red hill - jamie mcguire

walking alongside them.
“Dana liked storms,” Joey said. “She would have wanted to go outside and dance in the rain.”
“Dana is your wife” Scarlet said.
“She was going to be.”
“You lost her,” Scarlet said, more a statement than a question.
“A couple of times.”
Scarlet’s eyebrows pulled together. I thought about explaining, but it wasn’t my story to tell.
“You saw my father” I asked.
“I saw him at work,” she said. “He was really excited about you girls coming here for the
weekend. It was all he talked about.”
Tears burned my eyes again.
Scarlet continued, “We were busy, so I didn’t get to talk to him much. Mostly just that
morning . . .” Scarlet seemed to get lost in a thought, and then she looked up. “Joey”
“Yeah”
“You said your girlfriend’s name was Dana” Joey nodded and Scarlet shook her head. “Was she
at the hospital Friday”
Joey nodded.
“I met her!” Scarlet said. She smiled and touched her chest. “I did her exam! She met Miranda’s
dad!”
Scarlet’s smile seemed so out of place for the discussion, but I was waiting for Joey’s reaction. At
first, he just stared back at her blank-faced, and then a small smile turned up the corners of his mouth.
“She was beautiful.”
Scarlet nodded emphatically. “Oh my God, she was. Crazy about you, too. You being there was so
comforting to her.”
Joey nodded. Even in the dim light, I could see his eyes fill with tears.
Scarlet yawned. “Wow. Crazy how we all ended up here,” she said. She lay on the couch, and
used her bent arm as a pillow.
Joey and I stood; that was our cue. Joey walked a few steps toward the laundry room, and then
stopped and turned. “I don’t sleep much. You’re welcome to hang out downstairs with me, if you
want.”
I knew I shouldn’t. I looked to Scarlet for judgment or guidance, but her eyes were already closed.
“Okay,” I said, following him downstairs. I’d been up and down that stairway so many times since my
father had bought that ranch, but this time was different. My blood rose to the surface of my cheeks,
and burned hotter with every step. When we walked into the vast space of the finished basement, Joey
raised his arms.
“Welcome to my place.”
I smiled. “Technically, it’s my place.”
Joey sat on the floor, and I sat on the loveseat. I glanced to each side of me, amused that Scarlet
had to guess if he would fit. His legs from thighs down would have hung off the end.
We spent hours talking about how long my father had owned the ranch, how Ashley and I spent our