Love Imagines (Sully Point, Book 6) (6 page)

"Well, you've stirred my curiosity. Wait, is it
Maggie?"

"No, no, she's healthy as a horse."

"Okay...no hints as to what this is about?"

"I'm sorry, but I'd rather talk to you in person."

"All right then. I'm supposed to go out deep sea
fishing in a little while. Can it wait until tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, yes it can," Doc Watson said. "How about
nine o'clock in my office?"

"Sounds fine. I'll see you then."

"Thank you, Dr. Carter. Thank you very much."

Rose ended the call and gazed at her phone
thoughtfully. Unless she was mistaken, that man had sounded relieved when she
agreed to talk to him. She wondered for a moment what it was about, but then
looked at the time and dashed in to get dressed.

She'd decided to wear her suit under shorts and a
t-shirt, and she'd bring the cover-up that Maggie had insisted upon. Rose found
the cover-up a bit silly since it was see-through, but she would take it. She
filled a canvas beach bag with a couple of towels, sunscreen, a straw hat,
another pair of shorts and shirt and flip flops. She planned to wear her new
sneakers out there. At the last minute she remembered her sunglasses and a
large comb. She'd braided her hair so that it hung down her back, but she knew
at some point she'd want to comb it out.

There was a knock at the apartment door, and she
took everything into the living room, noticing her digital camera on the table.
She tucked it securely into the bag and answered the door.

"Ready?" Ben asked, smiling at her.

"Yes, I'm all set. But I was wondering if we need
to take bottled water or food?"

"No. I called Cody this morning and he said the
boat is stocked with food and drink. Let's go!"

She grabbed the bag, put her sunglasses on, and
they went down the stairs.

"It's an ideal day for going out on the water," Ben
said once they were in the car.

"I'm going to slather on the sunscreen. That sun
will be bright."

"I already put mine on. But I may need to borrow
some of yours later."

She looked over at him and laughed. "You haven't stopped smiling. You're really
looking forward to this aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm going to have fun and catch big
fish, and maybe even eat one later today. It's a manly kind of day."

Rose giggled.

"That's right, you may laugh," he said sternly.
"But you're playing the part of the fair maiden today. All that is expected
from you is a frequent smile and many giggles and an occasional smoldering
look. I'll be fighting off the dangerous creatures of the ocean depths,
protecting you from the jaws of death."

She burst out laughing, her grumpiness banished by
his sense of humor. They parked at the lot by the docks and walked down to
where they saw Cody loading some equipment onto a boat. Another man was helping
him.

"Hi, you two," Cody said. "This is Joe Crawford.
He'll be along with us to help out. He makes this run a lot."

Joe shook their hands. He was a man in his
fifties, with salt and pepper hair, and a leathery face from spending so much
time in the sun. There were creases at the edges of his eyes from squinting in the
light off the water. He vanished into the pilot house and started the engines.

Cody showed them where they could stow their
things down below, where there were two cabins and a galley. He turned on the
coffee maker and then they all went up on deck.

As they pulled away from the dock, Cody began giving
them a lecture on safety which Rose and Ben both listened to, even though it
turned out both of them were capable swimmers. They put on lifejackets, while Cody
began explaining about the type of fishing they'd be doing.

Rose decided to keep the shorts and shirt on for
the moment, since the air wasn't quite warmed up yet out on the water. She was
sure, though, that soon enough the day would be hot.

Once the boat was out of the waterway and into
open water, Joe took them to a faster speed. Suddenly, Rose understood why
people liked boats. It was a marvelous feeling to her, the breeze blowing
against her body, seeing the water stretched out before them. She felt her
muscles relaxing, as if they had been wound tightly deep inside all this time
and only on the speeding boat were they finally loosening up. She smiled
widely, and Ben came up to her and sat beside her.

"Fun, isn't it?" he said loudly.

She nodded and smiled at him. His blond hair was
blown away from his face, and his blue eyes were dazzling in the light off the
water. He'd taken off his t-shirt before putting on the lifejacket and she'd
seen that his body was in excellent condition if his abs were anything to go
by. As he got up to ask Cody a question, she thought the view of him walking
away was pretty darned good, too.

