Page 51 of Fake It True

“What do you mean?” I asked as I stepped into my wading boots.

“You and Leo told me about it, and Maisie was telling me—” Casey turned away as Maisie called out a greeting. We waved back and Casey continued, “I guess I didn’t realize there would be this many people. Parking is practically a competitive sport.”

I grinned. “It’s awesome. Fun though it is, it’s serious. People rely on the salmon they catch here to feed their families. One person can get up to twenty-five salmon with an additional ten salmon for each family member. That’s a lot of food. Not to mention how fresh Alaskan silver salmon is.” I tapped my fingers together in the motion for a chef’s kiss.

Maisie reached us with Amelia, Lucy, Tish, Griffin, and more trailing behind her. Recently, I’d started to feel like the odd one out. Many of my friends were happily married or coupled up, and I was still very single. I couldn’t even imagine being anything but single.

“Hey, Parker,” Griffin called.

My eyes instantly swung in his direction, while I ordered my hormones to ignore Parker Reeves. I also studiously ignored the inconvenient embarrassment that he didn’t recognize me.It was ten years ago. Forget about it.

“Hey, hey,” Parker said with a lopsided grin when he stopped by our group.

“Is this your first year dipnetting?” Casey asked him.

Parker shook his head. “No, ma’am,” he teased. “I might have only moved to Willow Brook in the last year, but I am a born and bred Alaskan.”

“Well, I’m gonna watch and learn. Show me your net,” Casey said.

Beck stopped beside Maisie. “That sounds a little inappropriate, Casey,” he teased with an exaggerated brow waggle.

Casey rolled her eyes. “Look, this is my first time watching this. Everybody keeps talking about their nets, so I’m trying to understand why they’re so important.”

Parker’s grin sent sparks pinwheeling inside of me. “A lot of people build their own nets.” He gestured to the net I was holding. “I’m on team-Luna. I like them with a cedar handle and a rectangular net. The cedar floats in the water, so it makes those easy to hold.”

Casey nodded along. “Hmm. I guess I have until next year to figure out what kind of net I want.”

The beach was getting more and more crowded. Amelia caught my eye. “I like the cedar handle too because it floats.”

Beck chimed in, “Well, now there are advantages to the stainless-steel ones because your grip slides more easily if you need to adjust it.”

“You undercut your own point. If your hands can slide easier, you can lose your grip,” Maisie pointed out. Maisie stopped beside Casey, pulling her into a side hug. “I was new at this too, but I’ve done it for a few years now and it’s really fun. You’re gonna love it when you get to go next year.”

“I sure love salmon, so I’m looking forward to it.” She glanced toward me, worry creasing her brow. “I can eat the salmon Leo catches, right?”

I burst out laughing. “Of course, you just have to officially be a resident before you can get a dipnetting permit.”

“Did you get a king salmon tag?” Amelia asked me.

I gave her a thumbs-up. “Sure did!”

It wasn’t long before we were all wading into the ocean. I tended to push the envelope on this and go as far out as I could. I loved the feeling of the water rushing against me. Today, the fishwere coming in fast and I could feel them bouncing against my legs. I had almost caught my limit when I waded back into the water to try to catch one more salmon.

The sun was high in the sky, and the wind was starting to pick up so the water was getting choppy. I didn’t think much of it when a boat came rolling down the river. The boat’s wake was high enough that my feet lifted off the sandy bottom. I still didn’t worry until several minutes ticked by and I realized I was drifting further away from the shoreline.

“Luna!”

I recognized Beck’s voice and glanced back. “Yeah?”

“You okay?”

I wanted to tell him I was completely fine. I was independent, some people would probably think I was stubbornly so. I hated asking for help. Ever. But I didn’t want to be stupid and I was deeply practical. I knew that if I didn’t somehow change course, I might start drifting too far out into the current where the water could carry me out to sea. Literally.

The water was also cold. Alaska wasn’t a place where people swam without a wetsuit, even on the hottest days of summer. That cold water was beginning to seep over the tops of my waders. I was smart though, and I was wearing a life jacket.

I glanced back at Beck and called out, “I’m not sure!”

I turned to face the shore so I could keep an eye on how fast I might be drifting away. I wasn’t alone in this predicament. I could see another person, maybe fifty feet away, who was trying to swim directly back to shore. I knew that wasn’t the best move. It was safer to swim at an angle across the current.

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