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The overlook was twenty minutes out of town on a road that wound up into the hills and then flattened out at a pull-off that faced southwest. I'd found it three weeks ago driving the perimeter of the Sadowski property. It was the kind of accidental discovery that a place like this handed you if you paid attention. At this hour, with the sun dropping behind the ridge, the Smoky Mountains went purple and gold in layers, each ridge a slightly different shade, going back as far as you could see.

We sat on the tailgate with a blanket over our laps that I’d brought from home. We kept our plates balanced on our laps, and I had a thermos of sweet tea for us.

"How's James?" she asked.

"Attempting to climb an apple tree as we speak, I'd guess."

She smiled at that. "Millie's orchard. And strawberries?"

"And strawberries." I looked at the mountains. "He told Millie and Renzo that we were probably going to kiss tonight. By way of explaining why we couldn't have ice cream with them."

Zoe put down her fork. Then she picked it back up. "James said that?"

"In a very matter-of-fact tone."

"To Renzo."

"And Millie."

“How did he come to that conclusion?” Then before I could answer, her expression brightened. “Bubba Lancaster,” she guessed.

“You got it.”

“I love that kid, but he’s a menace.” I watched her laugh and felt the now-familiar pull of wanting.

We finished eating, sharing easy back-and-forth conversation, me sharing Ford Larson's latest smartass exploits on the jobsite, and her telling me more about the cheerleaders who helped in the back.

I found her to be a food thief when it came to anything that was a carbohydrate, so I just handed over my cornbread before she even tried to swipe it. She brought up James’ assessment of the sculpture. Apparently, that was still impressing her.

“That’s all Marie. She had an eye for beauty.”

“I’m not buying it. The way you described building something… comparing it to poetry? I think you definitely have an eye for beauty.” Then she paused and her eyes turned wicked. “After all, shouldn’t Angelica be your girlfriend?”

I snorted.

“I’d hate to think what she’d say if she knew about that.”

“Oh, she knows. I told her. She thinks it’s wonderful. She’s willing to fight me for you, just so she can get James,” I teased.

“You told her?” I both could and couldn’t believe it.

“You bet your ass I told her. It was the funniest thing in the world. I love the way your boy thinks. I want to bottle his logic. What do you think he’s going to be when he grows up?”

“A philosopher or a football player. I have no earthly idea,” I admitted. “He is totally his own person, that’s for sure.”

We started to pack up as the sun began to sink. I looked at her. “We have one more stop before I take you home.”

She raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

"You'll see."

She saw it when we turned in off the highway—the big white screen against the darkening sky, the rows of cars already pulling in.

The marquee read STAR WARS: EPISODE IV, A NEW HOPE—ONE NIGHT ONLY in the blocky letters that drive-ins had used since before either of us were born.

Zoe went very still.

Then she said, quietly, "Adam."