Teo tilted his beer to his mouth, draining half of it in a single swallow. “And you? How often did you get up here before this summer?”
Ryan studied the tips of his boots self-consciously. “Same as Brad and Mark. Funerals and weddings, mostly. I had a lot of really good excuses and justifications for why I didn’t visit more often. But they all boil down to the fact that I just never made the time.”
“You had John, too,” Teo said. “I suppose if I still had Carmen, I might not have been as quick to get back to the land.”
This was the first time Teo had mentioned his wife by name, and it made the muscles in Ryan’s stomach clench. He wasn’t sure why. Jealousy of her memory? Or was he just thrilled that Teo was letting him in a little bit?
“Yeah. And John…he was a city boy, through and throu
