Sometimes I get the oddest emails. One that came
recently was an invitation to spend the day with a certain couple on the shores
of Otter Tail Lake. Being an adventurous sort, I was more than willing to pack
up my van and head out. The drive was long, but stunning, and the deeper I got
into the beautiful state of Minnesota, the more I fell in love with it. Summer
was at its peak, the thick trees seemed to engulf me as I drove along the dirt
road leading to Derrick Andersson`s fishing retreat.
Otter Tail Lake came into view, as did the modest
cabin Maggie, Derrick, Maggie`s son, Trevor, and his girlfriend, Ashley, were
spending the week in. It was rustic log home, nothing grand or overstated. It
fit in perfectly with the crystal blue lake that backed it as well as the heavy
pines that hugged it. Stepping out of my van I inhaled deeply. The air was
similar to what I was accustomed to back in the mountains of Pennsylvania.
Perhaps the wind held a touch of metallic lake water scent, but aside from that
it was crisp, clean, and soothing.
"You can tell a country girl. They always
breathe deep when they`re in the woods. Those city girls wrinkle their
noses."
I turned from looking at the lake to find Derrick
and Maggie, hand in hand, walking towards me. The couple looked relaxed, tan,
and deeply in love. It made my heart sing.
"I never wrinkled my nose," Maggie stated
after she and I exchanged a long hug.
"And I never said I was talking about you, now
did I?" Derrick countered, tugging me into his huge chest for a bear hug.
It was like embracing a freezer: wide and firm. My nose got smashed into warm
flannel. "Good you could come," the ex-Wildcats captain said before
releasing me. Maggie looped an arm around my waist as we walked down to the
lake.
"I`m
thrilled to be here. Are you sure you have room for an overnight guest?" I
asked, glancing over my shoulder at the cabin.
"Oh yah, we got lots of room. The kids can
sleep in the living room. So, you brung a camera?" Derrick asked. I
nodded, noting that he was not wearing a sling. "Good. I wanted to make
sure them readers see what I`m doing with the Cup."
"The Commissioner will not be pleased,"
Maggie whispered in my ear. The soft sounds of the lake lapping on the shore
grew louder.
"It ain`t the worst thing that ever was done to
it," Derrick argued. When we broke from the woods Maggie and I stopped. We
were both dressed similarly in jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers, and a light
cardigan. She was in shades of yellow. I was in blues. I looked around the
small clearing. A rowboat bobbed on the water, secured to the shore by a rope
tied around a fat oak tree. Three fishing poles were resting in sticks with V`s
on one end, the other end was shoved into the soft soil surrounding the water.
My husband and I do that very same thing when we go lake fishing. The poles are
placed gently against the homemade holders, and there they sit, lines out,
bobbers resting on top of the water, waiting for a strike. When a fish bites
the pole will jump sharply as the fish tries to swim away. The scene could have
come right out of a sporting goods catalog or an ad for a serenity weekend
getaway if not for one thing. A huge silver trophy sitting beside the lake. A
bait fish leaped out of the bowl-like top. I rolled my head back to look at
Derrick. The bearded man was smiling like an imp.
"Tell me you did not fill the top of Lord
Stanley`s cup with minnows," I said.
"We needed something
to hold the bait." He winked, his green eyes merry then moved around
we ladies. I looked at the blonde next to me.
"Is there really an escort for the Cup?" I
asked then peered into the dark Minnesota woods.
"He`s in the cabin taking a nap. Come on, let`s
get fishing. Derrick has been waiting for you to arrive," Maggie led me
down to the shore. I got settled on one of several stumps that were used as
seats. The Cup sat behind us. Filled with minnows. I shook my head as I
chuckled to myself.
"Yah, and they was jumping this morning, don`t
you know?"
"Sorry," I said as I reeled in to check
the hook. It was bare as I had assumed it might be sitting unattended. "It
takes time to drive up from Pennsylvania."
"You could of flew. I`da paid." Derrick
sat on the left of me, Maggie on the right. "You need me to bait
that?"
"Nope." I smiled proudly as I reached into
the Cup, grabbed a wiggly minnow, then hooked him up.
"Looks like your man taught you good. That
one," he jerked a thumb at Maggie sitting with an empty hook dangling at
the end of her line, "don`t got the heart to be a real angler. Makes her
sad to bait the hook."
"Just stop grumbling and bait my hook,"
Maggie passed her pole to me. I handed it to the big man in chopped flannel and
worn denim.
I stood, casted, then sat down. "Where are the
kids?" I inquired as I got my pole situated just so in the holder.
"They went for a nature walk," Maggie
said, purposely not looking at the hook-baiting taking place next to me.
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"Yah, right, nature walk. They think we forget
what it was like to be a teenager. They`re out there rolling around in the pine
needles like a couple of horny badgers," Derrick said. I snorted. Maggie
made a sound of disbelief.
"Derrick, for the love of God!" she
snatched her pole back angrily then casted out. The cast was an ugly one, her
fish landing with a huge 'plop' that sounded like she had a shoe tied to the
end of her line.
"What? You think Vicki don`t know about the
birds and bees? She wrote our book. I think she knows what sex is, Mags."
