Page 29 of The Art of Loving Lacy
“You okay?” Dane asked.
“Yeah,” Rob said.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? You could have stayed back onshore. I’ve got Hugh and Tim. We can afford to miss a day, too, Rob.” Dane reached for a towel and handed it to his friend.
“I’m fine.” Rob took the towel and walked away.
Hugh sidled up to Dane and whispered, “Hangover.”
“No way. Rob would never be so careless.”Or fall off the wagon.Rob was a recovered alcoholic, fifteen years sober. Dane had shared that information with Treat and his father, and now he wondered if the Braden hotline had fed Hugh that intel, too. Dane looked back at Rob, who was leaning over the opposite railing. He shook his head, not wanting to believe it. He pulled Rob away from Hugh. “Something else you want to tell me?”
Rob grimaced. “No.”
“Rob, we can’t do this with you in this condition. I can’t believe this, Rob. Why didn’t you come to me?” Dane pushed aside his thoughts of Lacy long enough to really focus on Rob.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just having an off morning,” Rob said.
“Off enough that we should cancel the run?” He narrowed his eyes, but Rob met his stare and held it.
“No.”
THEY’D BEEN CHUMMING the water and fishing for sharks for two hours. Dane watched Rob like a hawk, and he seemed to have pulled himself together.Maybe it was just an off morning.
“Fin!” Hugh yelled.
“Man, Hugh, why don’t you call in the cavalry?” Rob snapped.
“It’s about time,” Dane said. Between Lacy and Rob, his patience had worn thin.
Dane and Hugh stood beside each other, arms crossed, watching the water expectantly.
Rob grumbled beneath his breath, “Come on, you beast. Take it.”
The shark circled, then disappeared, and a few minutes later it reappeared.
“Son of a gun. Take the bait,” Rob growled.
“Does it usually take this long?” Hugh and Dane stripped off their shirts. Their muscles already glistened with sweat.
“Yeah, this is nothing. Sometimes Rob and I are out here for four or five hours and we come up empty-handed. It’s the nature of the beast,” Dane said.
“Blasted beast,” Rob said.
The more Rob grumbled, the more it rode Dane’s nerves. Ever since Hugh had mentioned a hangover, he’d been watching Rob, and after seeing his bloodshot eyes, Dane wasn’t so sure Hugh was wrong.
“They’re so close. Look at that big one. When will they take the hook?” Hugh asked.
Rob leaned against the rail. “When they’re good and ready,” he snapped.
“He’s having a hard time,” Dane said to Hugh.
“Hey, whatever. I’m just glad I get to be here. I looked for you last night. I thought you left the resort early,” Hugh said.
Dane gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted to talk about was the previous evening. He was trying to keep his mind off of the fact that Lacy was ignoring his calls.
“Where’d you go?” Hugh asked. “I saw Lacy in the hall at the resort.”
“You did? At midnight?”What the…?
