“Yes.”
“You travel light.”
They retraced their steps across the lawn. When they were still a distance from the house, they saw Steve and Fran through the screen door. They were in each other’s arms, their mouths locked in a fervent kiss.
“Uh, maybe we ought to wait a minute before barging in.” Ty stopped at the redwood picnic table and set Sunny’s things on it. He sat down on the bench and guided her to sit down beside him.
The warm night closed in around them. The branches of the tree overhead were dense. From them cicadas sang their mating songs. There was just enough moon to cast wavering shadows over their faces in ever-changing patterns.
“You heard from Smithie, didn’t you?” Ty asked quietly.
Sunny looked up at him. His intuition had hit the bull’s-eye again. “How did you know?”
“And the news wasn’t good.”
Her mouth twisted with remorse. “No. The news wasn’t good. Amid a lot of effusive apologies and well-wishing, he turned me down.”
“Damn!”
She smiled humorlessly. “I’ve already said as much.”
“So what will you do?”
“I haven’t decided.” There was a vertical dent of worry between her brows. Her posture, the slight pucker of her lips, were testimonies to her dejection.
Ty propped his elbows on the table behind them and leaned back. “Why sweat it? Why put yourself through the humiliation of begging for money? Give up on the idea and consider yourself lucky that you won’t be responsible for a business. It would probably have been one colossal pain in the butt anyway. You would—”
“I can’t give it up,” she cried angrily. “What are you talking about? Consider myself lucky,” she scoffed. “I want to be responsible. I want—” She broke off when she noticed his wide, white smile. “You were playing devil’s advocate, weren’t you?”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
She ducked her head shyly. “I guess I just made up my mind.”
“No, your mind was made up a long time ago. You won’t quit until you have succeeded. All I did was remind you of that.”
“I can’t give up yet, Ty, I just can’t,” she said fiercely. When she realized that her hand was on his thigh, squeezing it to emphasize her determination, she hastily removed it.
After a long, quiet moment, he said, “Must be nice.”
“What?” Sunny raised her head to look at him, then followed his steadfast gaze to the back of the house, where Fran and Steve, still with their arms around each other and rocking slightly back and forth, were whispering together.
“Oh. Yes.” Sunny was uncomfortably aware that Ty’s hand was idly strumming her back.
“In a way I envy them,” he said. “The love affair. The marriage.”
“Yeah, it must be really tough, being the town stud.”
“Is that what I am?”
“Aren’t you?”
“I get my share.”
“I don’t doubt it for a minute.”
Still looking through the screen door at the embracing couple, Ty said musingly, “Sometimes I think it might be nice to sleep with the same woman every night. But I suppose it would eventually get boring.”
“It wouldn’t have to.” Sunny was dismayed over his caustic attitude toward marriage.