Free Unlikely Praise by Carla Rossi Page B

Candi, and she does a great job. I just can’t see her baiting a hook.” He pursed his lips in a thoughtful pause. “Is there a boat involved?”
    “Not this time.”
    Rocky swiped his brow as if relieved. “Good. ‘Cause there’d surely be a manual for that .”
    Again they burst out laughing.
    Shade cackled along with them, though he found it less amusing by the minute. Sure, she was a bit intense, but any woman who liked to fish was worth getting to know. He grabbed the remote and turned up the sound. “Previews are over. Ready to start the movie?”
    “Fire it up,” Max ordered.
    Rocky rolled forward and eyed what was left in Shade’s pizza box. “You gonna eat that crust?”
    “Maybe.”
    Rocky grinned. “How about I arm wrestle you for it?”
     
    ****
     
    Early Saturday morning, Candi sat in the drive-thru at the coffee shop and looked over the list she’d made the night before.
    Top Five Reasons To Not Go Fishing With Shade:
    5. True personality and/or intentions of fishing companion remain unknown. Nice guy? Or sociopath w/ponytail?
    4. Why would anyone in their right mind be up at 5:30 a.m. on their only day off?
    3. Springtime allergies have left eyes puffier than the skies over Albuquerque during the annual Balloon Fiesta.
    2. Fishing will only remind me of my father.
    And the number one reason not to go fishing with Shade...
    No potty at the pond.
    The list of reasons she should go never made it past the first one. It did, however, make surprisingly more sense.
    You have absolutely nothing better to do.
    She pulled the car forward and ordered the two biggest cups of coffee available. It wasn’t as if she could back out now anyway. Shade was probably already waiting at the gas station. Plus she’d already dragged herself out of bed and applied eye cream, light makeup, sunscreen, and insect repellent. Any attempt to renege at this point would be a waste of valuable resources.
    As suspected, Shade’s decrepit truck was parked at the side of Kip’s Kwik Stop. Morning sun teased the lingering darkness and shed emerging light on Shade’s tall, slim frame has he leaned against the truck’s door.
    She pulled alongside him and lowered her window. He wore his usual white tee and holey jeans, but today’s look was topped off with a classic charcoal gray Fedora and contrasting black band. She had to admit it was a pretty sharp look for him even if it defied all proper use of a Fedora. When he touched the brim and greeted her with a charming, but mysterious smile, her stomach took an unexpected dip.
    She put the car in park and turned to reach for one of the cups. Girl, you’re gonna have to lay off the late night black and white movies and nutty-fudge ice cream...
    “I brought you coffee,” she said and shoved it out the window.
    “Thanks, but...” He reached inside the truck and did the same. “I brought you coffee.”
    A touch of warmth crept up her neck as she pulled the cup back inside. “Thanks. I’ll hold on to it for you. Can’t ever have enough coffee.” She rested her arm across the steering wheel. “Nice hat. My great-uncle had a couple of those, but I don’t think I ever saw him wear one fishing.”
    “This was my grandfather’s. Can’t imagine fishing without it.”
    “Whatever works,” she said and shrugged. “But doesn’t that get kind of hot?”
    He grabbed the hat by the crown, lifted it off his head, and then repositioned it in one smooth move. He tapped it into place with a cocky smile. “Well, I don’t fish in the heat of the day, darlin’.”
    The slow rising light of dawn made it hard to see just who was more horrified by his comment. They exchanged panicked glances and her stomach went from that tiny dip to an all-out elevator shaft drop. Clearly, he hadn’t meant for his ex-Dead Lizard charm to ooze out like lava all over Kip’s Kwik Stop parking lot and attempt to swallow her up. She was immune to it, but still, did he really just call her darlin’ in