“I’m not arguing. I’m just surprised that this is how you would choose to, um, bond.” She chewed the inside of her lip and cast a nervous glance toward where the seaplane had been only a few minutes ago.
“That goes to show you don’t know me or my family. I hope we can change that, for your sake and for my son’s.” He thrust the fishing pole at her along with a tackle box. “Let’s walk farther down the shore, where my son hasn’t scared away all the good fish with his takeoff. Give a little here, okay? Let’s get to know each other.”
Their boots clinked in time as they walked side by side on the dock. The midday sun sparkled along the cresting ripples of the water.
She laughed drily, attempting to go with the flow in this bizarre outing. “With all due respect, sir, it’s not like we have a choice. You’re marrying my mother, so we’re going to see each other.”
They made their way off the main dock, turning a corner. Their boots crunched on stray snow as they made their way out onto a fishing platform.
Glenna grabbed the bait bucket, then stuck her hand in the chilled water, searching for the right fish. Satisfied with the one she came up with, she backhooked and cast her rod. They both heard the sound of the reel releasing the line far out into the bay.
Jack whistled softly. “Color me surprised. You’re really good at that.”
“My father taught me. In the early days of the business, all the extra cash went back into the company. We fished and hunted to save money on groceries. We ate well. Didn’t Mom tell you?” Glenna spun the reel, comforted by the clicking sound.
“Hmm, not in so many words,” he said. “Looks like we’ll all be eating well. You’ll be stocking the freezer.” He cast his own line.
“This is better fresh. These days when I fish, we split it up among the staff.”
Scanning the horizon, he said, “That’s thoughtful.”
“Our family is so large now, I may need to stay out here longer.” Her breath caught for an instant over the word family connected to the Steeles and Mikkelsons. Her gaze drifted off to the empty horizon where Broderick had flown away. “Our family. I’m still getting used to the sound of that.”
“Both of our families have been through a lot of pain, a lot of loss.” Jack’s dark eyes searched her face.
Glenna swallowed a lump in her throat. All she could do was nod.
His rod bent, went taut, then slack. Something had nibbled and gotten away. “I just have one more question.”
“What would that be?” Glenna asked, reeling her line in. She sent it back out, and it landed with a resounding plop. Minor in comparison to the splash of a whale tail in the distance.
Broderick was out there somewhere on the horizon, hurting, aching from another loss. She couldn’t help but worry about him and what he was feeling.
And she couldn’t deny she still wanted him. She wanted to comfort him. Wasn’t that why she’d come out on the dock in the first place, instead of rushing back to her own family home?
Heaven help her, she didn’t want to let Broderick go.
Jack angled his head her way, mustache curving with his smile. “Why do you keep calling me sir?”
His question surprised her. “I’m, uh, just trying to keep from calling you Mr. Steele or, um, boss man?”
“At least you’re not calling me that hard-nosed something or other, or worse.” He pulled his line back in. Then gave another cast.
They laughed. The family feud seemed so distant, for this moment at least. “I’m just not sure what to call you.”
“I prefer Jack, but that’s up to you.” His rod bowed deeply, and he fought with the line for a moment. Soon, he’d reeled in a fat, wriggling trout. “But we’ll all have time, because there’s no dodging each other. We are family. And family is everything.”
Broderick was her family.
That fact truly dawned on her, causing her to reevaluate the last few hours. He was family in the most important way. He’d never turned his back on her. She’d been the one pushing him away, even as far back as college. In spite of the pain of his losses, he’d still been willing to risk it all to commit to her.
He was a man of honor. A man of deep feelings. She knew that in her heart. Her mind had just been too stubborn to listen.
But not any longer. She turned to Jack. “Is there anyone here with a pilot’s license who can fly me to Broderick?”
* * *
The cabin had been colonized with so much meaning over the last week.
Sure, he had memories of the cabin from childhood. However, the memories that attacked him now were of Glenna and baby Fleur.