Homecoming Read Online Free PDF

he’d needed to, always being bean-stalk thin. And he finally had a decent haircut, with his wavy dark red hair lying down neatly. The mustache and goatee were a surprise, with the hair there brown with a little gray mixed in.
    “I’m sorry I was such a wuss,” he grumbled, staring at the aged stone floor.
    She put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him in for a hug, with his body relaxing against hers as they held each other for a minute. “It’s all right. I know you hate parties.”
    Jill released him and he moved back over to his big, brick forge. The same one old Mr. Rooney and his predecessors had labored at. The fire had started, but without him tending it, it wasn’t up to snuff. Jill watched as Mark expertly arranged another course of kindling and paper, then added a split log as the small pieces caught. He stepped back as the flames rose, then clapped the dirt from his hands.
    “Yeah, I was uncomfortable, but that’s no excuse.” He shrugged. “I saw you come in and was going to come over, but I thought I’d wait until you were finished talking to Lisa.” Shrugging again, he said, “Then you got waylaid by Beth, and I couldn’t stand to be in that big crowd any longer.”
    “Where’d you go?” she asked gently.
    “I was out in the backyard for a while, then went down by the river.” His eyes met hers.
    “You saw me go to my car, didn’t you.”
    “Yeah. But by then it was too late. That would have really looked stupid.”
    Jill once more gripped his shoulder. “I’ve seen you eat paste. You don’t ever have to worry about looking stupid around me.”
    He started to laugh, finally loosening up a little. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.” He poked at the fire, acting like it needed constant attention. “Lisa told me you don’t have kids, my dad told me you were gorgeous, my mom told me you were single, and Beth told me you had a big job at the U. Anything else I should know?”
    “Yeah.” She put her hands on his shoulders, just to hold him still. “I was hurt. Very hurt, when you ditched me after we graduated. But I’m over that. I love you and I love your family. I’d like to see all of you again. What do you think?”
    “I…” He sucked his lower lip into his mouth and chewed on it for a few seconds. “I’d like that.” Their eyes met. “You know that, right? You know I never wanted to…” His cheeks flushed, their color almost matching his hair.
    “I know Lisa’s not crazy about me. I can’t say why, given that I barely said two words to her in high school, but…whatever.”
    “Maybe that’s it,” he said, clearly guessing. “She was a year younger. Maybe she wanted you to notice her.”
    “Yeah, maybe.” She wasn’t going to tell Mark that she’d always thought Lisa was a prissy jerk, but he couldn’t have been dumb enough not to have noticed by now. Lisa was a decent looking girl, but she had an ugly mean streak that she always wrapped up in her religious convictions, which she wore on her sleeve. “Are you guys still involved at church?”
    “Oh, yeah. Lisa spends most of her day over there, when she’s not dragging the kids around. She’s got a hand in everything.”
    “I bet she does.” The fire had settled down, and Jill watched Mark tend it for a few seconds. “I recognize some of these machines,” she said, when she had his attention again. “But some of them are new.”
    “Yeah, this TIG welder’s pretty new. Old man Rooney did everything by hand. But I’m trying to expand the business.” He went over to a side bench and picked up a graceful candelabra made from forged iron. At the end of each curved rod was a marker for a lobster trap. “I’m making these for a woman who runs a shop up in Maine on the coast. She sells all I can make.”
    “Nice,” Jill said, admiring the piece. “This wouldn’t fit in my house, but I’d love to have one of your creations.”
    “I’ll make you whatever you want,” he said, eager, as always, to