.

Or I’d attack him and look like a wanton whore, but I was going to do my best to avoid that and pray he jumped me between now and then.

I opened the screen door, and then the inside one, and I propped it open with the door stopper.

“So this is the living room and the kitchen is right over there.” I pointed to the opposite side. There was the other large sliding door, the one that faced the water where we’d just been.

“I like it.” He grinned as he passed me, taking it upon himself to look around. Which really shouldn’t have surprised me since I knew my way around his house from helping him the past week.

“Did you catch all of these?” He was looking at my fish mounted on the wall.

Nobody had ever asked me about my fish. Ever. And there had been some guys inside that cabin. I supposed they didn’t give a shit.

Did that mean he did?

“Most of them. Some are my dad’s; some were my grandpa’s. That largemouth bass is mine, though. You said you fished a little when you were younger, what did you guys fish for?”

He chuckled before answering, looking embarrassed. “Whatever my Snoopy pole would catch. I think they were sunfish, but I did pretty well and I remember catching quite a few.”

“I had one of those too. That didn’t last me very long, though. I think I broke it after a week and Dad got me a real pole.”