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to fix it. Or, if I even can.” The ale had deadened the ache he carried around inside whenever he thought of Kelly. He’d tried to bury it, but it wouldn’t stay buried.
    “Man, you don’t even sound like yourself, Steve. We gotta get you back.”
    “High noon. Basketball courts at the gym. Pickup game,” Marty declared, pointing at them both.
    “Done,” Greg said, saluting Steve and Marty with his beer bottle. “You’re gettin’ back.”
    “Then you can give it another shot with Kelly,” Pete said.
    “Yeah, so you’ll no longer be two ships passing . . .” Marty gestured until Megan punched him in the arm.
    “Enough with those ships,” she chided.
    “Pete got to say it,” Marty feigned petulance.
    “Pete’s got a certain . . . way with words,” Megan gave a little shrug.
    “I like that,” Pete nodded.
    “And I don’t?” Marty said, aghast. “I’m a lawyer !”
    “That’s too many words,” Greg shook his head.
    “Waaaay too many.” Lisa grinned, then upended her beer.
    Steve felt his friends’ good humor and laughter start to penetrate the black hole that he’d crawled into. He had to come back home more often. He missed this. No wonder he worked so late at night. Going back to his empty apartment was too sad.
    “How’s she doing?” he asked after a moment.
    “She’s in Denver most of the week,” Greg said.
    “Working all the time, like you,” Marty added.
    “She’s doing great, actually,” Lisa replied. “This Warner guy has involved her in everything he’s doing, apparently. She was complaining about the meetings, too.”
    Steve rubbed his forehead. “Damn. I’m such an idiot.” “Yeah, we know.” Lisa said. “But don’t let that stop you from turning around and saying ‘hello’ at the next meeting.”
    Steve shook his head. “I don’t know, guys. She probably doesn’t want to talk to me. And . . . and I don’t even know what I’d say to her.”
    “How about ‘I’m sorry’ for starters,” Marty suggested quietly.
    Steve snorted. “I don’t think ‘sorry’ is gonna cut it. I don’t know if I’ve got a chance.”
    “Steve, you gotta stop talking like that,” Greg said, leaning his arms on his legs. “I’ve never seen you give up before.”
    Jennifer turned to Steve with a dramatic expression. “Yeah, Steve, s nap out of it !” she ordered.
    At that, everyone burst into laughter. Steve joined his friends, even though the laughter was directed at him. It still felt good.

Three

    “So, you think your client Turner will accept Housemann’s offer?” Kelly asked as she looked out the car window at the reddish brown walls of Poudre Canyon.
    Jennifer steered her compact car around a curve. Snow was still on the ground here in the canyon. Snow always stayed longer in the canyons surrounding Fort Connor. Poudre Canyon and Bellevue Canyon both climbed higher than Fort Connor’s five-thousand-feet altitude. The same was true for all the mountain towns west of Denver and Fort Connor. They were the high country, and they always got the snow first and kept it longer. That’s why skiers and snowboarders flocked there when the first snowflakes arrived in the fall.
    “Yeah, it sounds like it. I mean, Housemann met Turner’s price. Nothing’s involved that will slow things down. Thank God.”
    “That’s good for you, Jen. You’ll get your money faster. When’s the closing date? You should be able to close pretty quickly.”
    “The contract closing date is a couple of weeks from now, and I can’t think of any reason Turner would want to delay. Housemann’s met his price with no contingencies.”
    Jennifer’s cell phone rang in her lap, and she slowed her car’s speed. “Jennifer Stroud here,” she answered. “Hi, Anita, what’s up?”
    Kelly stared out the window again, observing patches of brown grass where the sun had melted the snow along the sides of the road. The Poudre River, which ran alongside the road, had chunks of ice, but the