Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

thinking that they could have targeted Sonya with their sick little games was more than uncomfortable.
    “What are you going to do now?” he asked.
    “What do you mean?”
    “There’s a drift opening tomorrow.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Don’t tell me you plan on fishing? Cut up like you are.”
    She tightened her lips and just stared at him.
    “You are, aren’t you?” His temper flared and a few flames got away from him. “Damn it, Sonya. Why are you doing this?”
    “Doing what, Aidan?” She dropped her cookie and sat back on the bench. “Fishing?”
    “Look at you? Have you seen your face?”
    “Yes.” Her eyes wavered and he knew he’d touched a nerve. She wasn’t as cool and collected as she appeared.
    “You need to take care of yourself. Scars aren’t worth catching some damn fish for.”
    “The permit is in my name. I have to be on the boat.”
    Aidan took a breath. He understood that there was no calling in sick during fishing. You either fished or lost out. The idea of Sonya out there working, in her condition, more than bothered him.
    She flicked him a glance. He hated that look in her eyes. He’d caused that. Only he could fix it. So he swallowed his temper with another bite of cookie. “Be careful tomorrow. I don’t want anything else to happen to you.” Her eyes widened and he realized she’d expected his normal dressing down. “You matter to me, Sonya.”

    That was twice in two days that a man had told her she mattered. What was going on? Sonya stared at Aidan who looked so sincere. She knew he cared about her, but she also didn’t wanted to be with a man who “cared about a woman” the way he did.
    The cookies were making her sick. She probably shouldn’t have gorged herself on them. They’d tasted so good, comforting, like the loving hugs her mother used to give her when she was younger.
    “Aidan, I appreciate you coming to check on me, but I’m tired.” She let all her worry and exhaustion show through. She’d done her best to hide it all day. She didn’t want Grams to report to Gramps that she wasn’t up to fishing tomorrow. She had something to prove. Not only to herself, but to the other fishermen who might be under the guise that she wasn’t cut out to fish. She especially had something to prove to the asshole who’d decided to pick on her. If what happened to her had happened to a man, there would be no question if he’d be fishing tomorrow. There’d be plenty of time to rest and heal after the season was over.
    She needed to get rid of Aidan. She didn’t like seeing him this way, gazing at her like a kicked puppy. It messed with her resolutions. They’d always been friends, until they’d decided to take that friendship to the next level. How she wished they hadn’t. She could use a friend right now. Someone who wasn’t looking at her to be captain and call the shots or family members wanting to smother her with concern. Someone who could be a sounding board, where she could vent, get angry, or cry.
    Aidan got to his feet. “Get some sleep. But, Sonya, promise me that if you need anything, you’ll let me know.”
    “Thanks, Aidan,” she said, wishing, more than she liked, that she could take him up on his offer.

C HAPTER S EVENTEEN
    Frustration ate at Garrett like maggots on a dead fish. They’d yet to find Kendrick. It hadn’t helped matters that they’d been called away on a search and rescue that had turned search and recovery because some idiot had gotten drunk and fallen overboard. The Coast Guard had been sent in from Kodiak, but they still hadn’t found a body. It had been over twenty-four hours. With the way the Bristol Bay tides tore in and out, they weren’t going to find one. Just another statistic added to alcohol related deaths in Bristol Bay.
    “Garrett,” Skip hollered from the cabin to where he stood at the bow, scanning the unusually calm waters of the incoming tide. “Just got a transmission from Miller.” Miller was one of the troopers stationed as a spotter on land. “He caught sight of the Albatross headed for the line.”
    Garrett gave Skip a smile full of satisfaction. He glanced at his watch. Drifting was scheduled to open in just under an hour. Kendrick was out early, obviously to claim a choice fishing spot.
    “Do you want to intercept?” Skip took one look at Garrett. “Right. Setting a course. But you get to be the one who wakes Judd.”
    Judd had headed below to catch a few winks before the opening. He