AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Red shrugged. “I didn’t want her to waste her time coming out to meet me when her instructions were clear enough.”
Jetson darted off trail, probably chasing a hapless squirrel, and Red frowned. “Will he be okay? Shouldn’t you call him back?”
“He’ll be fine. He likes to chase things. Never catches anything, but he always comes back.”
They walked in silence for a while. Graham’s thoughts were a jumble. A messy jumble. His emotions were worse.
He hadn’t wanted to see Red ever again. Hell, he’d snuck out without saying goodbye or leaving a note.
Was he supposed to apologize?
Five years later? Seemed ridiculous.
Her presence also amped up his guilt. Which was also ridiculous. Jenny had been gone for ten years now.
Ten years.
Jetson ran back and pranced around Graham. Knowing the rules, Graham found a stick and threw it forward down the path.
He knew he should break the silence before it got even more awkward, but he didn’t have a clue what to say.
Sorry I left you alone in the room.
Thanks for the best night of my life.
Want to pick up where we left things?
All of those would only make things even more awkward.
“How do you know Tansy?” That was neutral.
“She and I met back in Sacramento. I worked for her on Döva.”
Which explained nicely why she’d been at the open house fundraiser that night.
“How did you end up a carpenter?”
She made a noise he couldn’t quite identify. Not a growl, not a hum, but something in between.
“My dad was a carpenter. I grew up with hammers and measuring tapes instead of dolls and makeup.”
She sure as hell didn’t need makeup. “Your mom didn’t balance things out?”
“She wasn’t around. How about you? Why a mechanic?”
His turn to shrug. “I always liked puzzles, figuring out how things worked. Liked physics in high school. I worked at a local garage all through when I was old enough. Did a tour in the army and picked up an electrician’s ticket, too.”
Red nodded and threw the stick for Jetson.
They were almost at the lodge. He needed a few minutes alone to get his head together and figure out how he was going to deal with this twist.
Three more stick tosses for Jetson and they broke into the clearing.
Red gasped with delight as she took in the sight. Summer had hit Vermont in all its glory.
The trees were full, and the lodge looked picture perfect backed up against the lake. They walked around to the front deck that faced the lake and Red stopped, a huge smile on her face.
“Tansy said it was perfect, but I didn’t quite believe her. She was right.”
