Leo (Romancing the Ponderosa Book 3)

Chapter 18

"Hey! Hoss, look I've gotta bite!" Jeff yanks his pole back, tryin' to pull the fish to land.

"You sure do, little buddy!" Layin' down my pole, I watch as he struggles to pull it in. "That little fish is sure givin' you a hard time, let me help you."

We pull the fish in together. It lays floppin' on the ground for a minute or so before I put it on the stringer with the others. We've already been out here for an hour but we still need quite a few more fish to feed everyone tonight at supper. "Well, Jeff, you better bait your hook again, we're gonna need 'bout six or seven more of 'em."

"That many?" He pulls a worm outta the pail an' sticks it to his hook. He's a purty good fisherman for only a five year old boy. He casts his line back out an' it lands with a plop on the lake as he turns back to me. "How many do we have already?"

"Five." I pick my pole back up.

"Why do we need so many for, anyhow?"

"Cuz both of my brothers are comin' for supper tonight an' Hop Sing needs a lot so that we all have enough to eat." My pole tugs forward so I quickly yank it towards me. The fish flies outta the water an' lands at my feet. "Now we've got six!"

Jeff falls back into a fit of giggles. He rolls around for a second, laughin' so hard he's barely breathin'. It reminds me of the giggle fits Little Joe used to have when he was a little feller. "Did...did you see it, Hoss? The fish flied!"

"Yep, it sure did!" I laugh along with him as I bait my hook before throwin' it back in. His giggles slow down so I look over to see what he's doin'. He's just sittin' there with his pole in his hands, a sad look on his face. "Hey, little buddy, why the sad face?"

"Oh, I was just thinkin'." He shrugs.

"Thinkin' 'bout what?"

"A lil bit of everythin', I guess." He lets outta deep sigh as he stares out at the lake. "Mostly 'bout Cherry, an' Ma...an' you, Hoss."

"Don't you be worrin' your little self 'bout Cherry. Remember what Doc Martin said before we left, he told all of us that Cherry should be fine now." Smilin' at him, he gives me a small smile back. "As for your Ma an' me, what's botherin' you? There ain't nothin' wrong with us."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Why'd you think somethin' was wrong with us?"

"Well, Ma came runnin' back in the house cryin' an' then you were actin' all sad too when you came back in. I thought you an' my ma were friends?"

"Jeff, we are friends. We just had a little mistunderstandin' is all. All friends have them every once in awhile."

"I hope you get it all figured out soon."

"I do, too."

"Hoss, can I tell you somethin'?"

"Of course."

"I hope that you an' ma become more than friends." He walks over to me an' wraps his arm around the back of my neck. Reachin' over, I pull him into my lap. "I hope that you'll fall in love with my ma an' marry her so you can be our pa."

"I'd love to be your pa, Jeff, but I cain't make your ma love me like that."

"So that means you love her, don't you?"

"Yes, I love your ma, but she doesn't love me." I never figured on havin' a conversation like this with him, but then he's a curious little fella. "That's what she told me right before she ran into the house."

"Well, she lied then!"

"What do you mean?"

"I cain't remember much 'bout my pa, but I remember one thing."

"What's that?"

"How Ma smiled at him." He turns to look right at me. "An' she smiles at you the same way."

"Then maybe there's hope then." My pole jerks as a fish takes the bait. Jeff jumps outta my lap so I can pull it in.

"Hoss?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

I stop short, lettin' the fish flop around on the ground in front of me. Reachin' over, I tossle his hair, tears blurrin' my eyes. "I love you, too, little buddy."