“You think everyone in the world should live in Edilean, Virginia.”
“Only the good people.” He took a breath. “What does this have to do with your friend Jecca?”
“You remember the first time Jecca visited me? I think you met her, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” He would never tell anyone how much he’d done because of that meeting.
“It’s a long story, but Reede and Jecca had a thing that time, and she’s kept up with him over the years. I think that when they see each other again . . . Well, I’m hoping they’ll hit it off. I’m going to do my best to get them together.”
“What do you mean ‘a thing’?”
“It’s too long to go into now,” Kim said, “and I need to go. I have wedding rings to file and polish. But keep your fingers crossed that I can get Reede and Jecca together. I think they’d make a great couple, don’t you?”
“Reede wants to travel the world. He’ll never settle down.”
“You just said—You really are in a bad mood, aren’t you? Maybe we won’t ask you out with Reede and Jecca and me, after all.” She waited for him to reply, but when he said nothing, she sighed. “How about if I come over this afternoon and tell you all about my latest jewelry designs?”
I’d rather hear about Jecca, he thought, but didn’t say. He’d get her to tell him everything when she got there. “Sure, I’d love to have the company.”
“Go tend your orchids,” Kim said as she said good-bye, then hung up.
Tristan stood by the phone for quite some time, just staring at it. He was elated that Jecca was going to spend the summer in Edilean, but what was this about her and Reede? Kim had never mentioned a word about it.
He went into his bedroom, flipped on the light switch, and went to the mirror. Reaching behind it, he took out a photo. It was old and a bit faded and there was an extra hand in the picture from the blonde who was lounging on top of the big rock. But the age and condition of the photo reminded him of how long he had been intrigued by Miss Jecca Layton.
Tristan unfolded the photo and looked at the two young women. The blonde was certainly pretty, and she was built like a 1950s pinup, large on top and bottom, with a tiny waist in the middle. Her face was pink-and-white pretty, with china blue eyes and full lips. But Tris had never been attracted to that girl and he folded the picture back.
He stretched out on his bed, held the photo aloft, and looked at Jecca. Kim had sent him the photo, along with lots of others, not long after he’d met Jecca. He’d kept this one to remind himself of his brief moments with her. Yeah, sure, she looked great in a bikini, long and sleek, but it was more than that. She had a body that looked like she could do sporty things, like ride a bike along the trails of the pre
serve. Or drive a four-wheeler up to the cabin of his cousin Roan, and go fishing.
For all that he liked her body, he was fascinated by her face. She had a look of humor in her eyes that he’d always liked. She looked like someone who could laugh even when the going got rough.
And if Tris needed anything in his life it was laughter!
He loved being a doctor and helping people and he knew that he’d saved some lives. But when tests came back and showed that a person he cared about had Stage IV cancer, he didn’t like his job so much.
In the last years he’d wanted to go home, not to an empty house, but to someone he could talk to. Someone who would understand and listen.
But for all the women he’d dated, he hadn’t found a woman like that. There were a lot of them who made it crystal clear that they’d like to marry him, but he’d always felt that they wanted who he was rather than him. They seemed to think more about being a doctor’s wife than they did about Tristan himself.
A few years ago he’d almost believed one of them. They’d dated for a year and the sex had been good. He’d met her at a party, she was from Virginia Beach and had a degree in business and sold pharmaceuticals. She was smart and interesting. After they’d spent several months together he’d thought that he might ask her to marry him. But then he’d accidentally heard her on the phone talking to her girlfriend about the size of the ring Tris was probably going to give her. “I’m sure he can afford at least three carats,” she’d said. “Let me tell you, I can’t wait to get my hands on this ratty old house of his. Even if we just use it for vacation, I still can’t stand the place.”
Tris had stepped forward and let her see him. He’d listened to her excuses and apologies, but she’d seen that it was no use. She left that night, and he hadn’t seen her since.
There’d been no one serious since then. In fact, in the last two years he’d been dating less and less.
He was well aware that the town was now saying that he’d never marry, that he was a confirmed bachelor. And part of him had begun to believe that.
But in tho hm">But e last few years, one by one, his cousins who were near his age had married, and they already had children. There was no one left to go out to have a beer with. All the men were so newly married that they still wanted to be home with their wives and babies. Or at least that was the excuse Tris made for them. That they’d chosen well in their mates was something he didn’t want to think about.
Tris would make jokes about how peaceful his own house was, but he wasn’t fooling anyone.
He looked at the picture of Jecca again. A few years ago, his sister Addy got angry when he told her he’d broken up with a young woman she’d liked.
“You know what your problem is, Tristan?” she’d said, her hands on her hips. He was having breakfast at her house and his niece Nell was beside him.
“I take it you’re going to tell me.” He didn’t look up from his newspaper.