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“Dear Luke,” Brandon read. “Each day with you gets better and better. Our adventure today still makes me smile from ear to ear when I think of it, sitting alone here in this lonely old house. How I wish that you could come and live with me—but no, I know that’s an impossibility. What fun it would be, though! You and I, together all the time with no separations. Perhaps I can convince you one day.”

He stopped. “It’s just like when you and I met,” he said quietly. “I wanted you more than anything, but you were Zillah’s brother, and I thought she would eat me alive if she thought I was dallying with her family. That woman is a force of nature.”

“She doesn’t say much except when she’s upset, but yeah. And this is eerie, man.” Poke, poke at the bacon. The fat meat sizzled and popped at him. “Go on.”

Brandon cleared his throat. “The inks are a bit faded. But here we are: I’ll never forget what we did. You and I walking down the stream that runs through the woods, following its path from one end to where it leads into the French Broad River. The way you walked in front of me, so careful to make sure I didn’t step on any glass from broken bottles or sharp rocks. I knew I had nothing to fear with you by my side, though. You wouldn’t let a thing hurt me if you could avoid it.” He put the letter down. “We’ve done that very thing.”

“I know.” Luke turned the bacon over as it began to smoke. Damn. He had to pay closer attention to what he was doing. “I remember.”

Brandon went on. “And then, when you slipped and accidentally brought me down with you, how we laughed as we were soaked in the water. I can still see the droplets sparkling on your face as you shook your head to dry it, and I can yet taste the sweetness of your lips when you kissed me as an apology for getting me wet. Not that I minded, not one little bit. I was with you, and that was all that mattered. Perhaps we can do it again someday.”

He closed the letter and coughed slightly. “We never did walk that stream again, you and I. We always meant to, but there was always something that came first.”

Luke closed his eyes briefly. The memory was crystal-clear in his mind’s eye. It’d been a few years, but he remembered the events as if they’d happened yesterday. “When was that one dated?”

He heard a rustle as Brandon checked. “June of 1948.”