Page 92 of Grown-Up Second Chance

And lost my footing.

Down I went again.

At that moment, my line went slack. The fish was gone.

I leaned back in the water and groaned. Then I looked over at the figure standing on the bank.

“Fishing’s fine,” I told him.

“Oh. Sorry.” He had the good sense to disappear.

“You okay?” Joe asked, standing over me.

I groaned again as I tried to find my footing. “Getting too old for this,” I said, accepting the hand he extended. “Good thing I have enough padding to cushion my fall.”

When I finally stood, we were inches apart in the streaming water. His face was in the shadow, pinks and blues arcing across the sky behind him.

It would be natural to kiss him.

“It’s getting late,” I said instead. “I’m tired. Let’s head back.”

“Sure thing,” he said.

We gathered up our gear and left, weary and quiet during the ride home.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

When Joe picked me up for church the next morning, Kathleen informed him he was expected for cocktails in the afternoon.

“Was she always this bossy?” he asked on the way.

“Yep.”

“I’d forgotten that.”

“So did I, but I was reminded a few days after my return.”

“I still have a bunch of things to do so I can be ready to leave in the morning, but I should be able to be done by the time the queen has commanded.”

“How early are you going?”

“As soon as I get up. I love traveling first thing in the morning. Everything feels fresh.”

“That’s not a possibility with us,” I said. “Getting three people dressed and fed takes a lot longer than a solo trip.”

“You’re going to Jackson next, aren’t you?”

“Yes. The Tetons. I’m looking forward to it.”

Joe pulled into the church parking lot. He greeted a few people on the way to the church while I smiled politely at strangers. One woman, a pretty brunette about a decade younger than I latched onto his arm, ignoring my existence.

“Joe, I hear you’re leaving us,” she said.

“Tomorrow,” he said, trying to disentangle.

“It was so nice to meet you here. Imagine, we don’t live that far from each other, and we had to be down here to discover each other.”

Joe maneuvered her around to face me. “And here’s another local person, Diane O’Sullivan. She and I were close friends in high school.”

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