The Silent Sister(18)

He grinned at me as he stepped out of the car, and my body nearly sagged with relief. “Hey, Riley,” he said. “One of us is going to have to back up.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked. He was in uniform, his navy blue shirt crisp-looking in spite of the heat. “How come you’re here?”

“Just dropping some books off for your brother.” That grin again. “Him and me got a little book club going.”

“He’s okay?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?”

“Oh, I just freaked out when I saw your car. He was pretty down when I saw him the other night.”

“He’s fine.” A shaft of sunlight pierced the trees and he shaded his dark brown eyes. “You don’t see him all that often, so you’re not used to his ups and downs,” he said. “He’s a survivor. It’s the other guy has to watch out for him.”

“I know you keep an eye on him, Harry,” I said. “Thank you.”

Harry shrugged like it was nothing. “He’s my brother,” he said. “We all keep an eye on each other.”

I knew what he meant by brother—they’d served in the army together and that bond would always be there—and yet I felt envious that Harry seemed more sure of his relationship with Danny than I did.

“I wish I could get him to move closer to me,” I said.

He smiled. “How many times have we had this conversation, Riley?” he asked.

I laughed. “I know,” I said. “I just wish I could.”

“I’ve got to get rolling.” He pointed to my car. “You okay with backing up? We’re a lot closer to the road here than the clearing.”

“Sure,” I said, not looking forward to driving in reverse through the woods. I waved at him as I got behind the wheel again. I put the car in reverse and slowly backed out through the tunnel of trees. Once on the road, he drove past me with a wave, and I headed down the trail toward the clearing again.

* * *

When I pulled into the clearing, I spotted Danny lounging in his hammock, one hand holding a book open on his stomach and, in the other hand, a bottle of beer, and I wondered if he might have the right idea about how to live after all. I was the one scrambling around in a panic as I tried to sort out all the things I needed to do, while—at least from a distance—he looked like a man without a worry in the world.

I got out of my car, a tote bag containing the old photographs and the key ring hanging from my shoulder. When he saw me, Danny swung his legs over the edge of the hammock until he was sitting up, his sandaled feet barely touching the ground.

“You’re not answering your phone!” I called, walking toward him across the pine-needle-covered floor of the clearing.

“Forgot to turn it on,” he said.

“Why don’t I believe you?” I aimed for a teasing tone in my voice, but wasn’t sure I succeeded. “What are you reading?” I stopped walking a couple of yards from the hammock.

He glanced at the cover of the tattered-looking paperback and shrugged. “World War II fiction,” he said. “I take whatever Harry brings me.”

“I just saw him. We almost had a head-on collision on the trail.” I dug my hand into the tote bag and pulled out the key ring. “I think one of these is for Daddy’s RV,” I said. “Do you want to check it out with me? Maybe you’d even like to have it?” I asked, hopeful. “It’s not much bigger than yours, so you could move it here to your clearing and have two trailers. More space.”

“I’m fine with what I’ve got.” He pushed his feet into the ground so that the hammock swung a little.

“Should I sell it, then? His RV? Or I could see if the Kyles would like it.”

“Whatever you want to do with it is cool with me.” He held up his beer bottle. “Want one?” he asked.

“No, thanks.” My phone rang and I pulled it from my pocket and checked the caller ID, though I was already sure who was calling. Jeannie Lyons had been badgering me since our lunch the day before, anxious to get moving on the house. She was way too pushy for my comfort level. I hit ignore and slipped the phone into my pocket again.

“Jeannie Lyons,” I said to Danny. “She’s going to help with the house. Did you know that she and Daddy were lovers?”

He stopped swaying the hammock, and the stunned look on his face told me he’d had no idea.

“Well, I wish you hadn’t told me that,” he said. “Revolting images playing in my head right now.” He waved his hand in front of his eyes as if he could make the images go away.

I laughed. “It’s just … weird, isn’t it?” I asked. “She’s weird. It’s been going on for years.”

“Damn,” he said. “I didn’t know the old man had it in him.”

I reached into the tote and pulled out the framed photograph of Danny with Lisa and myself. “I found a whole bunch of pictures.” I stepped in front of him and held out the frame. “I love this one,” I said. “I love how I’m reaching toward you. Remember how close we were when we were kids?”

He barely glanced at the picture before lifting his eyes to mine again. “We were babies back then,” he said. “Fucking innocents.”