After a while the boat began slowing, and Cody
took a bucket to the side of the boat and began dumping it overboard.

"What're you doing?" Rose called out.

"Tossing chum into the water. Around these parts
we say, 'if you chum, they will come.'"

"It's chopped up bait fish and other fish parts,"
Ben said. "The fish are attracted to it. While we're slowing, he's laying a
trail for the fish to follow right to us."

The boat finally stopped, and Cody came over to
Rose.

"Ready to try your hand at some fishing?"

"Sure! Just tell me what to do," she said.

He showed her how to stand, how to hold the
fishing rod and more, and before she knew it she was officially fishing. The
waters had become calm, but then she saw a disturbance.

From behind her Cody said quietly, "Dolphins are
playing out there. Let's see if they decide to come check us out."

"They'd come by the boat?" she asked.

Ben and Cody both nodded.

"I've seen them swim alongside a boat moving in
the water," Ben said.

"Yes, so have I," Cody said, looking out where the
dolphins were. "They can be very social. We'll see if these are up to
socializing with us today. The water out here is still too cold for us to try
and swim with them. I'll go get us some coffee."

"I'd love to do that—swim with the dolphins," Ben
said. "I think it would be such a—whoa!"

Rose never heard what he thought it would be,
because he had a hit on his line and it was all about bringing in their first
fish. Cody appeared with coffee that he set down, and then he stood by Ben's
side advising him. From the way the rod was bent, Rose was sure he'd hooked a
massive fish, but in the end it was a nice-sized red snapper. She knew they
could expect to find cod, haddock, grouper and snapper out in this area, all of
which were excellent fish to eat.

Cody snapped a photo of Ben with his first catch
of the day, and asked if they'd like to have snapper for lunch. Ben looked a
bit stricken at the idea of his fish being cut up.

"Sorry, Ben, but it's not nearly as big as others
you'll catch today. You're not going to end up mounting this one on the wall."

Ben laughed and agreed.

The first time she got a fish on the hook and it
jerked her rod, Rose nearly dropped it in surprise.

"Hold on now," Cody said from beside her.

She was amazed at how much of a pull the fish
could put on the rod, and how hard it was to hold the rod while trying to bring
the fish in. Then Cody slid a harness over her head, with Ben helping, and they
got her rod in the holder to keep it against her body. It was easier to manage
the rod after that, but her arms were definitely getting a workout.

"You've got a big one on the line, Rose," Cody
said with a grin. "Good job!"

"You're doing great, Rose," Ben said. Suddenly, he
turned back to his line which had jerked and was running out. "Got one!" he
yelled.

From then on it was a race to see which fish would
be landed first. At one point, Ben's fish was crossing where Rose's had been
and they exchanged places in the boat moving their lines carefully.

"I'm gonna lose him!" Rose shouted to Cody.

"No, you're not. He's almost in, just keep reeling
him in. That's it," Cody said and readied a hand-held net to scoop up the fish.

Rose was astonished at the size of her catch when
it landed on the deck of the boat. It looked huge to her.

"What kind is it?" she asked.

"That there is a black grouper, and a very
nice-sized one at that. Excellent work."

A few minutes later, Ben's fish was hoisted into
the boat. His face was a picture, Rose thought. His mouth was opening and
shutting, his eyes were wide, and he finally spoke.

"He's so small!"

Rose started laughing. She just couldn't help it.

Ben frowned at her, but then began to chuckle.
"All that fighting and he's what...five pounds?"

Cody squinted at the fish and said, "More like
seven I'd bet. Tuna that size can put up as much fight as a twenty pound
bluefish."

"Yeah, but...a tuna? I was hoping for something a
bit more exotic than that," Ben said.

Rose decided not to gloat over her fish...or at
least, not much. They ended up having the red snapper for lunch, cooked to
perfection by Cody on top of the stove in the galley. Rose thought she'd never
tasted fish that satisfying. Ben was all smiles at how his fish turned out for
eating.

Cody wanted to know more about the movies. "Do you
do your own stunts?"

