She laid a moist hand on his sweaty knee. “Graham, I’m a little . . . what’s the word . . . discomfited is what Granny would say . . . around you, too. I had a crush on you in high school, you know.”

“Well, I’ve got one on you now.” He wiped his face on the tail of his T-shirt and hoped that she thought all the sweat was from the weather.

“For real?” Her eyes widened.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “It took all the courage I had to ask you to go on a boat ride next Sunday.”

“Bullshit!” she said and then put a hand over her mouth. “You were so popular in high school, and so self-confident.”

“That’s just the way you saw me,” he said. “I’m going to get another beer. Want one?”

“Yes, I do, and let’s have it inside. It’s damn hot out here.” She wiped her face on her shirtsleeve.

“Okay.” He stood up and offered her a hand.

See there, that wasn’t so hard to admit, was it? His dad’s voice was in his head.

She put her hand in his and let him pull her up to a standing position.

“I want you to know that I meant it when I told Kayla it’s over between me and Rita. My ex-wife came by my office yesterday, and I told her the same thing.” He kept her hand in his all the way to the kitchen, only letting go of it to get the cold beers.

She sat down on a barstool and sucked down several gulps before she came up for air. “That really tastes good, and you don’t owe me any explanations about Rita.”

“I like being with you, Mitzi, and I want to be honest with you. All I felt was relief that I wasn’t still with her.” Graham turned his head and their eyes locked. “I realized that I never really loved Rita, and that makes me feel guilty in a way.”

“Why?” Mitzi asked.

“I married her, and you’re supposed to love someone if you vow to be with them in sickness and health,” he answered.

“You’ve grown since she left. You had the girls to take care of and a business to run. Now you see things clearer than you did back then,” she said.

“Thank you for that.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, without the need for words to fill the vacuum. Then Mitzi finally asked, “Did you ever want to do something with your life other than stepping into your father’s shoes at the dealership?”