Hooked

Again.
    Griff had sighed and brought them a fresh box of tissues.
    At 10:01 Monday morning Steph got the store office and was told that Mr. Hartley wasn’t in, he was fishing somewhere…oh, yeah, Greer Lodge.
    The combination of longing and stubborn hope in Steph’s heart must have shown in her face. Beth sighed with good-natured exasperation.
    “It’s just as well. This is not a conversation you want to have over a phone.” She turned Steph by the shoulders and started pushing her toward the stairs. “Pack a bag. Fast. I’ll get online and find you a ticket. You have to go and speak to this saintly man in person.”
    “B-but Mickey—” Steph called back over the stair railing.
    “There won’t be room for three in the bed,” Beth answered. “He stays with me.”
    Mickey heard his name and came running into the kitchen with an expectant look.
    “You better take a nap while you can, old son,” Beth told him. “My kids have plans for you.”
    * * *
    He was standing hip-deep in the stream, wearing a fly-studded fishing hat and a pair of well-worn waders. She watched him cast behind a large rock downstream and pause, reading the flow of the water and waiting for the fish he knew to be there to bite, and her heart swelled with love.
    There was a spot just above him that looked perfect. She waded in and cast her line near the same rock he had targeted. He didn’t turn at first. It wasn’t uncommon for fly fishermen to share a spot in relative quiet. But when she cast a second time, crossing his line with hers, he looked up with a scowl to see who had made such a clumsy, thoughtless move on his turf.
    His rod lowered and his jaw dropped at the sight of her. She had donned her hastily modified waders and her CFR hat, studded with the sad-looking flies she had tied at the retreat. In spite of the pounding of her heart, she calmly reeled in her line—now tangled nicely with his—and waded toward him, holding his fly.
    “What are you doing here?” he asked, sounding duly shocked.
    “Fishing,” she said, squaring her shoulders. Please, God—let him still feel the same way toward me. Help us work it out. The stubborn surge of hope in her heart was all the answer she needed. “I just came from a great retreat in North Carolina, where I learned quite a bit…about fishing, about how blind I’ve been, about how I want to spend my life…and with whom.”
    “A retreat?” He frowned, clearly confused, until his gaze settled on her hat. “You went to one?” His face grew blank with surprise. “A Casting for Recovery retreat?”
    “I did. And Sunday morning I hugged everybody in sight.” She watched him try to control his rising emotions and tighten his stance. “Unfortunately, there was one volunteer I didn’t get to hug. I thought about him all weekend, and I realized I had to come to see him.” She gave a rueful grin. “And maybe get in a little ‘river time’ while I’m at it.”
    He just stared for a long moment, looking her up and down, assessing the heat in her face and the hope she knew was in her eyes. Had she made a mistake coming here? Could he have lost his feelings for her in the months since they’d parted? Why wasn’t he talking? Reacting?
    “Well?” She swallowed hard. “Am I going to get that hug or not?”
    Just when she thought she couldn’t stand the suspense one more instant, he took half a dozen long, loping strides, sending water shooting in all directions. A deep half sob, half laugh came from his throat as his big arms closed around her and reeled her in.
    She wrapped herself around him and squeezed for all she was worth, wishing she could absorb him into her very bones. Her heart swelled and gave several quivering beats before breaking into thuds of joy.
    He kissed the top of her head and laughed as he swung her back and forth and said her name again and again. She finally pushed him away enough to lift her face and pull his head down for a wild, exuberant kiss that left them both staggering and breathless.
    “I love you, Finn Hartley. I really, truly, fully and completely love you.” Tears made his face blur briefly. She blinked them away and he kissed her cheek as they rolled down it. “I think I always have. I just didn’t know what to do with you.”
    He leaned back to study her face, and his gaze was tenderness distilled.
    “And now you do?” he said with a doubtful look.
    “Oh, yeah. I have plans for you, babe. Big plans.”
    “Starting with