That happened pretty quick and Denny pulled over on a widened shoulder and the truck behind him shot past. But he stopped ahead of Denny and backed up, blocking him in. Mystery over, it was Jack’s truck. And Jack jumped out and stomped back to Denny’s truck.

“Oh, brother,” Denny muttered.

Jack stood in the middle of the road. He stared at Denny, hands on his hips. And Denny thought, Might as well get this over with. He got out of his truck. “I explained the best I could,” Denny said.

“I wouldn’t know about that,” Jack said. “Heard there was a letter. I haven’t seen it.”

“Then why are you chasing me down?”

Jack took a step toward him. “Because I want you to look me in the eye and tell me where I went wrong with you.”

“Huh?” Denny said, confused.

“Six months before you laid that father business on me, I was your friend. I kind of saw myself as a mentor, at least until you covered me with your body to keep me from being killed by falling liquor bottles during an earth-quake—that made me wonder who was mentoring who. I don’t remember ever putting any stipulations on the friendship, either. Far as I knew, we thought a lot alike, acted a lot alike. I thought it was the Corps. Then I thought it was just one of those things. Then I thought I was probably your father and that would explain it. Whatever it was, it was working just fine. Just a couple of guys. To tell the truth, I thought you had a similar connection with Preacher, with Jill, with Mel.”

“Look, Jack, it wasn’t your fault, okay?”

“I know it wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, Denny. It just worked out the details were not the same as we thought.”

“It was someone’s fault, just not ours! My mom! Maybe she had all the right reasons and maybe it was because she was sick, maybe it was because she was worried about me, maybe it was—”

“Maybe it was because we were close, me and your mom,” Jack interrupted. “Maybe she hoped I’d look out for you, if the worst happened. She wasn’t my girlfriend—I wasn’t her boyfriend. We weren’t lovers. We were better than the kind of lovers I had back then, when I was twenty and really couldn’t think like a man. We were good friends. I thought I told you—I knew you were there! Inside her! I said I’d do anything to help her get out of that bad situation! I’d give her money, get her a safe place to live, and because I was twenty and big and built and ready, I would’a been so happy to go over to her place and beat the living shit outta that guy who wasn’t good to her, but—” He stopped suddenly. “That wasn’t the kind of thing I’d offer to do for a stranger, for someone who meant nothing to me. Just look me in the eye and tell my why that isn’t enough for you. Why you’d take off in the dark of night.”

“I came up here to find my father,” Denny said. “I thought you were my father. I didn’t mean to mislead you, Jack. I was so sure….”

“So? What’s that got to do with anything? So there were a few details to sort out. Not your fault you didn’t have all the information.”

“Yeah, but I was looking for a place to belong,” he said. “I was looking for a connection. Everything back home seemed like it faded away. After my mom was gone, after breaking up with my girl so she wouldn’t worry about me in Afghanistan, after a lot of my friends moved on… With a father somewhere, there was a connection somewhere.” He shook his head. “I don’t really belong here, Jack. Any more than I belong anywhere.”

Jack frowned. “You feeling sorry for yourself?” he asked.

“What if I am?” Denny answered defensively.

Jack laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I thought I knew you better than that.” He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “I guess I could adopt you. It’d be awkward, you being well over twenty-one, but if you need some kind of legal—”

“Shit,” Denny said, “don’t you get it? I was looking for the real thing, not some pity thing!”

“Then grow up!” Jack stormed. “Friendship with me has always been real. No one has ever doubted my word before this! No one has ever needed a signature or a blood test or a sworn statement from me! No one has ever doubted my commitment! You’d let down a whole town just because you can’t seem to trust me to stick by you?”

“I’m not letting down a town….”

“A goodly part of one. Running out on Jillian at one of the toughest times in her life, that’s not real neighborly. We kind of got used to you coming around, hanging out with the family. My dad feels like he got himself a grown grandson—I doubt the way he feels about you is likely to change when the details come clear. Preacher—he treat you like you don’t belong? We put you on a little old lady’s couch to keep her safe at night—we don’t do that with someone we don’t have a lot of confidence in. Kind of looks like everyone but you felt you belonged.”

“It was artificial, in a way,” Denny said.

“Hey, it was from the heart, son. The best I had to offer, anyway. But if that’s not what you’re looking for, it’s all I got. You’ll do what you have to do. Maybe you can feel a stronger connection somewhere else.”

“I’m sorry if I let you down.”

“You did, son. I like the way things are between us. Liked the way it was before I thought I was your father, after I realized I wasn’t. All the same to me.”

“It’s not enough,” Denny said.

“It was enough for me.”

“I’m sorry. I was afraid of what would happen if I made a mistake. Guess this is what happens.”

Jack put out his hand. “Nothing ever changed as far as I was concerned. I wish you good luck. I’d like it if you kept in touch. That connection might take a lot longer to leave me than it does you.”

Denny took the hand. “Sure,” he said. “Of course I’ll be in touch.”

“Drive carefully.”

“Jack, there’s that letter I left, trying to explain…”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll keep it. But I’m not reading it.”

“Why?”

“Because we looked each other in the eyes and talked. Sometimes it’s what you feel, what you say to each other that weighs more than some sworn statement. This is more real to me. Goodbye, son. Take care.”

Jack checked in with the principle characters—Mel, Preacher, Jillian, Jo Fitch. He explained he’d caught up with Denny, tried to convince him to stay but failed. He also said Denny was doing what he wanted to do and that he was traveling safely.

Jillian delivered the sealed letter addressed to him later that morning. “Thanks,” he said. “Need help looking around for someone to work in the gardens?”

