Garrett reeled in his line

"Maybe."
Garrett reeled in his line, frustrated. "Weren't you the one who thought we should get married in the first place?"
"Yeah."
"So why are you questioning it now?"
"Because I want to make sure you're doing
it for the right reasons. Two days ago, you weren't even sure if you wanted to see her again. Now, you're ready for marriage. It just seems like a mighty big turnaround to me, and I want to make sure it's because of the way you feel about Theresa-and that it doesn't have anything to do with Catherine."
Bringing up her name stung a little.
"Catherine doesn't have anything to do with this," Garrett said quickly. He shook his head and sighed deeply. "You know, Dad, I don't understand you sometimes. You've been pushing me into this the whole time. You kept telling me I had to put the past behind me, that I had to find someone new. And now that I have, it seems like you're trying to talk me out of it."
Jeb put his free hand on Garrett's shoulder. "I'm not talking you out of anything, Garrett. I'm glad you found Theresa, I'm glad that you love her, and yes, I do hope that you end up marrying her. I just said that if you're going to get married, then you'd better be doing it for the right reasons. Marriage is between two people, not three. And it's not fair to her if you go into it otherwise."
It took a moment for him to respond.
"Dad, I want to get married because I love her. I want to spend my life with her."
His father stood silently for a long time, watching. Then he said something that made Garrett look away.
"So, in other words, you're telling me that you're completely over Catherine?"
Though he felt the expectant weight of his father's gaze, Garrett didn't know the answer.
* * *
"Are you tired?" Garrett asked.
He was lying on his bed as he spoke with Theresa, with only the bedside lamp turned on.
"Yeah, I got in just a little while ago. It was a long weekend."
"Did it turn out as well as you hoped it would?"
"I hope so. There's no way to tell just yet, but I did meet a lot of people who could eventually help me out with my column."
"It's a good thing you went, then."
"Good and bad. Most of the time, I wished I'd gone to visit you instead."
He smiled. "When do you leave for your parents'?"
"Wednesday morning. I'll be gone until Sunday."
"Are they looking forward to seeing you?"
"Yeah, they are. They haven't seen Kevin for almost a year, and I know they're looking forward to having him around for a few days."
"That's good."
There was a short pause.
"Garrett?"
"Yeah."
She spoke softly. "I just want you to know that I'm still really sorry about this weekend."
"I know."
"Can I make it up to you?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"Well . . . can you come up here to visit the weekend after Thanksgiving?"
"I suppose so."
"Good, because I'm going to plan a special weekend just for the two of us."
* * *
It was a weekend that neither of them would ever forget.
Theresa had called him more than usual in the preceding two weeks. Usually it had been Garrett who called, but it seemed that every time he'd wanted to talk to her, she had anticipated it. Twice, while he was walking to the phone to dial her number, it started ringing before he got there, and the second time it happened, he simply answered the phone with, "Hi, Theresa." It had surprised her, and they joked for a while about his psychic abilities before settling into an easy conversation.