Читать книгу Heaven Sent Husband - Gilbert Morris, Gilbert Morris - Страница 12

The June sky was without a cloud, and the sun was hot as Ket cast her bait into the midst of a thick growth of water lilies. She let it lie there for ten seconds, counting slowly, then lifted her rod abruptly giving the plug a twitch. Instantly there was a thrashing in the lily pads and the line tightened, bringing the casting rod down level. Ket jerked the tip of the rod upward, sinking the hook and yelling at the top of her lungs, “I’ve got him, Dad! I’ve got him!”

“Hey, watch out! You’re going to turn the boat over!” Roger Lindsey sat in the front of the bass boat and laughed aloud as he watched Ket fight to pull the fish out of the lily pads.

“You’ll never get him in. He’s going to get hung up,” he said. He watched as she skillfully worked the fish, and thought, She’s a better fisherman than I am. Better than most men. Aloud, he said, “I never saw anybody get so excited over a little thing like a fish. One of these days you’re going to jump right out of the boat and haul yourself over to a bass, hand over hand.”

Ket did not answer for, as always, she had a mild form of insanity when she got a fish hooked, especially a large fellow like this one. It seemed the whole world disappeared, and all she knew was the tug of the fish on her line, the splashing of the water and the fish’s mad attempt to escape.

“He’s a whale, Dad!” Ket yelled. “May be a record!”

Roger watched with amusement and pride as Ket worked the fish close to the boat, then reached out quickly, grabbed the landing net and slipped it under the fish. When she lifted it out of the water, he whistled, “Say, that is a big fish! He might go eight or nine pounds!”

Ket looked down to see that her hands were trembling. “Look at that! I’m not going to make much of a nurse if I get all shaky over a little thing like a fish.” She reached in and got the fish by the underjaw and lifted him out. Her father came quickly with the scales and hooked it into the fish’s jaw, then waited until he stopped thrashing. “Eight and three quarter pounds! That’s a fine bass! Be good for supper tonight.”

“No, I’m going to have him mounted. We can get some fish at the supermarket.”

“He would make a nice trophy. Look at those colors!” Roger said admiringly. The two carefully put the fish into a wire basket and lowered him so that he would live as long as possible.

“Let’s go home,” Ket said. “Anything after this would be an anticlimax.”

“Suits me. Time we get by Ed’s house and let him start on your fish. It’ll be getting late anyhow.”

The two got their gear stowed and Ket moved to the driver’s seat. She started the powerful engine and soon the boat was skimming across Runaway Bay.

“I love to come out here,” she shouted with the roar of the engine.

“You ought to come more. Both of us should.”

“All right, it’s a date.”

Ket and her father parked the boat in their marina and soon were on their way home. They stopped off to give the fish to the taxidermist, Ed Jennings, and he promised to have it mounted in a few days.

Roger pulled onto the main road and headed home. He glanced across the seat at his daughter, who looked tired but content. Her hair was blowing in the wind from the open windows and he thought again how much she looked like him. I should wish she were small, petite and beautiful like her sisters and Lucille—but this one is mine. After a moment, he said, “How’s it going at the hospital?”

“Oh, fine.” She hesitated and then said, “I’m worried about one of our patients, a ten-year-old boy. He has a bad heart problem.”

“He’s not doing well?”

“No—not at all.”

“What chance does he have?”

“I don’t know, Dad. I talked to Dr. Bjelland, but he won’t come right out and say. I don’t think he’s very hopeful though, and he’s such a sweet boy.”

“That’s tough. It’s hard to hear about anybody that sick, but when it’s a ten-year-old, that really gets to your heart, doesn’t it?”

Suddenly Ket remembered the visit by Lisa Glenn, and she gave her father a summary. Indignantly, she said, “She didn’t care about Denny Ray. She was too busy posing for the camera.”

“That’s pretty harsh coming from you, Ket.”

Ket flushed and ran her hand through her hair. “I know, but it was so obvious. Denny Ray knew what she was doing right away. He said so as soon as she left.”

“Well, at least he’s got you on his side.” He changed the subject, saying, “Did you know that she’s going to be in church tomorrow?”

“Who’s going to be in church tomorrow?” Ket asked, turning her gaze on him.

“Why, Miss Texas. Guess you didn’t read the bulletin last week.”

“Lisa’s going to be there?”

“Yes, going to talk about her charity work.”

Sighing deeply, Ket sank down in her seat. “I guess I’ll go, but I don’t like it.”

The next morning Ketura found the large sanctuary at her church packed, for as Ket discovered everyone knew that Miss Texas would be here. She had threatened again not to go, but her father had been firm about that, and knowing he was right, she came reluctantly. And now as the song service went on, she examined Miss Texas very carefully.

Lisa Glenn sat in the front pew, right in front of the minister’s pulpit. She was wearing a beautifully tailored cream-colored jacket with long sleeves and gold-tone buttons. The matching straight skirt came to just below her knees and she had on a pair of shoes with high heels of the same color.

She does look beautiful, Ket thought reluctantly. It’s almost unfair that a woman could be that much better looking than other women.