Back The Naked Fisherman
Chapters (35)
  1. Playlist
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. The Lost Fisherman
  34. Also by Jewel E. Ann
  35. About the Author

Fisher said nothing for a minute or two. The longest minute or two of my life. What must he have been thinking of Rory? Of me?

“And now you get Happy Meals for the toys?”

He was right. I had a nerd gene I didn’t like to admit. But when he made that statement, even I couldn’t deny I was a little zany.

“I don’t, really. Not now, of course, because she’s out of prison. There’s no need for me to do it now. If she wants to continue, she can do it on her own.”

The grin on his face swelled, and I wanted to crawl in a corner and die. “Did she ask you to do this while she was in prison?”

“Not exactly.”

“Have you told her you did it?”

“Not yet. I really haven’t had the chance to talk to her. I no sooner showed up and she left for California. I’ll mention it when she comes home.”

“But you’re done? You won’t be getting anymore Happy Meals. I mean … isn’t there an age limit for that?”

I rolled my eyes. “What are they going to do? Ask for the birth certificate of the child for whom you’re buying the Happy Meal?”

Fisher shrugged. “They probably should. Wouldn’t that be an interesting twist. Your mom going to prison for something that’s now legal in most states, and you going to prison for Happy Meal fraud.”

Covering my mouth, I giggled. He was being so ridiculous.

“Good thing you’re done now.”

I wasn’t exactly done. There were Pokémon cards that month, and I still had three to get. Then I would be done. It felt weird ending with something as incomplete as Pokémon cards. “Yup.” I popped my lips. “Good thing.”

“I collected rocks.”

Glancing at him as his attention remained affixed to the road, I ate up that grin of his—a mix between boyish and mischievous. “Like geodes and crystals? Precious stones?”

Pursing his lips upward a bit, he inched his head side to side. “No. Just rocks. Yard rocks. Playground rocks. Pebbles stuck in the soles of my shoes.”

Biting back my smile, I nodded. “Sounds awesome. Do you still have your collection? Or do you still collect? I bet you find a lot of rocks in your line of work.”

“I think my mom still has my shoeboxes full of rocks at home. I’ll have to ask her. Why? Do you want to see it? I can show you my rocks, and you can show me your Happy Meal toys.”

Again, he made me want to laugh, but I didn’t trust myself to not be too transparent with my tiny crush on him. So I cleared my throat and swallowed back my amusement. “I didn’t bring the collection with me. It’s uh …”