Free The Lure of White Oak Lake by Robin Alexander Page B

hunt?”
    Morgan shook her head. “I couldn’t kill anything even if I was starving.”
    Austin’s brows shot up. “Fish?”
    “I’ve never done it.”
    Even Jaclyn’s brow rose then. Austin gasped. “You never fished? Around here, that’s like being a…a virgin.” He held out a hand. “Don’t be embarrassed, I’m a virgin, too—I mean, I’ve fished, but I’ve never…you know.”
    Jaclyn set down her fork and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Remember what I told you about his lack of filters?”
    Morgan put her napkin over her mouth to hide her smile as Austin said, “What? Hey, Morgan, don’t tell anybody, okay?”
    “I won’t,” she said with a chuckle.
    Austin grinned. “Mom gets freaked out when I say penis. Her eyelids flutter, and her face turns red.” He pointed at Jaclyn. “See?”
    Jaclyn was doing exactly that. “Son!”
    “I don’t know what the big deal is, it’s a body part and—”
    “Not at the table, remember your manners.” Jaclyn’s face was red as a beet as she regarded Austin.
    “Sorry again,” he said as he shot a glance at Morgan, who had completely hidden herself behind her napkin. Her entire body was shaking with silent laughter.
    Jaclyn cleared her throat. “Do you have homework?”
    “Yes, ma’am, I have to write a stupid paper on why we shouldn’t drink and drive for English class. None of us even has a learner’s permit. I don’t know why Mrs. Hemphill is making us do this.” Austin shrugged. “We made notes in class. All I have to do is comment on each point and type it up.”
    Morgan cleared her throat and took a sip of her tea afterward. “What’s the most important reason you don’t drink and drive?”
    “Because you could kill someone or yourself.”
    She nodded. “It’s important to understand that. Most people believe it won’t happen to them, but it does all the time. You could look up the statistics on accidents caused by driving under the influence for this area on the Internet and add them to your report. That would show your teacher that you really took the time to investigate the subject.”
    “Good idea, I’ll do that.”
    Jaclyn looked at Austin like he’d grown another head. Anytime she’d suggested digging deeper on a topic, she’d been rebuffed.
    “This is delicious, Jaclyn. Thank you for inviting me over,” Morgan said.
    “Yeah, it is, Mom, thank you.”
    “You’re both welcome.” Jaclyn noticed Austin using most of his table manners. He wasn’t inhaling the food like he did normally, his napkin was on his lap, and his elbows were off the table. She decided then that Morgan would have to eat with them more often.
    “Do you work every day at the store?” Morgan asked.
    “Lately, I have,” Jaclyn said with a sigh. “Chet helps out some. I hired a high school senior to help me on the weekends. She’s just about ready to be on her own.” Jaclyn pushed her salad bowl aside and stirred the spaghetti on her plate with her fork. “The schedule isn’t as bad as it seems. I open at six in the morning and usually close around six in the evening. By then, business slopes off.”
    “In the summer, she goes in at four thirty, and the store’s a madhouse. Whew! Talk about grumpy,” Austin said, keeping his gaze on his plate.
    Jaclyn shot him a look. “Summer is our bread and butter. As you can tell, weekdays are very quiet around here, so income from the summer months when people from the surrounding areas come to the lake supports us through the year.”
    Morgan looked at Jaclyn thoughtfully. “You don’t appear to have any competition.”
    Jaclyn shook her head. “This part of the lake is surrounded by the town and homes. The rest of it stretches out into the marsh and is inaccessible except by boat. Gavin Cullum has a floating bar that’s only open May through September, but it really doesn’t hurt my sales.” She smiled at Morgan’s empty plate. “There’s plenty, would you like some more?”
    “No, thank