Page 3 of The Big Catch

“Belle, I don’t mean to seem so insensitive, but yes, we’re over. Honestly, I don’t think either of us have loved each other for some time now. It’s clear that you love my money, but loving me has always been debatable. I can admit that I barely like you, Belle. I dealt with you because I felt a sense of obligation more than anything else.” He had to be honest with her.

His words hurt to hear. Not because they were untrue, but because they were. When she first met Carson, it was more infatuation than love. She loved him, but in love, not so much. The money made her cozy when he wasn’t around. “Well, Iguess that’s it then. You can get your shit and get the fuck out of my house.”

She gave him that one tear, but he wouldn’t get any more of them. All he could do for her now was get the hell out and deposit that one hundred thousand dollars into her account. He could carry his ass back to his wife.I wonder if I could still sue him.

Carson expected the anger. One thing that he would give Belle was that she was not a weak woman. He couldn’t recall a time that he saw her show weakness. He respected that because most women would have fallen apart right then and there. He was pleased that she didn’t. He didn’t feel like dealing with it right now. All he wanted to do was get back to Texas to fix his real family.

“I got here shortly after you left to go shopping. All of my things have already been removed. Belle, I know this is fucked up, but I love my wife and family. I can’t lose them.” His eyes were soft, and he meant what he said. “I hope you find what you truly are looking for.”

With nothing else to say, his ass was out the damn door. Belle stood there frozen for a moment, before she moved to the bedroom. She felt herself moving, but it was like she was on some sort of autopilot. She noticed the door to their massive walk-in closet open. It was a two-story closet where all of her things were upstairs and Carson’s down. A gasp left her mouth. The entire downstairs was completely void of everything.

Just as many clothes, shoes, and jewelry as Belle had, Carson did as well. Carson may not have shopped like she did, but he had a lot of expensive items himself. There was something on the island in the middle of the closet that drew her attention. The closer she got to the island, she realized what it was.His wedding ring.That was it.

Her dam broke after she picked the ring up from the island. How did she get here? She trusted a man to take care of her solely when she knew better in her pit. Her parents taught her how to take care of herself, but she wanted to be taken care of. Her parents struggled, and even with that, her father took care of her mother. Belle just didn’t want to be a part of the population that her parents settled into.

It looked like she was about to be there without trying. Carson paid the mortgage for six months, but what was she supposed to do after that? As quiet as it was kept, she didn’t know how much the mortgage was. She didn’t know how much any of the household bills were. She lived the pampered life that her fake ass husband provided. Why should she have been worried about the damn bills? Carson paid the damn bills.

Get a job. She never finished college; therefore, to the work world, she only had a high school diploma. What kind of job would she get with that? She knew it wouldn’t be enough to cover the bills that she would have to pay eventually. Carson fucked her in the worst way possible. Life had just gave her a bitch slap from hell.

NEWSOME, ALABAMA

SOME TIME LATER…

“Come on,Black. Bring your ass on na.” I fussed at my overly active Labrador retriever. We hadn’t been hunting in a while. He had a lot of extra energy that he needed to get out. I planned to take him and my other babies to the lake tomorrow.

I had just pulled up to my parents’ house. I didn’t live too far from them on the land that we owned. Our family’s land had been passed down through the generations. Over four hundred acres in a small town named Newsome in Alabama. Out of the land that we owned, we leased about 150 acres to about twelve families. I lived on ten acres of land that my father gave me when I turned eighteen. The majority of my parents’ income came from the leased land along with the small grocery store and liquor store we owned.

The town was seventy miles outside of Birmingham, and it was as rural as rural could be. There were no major stores, restaurants, or anything. Newsome was a family-oriented town where we hunted, fished, and rode dirt bikes or ATVs for fun. The biggest business that supplied our town with our biggest revenue was the chicken plant.

Black ran up on the porch, where I stood waiting for him. My mama, Mabel, called me to run to the store for her. The cabbage in her garden wasn’t ready yet, so she wanted me to go to the store since she was in the mood for some. There was no way that I would tell her no when it meant that I would eat some of my mama’s good ass cabbage.

“Mama, where you at?” I yelled when I walked into the house.

My mama came from the kitchen. “Boy, you act like we live in some big mansion that you got to scream in. I’m right here seasoning this chicken so I can fry it. Ya daddy out there by the lake.” She waved her hand. “Go to ya pillow and lay down, Black.”

Without hesitation, my dog walked over to his pillow in what my mama called the babies’ room. All of my dog babies had pillows. What annoyed me when I brought my babies over here was that they listened to my mother better than they listened to me. How the hell did that happen? I just glared at Black on his pillow, like he wasn’t just giving me hell less than three minutes ago.

“Alright, Mama. I’m about to go back here and mess with Daddy,” I told her after I kissed her forehead. “Make sure you got everything you want on your list, Mabel Ann. I’m not going back to the store after I leave it.”

My mama smacked the shit out of me on the back of my head. “Play with me, Gunner. Call me Mabel Ann again like you lay with me every night.”

See, that was where I took my exit. From the sly smile that rested on her beautiful face, she knew that I didn’t want to hear that. She played too much. “Bye, Mama.”

I heard her boisterous laugh through the back door after I closed it. My daddy sat in his seat on the dock. It was his end of the day, wind down place to be. My sister, Nadine, was at the grocery store, closing tonight. “Hey, my boy. What’s going on with you today?” my daddy, Griff, asked.

He passed me a glass of Yak after I took the seat next to him. I took a sip as I looked out over the lake. The same lake that I learned how to swim, fish, and kissed my first girl in. “Man, today was a good ass day. Mitchell called to let me know that the beer endorsement deal went through.”

My daddy’s back lifted from the seat. “That’s what the hell I’m talking about, boy! I knew you had something special the first time you cast a line. I never in a million years thought you would turn fishin’ into a successful career. I just wanted to teach you how to fish and hunt so you could always feed yaself.”

My daddy’s pride in my accomplishments meant everything to me. I was a professional angler who was currently the number one angler of the year. I made good money as a competing angler. Last year, I pulled $450,000 in payouts from competitions. I had two major endorsement deals with a major sporting store and a fishing rod manufacturer. My ambassador deal for each was a three-year commitment. Both deals paid out at $800,000 over the three years.

The beer deal that I just closed was a two-year deal with a payout of $300,000. I’d been a professional angler since I was eighteen. I didn’t start really making a dent in the industry until I was twenty-six. It was crazy that a Black man dominated a space that was majority cauliflower. It was cool as fuck to meet young Black boys who looked up to me and wanted to be a professional angler one day.

“Daddy, you did more than just teach me how to fish and hunt. You taught me how to be a man. I love you for that and could never repay you.” I knew that I wouldn’t be where I was if it wasn’t for my parents.

When I got my first two big wins, I told them that I wanted to build a house for them. I was ready to drop a big bag. Instead of letting me build them a house, they opted to buy a large, manufactured home. They said that they’d rather me invest to build wealth for our next generation. It wasn’t often that you saw someone from a rural place like Newsome create wealth. Yes, my family was land rich which was a blessing. I wanted us to be wealthy all the way around.

“It’s a privilege to be you and Nadine’s father. You two are my greatest joys, longest challenges, and proudest achievements. One day, hopefully, you’ll get to experience the same.” My daddy’s brow was arched higher than the golden arches.

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