It was too cold to sit still, so Walt suggested we take a walk. We stood, and he took my hand. It was a sweet gesture, something I’d forgotten about him. He had always been that way, quick to soothe, to smooth things over, whereas I tended to bulldoze my way through things and assume the worst.
We took care of the animals and wandered down to a small lake on another part of the farm.
“Remember when we were eight and used to sneak off to go skinny dipping?” Walt asked.
I laughed. “Yeah. We’d get our asses blistered every time. I should have known you were trouble then.” I nudged his shoulder, and he nudged me back.
“Thick as thieves, we were.”
We stopped at the edge.
“You’ve heard nothing at all from Bree in all this time?” I may hate the woman, but she was still Casey’s mother. I cou