“I’ll be all right for now. I might have to hire someone in a week or two to clear another big plot so I can mulch it, get it ready for spring. I could wait till spring, but I like tenderized soil.”

“You might be able to talk one of the Bristols or Andersons into that, if that’s all you need. They’ll be plowing under some fields anyway. Let me know.”

“Thanks. Otherwise, there’s just harvesting to finish. I’ll be pulling and picking everything as the last of it continues to ripen. I can handle it. Luke’s helper, Art, might want to come over and work. He’s capable if I show him what to do. I’ll talk to Luke about that.”

“Good idea. Hear anything from Colin?”

“A couple of emails, some amazing pictures of wildlife. I’ll try to remember to forward on to your email if you write down the addy for me.”

“That’d be great.” He put the sealed envelope in his back pocket. “You doing all right?”

She smiled. “I’m a little lonelier now than I was yesterday, but I’m all right. First Colin, then Denny.” She shrugged. “Not everyone is content with the same old thing.”

“If you need me for anything, call,” Jack said. “Not a good time for you to feel overwhelmed…”

“Speaking of overwhelmed, I’m growing some of the biggest pumpkins in the county. I’m going to make up a poster for free pumpkins, decorate the house and grounds and hold a pumpkin picking party. When that comes around, I might need a little help.”

“Could be fun. We might get Preacher to load up the barbecues and make a day of it.”

“That would be awesome,” she said. “You know, I’ve had my ups and downs…more ups than downs… But this is a good place for me.”

“Yeah. I guess not for everybody, though—like Denny for example.”

“I know,” she said. “You going to be all right?”

“Yeah. I’m disappointed, but that’s the way it goes.”

She covered his hand with hers. “Hey, call if you need me. I’m a good listener.”

“Thanks,” he said. “We’ll be fine around here. Plenty to do to keep us busy.”

It being Virgin River, it didn’t take long for the word to get out regarding Denny’s clandestine departure. All day long, as people stopped in the bar for lunch or pie and coffee or a drink, they asked. “Hey, did I hear Denny took off for San Diego? He didn’t like it here?”

“San Diego is home for him, remember,” Jack said.

“I thought he was getting to think of this as home,” someone said.

“Apparently not quite,” Jack said.

“Think we’ll be hearing from him?” someone else asked.

“Of course!” Jack said, though he felt sadly doubtful. Their goodbye had felt very final.

At around two in the afternoon, when the bar was typically quiet, Mel walked across the street from the clinic to check on Jack. “Try not to be too upset with Denny, Jack. Young men are driven by all kinds of things. It probably doesn’t have anything to do with the realization that you’re not related by blood.”

“I’ve decided it’s a good thing,” Jack said. “I’ll miss the kid, no question about it, but if he’d stayed here just because he thought I was his biological father, it might not have been enough for him. You know? He should do everything he feels an itch to do and not be held in some little town by DNA.”

She leaned across the bar and kissed him. “Very wise,” she said.

But Jack wasn’t feeling wise. He felt like he was compensating. Compromising. He’d started to feel like one of the luckiest guys alive. Not only did he have a perfect little family, the best friends in the world, but he had a couple of amazing young men like Rick and Denny who looked up to him, felt that he was more than a friend, thought of him as worthy of being their father. Now they were both away doing what young men had to do to get their lives together. He wanted to just count his blessings, but he was a little disappointed. He went from slightly overwhelmed by his good fortune to a cup less than half full.

Until about four that afternoon. The door to the bar opened and who should walk in but the prodigal son. Denny wore a hangdog expression, hands shoved in his pockets, eyes downcast.

Jack quickly picked up a spotless glass and his towel, as a means of keeping his hands busy, to keep from grabbing the young man up into a fierce hug. He wasn’t sure he was able to keep the grin off his face, however. “How far did you get?” he asked Denny.

“Almost all the way to San Francisco,” he said.

“What turned you around?”

“Just some little, insignificant thing. Turns out the guy that really is my biological father not only never married my mother, never tried to support us after he left, but he also never once tried to have a relationship of any kind with me. I got in touch with him when my mom died. He said he was real sorry to hear that. That guy was my father, and he always seemed to ignore the fact. You, on the other hand, seemed real sorry to learn you weren’t my father.”

“True,” Jack said with a nod. “Once I got used to the idea, I liked it. You and Rick, a couple of guys a man would be proud to claim.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a pain in your ass.”

“Sons. I believe it’s one of those predictable things.”

“I do like it here,” Denny said. “I did feel like I belonged. I felt like you were at least a father figure. You didn’t have to make me feel that way, but you still did.”

“Don’t should on me, and I won’t should on you,” Jack said.

Denny laughed. “I hope you’re not too pissed.”

Jack put down the glass and rag and walked around the bar. He got real close to Denny. “I’m a little pissed, but I think I can get over it. People have been asking about you all day. They seemed disappointed that you were gone.”

“Really?”

“And Jillian needs help.”

“I’ll get right out there and try to explain.”

“And I need you, too. No particular reason.”

Denny’s eyes clouded a little. “Thanks, Jack.”

Jack grabbed a fistful of the kid’s shirt and pulled him hard against his chest, wrapping a big arm around him, hugging him closely, pounding his back. “You don’t ever have to thank me, son. You just have to be who you are. I’m good with that.”

Colin sent Jillian a picture of Mount Kilimanjaro with a note that said,

Someone else can climb her. But isn’t she spectacular? Nice pumpkins, baby. Love, Colin.

That message made her laugh so hard that Denny came to the kitchen to ask her if she was all right. She couldn’t bring herself to share his email, but not sharing made her feel guilty. Really, she still wanted the man all to herself!