Dear John(34)

“I did,” she said, sounding sincere. “He’s . . . gentle.” She glanced at me. “But I think I understand why you got in so much trouble when you were younger. He didn’t strike me as the kind of father who would lay down the law.”

“He didn’t,” I agreed.

She shot me a playful scowl. “And mean old you took advantage.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I suppose I did.”

She shook her head. “You should have known better.”

“I was just a kid.”

“Ah, the old youth excuse. You know that doesn’t hold water, don’t you? I never took advantage of my parents.”

“Yes, the perfect child. I think you mentioned that.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“No, of course not.”

She continued to stare at me. “I think you are,” she finally decided.

“Okay, maybe a little.”

She thought about my answer. “Well, maybe I deserved that. But just so you know, I wasn’t perfect.”

“No?”

“Of course not. I remember quite plainly, for instance, that in fourth grade I got a B on a test.”

I feigned shock. “No! Don’t tell me that!”

“It’s true.”

“How did you ever recover?”

“How do you think?” She shrugged. “I told myself it would never happen again.”

I didn’t doubt it. “Are you hungry yet?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

“What are you in the mood for?”

She drew up her hair in a sloppy ponytail, then let it go. “How about a big, juicy cheeseburger?”

As soon as she said it, I found myself wondering if Savannah was too good to be true.





Seven





I must admit that you bring me to eat at the most interesting places,” Savannah said, glancing over her shoulder. In the distance beyond the dune, we could see a long line of customers snaking away from Joe’s Burger Stand in the middle of a gravel parking lot.

“It’s the best in town,” I said, taking a bite of my enormous burger.

Savannah sat close to me in the sand, facing the water. The burgers were fantastic, nice and thick, and though the French fries were a bit too greasy, they hit the spot. As she ate, Savannah stared at the sea, and in the waning light I found myself thinking that she seemed even more at home here than I did.

I thought again about the way she’d talked to my father. About the way she talked to everyone, for that matter, including me. She had the rare ability to be exactly what people needed when she was with them and yet still remain true to herself. I couldn’t think of anyone who remotely resembled her in appearance or personality, and I wondered again why she’d taken a liking to me. We were as different as two people could be. She was a mountain girl, gifted and sweet, raised by attentive parents, with a desire to help those in need; I was a tattooed army grunt, hard around the edges, and largely a stranger in my own home. Remembering how she’d been with my dad, I could tell how gracefully her parents had raised her. And as she sat beside me, I found myself wishing that I could be more like her.

“What are you thinking?”

Her voice, probing yet gentle, pulled me away from my thoughts.

“I was wondering why you’re here,” I confessed.

“Because I like the beach. I don’t get to do this very often. It’s not like there are any waves or shrimp boats where I’m from.”

When she saw my expression, she tapped my hand. “That was flippant,” she said, “I’m sorry. I’m here because I want to be here.”

I set aside the remains of my burger, wondering why I cared so much. It was a new feeling for me, one I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to. She patted my arm and turned toward the water again.

“It’s gorgeous out here. All we need is a sunset over the water, and it would be perfect.”

“We’d have to go to the other side of the country,” I said.

“Really? You’re trying to tell me the sun sets in the west?”

I noted the mischievous gleam in her eye.

“That’s what I hear, anyway.”

She’d eaten only half of her cheeseburger, and she slipped it into the bag, then added the remains of mine as well. After folding the bag over so the wind wouldn’t blow it away, she stretched out her legs and turned to me, looking at once flirtatious and innocent.

“You want to know what I was thinking?” she asked.

I waited, drinking in the sight of her.

“I was thinking that I wished you’d been with me the last couple of days. I mean, I enjoyed getting to know everyone better. We ate lunch together, and the dinner last night was a lot of fun, but it just felt like something was wrong, like I was missing something. It wasn’t until I saw you walking up the beach that I realized it was you.”