A Certain Kind of Hero by Kathleen Eagle Read Free Book Online

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    Gideon was waiting, as promised. He was sitting at the end of one of the lodge’s boat docks, basking in the sun and chatting with a boy about Peter’s age. Below their dangling tennis shoes was a fishing boat with cushioned chairs and two outboard motors—one for trolling.
    Gideon turned when he heard footfalls treading the planks. They were late, and Raina half expected him to check his watch and ask where they’d been. But he smiled as he hopped to his feet and tapped the boy on the shoulder, coaxing him to follow suit. Raina liked the way the spokes at the corners of his eyes made his smile seem even brighter, and the easy way he handled himself put everyone else at ease, too. From the look of him, it appeared that the years had been kinder to Gideon than they had been to his brother. But then, maybe it was true, Raina thought. Maybe Gideon had all the looks.
    â€œThis is Oscar Thompson. He’s been camped out in my office ever since I told him I was thinking about going fishing pretty soon.” The two boys shook hands. “That was last May, wasn’t it, Oscar?”
    Oscar shrugged. “Before school was out.”
    â€œSee there? And here we’re going fishing already. Fishing lesson number one—” Gideon squinted into the sun and brandished a finger “—patience. Everyone wants to go fishing with me, because everyone knows…”
    â€œHe’s got a good boat,” Oscar put in.
    â€œâ€¦that ol’ Gideon knows exactly where to go lookin’ for Mr. Walleye. Plus, I’ve got some extra tackle.”
    He took a pair of aviator-style sunglasses from his pocket, put them on as though he were preparing to read a sign and made a production of surveying Raina from head to toe. “So, I see Mom’s wearing the proper fishing attire, all nicely coordinated. Matching shoes and hat.”
    Raina compared his cutoffs and T-shirt with her neatly pressed yellow blouse and khaki slacks. “Heck, I’m casual,” she said. “Don’t you like my fishing hat?”
    â€œIt’s very…yellow. But I think we can fix that in a real hurry. Right, boys?”
    The round of male chuckles would have bothered her if it hadn’t been exactly what she’d come looking for. For Peter’s sake, of course.
    â€œWhat about a license?” Gideon asked.
    â€œLicense?”
    â€œFishing license. See, the three of us are okay because we have tribal ID.” He arched an eyebrow in Peter’s direction. “You brought yours along, I hope?”
    Peter cast an accusatory glance at the person he considered responsible for the boring technical details of his adolescent life—his mother—as he reported, “I didn’t know I had one.”
    â€œYou do,” she said. “I brought it.”
    â€œYou’ve got yourself a good assistant there, kid. If you’re smart, you’ll pay her well.” He turned to Raina. “But no fishing license, huh?”
    She shook her head.
    He shook his, too. “And you look just all heartbroken about it. We can get you one over at the tackle shop.”
    â€œI’ll just go along for the ride this time.”
    â€œGood woman.” Gideon clapped a hand on each boy’s shoulder. “Then we’re set.”
    Raina let the good woman comment go unchallenged. She didn’t want to question anything, justify anything or fish for anything. Just going along for the ride was exactly what the doctor had ordered. It was early evening, the best time of a summer’s day. The sun’s slanted rays became bright flashes in the water. When the boat was moving, she could close her eyes and catch the wind in her face while her hand trailed in the cool wake. When they anchored in the shallows, she could simply enjoy her son’s growing excitement for the relaxing sport as Gideon patiently tutored his casting arm.
    â€œGood catch.” Gideon