Coming Home to Love (Lakeside Porch Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

And when I can shake with my right hand, I’ll do that again.”
    “Just see that you’re good to the lass.” Justin heard his British accent come out.
    “I plan to be.”
    “Bridey would have loved her.” Justin’s voice caught. “Having Manda in our lives is a little like having Bridey back with us.”
    “I believe you mean that.” Joel studied his face.
    “Indeed, I do.”
    “There’s that accent again. Do you even know when you’re doing that?”
    Justin had lived in London several times, but the accent came and went randomly. He barked a laugh, “Some psychologist would love to analyze it, I dare say.”
    “Seriously, what is this illness that kept you away while I was in the coma?” Joel’s voice was light, but Justin saw the worry lines in his forehead.
    “Funny thing. Not one of my doctors has offered a believable diagnosis, but our goddess Gianessa believes it’s a food intolerance. Wheat or gluten. She’s given me two pages of instructions, plus menus, a list of cookbooks, and an offer of cooking lessons. She wants me to have some awful tests at Clifton Springs.” He shuddered for effect.
    “How did Ms. Dupioni come to that conclusion?”
    So she’s Gianessa Dupioni? “Dupioni as in ‘silk’ or as in ‘duplicitous’?”
    “Gianessa, duplicitous? Maybe you should see a psychologist. It’s Dupioni, like naturally flawed silk, stunning in its beauty, artfully arranged as only a Northern Italian woman can be. Her father came to this country from the heartland of the Italian fashion industry.”
    “He’s in fashion?”
    “He has a restaurant.”
    “And is Ms. Dupioni married? Divorced?”
    “She’s doing her best to recover from devastating personal losses, and I’ll thank you to consider her off limits.” Joel’s tone left no room for argument.
    “I heard that.” Maybe it’s temporary. I’ll check back . “As for the gluten thing, she nailed my symptoms, including the weight loss and muscle depletion and fatigue. And when she learned that my symptoms stopped and reversed themselves during my months in Indonesia, she suspected grains we used in the West, such as wheat and barley and rye.”
    “Perhaps that’s why you gave up beer.”
    Justin guffawed. “Never thought of that. It did make me puke. Whiskeys as well. And now I’m done with alcohol, just as you are. Haven’t had a drink in six or seven years.”
    “You’re not saying you’re an alcoholic?”
    “I don’t know. I lost myself out there somewhere in the world of high finance, and I thought I’d find myself again when I stopped drinking. But I haven’t yet, and I need to quit high finance, too. It holds nothing for me anymore. I need to be here, to learn from you.”
    Joel’s open mouth and furrowed brow told Justin he hadn’t seen that coming. “Learn what from me?” Joel probed.
    “Learn how to care about people the way you do. How to feel with my heart without it being too painful to bear. And anything else you have to teach me.” He stood abruptly and shoved his hands in the pockets of his overcoat. “You’re getting tired. I should go.”
    “Bullshit. You’re getting to the truth. Take your coat off. Stay a while. Let’s get room service and catch up with each other.”
    Justin chuckled.
    “You think I’m kidding? I’ve bribed one of the aides. Shauna will make a run on demand to that coffee shop near Mt. Hope Cemetery I told you about.”
    “Good place. Manda and I ate lunch there. Great salads. My favorite is the Frederick Douglass. Without the croutons now, I suppose. You?”
    “The Susan B. Anthony. You make the call. I’ll page Shauna.”
    Once Shauna was dispatched for their salads, Joel found a comfortable position, and Justin settled back in the armchair.
    Joel spoke first. “Why quit the work you’ve done for decades? You thrived on it. Making deals, sniffing out opportunities, financing new ventures, getting appointed to corporate boards, raking in millions. Billions for