Second Chance Pass (Virgin River #5)(114)

“Aw, I was hoping to get a little more time with you,” Vanni said.

“Next time, okay? It’s a quick trip for me.”

“Joe,” she said, laying a hand on his arm. “I can’t help but feel we’ve had a big misunderstanding. And it’s affected our friendship. Five minutes before Paul asked me to marry him, he told me I have the worst goddamn temper…and that I’m really hard to shut up. I think I might’ve overreacted.”

He chuckled in spite of himself. “The misunderstanding must have been between the woman and I.” He shrugged. “I still can’t figure out what went wrong. Our friendship is okay, Vanni. Be patient with me. This will pass.”

“I hope so, Joe. I’m sorry you were hurt. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

“Hey,” he said, laughing it off. “What could you do? It’s not like I’m going to help you out with the details. Whatever she says is her business, but I’ve already said more than I like. I don’t want to betray her privacy.”

By five, Joe had left the drawings in Paul’s very capable hands and was headed back to Jack’s, where he found Mel and the kids waiting for him. Before long everyone but Vanni and Paul had gathered. There was a humorous debrief on Paige’s delivery that had them all laughing while they enjoyed Preacher’s broiled trout with rice.

Not long after Mel and the kids left, a group of Hot Shots, USDA federal firefighters, came in—a hand crew of about ten of the usual eighteen—getting everyone’s attention. Most of the firefighters used locally were inmates, felons, but since these guys were not, Jack and Preacher pushed tables together and set them up with beer as well as dinner in exchange for news. There had been a fire back in the Trinity Alps and these boys had been working it for two days. It looked to be contained and they were released to go home and wouldn’t be recalled. They were starved for decent food and a cold beer.

“I can’t believe I wasn’t even aware of it,” Jack said. “I can see for miles from my front yard.”

“Winds have been from the southwest, it’s up the mountain and we’ve had it curtailed to a slow, dense burn for twenty-four hours. I think we’ve got it now. We can’t be recalled for at least twenty-four hours, so we’re probably done with that fire. We’ll be headed to the Mogollon Rim in Arizona, if it’s still hot in two days.”

“Where exactly was this last one?” Jack asked.

“Only about twenty-five miles back there. Just over the mountain.”

Twenty-five miles was uncomfortably close; Jack and Preacher had a lot of questions for them about the winds, the weather forecasts, any controlled burns in the area. “There aren’t any controlled burns near the redwoods right now,” one of them said.

Jack set them up one more time, given they were on the way home and wouldn’t be going back into the forest. Of course he wouldn’t take a dime from them. “You keep our towns safe—you eat and drink on the house anytime you’ve been working a fire. It’s the least we can do. As long as you have a designated driver…”

They all laughed, a couple of them slapping one comrade on the back. “We always try to keep at least one Mormon on the crew—the designated good influence.”

As the hour grew later, Jack kept the bar open a little while longer so the firefighters could unwind. Joe sat up at the bar facing Jack. “You can pour me one good-night pop, then I’m getting out of your hair.”

“Sure you’re okay at that cabin?” Jack asked, pouring him a shot. “There’s room at the house.”

“Oh, Jack—it’s terrific. I’ll have the sheets washed and back on the bed in the morning before I leave. Then we’ll get Preacher’s family in there and start tearing up his apartment.”

“It’s really not necessary to do laundry. There are a lot of women around town who like a little housekeeping work….”

“Nah, I’ll handle it. I appreciate the hospitality.”

“And that other matter?”

“What other matter?”

“The woman. The one who has you all fucked up.”

He laughed. “No change,” he said. “I’m still fucked up. But I’ll get over it. I have experience getting over women. I had a wife I loved once—she ripped me up good.”

“I’m sorry, Joe. There’s practically no one I’d rather see happy…”

“You know, that’s one of the problems with this place,” Joe said. “You guys. When you opened this bar, there were five of us at loose ends, and not looking to settle down. The only ones settled with women were Zeke, Corny, Phillips and Stephens. The rest of us were getting well into our thirties, pretty damn happy to be single. Plenty of women out there to keep us busy for a little while. Then you guys—Jesus. You not only hooked up, you found these incredible…”

Jack poured himself a shot to join his friend in commiseration. “We got lucky,” he said.

“It goes way past luck,” Joe said. “Some god was smiling on you.” He looked into his glass. “I’m just an idiot. I had my arms around this woman for one long, incredible night and I thought—this is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life. And she slipped away from me that fast,” he said, snapping his fingers. “I woke up alone.” He lifted his drink to his lips.