Chapter 22

Jenny looked back into his eyes. “Dad’s no good at eating crow, but it’s obvious he regrets things. And Mom was somad at him when she found out why you’d left.”

Joe stared at his hands. Was there too much water under the bridge? Did he want to mend fences? He’d felt so angry and self-righteous at the time, but now when he thought about the situation, he just felt sad. “I don’t know, Jenny.”

Footsteps announced someone’s arrival at the barn doors. “Joe?” It was Ed. “You still in here?”

Jenny whispered. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“We’ll be right down,” Joe hollered, then turned to Jenny. “‘Partner’ is probably more accurate.”

“Oh. Like, maybe you’ll get married?”

Married? He smirked, imagining either of them getting down on one knee and asking the other to marry him. But hell, he did consider Ed to be his life partner. Forever. And thankfully, Ed felt the same. So really…“Well, I guess.”

She smiled. “That’s pretty sweet.”