by Lindsey
Rob ran out onto the bridge, dragging Jo by the hand. "Come on! I'm gonna catch a fish!"
Dan and Nick, fishing over the side of the bridge, grinned at Rob's enthusiasm.
"Are ya?" Dan challenged. "Then you better come help me. I ain't caught anything all afternoon!" Dan motioned Rob to his side. "C'mon. Let's go down by the creek where Nat and Emil are. This place is no good."
Rob took the pole that Dan offered him and ran excitedly behind. "I'm fishing with Danny!" he yelled back over his shoulder to Jo.
"Alright," she agreed. "Catch a big one!"
Jo laughed merrily and sauntered over to stand beside Nick. Leaning over the side of the bridge, she scanned the children lining both sides of the bank, fishing poles in hand. Nick slowly reeled his line in, revealing an undisturbed worm still on the hook.
"Any luck so far?" Jo asked, looking down to see if the children were faring any better.
"Naw. Bess had a bite awhile back, but it got away."
Jo looked surprised. "Really? The fishing has been so good lately."
Nick shrugged. "I dunno. Just an off day, I guess." He offered her his pole. "Wanna try?"
"No, thank you." Jo shook her head.
"Ya sure?" he offered again.
She paused. She was watching all the children cast their lines and reel them in, and Nick saw that she wanted to.
"Come on," he coerced. "It's fun."
"I'd like to," she admitted, "but I'm not very good at it."
Nick grinned. "What's not to be good at? Ya just hold onta the pole."
"Well, that's exactly the problem," she said frankly. "Every time I go fishing I end up dropping the pole in the creek."
"You're kiddin'."
"Really," she insisted. "Ask any of the children. They banned me from fishing because I lost so many poles. I don't mean to, but something would always happen-Rob would get too near the water, someone would startle me, I'd slip… it's very embarrassing."
"But you're not one ta give up so easy." He grinned and put the rod into her hands. "Go ahead. I won't let ya drop it."
"Alright," she agreed, moving closer to the side and looking hesitantly down to the water. "But I don't really know what I'm doing. I've never held a pole long enough to catch anything."
"Hey!" Tommy was waving at them from the bank. "Nick! Mrs. Jo isn't allowed to fish."
"It's alright," Nick called back. "I'm helpin' her."
"You see?" she laughed. "I'm dangerous with a fishing pole."
"Okay," Nick began, moving behind her. "First thing, hold on tight."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Got it."
"Now, to cast, you gotta…" Nick's words trailed off as he decided that maybe this wasn't the best lesson to begin with when the focus was not dropping the rod. He put his arms around her and took hold of the pole. "Well, here, lemme help ya."
With Nick guiding, they cast the line a little ways out. "Now reel it in just a little to give it some slack," he direct.
"Alright," Jo agreed, following his instructions. "Now what?"
"Now we wait."
"Oh."
Nick grinned to himself as he saw how hard she was concentrating on holding onto the pole. "You can relax a little," he offered. "It may be awhile. Don't worry, I'm not gonna let ya drop it."
Jo seemed to relax a little, but was obviously very caught up in her task. Nick, on the other hand, suddenly became very conscious of her closeness. Though the stance they had chosen was meant to be practical rather than romantic, Nick realized just how much he enjoyed the feeling of her within his arms. She was almost leaning against his chest, and he could feel himself becoming absorbed in smelling her hair.
"Nick," she whispered suddenly, "do you feel it?"
"What?" he blurted, startled out of his daydreams. Was it possible she felt it too?
"The line. I think it moved."
"Oh." She was talking about fishing then. He had forgotten what they were doing. Being so close to her was suddenly making it difficult to think of anything else. "Uh, I dunno. I wasn't payin' attention."
"It doesn't seem to be now. Maybe I just imagined it," she said, disappointed.
Nick was only half-listening. All he seemed to be able to hear was the beating of his own heart. He tried to breathe deeply and not think about it, but the attraction was impossible to ignore.
"Should I reel it in and make sure the bait is still there?" she asked, but he didn't even trust himself to respond. "Nick?" she repeated.
"Uh, Jo," he finally managed. "I just can't concentrate on fishin' with you standin' like this."
She looked back at him. "I'm sorry. Should I move?" she offered simply, oblivious to the problem at hand.
The way she was looking up at him so innocently sent him straight over the edge. "Absolutely not," he murmured and before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning in to kiss her.
Perhaps she wasn't as oblivious to the spell he had fallen under as he originally thought, for she didn't seem startled or surprised. In fact, she was lifting her lips to meet his until she suddenly pulled back.
"Nick?" she whispered breathlessly, their lips just inches apart.
"Yeah?" he responded, leaning in again and vaguely aware of hearing a splash in the distance.
"I dropped the fishing pole."
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