“I bet that was nice.”
“Yes sir, it was. I miss him every day.” Joseph gestured toward heaven. “He’s up there in the fly-fishing hole in the sky, though. We’ll meet again.” He went to the cooler and pulled out a bag of sliced carrots. “Loretta has me eating rabbit food these days.”
“Let me know if you ever need any fresh veggies. I’ve got a garden bursting with them.”
“I’ll take you up on that. Carrot?”
I took a few from the bag.
“Who’s your baseball team?” Joseph asked.
“Dodgers for life.”
“And here I thought we could be friends. Rangers all the way.”
“Football?” I asked.
“Houston, although people around these parts are crazy for those Seahawks.”
“Including me,” I said.
“You go to Dodgers games with your dad?” Joseph asked.
I made a scoffing noise at the back of my throat. “Never.”
His brown eyes flickered. “Not a sports guy?”
“Not a father-and-son-outing kind of guy.”
“How’d you learn to fish, then?”
“Self-taught. When I was a kid, my brothers and I fished at the spot on our property. Luke found a book at the library with instructions. When we needed to get out of the house, which was most of the time, we’d go down there and spend most of the day. During warm months, we swam and fished. In the winter, we fished and built a campfire.”
“Is that why you wanted to come back here?”
“That and other things. Despite everything with my dad, we had a lot of good times.”
“You’re tight with your brothers?” Joseph asked.
“Yeah. I’m a twin, so that’s part of the territory. And my older brother, Luke, always looked after us. Protected us from him.”
“Your old man?”
“That’s right.” I stretched my legs out and dug my heels into the dirt.
“He still around?”
“Nah. Died five years ago.” I told him how I’d bought the family property from my mom. “I always wanted to come back here, but it took me a while. Once I had the funds, I left LA and built a house and barn on the old property. I’d like my brothers to eventually join me, but I doubt it’ll happen.”
“Too much baggage?”
“Right. Because of how it all went down after Beth was killed, Luke doesn’t exactly have fond memories of the place.”
“People. Not the place.”
“That’s right. But you know how it goes. This place is poisoned for him.” I took off my hat and wiped my brow with the paper napkin.
“Loretta says the same’s true for Carlie. That she never came home much.”
I nodded but didn’t say anything.
“But you’re hoping she stays for good this time?” Joseph asked.
“It’s all I want. She’s all I’ve ever wanted. Can you believe that? I’ve loved her since we were this high.” I held my hand about three feet from the ground. “The two us are weird. Like there’s just no bull, you know? We get each other. Always have. I could tell her anything and know she’d never hurt me with it.”
“That’s a rare thing to find.”
“Agreed. But a lot of things here remind her of the way Beth died, not how she lived. She wants answers.”
“Loretta too.” He drew on his beer before setting it back in the chair’s cup holder. “I wish I could give them to her. It would make things easier between us.”
“How so?” I asked, curious.
“Loving a woman with that much sadness in her isn’t always easy. She holds herself back from living. Like it’s a betrayal to Beth if she’s happy.”
“Carlie’s done the same.” I took a swig from my beer and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “She used to sparkle. Now there’s a sadness in her eyes that never goes away. When we were kids, she was one of those genuinely happy people. Always laughing or reading. She wore glasses and hated those things, but I always thought she looked as cute as a bug. My little bookworm.”
“Loretta says she always loved you.”
“Yeah. It went both ways. Didn’t take but a moment for the feelings to come back.”
He gazed out over the water. “When you know, you know, right?”
“Two weeks ago, I would’ve said I was unlucky in love and that the only girl truly made for me slipped out of my life when I was sixteen.”
“I never thought it would be possible to love two women in one lifetime,” Joseph said. “After my wife died, I figured I’d spend the rest of my days alone. Then along came Loretta. Life keeps on rolling by whether you decide to participate in it or not. I decided to participate instead of being a bystander.”
“Life’s full of surprises, that’s for sure. I sometimes feel like I dreamed Carlie up. Like I’ve finally gone bonkers and started seeing someone who isn’t really there, simply because I wanted her to be.”
“I’m curious why you didn’t contact Loretta when you moved back here.”
I shrugged. “Couple of reasons. I wasn’t sure she’d want to hear from me. Also, I didn’t want to know that Carlie was married. If I got in touch with Loretta, I’d know for sure. It was nicer to have the fantasies to hold on to.”
He laughed. “Same reason I hate going to the doctor.”
“I did drive by her house a few times like a stalker,” I said. “Speaking of the house.” I told him my idea about taking it off Mrs. Webster’s hands.
“Seems like a win for everyone. As far as that goes, the sooner she’s out of the house the better. I want her to marry me and move into my place.”
“Is that what she wants?”
“She’s not yet convinced. She has it in her head that Carlie will be hurt if she remarries.”
“Seems to me she thinks of you as an answer to a prayer.”
“Good to know,” Joseph said.
“Do you have kids?” He probably had adoring sons who loved spending time with
