. . of all the liars among mankind, the fishermanis the most trustworthy. —WILLIAM SHERWOOD FOX,SILKEN LINES AND SILVER HOOKS, 1954 The next morning at a quarter after six, Mandy hunched her shoulders against the early morning chill. She walked from her car to the Salida SteamPlant with her hands in the pockets of her black AHRA fleece jacket. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing Rob after their argument last night, but she had to come. Talking to Lee and Craig Ellis was important. Besides, she’d woken up with the infuriating realization that Rob was right, that she had been avoiding thinking about, and talking about, making a commitment to him. That’s what had made her so angry last night. That he had pegged her feelings about their relationship better than she had herself. He had shoved them under her nose, where she couldn’t avoid examining them any longer. It wasn’t fair to Rob to string him along any longer if she wasn’t willing to take the next step.
