“Who are you calling old?” Nita asked.
“Ain’t a one of us going to be eighty until this summer, and old ain’t a number anyway,” Billy Joe said. “It’s a state of mind, and I ain’t never going to get old.”
“And one more thing,” Sharlene added as she shook her head. “You are not going to hold down the table. You are going to get out there and dance—like right now.”
Joelle took a long drink of her beer and stood up. “Yes, ma’am. Come on, Ford. You can step on my toes for one dance anyway.”
“Hey now, I’m a great dancer,” Ford said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor to Travis Tritt singing “Can I Trust You with My Heart.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and felt the vibes twirl all around him as she put her arms around his neck and fell into perfect step with him. The song ended, but he held on to her while Kenny Chesney sang “You Had Me from Hello,” which was one of Ford’s favorite songs, but that night the lyrics meant more than they ever had before.
“I wonder why Billy Joe played these songs,” Joelle whispered, her breath warm on his neck.
“Because they’re slow songs, and a fast one would take too much energy for him,” Ford suggested, but heknew that subtlety wasn’t Billy Joe’s long suit. His grandfather wanted him to listen to the lyrics and really take a look at Joelle as a woman he could put down roots with. She was a great person, and the issue wasn’t with her, but more with the fact that Ford wondered what she would see in a veteran who was dealing with PTSD.
Chapter 3
“This week has been like that roll of toilet paper folks compare to old age,” Sharlene told Joelle as they packed all their belongings into the trailer.
“What?” Joelle asked.
“Haven’t you ever heard that old saying?” Nita asked. “‘Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.’ I got to admit, I wasn’t looking forward to a dude ranch, but we all got to pick the first thing on our bucket list, and this was Billy Joe’s.”
“And we’ve had such a good time that I wouldn’t mind coming back again next summer,” Sharlene said with a nod, “but I suppose we’d better not waste another place on each of our lists.”
Joelle glanced over at Ford and, without a word, knew that they were thinking the same thing—would they be driving the VW bus again next summer?
“And what other things are on your bucket list, Grandpa?” Ford asked.
“Well, Grandson, the second thing is that I want to eat a Maine lobster, and I want to be sittin’ in a littlecafé right by the beach when I do it, so next summer, this”—he patted the back fender of the bus—“old girl is going to take us from Texas to Maine.”
“Oh. My. Goodness!” Joelle muttered under her breath.
“Amen,” Ford said out the side of his mouth.
“What about you, Aunt Sharlene? What’s the second thing on your list?” Joelle asked.
“I want to ride a mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” Sharlene told her.
“And before you ask,” Nita said as she slid the panel door of the van open, “I want to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side, so before next year we’re all getting our passports ready so we can cross over the border.”
Joelle ran down such a trip in her mind. From Texas to Maine to upstate New York to northern Arizona. She wouldn’t mind visiting Maine and having lobster on the shore or seeing Niagara Falls, but riding a mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon was another thing. What-ifs began to flash through her head. All three of the folks would be past eighty by then. What if one of them fell off their mule and broke a hip, or what if they wanted to do something dangerous and drowned at Niagara Falls?
Ford closed the door to the little trailer. “Are you picturing what I am?”
“Oh, yeah,” she answered.
“My VA therapist told me not to borrow trouble from tomorrow, so I’m going to lean on that this morning,but if they’re all still alive and healthy by next summer, there’s no way I’ll let them makethattrip alone,” he said.
“Me either, but I’m sure not looking forward to riding a mule,” Joelle said with a sigh.
“Or trying to keep them in the boat if they decide to do that tour that takes them under the falls,” Ford said and opened the passenger door for her.
“What are you two whispering about?” Billy Joe asked.
“You can answer that one,” Ford said with a wink as he closed the door.
“We were thinking about next summer. I’m not sure I’m up for riding a mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” Joelle admitted.
“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Nita asked.
