She nudged him on the shoulder. “Don’t you forget it.”
Knox sat down on the grassy bank next to the water and pulled her down beside him. “That is too beautiful for just a passing glance. We should sit here for a few minutes and admire it.”
* * *
For a split second, Lottie thought he was pretending to flirt with her, but then she realized that he was looking at the full moon’s reflection in the lake. The water rippled toward the shore, making the sight seem more like aslow-motion video than a picture. A few apple blossoms danced on the gentle waves, giving the whole scene even more life.
“This reminds me of a calendar on the kitchen wall at my mama’s house,” she finally said.
“Thomas Kinkade?” Knox asked.
“Yes. Mama likes his paintings,” she answered. “I’ve always thought that they don’t depict real life.”
“My mother had a couple of his originals,” Knox said. “She told me that there are two sides to life. One is dark, and one is light. Kinkade chose to see the light.”
“I can believe that, but if we won’t appreciate the light if there aren’t a few dark moments,” Lottie said.
“We’re getting into a deep conversation for a fake relationship,” Knox said.
“How about for a plain old friendship?”
She felt a presence behind them before Jack spoke and hoped that he hadn’t heard the last couple of comments.
“I smell Stetson,” she said with half a giggle.
“That’s apple blossoms, not cologne, and you are changing the subject,” Knox said.
Jack sat down on the other side of Knox and groaned. “Nope. It’s my shaving lotion. I just took a shower and shaved. Now that I’ve made up my mind to retire, my knees are wanting this project to be done with sooner rather than later. Our house in Bandera sold today. The timing is perfect. By the time the paperwork is finished, we should be ready to move into the first cabin.”
“That’s great, Uncle Jack, but I’m not ready for this,” Lottie said.
“You can come see us and your folks anytime you want,” Jack said. “And think how special it is to all your family that you helped build our retirement homes. Before things get all weepy, I’m going to continue my walk.” He groaned again when he stood up. “Y’all enjoy sitting out here under that lovers’ moon. Did you know that in some circles it’s called the pink moon or the awakening moon?”
“Are you trying to get us to bite on a late April Fool’s joke?” Lottie asked.
“I am not,” Jack answered. “Look at it in the water. It’s pink, and the other name was given to it because right now winter is over, and spring is waking up. It’s a fine time for new relationships like you kids have, and new beginnings like me and Mandy are going to have. See y’all in the morning.”
“We’ll be there,” Lottie said past the lump in her throat.
“Are you about to cry?” Knox asked.
“Maybe,” she answered. “The job won’t be the same without Uncle Jack.”
Knox scooted closer to her and draped an arm around her shoulders. “Change happens to us all. I thought I would never adjust after we lost our mother, but the move to Spanish Fort was the best thing that could have happened.”
“Why?” Her voice quavered.
“I’m not sure if I can explain it. The closest I could get would be that everything seemed dark without her, but allthree of us found a glimmer of light when Brodie bought the farm and we started over. We were able to chase our dreams—at least Tripp and Brodie were. I’ve always loved working in construction, and the sisters had plenty to keep me busy.”
“Tripp hasn’t always had a leather shop?” Lottie asked.
Knox gently squeezed her shoulder. “Nope. Tripp was the CEO of my father’s oil company. When Brodie joined the military, Tripp felt duty bound to get into the family business. I was the rebel who went into construction from the beginning.”
“How did Brodie go from being in the service to…”
“Organic farming?” Knox finished the sentence for her. “Mother was always piddling around in her garden or flower beds. I guess he got a love for it there. When we drove to the Paradise to meet Joe Clay, Brodie’s biological father, he found a small farm for sale and bought it on the spot. Then when the whole Paradise family adopted us, it seemed like an omen that a farm just like he wanted was close by. Tripp and I agreed to help for a few months.”
Lottie gasped.
