It wasn’t long before the dinner hour approached, which brought Mel and the little ones to the bar. Joe held the baby for a while, had a few words with Doc, said hello to Hope McCrea while she had her Jack Daniel’s, passed the time with Doug and Sue Carpenter, Brenda’s folks from just down the street. He checked his watch, asked for a cup of coffee from Jack and sat up at the bar.
“Business good?” Jack asked.
“Great,” Joe said. “I’m staying busy.”
“This stuff down here—is this extra?”
“Yeah, but it’s nice to have it. It’s great that my friends want my designs. Good for my ego,” he said.
“So then,” Jack said, “what’s eating you?”
“Not a thing, my brother.” He sat up a little straighter, took in a deep breath.
“Who’s eating you?” Jack said.
“You’re missing the signals, man. I’m good.”
Jack lifted his coffee cup. “Whatever you say.”
Joe knew what Jack was seeing. Joe had always been carefree. A grinning fool, a quick laugh, a lot of jokes, nothing in the world bothered him. He had a good family, good business, women when he bothered, plenty of money, lifelong friends like the boys. He knew there was a smudge on his personality, a sadness that now occupied his eyes and hadn’t been there for a long time, not for a good ten years.
“It’s just that, it seems like something’s bothering you,” Jack said.
“Yeah, maybe. Not a big deal. It’ll pass.”
“You ever want to talk, you know where I am.”
Joe smiled. “Thanks, buddy.”
Jack shrugged. “Maybe she’ll come around.”
“Who?” Joe asked, a little stunned. He would be genuinely pissed if Paul had talked about this.
“Whoever she is. Men have a lot of looks, pal. They have a look for business worries, family worries, ego worries. Combat worries—I got good at spotting that one. And there’s a real special look when a man wants a woman and she’s out of reach.”
It made Joe laugh. “Is that a fact?”
Jack sipped his coffee. “I’ve worn that look a couple of times.”
“I must not have been around,” Joe said.
“You might’ve been. Mel made me work pretty damn hard for her. It was excruciating. Excuse me—I have to load up the family. I stay late now that Paige is so close. Mel has to take the kids home, get them in bed.”
“I’ll help,” he said.
They got Mel and the little ones settled in the truck. Jack leaned in the window to kiss her and Joe was overcome with longing. This was torture, watching his best friends, his brothers, with their women. By the end of a hunt, they were talking about getting home to their beautiful, lush, ripe women, bringing them children and love. Joe hadn’t been so worried about the fact that he hadn’t found this yet until recently, until he held a woman that made him feel that full, that in love, and immediately lost her.
Vanni loved her house plans. She was animated and full of life, and in that, very affectionate toward Joe. If he was reading her right, she was forgiving Joe’s dalliance with her best friend. The general got into the mix, making suggestions, arguing with his daughter about what she should be doing differently. Joe was good at this sort of thing—he listened while they batted around ideas and waited until the dust settled. Then he could step in with one minor adjustment and bring the whole thing together.
For Vanni and Paul, Joe designed a larger version of Paul’s house, but with changes that although slight, gave it a different appearance altogether, so it didn’t look like a copy and was better suited for a growing family. The features they loved were there—the wide hallways, spacious rooms, high ceilings, large garage. And it had to have more bedrooms—Paul was going to fill her with babies.
He spent the night in the cabin, then in the morning he drove out to Jack’s property—to the parcel he’d given to Brie and Mike. It wasn’t far from Jack’s—they’d extended his road another quarter of a mile to their homesite. Paul had already set up shop and was hiring construction crew, quite successfully. He had the requisite trailer for his office and a Porta Potty for his crews. Now that there were plans, Paul could have the foundation poured. The septic tank would go in and the well dug. Then the plumbing and frame and wiring. “Then it’s game on,” Joe said. “Let’s go walk your property at the general’s,” he said.