But then he wasn’t alone in that, was he? Wasn’t that what everyone wanted?
“I have another confession,” he said. “About the Bonners.”
She felt her breath as it left her lungs. “More?”
He scratched the side of his nose with his free hand, as if to buy time. “I brought flowers to Dr. Bonner’s grave earlier this morning. It was something I used to do when I got out of prison. When it got to be too much, you know?”
She stared at him, wondering if he was about to tack on another surprise, but he didn’t. “That’s not quite on the level of the other things you’ve been doing.”
“I know. I just thought I should mention it.”
“Why? Because now you want my opinion?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
She didn’t answer for a moment. “I think flowers are fine,” she finally said, “as long as you don’t overdo it. That’s actually… appropriate.”
He turned toward her. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” she said. “Placing flowers at his grave is meaningful, but not invasive.”
He nodded but said nothing. In the silence, Amanda leaned even closer. “Do you know what I’m thinking?” she asked.
“After everything I’ve said, I’m almost afraid to guess.”
“I think you and Tuck are more alike than you realize.”
He turned toward her. “Is that good or bad?”
“I’m still here with you, aren’t I?”
When the heat became stifling even in the shade, Amanda led them back inside. The screen door banged shut gently behind them.
“You ready?” he asked, surveying the kitchen.
“No,” she said. “But I suppose we have to do this. For the record, it still seems wrong to me. I don’t even know how to start.”
Dawson paced the length of the kitchen before turning to face her. “Okay, let’s do this: When you think about your last visit with Tuck, what comes to mind?”
“It was the same as always. He talked about Clara, I made him dinner.” She gave a small shrug. “I put a blanket over his shoulders when he fell asleep in the chair.”
Dawson drew her into the living room and nodded toward the fireplace. “Then maybe you should take the picture.”
She shook her head. “I couldn’t do that.”
“You’d rather it be thrown away?”
“No, of course not. But you should take it. You knew him better than I did.”
“Not really,” he said. “He never talked to me about Clara. And when you see it, you’ll think about both of them, not just him, and that’s why he told you about her.”
When she hesitated, he stepped toward the fireplace and gently removed it from the mantel. “He wanted this to be important to you. He wanted the two of them to be important to you.”
She reached for the photo, staring at it. “But if I take this, what’s left for you? I mean, there’s not much here.”
“Don’t worry. There’s something I saw earlier that I’d like to keep.” He moved toward the door. “Come on.”
Amanda followed him down the steps. As they approached the garage it dawned on her: If the house was where she and Tuck had forged their bond, the garage had been that place for Dawson and Tuck. And even before he found it, she already knew what he wanted.
Dawson reached for the faded bandanna folded neatly on the workbench. “This is what he wanted me to have,” he said.
“You sure?” Amanda squinted at the square of red cloth. “It’s not much.”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever noticed a clean one around here, so it has to be for me.” He grinned. “But yeah, I’m sure. To me, this is Tuck. I don’t think I ever saw him without one. Always the same color, of course.”
“Of course,” she agreed. “We’re talking about Tuck, right? Mr. Constant-in-All-Things?”
Dawson tucked the bandanna into his back pocket. “It’s not such a bad thing. Change isn’t always for the best.”
The words seemed to hang in the air, and Amanda didn’t reply. Instead, when he leaned against the Stingray, it triggered something in her memory, and Amanda took a step toward him. “I forgot to ask Tanner what to do with the car.”
“I was thinking that I might as well finish it. Then Tanner can just call the owner to pick it up.”
“Really?”
“As far as I can tell, all the parts are here,” he said, “and I’m pretty sure Tuck would have wanted me to finish it. Besides, you’re going to dinner with your mom, so it’s not like I have anything else to do tonight.”