Chapter 3

While Don was staring at the river, Sam placed himself closer to Charlie. "Mornin' guys. You ready?" Don had turned back around and Sam looked at him pointedly. "It's a little late. Best fishing is early in the morning."

Don looked at his watch in surprise. "7 a.m. is late?"

Sam picked up a pole leaning against the picnic table. "This yours?" Don nodded and Sam tossed it over the space between them. Don easily caught it, offered his interrogation room grin.

"Hurry up, then," he said. He saw Jenna approaching in the background and waved as he turned back to the river. Sam noted this, as he was intended to, and felt himself get angrier. He picked up the remaining pole and began to thrust it backwards even as he turned to see exactly where Charlie was…which was, unfortunately, closer behind him than he had realized. Turned sideways to greet Jenna, Charlie didn't even see it coming.

He just found himself lying on the ground, looking up through fishing line, and wondering how he had got there.

Sam and Jenna's exclamations of horror brought Don charging — or rather, waddling, since he was still in hip boots — back to his brother. The Carvers were leaning over Charlie, who was trying to sit up. Don physically removed Sam, replaced Sam's hand on his brother's arm with his.

"What the hell happened?"

Charlie looked dazed. "I don't know." His eyes took in the fishing pole, then went to Sam. "Did you just hit me in the eye with that?'

"Aw, man, Charlie, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were right behind me. I was going to hand you the pole. I didn't know you were right there. My elbow caught you in the face, I think."

Charlie was getting up now. "My fault," he said. "I moved without letting you know my new location." He grinned at Jenna, who was leading him to the table. "And I was distracted."

Jenna sat beside him on the bench, turned his face one way, and then another. "No broken skin," she finally said to the two men standing behind her. They stopped glaring at each other long enough to look at Charlie again. "Left eye is already swelling shut, though. Maybe we should skip fishing today. We've got some ice in the RV…"

Charlie brushed her hand away, smiled. "No," he said, and stood again. "It's okay. I want to get in the river." He leaned down and picked up the dropped pole. "It's so cold in there anyway, it'll be like having mosf of my body iced, right?" He reached out and grabbed Sam's shoulder. "Don't worry about it.' They all started off for the river again, then. Don, walking behind Sam and Charlie with Jenna, even saw Charlie pull Sam in for a sideways clinch.

He really didn't like this guy.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was huge. Don could see that, as Charlie started reeling in. This could be the only fish any of them caught all week, and it would be enough.

He heard Sam yell at him to grab the net, and Don splashed back to the bank. Sam closed in on Charlie, but didn't help him reel, pull on the pole — this was his fish.

Again, Don wasn't sure what happened. By the time he had placed the net, they could all see that the fish was so big, Sam put his hands on it, as well. He remembered yelling at Charlie, encouraging him. The power and fight of this fish was exhilarating, the splashing made it hard to hang onto the net. His hands were freezing. And then the net was empty, a silver shadow swimming rapidly away from them.

"Sorry," he heard Sam say. "I thought Don had it."

Don slowly straigtened, was about to lay into Sam, when they noticed Charlie. Submerged almost to his chest in water, he was sitting where the thrashing Salmon had thrown him. Jenna was holding onto the back of his shirt, trying to keep him from floating away. Sam and Don quickly threw their gear up onto the bank, waded to him and between the two ofo them, threw him up on the bank as well. Seconds later they all surrounded Charlie. Soaking wet, shivering, smiling.

"I told you I wanted to get in the river."