The Sea Owes Me a Fortune

Chapter 004

Kyle stared at the yellow croakers filling the boat. His lips moved, but for a long moment he couldn’t get a word out.

Jasper hadn’t expected such a valuable catch either. He recovered first, picked up the biggest fish, and held it in front of his father.

“Well, Dad? I win, don’t I?”

Kyle came to his senses and snatched the fish from him, turning it over in his hands in disbelief.

“Yellow croaker… They really are yellow croakers! But what’s a whole school doing here?”

He couldn’t make sense of it. They weren’t far from the docks; on a clear night, you could even see the lights. These waters rarely yielded anything but cheap little fish. He had never heard of anyone finding a single yellow croaker here, let alone an entire school.

“Jasper, how did you know there were fish down there?”

Jasper gave an awkward chuckle. “Maybe… Our Lady, Star of the Sea, was looking out for us.”

Coastal families, especially those who made their living fishing, were deeply devoted to her. That explanation was enough for Kyle. He turned toward the Church of Our Lady, crossed himself, and murmured a fervent prayer of thanks. He made sure Jasper did the same.

Once they had finished praying, Kyle announced that they were heading home.

“What?” Jasper stared at him. “We’ve only just come out! Since when did you get so lazy?”

It wasn’t even daylight yet.

Kyle cuffed him on the head. “Lazy? This catch is worth a fortune! Our Lady blesses us with fish like these, and you want to leave them sitting here? We need to get them back. If they spend too long in the hold, we’ll lose a bundle!”

Then Jasper understood. Their boat was tiny, and they didn’t carry much ice. They couldn’t afford to delay.

He switched on his ability and scanned the water. A small patch of orange still glimmered where they had cast the net, so he urged his father to try once more.

The first haul had nearly worn them both out, but one glance at the croakers gave Kyle fresh energy. They cast again. This time, they brought up only a dozen or so, but each weighed around a pound, and every one was a fine specimen.

Exhausted, Jasper slumped down in the boat.

“Dad, how much do we have saved? Once we sell this lot, could we trade up to a steel boat?”

They could fit it with a winch and make hauling the nets a lot easier. A steel hull would also be much safer than their old wooden boat.

Kyle considered it. “We’ll have to see what your mother thinks.”

Jasper laughed. “You’re the one who brings home the money, Dad. Are you really that scared of Mom?”

“You little brat!” Kyle laughed too. “Let’s see you say that in front of her!”

They rested a little longer before Kyle got up to set sail. Wanting to spare his father the work, Jasper moved to take the helm.

“Take a break, Dad. I’ll get us home.”

Kyle pushed him aside. “You don’t know a damn thing about handling a boat! Even your brother’s still learning. Go sort the fish.”

He hoisted the sail and got them moving.

Jasper suddenly remembered that he was twenty again. His father knew him as an inexperienced young man, with none of the skill he’d acquired over decades of hard living. The thought gave him a fright. If Kyle noticed too much, how could he possibly explain it?

He ducked his head and got to work, separating the larger fish from the smaller ones and packing the best into the ice hold to keep them in prime condition.

By the time they reached the docks, the sun was up, turning the water gold. The other fishing boats had yet to return, so the Holts’ boat drew attention before it even came alongside.

Fish buyers and women waiting for their families’ boats began to speculate.

“What are they doing back so early?”

“Maybe they landed something good as soon as they went out.”

At that, everyone craned their necks for a better look.

“Something good?” a scornful voice cut in. “With that wreck of theirs? They couldn’t haul in a decent catch even if they found one!”

It was Adeline Pelphrey, Austin Holt’s wife. She spat on the ground.

“I bet something went wrong the minute they left port. Why else would they be back so soon?”

Adeline was spiteful and always looking for an advantage, and plenty of people disliked her. Several immediately called her out for being so vicious. She planted her hands on her hips and argued right back. Soon the whole dock was in an uproar.

“Dad, what’s all the fuss about?” Jasper asked.

Kyle shook his head. “Who knows? Probably the women arguing again.”

As they tied up, someone spotted Kyle and called out.

“Kyle! What brings you back so early? Catch something good?”

Adeline curled her lip. “A good catch? In that wreck? When pigs fly!”

Jasper knew at once that she was still nursing a grudge over yesterday. He gave her a cold smile.

“You sound awfully sure of yourself, Adeline. What if we did catch something good? Care to make a bet?”

The fish had all been sorted and stowed on ice. From the dock, the boat looked empty, as though they had come home with nothing.

His challenge only made Adeline angrier.

“You’re on! I don’t believe you could catch anything worth having in that rotten wooden boat.”

Her family owned a steel boat, something she never tired of showing off. Most of the other families still had wooden ones, and her remark offended quite a few of them.

“What’s wrong with a wooden boat? Yours used to be wooden, didn’t it?”

“So you’ve got a steel boat. That makes you better than the rest of us, does it?”

As the complaints grew louder, Adeline realized she’d gone too far and turned back to Jasper.

“What are we betting?”

Kyle didn’t want trouble and tried to stop his son. The families were distantly related, after all, and Austin was one of five brothers, with three sons of his own. They were a rough lot. Nothing good would come of crossing them.

But Jasper answered before his father could intervene.

“That bucket of yours. If we’ve got a good catch today, everything in it is mine. If we haven’t, I’ll tell you where I found the catch I sold yesterday. How about it?”

While the men were at sea, the women went down to the shore early to gather whatever they could and bring in a little extra money. Adeline’s bucket held clams, crabs, and other finds. She’d had a good morning.

She was reluctant to risk losing it all, but the prospect of learning Jasper’s spot settled it.

“Fine. It’s a bet!”

Someone nearby chuckled. “Adeline, it’s his boat. You think he doesn’t know what’s in it? You’re asking to lose.”

“Rubbish!” she snapped. “There’s no way they caught anything decent in that wreck. He’s bluffing!”

The others gave up trying to warn her and urged Jasper to open the hold.

Kyle glared at his son, then shook his head and lifted the canvas cover. Everyone leaned forward to look.

The moment they saw the gold beneath the ice, the dock erupted.

“Yellow croaker? Those are yellow croakers!”

“Look at all of them! Kyle, did you find a whole school?”

“Good Lord, what must that lot be worth?”

Excited voices rose all around them, some admiring, others openly envious. Adeline stood frozen. Then she grabbed her bucket and tried to slip away.

Jasper gave a cold laugh. “Where are you going, Adeline? You’re old enough to know you pay up when you lose.”