Page 12 of Now and Then

“Damn, and here I was hoping I’d get to kick his ass, but it sounds like he knows a good thing when it’s right in front of him.”

A welcoming breeze washes through our sheltered cove, causing her hair to blow in every direction. Her eyes are brighter somehow, and her smile stretches from ear to ear as she wrangles her hair into a bun. “You don’t understand, Hunt. I’ve never asked a boy to a dance before, only to be turned down. It was so embarrassing.”

“I get it, Sutton. But I can promise you that it won’t be your last awkward moment with someone. I’m proud of you for being brave enough to ask him, because you’d have regretted it if you didn’t.”

She nods along with everything I say.

“You’re an amazing person, and any guy who doesn’t see that is an idiot. Now, grab your pole, and let’s fish.”

“I can barely fish with a regular pole. You sure you wanna keep tempting fate by teaching me to fly fish?”

“Positive. Get moving.”

She slips into a pair of my borrowed gators that are a few sizes too big. She steps in close to me and waits patiently as I tighten her shoulder straps. Her smile makes me smile, and soon we’re both laughing about nothing at all.

“You two fishing or what?” Luke hollers from down the river.

I reach forward and buckle the fishing basket around her waist. I definitely don’t miss her sudden intake of breath. What is going on in her head? Maybe it has something to do with her grabbing my hand earlier. I’ll have to save those questions for another time.

“You ready?” I step back and offer her my hand.

She stares at it like it’s a hot frying pan but eventually slips hers in mine.

“Don’t let me fall.”

“I’ll never let you fall, Sutton.”

“Hunter?” Sutton calls from her barstool. She’s got her back toward me still.

“Yeah?”

“Can we go now?”

My chair screeches as I stand quickly and step up behind her. Her black blazer is still hanging over the barstool, so I grab it, providing her one sleeve at a time. She slips her delicate arms into each sleeve and spins around to face me.

I offer her my hand, and she takes it immediately. I grab my hat and guide her outside to my old Ford truck. The door sticks, but I manage to wrench it open and help her inside. She’s already in the middle of the bench seat by the time I walk around the truck bed and get in. It rumbles to life at the same moment she lays her head on my shoulder.

“Long night?” I reach forward to crank down the window, knowing she’ll need fresh air on her face.

“Yeah, but can we not right now?”

“Okay, Sut.” I pull onto Old County Road, turning left toward our neighborhoods. “Your house or mine?”

A few beats of silence pass, and her breathing levels out. Has she fallen asleep already?

But then she slips her arm around my waist. “Can I stay at your place?” she says drowsily.

“You know you’ve always got a room at my place.”

“I just don’t want my mom to see me like this.”

She tucks her face more comfortably into my shoulder, and I send up a silent prayer that the pounding of my heart doesn’t wake her.

It’s not long before we’re pulling down the dirt road that leads to my property and into the driveway. Sutton wakes up enough to slide herself to the edge of my seat as I wrap one arm around her lower back and slip the other under her knees. She may have a slight frame, but having carried her from time to time, I know how muscular and heavy she is.

“Hunter?” Her voice is barely above a whisper.

“Hmm,” I say, trying to get the front door unlocked without dropping her.