"It depends on the stunt. I like doing them if I
can, because it adds that extra layer of realism...plus, it's fun!"

The guys laughed while Rose shook her head.

"But sometimes they won't let me do it. The bigger
you get in the business, the more insurance comes into play, and nobody wants
you to get hurt. It's usually a joint decision between the director, the head
of the stunt team, and the suits from corporate. The actor doesn't have a lot
of say at that point...or at least, I don't yet. You have to be a big star for
them to listen to you."

"Can you tell us yet what play Mr. Christopher
plans for this summer?" Joe Crawford asked. He'd joined them for lunch and sat
there eating quietly until he asked his question.

"Yes, since the auditions happened, I'm sure
everyone will know," Ben said. "It's going to be
Pride and Prejudice
.
Plenty of parts to go around and it's a fun version of the play."

"I love that! Well, by that I mean I loved the
book," Rose said. "And I liked both versions that were put out as mini-series.
You, I assume, will be Mr. Darcy?"

"Yes, that's me. He's rather a stoic fellow in
some of those incarnations. I'm hoping to infuse life into him without losing
the gist of the character."

"Who will be playing Elizabeth Bennett?"

"Your sister, Beth."

"What fun!" Rose said. "I can't wait to see it."

"I'm pretty sure I know who the role of the
Bennett mother will go to...Lucretia."

"What?" Rose said. "The jewelry design lady?"

Cody and Joe chuckled.

"Lucretia is some good actress," Joe said in a
gruff voice.

Cody explained. "William decided we should run
drama classes, to basically train up a corps of actors
for him to draw upon for his plays. Lucretia stood out heads above everyone
else. She's a natural actor."

"I got a message last night from William that
Beth's understudy will be someone from L.A., evidently an actress who wants the
chance. Probably somebody who wants to get near Beth and William, in hopes it
will give them an advantage in getting a part down the road," Ben said.

"That Mr. Christopher, he's some big shot director
in your business?" Joe asked.

"Yes, he is. He's very well-respected. I know
there were several people trying to get deals done with him for big-budget
movies. I'm not sure if he's made a decision on any of them or not."

Cody shook his head. "Last I heard, he and Beth
were still deciding what they wanted to work on together."

"All I know is, I feel privileged to get the
chance to have him as my director. I'm sure I'll learn a ton from him," Ben
said.

Cody cleared the dishes from the built-in table.
Rose offered to wash them, but Joe took over and said he'd do them.

"What do you think guys? Can you handle some more
fishing?" Cody asked.

"I want to put on more sunscreen and then lay out
on the front of the boat, if that's okay," Rose said. "I want to feel the sun
sink into my body and totally relax."

"I'll bet you need that, Rose, after all that
stress you have being a...uh, model," Cody said with a quick glance at her.

Ben looked at Rose questioningly, but then she
slipped her t-shirt and shorts off, and he was suddenly standing there with his
eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. The swimsuit was a bikini that covered
everything necessary and not a smidge more than that. It was made out of a lime
green shimmery material.

"Would you help me with my sunscreen, Ben?" Rose
asked, and then walked past him and up the stairs to the deck.

She heard Cody laugh and say, "I wouldn't wait too
long to take her up on that."

The next thing she heard as she walked away was
Ben running up the steps. She made her way to the spot she wanted to use,
carrying her beach bag. After she'd spread out her big towel, one of two that
Maggie had insisted she buy for the beach, she sat on the towel and dug around
in the bag, pulling out her sunscreen and her camera.

Turning around, she snapped a picture of Ben. He
frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Just...I didn't expect you to be the photo fan
type."

"Fan? I'm not a fan. I'm just taking pictures of
everything out here. But if it bothers you, I can delete it easily." She felt a
bit miffed, but realized after a moment of thought that he must get sick of
having his picture taken by strangers.

"No, no, sorry. I'm overly sensitive to it. Have
you got that sunscreen?"

Rose handed it to him and he knelt down beside
her. She turned away from him so that he could put lotion on her back. She felt
Ben lift her braid up, and she reached back to pull it to the front of her
body.