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Chapter 6: Meeting Cal .. and his brother

Laura jumped into her car, punched the address Cal had given her into the GPS and thought to herself, "This hunk I am going to find had better have a truck!"

As the voice chimed "Turn Left, 100 feet," there was a clearing in the trees that opened to a beautiful view of the lake. Laura felt her breath escape her. She no longer needed Lake Calhoun, this was her new sanctuary.

She heard the buzz coming toward her. As she looked to the left, she saw a snowmobile starting to slow and stop next to her car. A very attractive, muscular man emerged off the sled.

"Cal?" asked Laura.

The deep voice, which sounded very familiar answered, "No. You a friend of Cal's?"

"Well, not really," Laura started to explain.

Just then a grey F-150 with a large brush guard pulled up along side her car. Laura could see a flannel shirt emerge.

"Mitch, I see you have met Laura," Cal started. "She is interested in renting the cabin and showing it to buyers. Plus you need someone you can trust when I move to the Cities."

That second Laura's phone rang. It was Inga. She excused herself and took the call. "Inga, these two gorgeous brothers have a cabin I am going to rent! Cal is moving to Uptown. Do you want to show him around? He's just your type!"

Inga was confused and excited, but couldn't say much before Laura lost her signal.

Jessie Mommsen

Lakeville

Chapter 6: Brawny man

"Yes!" exclaimed Cal. "She took the bait, now I just have to reel her in!" Cal's sister Stacey tried to tell him not to describe his dating life with fishing jargon, but he kept forgetting. When he was excited it just sprung forth, and Cal was excited. Heck, he hadn't been this excited since 2009 when StrikeMaster brought German engineering to their power auger line.

Come to think of it, women had been slipping his hook since then, so he would curb the ice fishing talk when meeting the Girl of His Dreams. Cal was learning; Stacey would be so proud.

While Cal was off fishing, Laura headed east to Isle. She arrived in town early and stopped at the cafe on Main Street for lunch. Since she had time to kill, she fired off a text to Inga. Inga replied immediately with, "Bet he looks like the Brawny guy from the paper towels. Fingers crossed!"

Laura had mapped out her route to the cabin, so she knew it would take about 12 minutes. She gave herself extra time and arrived early. The cabin was perfect, and so was the guy standing outside the door.

"Holy mackerel!" Laura thought. "He is the paper towel guy!"

She was drawn to him like a walleye to a big, fat, juicy leech. "When in Rome," she thought. Their eyes met, and she knew: Love at first sight! After an "eternity," their gaze was broken by a shout.

"Mitch! I'm here!"

Pam Hanson

Burnsville

Chapter 6: Know your bait

Laura saw a sign in front of a quaint shack in Isle that said, "We have chub, crayfish and frogs." She wasn't sure what chub was, but she liked frog legs. Crayfish was probably a local dish.

Inside, one of the locals was scooping something from a tank with a little net and dumping it into a bucket. Her confusion must have shown because the man behind the counter called over to her: "Can I help you?"

Laura glanced around, looking for a place to sit. "Do you have any menus?"

The man behind the counter opened his mouth, but nothing came out. The man scooping the fish looked at her and laughed. "Fish don't know how to read, so usually you just try a little of this and a little of that."

He had smoky blue eyes and a dimple. He said something in a low voice to the man behind the counter, and they both laughed. Laura had the impression they were laughing at her, and she didn't like it.

"Okay, so what exactly do you buy here?" Blue Eyes wasn't laughing, but his eyes still held a smile. He took the lid off a small carton and held it out to her.

Laura took the carton, but when she looked inside at a pile of squirming, black leeches, she screamed and dropped the container. Leeches splashed over her shoes, and one clung to the front of her flannel shirt. "Take it off! Take it off!" And then she was out the door, holding back tears. How could people be so mean?

Back in the shop, the counterman shook his head. "You didn't make any friends there, Cal."

Catherine Borden

Eagan

Chapter 6: A Greek god in plaid

What does it mean anytime a fisherman quits fishing before his designated finish time? Could be an approaching tornado, an all-out sleet storm or catching the limit. Or, it could be a girl named Laura.

To tell the truth, Cal had no single reason why this lady intrigued him. Maybe it was because she sounded so honest, so sincere, so . . . well . . . ladylike! Mitch's wife, Taylor, liked to watch "The Bachelor" on TV. He had seen those potential drama queen wives when he grabbed a couple of brewskis for him and Mitch on a kitchen beer run.

With quiet tip-ups, Cal had time to think in his cozy confines. Why would a city girl be alone up here? How could he spend time with her and not be too obvious? Laura wouldn't have time to grab a meal, and she sure didn't know anybody around here. Maybe she just needed sustenance and a friend. His specialties! With that, he packed up his gear.

Sparkling snow crunched. Sweet smoke rose from the stone chimney. Laura's jaw hit her chest as the doorway revealed a Greek god clad in plaid.

"Welcome home, Laura!"

Cabin tour, walleye fillets with cornmeal muffins, celebration bubbly ($9.99 at the Isle Muni). A warm fire, laughter and shared stories of family dogs, broken ankles, 4-H trips and broken hearts. Reaching for popcorn, hands brushed, connected, then held tight. Emotions crackled in time with the flames.

Salty lips reached their targets.

Lynn Krejci

Lakeville