"I do," I reassured the blushing blonde.
Maggie`s cheeks were as red as Derrick`s old flannel shirt. "I think I did
a pretty good job with the sex scenes, don`t you two?"
"Oh, yah! I got no complaints. You got any
complaints about the way I—"
"That`s really enough." Maggie couldn`t
look at either of us so she stared out at the lake."I don`t have any
complaints either," she mumbled a moment later. Derrick elbowed me. I slid
off the stump to the ground.
"Sorry," he murmured as he helped me from
the damp shore.
"No worries," I smiled as I got settled
again. "I`m really glad to hear that you both are satisfied with the sex
scenes. Who says couples in their forties or fifties can`t be smoking
hot?"
"Not us," Maggie and Derrick said in
perfect harmony. We all laughed over that. I reeled the slack out of my line
then put the pole back. A soft wind whipped over the water.
"I wanted to tell you two that your book broke
into the bestsellers list on Amazon. That`s the first time a book of mine has
done that to my knowledge. Thanks." I looked at Derrick warmly. He patted
my back, taking care not to pat me off my log. Maggie reached over to grab my
hand and squeeze it.
"We`re pleased as punch to hear that. It`s so
nice to know that readers don`t cotton to the notion that romance can only
happen to perfect people who are barely old enough to vote," Maggie said.
"Hey, who you saying ain`t perfect?"
Derrick asked with feigned indignation.
"You," Maggie replied quickly. "And
me, and V.L. and everyone else on the planet. Love isn`t contingent on being a
young thing with big hooters."
"I like big hooters."
"Derrick, just fish," Maggie chastised the
man. He chortled then tended to his own hook and line for a few minutes. "You
know what I mean."
"Yes, I do, and I agree. I`m so happy to see
that readers are enjoying the books. Maybe if we keep writing romance novels starring
older women, or curvy women, or women with disabilities or are too tall or
skinny or shy or whatever, the world will start to see that life does not end
for a woman at twenty-nine. And I`ll get off my soapbox now," I said
sheepishly.
"Nah, you keep preaching. I got no troubles
with it. I figure it goes the same for a man. I ain`t no spring chicken. Hell,
just watch me get out of bed in the morning if you need proof." Derrick
laughed as a small brown bird soared over the surface of the lake in pursuit of
a large dragonfly.
"The ladies that read your book don`t seem to
mind you having some scars or a bum knee or two." I gave the man a poke in
the side. He grinned.
"Well they can`t have him. He`s mine, scars and
all," Maggie spoke up.
"I`d kiss you right now if I didn`t have a fish
nibbling at my line," Derrick said. We all sat breathlessly, watching the
bobber go up and down then still. "Damn thing is playing with it,"
Derrick grumbled.
"Probably stole your bait," I offered.
"Yah, more`n likely."
"So have you heard from any of the others since
you`ve been up here?" I asked, letting the peace and quiet wash over me.
"No, there`s no internet or cell service. The
kids are ready to curl into balls and die," Maggie said then giggled
merrily.
"That`s why they`re out in the woods getting
busy," Derrick added under his breath.
"I heard that," Maggie said.
"I knew you would," Derrick retorted, shot
to his feet, grabbed his pole then jerked. The big lake trout gave him quite a
fight but eventually the ex-Wildcats captain reeled in his prize. We ladies
both praised his angling skills as he held the fish up for our inspection.
"Well, the buzz is that the next book in the
series, Reality Check, will have a
wedding as well as a big shock or two that may just upset the Wildcats apple
cart," I announced, pretending to be intent on my curly fishing line
resting on the now placid lake surface.
"Shocks? What kind of shocks? Bad shocks or
good shocks?" Maggie asked. I lifted a shoulder than began humming a Cat
Stevens song. "You are not going
to leave us hanging here like…like…like—"
"A fish on a hook?" Derrick tossed out
perfectly.
*~*~*
Being a single working
mother isn`t easy. Just ask Maggie Charles. She`s juggling a job she hates, a
rebellious teenage son, and the aftereffects of an abusive first marriage.
There isn`t room in her life for a love affair, not that anyone would want to romance
someone her age anyway, right? So why, after all these months, when she runs
into the strapping Wildcats` captain at a charity event, does the sight of
Derrick Andersson leave her so breathless once again? Is that really desire burning in the captain`s
green eyes when he looks at her? Is it possible for a couple of
been-there-and-done-thats to find love the second time around?
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Author
Bio:
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, belly
laughs, reading and writing lusty tales,
Greek mythology, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in
that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two
cats, a steer named after a famous N.H.L. goalie, a pig named after a famous President, and a
flock of assorted domestic fowl.
When not writing lusty tales, she
can be found enjoying her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of
Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and GoodReads.
I love
to meet new friends and fans! You can find me at-
Twitter-
https://twitter.com/vllocey
Pinterest-http://www.pinterest.com/vllocey/
Secret
Cravings Backlist Books:
Pink
Pucks & Power Plays (Book One of the To Love a Wildcat
Series)
A
Most Unlikely Countess (Book Two of the To Love a Wildcat
Series)
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