Excerpt
Chapter 1
Walking along the river she came upon him quite abruptly. He was sitting on the bank fishing. They saw each other at the same moment. Hi, she said and lifted her hand in a self conscious greeting.
He put his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture and said softly. Youll scare the fish.
She quietly studied the man with the graying beard as he pulled the line from the water, whipped it back and forth in the air several times and let the lure settle upstream of a boulder in the river. Any luck? she said in a quiet voice.
Without looking he pointed to a large plastic bucket at his side. She started forward and he motioned with his hand for her to stay low. Dont let your shadow fall on the water.
She came up beside the man in a crouch and peered into the bucket. Trout, she said. Nice ones.
He glanced at the girl and smiled. Should make a few dinners. He noted that she was youngnot less than fifteen but not more than eighteentall and slender with nothing gawky about her. She missed the mark at being pretty, but showed the good facial bone structure that indicated she could mature into a fairly attractive older woman.
I havent seen you before, she said, settling herself on the bank. You live around here?
Couple of miles up the river. He jerked the fishing pole and grunted when only the fly appeared. The line snaked through the air several oscillations and the fly dropped in the river somewhat farther upstream than before. Wet fly, she said. Do you tie your own?
He looked at her sharply. You know about fly-fishing?
My dad taught me. I fished with him for years before he died. She turned her head aside.
Im sorry, he said. Was that recently?
More than a year ago, she said, her voice ragged. He got drunk and tried to drive through a tree.
He studied the forlorn girl that sat facing away from him. She removed a handkerchief from her purse and dried her eyes before turning to look at the man. Im sorry. I guess seeing you fishing reminded me. He didnt drink often, but it was his birthday. The guys he worked with took him out to a bar to celebrate. He didnt come home. Mom and I waited up for himwe had our own birthday party planned. Then the sheriff called.
The man noticed that his line was drifting downstream toward the bank and quickly reeled it in. I seem to remember it happening. Wasnt that outside Sutter Creek? The name was Pete something or other.
Daniels, she said. Daniels, he repeated the name and shook his head. Thats a real shame. What a tragic thing to happen to your family.
She wiped her eyes again. Theres just Mom and me. I dont have any brothers or sisters.
You must have been very close to your father, he said.
She managed a small grin. We were buddies.
Im sure you were and he must have been very proud of you.
He was, she said. He called me his best friend in the world, and I wanted to be. I tried to please him in everything I did. I worked hard in school so I could show him a good report card. Whatever he was doing around the house, I helped him. We even overhauled the car.
He sounds like a great dad. Im sure youre lost without him.
She sat silent for several minutes. Then she wiped her eyes again and blew her nose. We were doing almost everything together and now I cant decide what I should be doing. Dont care about anything anymore. My grades in school have gone to hell. I cant seem to concentrate. All my friends are staying away, except Henry. They say Im no fun, and I guess Im not.
Henry?
Again she showed the small grin. Henry Sanchez. He likes me. Her face showed a wry expression, although I dont know why. I dont even like myself.
That cant be true, he said. I believe youre a very nice person, Miss Daniels. Youve just got to find a way to move on.
Nina, she said. Nina Daniels.
Nina, he said thoughtfully. I havent heard that name in years. I had a distant relativeNina Bancroft. He smiled at the girl. As I recall, she was a very nice person also.
I was named after my mothers sister. She died quite young. So, then, whats your name?
He stood, with some effort, and extended his hand in a formal manner. Steven Augustine at your service, maam, but you can call me Steve.
She stood also, took his hand and made a small curtsy. Pleased to meet you, sir.
Standing, he noted that she was almost as tall as himself. He grinned at her. Now that was a very courtly greetingespecially from someone dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. Id almost believe you was greeting royalty.
She laughed. Why? Are you royalty? You dont look like the King of England.
He laughed as he said, I like to travel incognito. Otherwise all those pests keep coming up and saying, George, I thought you was dead. Youre looking well for being more than a hundred and ten years old. Tiresome.
He bent and picked up his rod and examined the fly. In answer to your question a while ago, yeah, I tie my own flies. This one I call Irresistible. The trout really go for it. He showed her the lure. I copied it from a natural fly thats common to this areaeven examined the bellies of some trout to make sure this was what they were eating.
Youre as bad as my ol man, she said. I never thought anyone could be as gung-ho about fishing as him. He had me tying flies and practicing casting in our back yard for hours. I got to be pretty good.
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