Page 47 of Where Are You Now
She swallowed her disappointment. “The quality of the first catch determines our luck for the day—remember Dad used to tell us that?” She unhooked the fish and held it up to admire the bluish silver gills. “He’s a great size. Looks like we’ll have a good day.” Maybe a largemouth bass would be too many blessings to ask for in one day.
She tossed the trout back into the water and set her rod down so Lucas could take a turn to fish.
Lucas cast his line with ease, the bait dipping below the water. He reeled in the line until it was tight.
“Fishing always came naturally to you,” she said.
“When I’m out here, I feel like I belong. It’sdifficult to explain.”
“I know what you mean. I always felt like that when we were together and when I was with my dad. I feel closer to him here. I think my mom does too.”
“How did your mom handle everything? Has she been okay?”
“You know, she quietly manages.”
“And you?”
Ava followed his line as it pulled with the movement of the water. “Whenever I had to face the loss of my dad head-on, I just plowed my way through work.”
Lucas slowly reeled in his line. Not catching anything, he pulled it up and cast it again.
“You’ve always been driven by work. I remember when we were kids you had big dreams of owning your own business. You talked about being the boss.”
She laughed. “I wanted to own my own business, but I had no idea what I planned to own. I just wanted to be independent and in charge, follow my drive.”
“There might be something to following your instincts.”
“What do you mean?”
“My dad was a second-generation farmer. He never loved that choice of career, which is why he sold the farm and took a job in North Carolina. When I got to the suburban schools in Charlotte, I began to follow all the paths that people thought I should. I got good grades, and people told me how smart I was, how I had the chops to go to an incredible university, how I was one of the elite few …”
“That’s good, right?”
“Except the love of the land must have skipped a generation, and I just wanted to be a farmer.”
The water rippled under the boat, rocking them gently.
“It felt as if all the teachers around me were saying, ‘Thank goodness we got him to reach his potential.’ But what about whatIwanted? I lost that, trying to do the right thing. Yeah, Ican navigate the academic rigors of medical school, but what good is it when my heart’s not in it?” He pulled the line up and cast once more. “I thinktheirhearts were in the right place. My teachers wanted to do what was best. But listening to them was catastrophic for me.”
“Catastrophic? How so?”
He shook his head. “We said we weren’t talking about it, right?”
“We’re skating dangerously close.”
What had happened to him?
Ava leaned toward him, putting herself right in his view. “If you ever want to tell me what happened, I won’t judge you. Believe me, I’ve got things going on I haven’t told you either.”
He didn’t answer.
Maybe she’d never know what had happened to Lucas. But what Ava did know was that she felt whole in his presence—as if she’d found a piece of herself she’d almost lost. In time, maybe he’d trust her enough to confide in her. She could only hope.
Chapter Fifteen
The lake reflected the light from the moon. Lucas and Ava sat around the firepit; the canoe beached on the shore beside the deck. Ava had convinced Lucas to stay for dinner. They’d warmed up some of her mother’s chicken and dumpling casserole, poured some wine, and were eating by firelight.
“So, Dr. Phillips,” Ava said with a wrinkle of her nose, “it’s been over half my life since I’ve seen you. Fill me in. Apart from the traumatic events that you’re not planning to tell me, what did I miss?”
