I was so tired the next morning. I was dragging, truly dragging. I had resolved before I fell asleep

that I would get up without being called the next morning, and get started on my homework. I didn't want to

give Adam any more reason to think about me being late getting home.

But, though that was my plan, I wasn't successful at it. I was still sleeping when I heard a rapping

on my door, and somebody hollering for me to get up.

I twisted, squinting at my alarm clock. Apparently, I had slept right thru the ringing. I half-sat up,

and then, that's all the further I managed. I was still sitting like that, trying to motivate myself

to get moving, when the door opened without warning.

"You up?" Crane asked, standing there in the doorway.

"I'm up."

"Not very far up," he denied. "Come on. Feet on the floor."

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up. "Feet on the floor," I said.

"Shift into high gear," he said, and went back down the hall.

When Crane had gone, I grabbed my clean clothes for school and went down the hall

to the bathroom, intent on taking a quick shower. That's exactly what I did, mostly because

there was absolutely no hot water left, and the freezing water made taking a longer shower

very unappealing.

After I got dressed, I went down the stairs, wrapping my hair into a messy bun at the back

of my neck.

I stopped by where I'd laid down my backpack the night before, on the end of one of the

couches. Taking out a science worksheet, I started working on it, sitting at Crane's desk.

Brian came into the living room, and saw me sitting there. When I looked up at him,

he frowned.

"I was just about to yell for you," he said. "Come eat breakfast."

"Okay," I said, laying down my pen, and following behind him as he walked back towards the

kitchen.

"This gettin' home late from places has gotten to be a habit with you lately," he said, turning

back slightly to give me a look.

"I was taking some notes," I said.

"I know that's what you told Adam," he said.

I stopped walking to look at him, and he paused, too.

"I did have to take some notes after class was over!" I insisted.

"How come?" he asked.

"What?" I asked, blinking at him, feeling like my brain was foggy from lack of sleep.

"How come you had to take notes when class was over?" he asked, seemingly patiently. "Why

didn't you take them during class like you're supposed to?"

I looked up at him, trying to clear my thoughts, and realizing that I'd walked right into

the trap of his questioning.

I'd have to lie. That was all there was to it. But while my mind was scrambling for a lie to

tell, an excuse to give that would sound plausible, Brian reached out and took my chin

in his hand, tipping my head up.

"You're thinkin' about lying to me," he said, sort of quietly, and I felt my face flush

hot. I HAD been going to lie. And to Brian, of all people. And he knew it, too. There was

no point to me denying it. But I still tried.

I said, "No, I wasn't going to lie. And there's a good reason I had to do notes after class."

He raised a questioning eyebrow. "Uh huh?" he asked, taking his hand from my chin.

"It's not something I can tell you about in just a couple of minutes," I said.

Hannah came to the doorway of the kitchen. "Harlie," she said, seeing Brian and I standing

there. "Come and eat right now. You're going to be late."

I was glad for the reprieve, and started past Brian. He didn't attempt to stop me. He just

said, in what I found to be an ominous tone, "We need to have a serious talk real soon if you're thinkin'

you can start lying to me."

"I don't think that," I muttered, crossly, as I went on toward the crowded kitchen. "I know that's grounds

for murder as far as you're concerned."

"Maybe not murder," he said. "But you might wish it was by the time I'm done with you."

I shot him a glance, unable to hide my horrified expression. He didn't look particularly angry.

Just serious, and stern. Really, really stern.

I stopped again, wishing he didn't have the ability to intimidate me so. I knew I couldn't go on

keeping Karissa a secret from them. If I did, I was just going to succeed in getting myself into trouble. As it

was, I hoped that when I told them about her, they wouldn't consider that keeping quiet this long

had been like lying.

"Bri-" I began.

"Harlie, come on!" Hannah said again, appearing right behind me. "Guthrie's going to be ready

to go, and you haven't even eaten yet."

"I actually DO need to talk to you and Adam about something," I said, in a rush, looking up at Brian.

He nodded, and for a moment neither one of us said anything. He just gave me 'that look'.

"Adam said tonight would be good to talk," I said, nervously.

"Okay." He didn't say anymore, and I went to sit down in my seat at the table. I let the talk at the

table float around me, and concentrated on eating eggs and toast, and a glass of juice. Sometimes, it

seems like I don't eat so much for hunger, but because I know if I don't eat that I'll start feeling bad,

and my diabetes will be all messed up.

"You need to go to bed early tonight," Hannah said, eating her own eggs.

"I will."

"You say that, but you never do," she denied.

"I will tonight," I promised.

"You're not invincible, Harlie. Just because you're young doesn't mean you don't need to

take care of yourself," Hannah went on, spreading jelly on her toast, and giving me a serious look.

