breath.
There wasn’t a new Caleb video. The last one was dated before Joshua’s trip to Vegas.
Joshua let out a sigh that sounded like the haunting cry of something lost in the wilderness. He shut down his computer.
God, he just wanted Ben.
A T T HANKSGIVING Joshua and Fred decided to save themselves a load of hassle and go to Nora’s Diner. She always served turkey with all the trimmings on Thanksgiving Day for folks who had no place better to go.
As they pulled up in front of the diner, it sure was a pretty picture. The first snow of winter had come, leaving a white inch of powder all over town. Main Street had been decorated the day before Thanksgiving, as always, and live branches of long-needled pine wove around the town’s old-fashioned black iron lampposts. Red bows were affixed to the top of each garland. A Christmas tree sat in front of the town hall, already decorated, but waiting to be lit in a ceremony that happened every year the day after Thanksgiving. And there was a banner hung over the street that said Clyde Corner Christmas Dance Dec 23 Macy’s Park.
It was home, and it was beautiful. But it hit Joshua that Christmas was coming. Christmas was coming, and he wouldn’t be with Ben, not this Christmas and probably not any other Christmas either. He swallowed against a burning ache in his throat.
Fred had come up to him at some point and laid a hand on his arm. “Hey, did I tell you that I got a letter from Chet? He’s got a month’s leave, and he’ll be home for Christmas.”
“That right?” Joshua smiled at the old man. “That’s mighty good news.” He hesitated. “Will Ben come home to see ’im?”
Fred’s smile faltered. “Ben seems… real determined not to come back. I reckon he’s still embarrassed about Henry tellin’ everyone in town about those videos. Chet’s gonna fly out to Vegas after Christmas. I dunno…. I may go too.”
Joshua nodded, looking away. He hadn’t thought he had any unbroken space left on his heart, but he felt it crack all the same.
Fred squeezed his arm. “Come on. I’ve got a real hankerin’ for that turkey.”
N ORA ’ S TURKEY looked and smelled mighty fine. Fred attacked it voraciously, and Joshua tried to put up a good show. But all he could think about was what Fred had said—that Ben didn’t wanna come back, not even for Christmas, not even if Chet was gonna be here.
The more he thought about it, the worse Joshua felt. Ben wouldn’t come back to Clyde’s Corner, not ever. Joshua hadn’t realized he’d been holding out so much hope. His gut twisted like someone had turned his stomach inside out, acid rose in his throat, and his hands got hot and damp. He picked at his food, and when Fred excused himself to use the little boy’s room, he signaled Nora to come take his plate away so he could pretend he’d eaten it.
She took one look at all the leftover food and slipped into the booth across from him. She put the round coffeepot, which was always attached to her hand like a catcher’s mitt, on the table and gave him a grim look.
“Honey, you have got to get over this thing. Is it love or money?”
Joshua huffed.
“I ain’t heard of your ranch bein’ in trouble,” Nora mused. “And folks love to gossip when the bigwigs are bloodied. So I’m guessin’ it’s love. Damn, but that bitch can be cruel.”
Joshua smiled wryly in agreement.
Janelle, a pretty teenage girl who had been a fixture at Nora’s for the past three years, came over to snag the coffeepot.
“I got it,” she told Nora with a wink. “You go on and sit a spell.” Janelle went off, looking exceedingly capable.
Nora sighed. “I hate to sound like my mother, but can’t you eat a bit more of this? There are children starvin’ in Ohio, you know.”
Joshua frowned at the plate and then shook his head. No, he really couldn’t.
Nora got up. “All right, hon. But you’ve about played out that gloomy Gus routine. Come Saturday, you
There wasn’t a new Caleb video. The last one was dated before Joshua’s trip to Vegas.
Joshua let out a sigh that sounded like the haunting cry of something lost in the wilderness. He shut down his computer.
God, he just wanted Ben.
A T T HANKSGIVING Joshua and Fred decided to save themselves a load of hassle and go to Nora’s Diner. She always served turkey with all the trimmings on Thanksgiving Day for folks who had no place better to go.
As they pulled up in front of the diner, it sure was a pretty picture. The first snow of winter had come, leaving a white inch of powder all over town. Main Street had been decorated the day before Thanksgiving, as always, and live branches of long-needled pine wove around the town’s old-fashioned black iron lampposts. Red bows were affixed to the top of each garland. A Christmas tree sat in front of the town hall, already decorated, but waiting to be lit in a ceremony that happened every year the day after Thanksgiving. And there was a banner hung over the street that said Clyde Corner Christmas Dance Dec 23 Macy’s Park.
It was home, and it was beautiful. But it hit Joshua that Christmas was coming. Christmas was coming, and he wouldn’t be with Ben, not this Christmas and probably not any other Christmas either. He swallowed against a burning ache in his throat.
Fred had come up to him at some point and laid a hand on his arm. “Hey, did I tell you that I got a letter from Chet? He’s got a month’s leave, and he’ll be home for Christmas.”
“That right?” Joshua smiled at the old man. “That’s mighty good news.” He hesitated. “Will Ben come home to see ’im?”
Fred’s smile faltered. “Ben seems… real determined not to come back. I reckon he’s still embarrassed about Henry tellin’ everyone in town about those videos. Chet’s gonna fly out to Vegas after Christmas. I dunno…. I may go too.”
Joshua nodded, looking away. He hadn’t thought he had any unbroken space left on his heart, but he felt it crack all the same.
Fred squeezed his arm. “Come on. I’ve got a real hankerin’ for that turkey.”
N ORA ’ S TURKEY looked and smelled mighty fine. Fred attacked it voraciously, and Joshua tried to put up a good show. But all he could think about was what Fred had said—that Ben didn’t wanna come back, not even for Christmas, not even if Chet was gonna be here.
The more he thought about it, the worse Joshua felt. Ben wouldn’t come back to Clyde’s Corner, not ever. Joshua hadn’t realized he’d been holding out so much hope. His gut twisted like someone had turned his stomach inside out, acid rose in his throat, and his hands got hot and damp. He picked at his food, and when Fred excused himself to use the little boy’s room, he signaled Nora to come take his plate away so he could pretend he’d eaten it.
She took one look at all the leftover food and slipped into the booth across from him. She put the round coffeepot, which was always attached to her hand like a catcher’s mitt, on the table and gave him a grim look.
“Honey, you have got to get over this thing. Is it love or money?”
Joshua huffed.
“I ain’t heard of your ranch bein’ in trouble,” Nora mused. “And folks love to gossip when the bigwigs are bloodied. So I’m guessin’ it’s love. Damn, but that bitch can be cruel.”
Joshua smiled wryly in agreement.
Janelle, a pretty teenage girl who had been a fixture at Nora’s for the past three years, came over to snag the coffeepot.
“I got it,” she told Nora with a wink. “You go on and sit a spell.” Janelle went off, looking exceedingly capable.
Nora sighed. “I hate to sound like my mother, but can’t you eat a bit more of this? There are children starvin’ in Ohio, you know.”
Joshua frowned at the plate and then shook his head. No, he really couldn’t.
Nora got up. “All right, hon. But you’ve about played out that gloomy Gus routine. Come Saturday, you
Similar Books
