“Grant? David?” came Randy’s booming voice, somewhere in the distance.
“Dad!” David shouted back. “Dad, we’re over here!”
“David? Grant? Can you hear me?” Randy called.
“We hear you, Dad!” David yelled as the rain beat down. “We hear you!” The rain began to fall harder. David turned to Grant with a shove. “A little help here, please? On three…”
“You’re a little more eager to have your manhood scrutinized than I am,” Grant rolled his eyes.
“Dad! Over here!” David yelled as Wally joined in.
“Over here, Dad!” Wally hollered. “Help! Help!”
Grant just shook his head. “Dad?” he muttered with a disgusted curl of his lip. “Is he serious?”
“Where in the world are you knuckleheads?” Randy bellowed as he walked up on the boys. “I swear, the three of you better have had to fight off lions, tigers and bears as long as we’ve been waiting around for you.”
“No, Sir,” Wally sighed as the rain slacked. “We didn’t even find, Spotty Sue,” he admitted.
“That mutt’s in the living room enjoying a healthy helping of ham and turkey,” Randy rolled his eyes. “It’s you three morons who are out here starving and soaking wet!” He flung an arm around Grant’s neck. “Get yourself in this house; your mother is convinced you’re going to catch a death of cold.”
As night fell, Grant, who had changed into dry windpants and a Carolina blue Tar Heels hoodie, sat on the sofa next to Joanna, both eating off the same dessert plate.
In the kitchen, Hailey and Emily were helping Nora and Granny put away bountiful leftovers, though everyone had piled their plates at lunch and supper.
The house was quiet now that nearly everyone had headed home. Most of the out-of-town crew had been eager to get back on the road. Only Joanna stayed behind, planning to spend the night at Granny Miller’s and spend a little more time with her brother.
Jessica had come down with a slight cold, and, after Granny brewed her up a little of her surefire home remedy, Jack had taken her back to the house to rest, saying, “this cold is going around the school; I’m surprised they all haven’t come down with it. She’ll be fine in a day or two.”
“This is good stuff,” Joanna exhaled as she savored a bite of Granny’s famous Double Decker Pumpkin Pie.
“It’s my fifth piece of pie today,” Grant admitted.
Joanna smiled. “So now that I finally have you all to myself,” she whispered. “What is up with not telling me that Hailey and the mystery girl in the picture that I found in your desk drawer are one in the same?”
“That would have ruined the element of surprise,” Grant winked.
Joanna smacked him gently with a throw pillow.
“I love you, Joey,” Grant said sincerely.
“Grant,” Joanna smiled as she glanced back toward the kitchen to make sure they were alone, “you seem different.”
“That’s probably because I’ve had too much food in my mouth all day to say anything disparaging,” Grant suggested flippantly.
“Oh, you’ve managed a few of your typical offensive quips, but all in all you seem more content,” Joanna nodded. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with the aforementioned Miss Hailey Nelson, would it?”
“Isn’t she great?” Grant grinned.
Joanna sat the plate of dessert onto the coffee table and took hold of Grant’s wrists. “I have five words for you. Don’t screw it up, Bro!”
“That seems to be the running theme of the day,” Grant nodded with a laugh.
“Tell me about her,” Joanna whispered as she pulled her knees up under her chin, ready to listen.
Grant shrugged. “Hailey has been so easy to get to know because she is so giving of herself. As for me, I’m working on not being such a closed book. I’m intensely private by nature, but, with her, I’m finding it easy to just be myself. We talk about things, you know? Like, just last week, she was telling me about how when she was a little girl she dreamed of growing up and building a little, white house out in the pasture behind her dad’s house. She said she pictured a swing hanging from the big oak tree in the backyard and a white picket fence enclosing the yard…”
“You have never struck me as the picket fence type,” Joanna shook her head.
“Well, no I don’t see myself sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch of my house in Hope Hull wearing my overalls and smoking my pipe,” Grant admitted. “But I choose to focus on what we have in common…we both want to live in a white house.”
Joanna laughed. “Your attitude is different,” she smiled. “I like it.”
“I don’t know if I would go all that far,” Grant rolled his eyes.
“Face it. You’re happy, and you can’t hide it,” Joanna pointed, poking his tummy with her outstretched fingers, like big sisters do.
“I think I might finally be figuring out that knowledge of the world doesn’t have to necessarily equal dower pessimism, if that’s what you’re getting at,” Grant agreed.
“Have you said the three magic words yet?” Joanna practically squealed.
“No, Joey,” Grant said dismissively. “I’m not really there yet…”
“Why not?” Joanna asked, surprised.
“First David and now you,” Grant groaned.
