Top Dog

“That wasn’t the reason, and you know it,” Katie said. “Michael rented it out when Mom got sick, yes. But after she passed, I took over the rent for it. I thought it’d be a nice place for us to come stay whenever we did come to see family so we could have our own space.”

“Whatever,” Hunter said.

“And when we got closer to the wedding date, there was no need for the apartment any longer. So I put in a sixty-day notice to end the lease. But now, I’ll be needing that lease back,” Katie said.

“If I can help with anythin’, let me know. I’ve been known to give a good stern talkin’ to people,” I said.

“I will, thank you,” Katie said.

“I gotta piss,” Hunter said. “Caleb, watch my beer.”

“You got it,” I said.

“Good man,” Hunter said as he patted my back.

Katie smiled at me as she crawled up onto Hunter’s seat. The weight that seemed to be lifted off her shoulders was grand. Her smile seemed more genuine, and her eyes sparkled more than they had last night. It was like she was breathing for the first time in years, and I was thankful for it. I sipped on my beer as she looked at me, her dazzling eyes drawing me in.

They’d always done that, and I never could help but stare. It was why I enjoyed taking her fishing and hunting.

Wasn’t no one there to call me out on how much I was looking at her now.

“What you guys have built here is beautiful,” she said.

“Glad you like it. It’s growin’ on me,” I said.

Katie’s giggle was music to my ears. Soothing, sweet music I hadn’t heard in years. And the way her nose wrinkled when she laughed was making it damn hard not kiss her.

“So, if you’re stickin’ ‘round for a few days, maybe I’ll see you ‘round town?” I asked.

“Maybe. I think a few days of resting before I try to negotiate things with my landlord will do me some good.”

“Well, I hope I’ll see you. When I’m here, I’m cooped up in my office so I won’t see you much ‘round the resort.”

“Such a shame. It’s a beautiful place.”

“I see it every day. Loses its charm after a while.”

“Well don’t tell your customers that. You need them to turn a profit,” she said.

“Don’t worry. We ain’t got no issues in that department.”

An easy silence fell between us, like it always did on our fishing trips. My mind ventured back to one of the last ones we took together. Hunter had been gone with Andrew camping or some shit, so it was one of the rare moments where I had Katie to myself. Even in simple basketball shorts and a t-shirt, she was delectable. I could remember the way her eyes always fe

ll to my lips whenever they got the chance. She had wanted me to kiss her so badly that morning, and to this day I don’t know why the hell I didn’t.

“Been fishing lately?” Katie asked, almost as if she’d been reading my mind.

“A bit. I go with Andrew sometimes. But he ain’t as pretty to look at,” I said.

“Haha! Caught anything like that one fish?” she asked.

“I still can’t believe how big that thing was,” I said with a snicker. “Thing took up half the damn bucket. To answer your question, I’ve yet to catch one near that size.”

“Well, maybe we could go fishing while I’m in town and see if we can’t catch one even bigger.”

“I’ll take you fishin’ whenever you want.”

“Is that creek still running strong?” she asked.