I was so tired, and feeling really grouchy. I had to bite my lip to keep from spouting off to

Hannah. I was just so not in the mood for any more lectures.

I knew she was only speaking out of concern, though, and worry. So I nodded in response

to her comment.

Guthrie nudged me in the side. "Leavin' in fifteen minutes," he told me, swigging down the

rest of his milk.

I nodded, and finished eating, and then went to gather up my science worksheet that I'd started

on, shoving it back into my backpack.

Adam was waiting at the door, cup of coffee in hand, to see Guthrie and I off for the day, as

was his usual habit.

"Homework didn't get all done, did it?" he asked quietly.

I sighed tiredly. I knew that was one of those rhetorical questions that wasn't really

a question at all.

"No."

As he gave me a dad-type look, I said, "I'll work on it on the way to school. And at study hall."

"Well, we'll have that talk tonight," he reminded me.

"Okay."

"Have a good day," he said, like he does every day.

"You too," I said, replying in my customary way. I would have stopped at my truck

to grab at least one of those picture albums to show Guthrie, but Adam was still standing on the

porch, watching, so I just got into Guthrie's truck, and slammed the door. Really, really hard.

"Hey, easy," Guthrie said. "My old truck can't take that kind of abuse."

"Sorry."

I started working furiously on the science worksheet as we drove.

"Can you stop at the gas station?" I asked him. "I need some coffee."

"I guess we've got time," he said, sounding reluctant.

"I need to tell you about last night," I said, and the rest of the ride I filled Guthrie in

on what Karissa had talked about, and told him about all those photo albums.

"Wow," he said.

"We can look at them tonight," I said.

"Is that why you were late last night?" he asked me. "Because you were lookin' at them?"

"Yeah. She kept wanting to show me certain pictures, and then she'd get sidetracked, and start

talking about other ones. I didn't know how to hurry her along without being rude."

"Adam was really pissed about you bein' late again. You're lucky you didn't get

grounded," Guthrie pointed out.

"He said something about it," I admitted. "But then he softened up."

"I wouldn't keep pushin' him, though," Guthrie advised. "His patience won't last

forever."

"I'm going to talk to him and Brian tonight," I said. "And tell them about Karissa. You'll

be there with me, won't you?"

"Yeah."

After a couple of moments, Guthrie said, "It'd be nice, to hear more stories about mom. And

havin' the pictures, that'll be good, too."

I knew then that Guthrie was interested, that he wasn't as indifferent to Karissa's

appearance as he'd tried to portray.

"I'm glad you're gonna tell the family about her showing up, too," he went on. "It didn't feel

right to keep it from them." After a pause, he asked, "What I want to know is, how come she

showed up now? Just out of the blue?"

"She just got divorced. She said she's lonely. And she doesn't have any kids of her own, so

she'd like to be a part of us."

"Still sounds funny to me," Guthrie said with suspicion.

"What if they still don't want her to come around, though?" I worried, ignoring his last comment.

"Well, what did she tell you when you asked her the reason?" Guthrie asked.

"Something about buying me a dress that they didn't want me to have. And how

they wouldn't let her help. I don't know," I said, my voice trailing off as I saw Guthrie

shaking his head.

"So she evaded it again," he said, sounding disgusted.

"She says she didn't like the way they were raising me-" I began.

"It wasn't her say-so how they raised us," Guthrie said, in defense of Adam and Brian.

"Not us, Guth. Me."

Guthrie pulled into the school parking lot and parked, turning to look at me.

"What's that mean?" he asked.

"She said she didn't think I should be around just all the guys growing up. That I should

have a woman to help with me." I let my voice trail off again at the look on Guthrie's face.

He looked puzzled, and I hurried to explain so that his feelings wouldn't be hurt.

"She worried about you, too," I assured him. "And Ford."

"Well, whatever it was that they disagreed on, hopefully they can put it aside," Guthrie

said, and I thought how mature and grownup he sounded.

"I hope so, too," I said fervently, and as Guthrie and I walked into the school together, I remembered

that he hadn't stopped to get my coffee.

7

I struggled to stay awake thru the first two hours, and was thankful when Mrs. Lindsey, who

teaches Home Economics, said that we could make a pot of coffee while we helped her decorate the

bulletin boards. Drinking two cups helped a little, and I was able to manage the rest of the morning

being more wide-awake.

Talk over lunch centered on a party that one of the girls was having on Friday night. I mostly listened while

Chelsea and Miranda talked about it, Miranda being the one that was having it.

When they asked Kristin if she was coming, she shook her head. "I have to work."

"How about you, