Page 28 of The Playboy and the Widow
“I am not!”
Exasperated, Cliff moved behind Joan and helped her grip the pole. With his hand over hers, he reeled for all he was worth, tugging the line closer and closer to the boat.
“I can see him,” Katie shouted, jumping up and down.
“It’s a salmon,” Cliff called out as they got the large fish close to the boat. “A nice size sockeye from the look of him.” He left Joan long enough to retrieve the net, then leaned over the side of the boat to pull the struggling salmon out of the water.
“Gross,” Joan muttered, and closed her eyes. “No one told me there was going to be blood.”
“Only a little,” Diana assured her.
“I want to catch a fish,” Katie cried a second time. “It’s not fair that Joan caught one and I didn’t.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Joan said with a jubilant sigh. “I’ll help you.”
“I don’t want your help. I want Cliff to show me.”
“Cliff has to steer the sailboat,” Diana explained to her younger daughter. She knew this peaceful afternoon was too good to be true. The girls would erupt into one of their famous fights and shock poor Cliff. He wasn’t used to being around children—he wouldn’t understand that they bickered almost constantly.
“I’m hungry,” Katie decided next.
In order to appease her younger daughter, Diana climbed below deck to the galley, where Cliff had stored the picnic basket, and got Katie a sandwich and a can of her favorite soda.
Within a half hour, both girls were back to fishing, and serenity reigned once again.
“How much longer will it take?” Katie demanded within a few minutes. The irritating question was repeated at regular intervals.
Cliff’s smile was getting stiffer by the minute. He wished he hadn’t invited the girls along. He wanted Diana to himself, but he realized she would have refused the invitation if Joan and Katie hadn’t been included. For the past thirty minutes, he’d been sitting watching Diana and wanting to kiss her. He couldn’t do half the things he longed to do with Joan and Katie scrutinizing his every move. They were good kids, but it wasn’t the same as being alone with Diana. And with Katie whining every few minutes, Cliff sorely felt the need for a little peace and quiet. His musings were interrupted by Katie’s excited shout.
“Mommy, I got a fish, I got a fish!”
“I’ll show you how to bring him in!” Joan yelled, and quickly moved to her sister’s side, dragging her fishing pole with her.
“Hey! Watch your lines.” Cliff’s warning came too late, and before anyone could do anything to prevent it, the two fishing lines were hopelessly entangled.
“What do we do now?” Joan asked, tossing Cliff a look over her shoulder.
Once Cliff had assessed the situation, he shrugged and sadly shook his head. “There’s nothing to do. I’ll have to cut both lines.”
“But my fish...”
“Honey, you can’t reel him in now,” Diana hastened to explain, praying Katie wouldn’t be too terribly disappointed.
Cliff hated to cut the fishing lines, too, and was angry for not having warned the girls about what would happen if they didn’t mind their poles. In addition to losing the fish, he was throwing away good lures and weights. Thankfully, there was nothing of real value like his—It was then that he saw his open tackle box on the other side of the boat. Cliff went stark still. He’d given both girls specific instructions to stay out of his gear. His swift anger could not be contained.
“Who got into my stuff?” he demanded, and knelt down to examine his box. His worst fears were quickly realized. “My lucky lure is missing. Who took my lucky lure?”
“Joan, Katie, did either of you get into Cliff’s box?” Already Diana feared the answer. Cliff looked as though he’d like to strangle both girls for so much as touching his equipment.
“Where is my lucky lure?” Cliff repeated, his face hard and cold.
“You... you just cut it off.” Katie’s head dropped so low Diana could see her crown.
For a minute it looked as though Cliff would jump overboard in an effort to retrieve his silver lure from the murky green waters.
“That was my lucky lure,” Cliff repeated, as if in a daze. “I caught a forty-pound rock cod with that silver baby.”
“Katie,” Diana coaxed, “why did you get into Cliff’s equipment when he asked you not to?”
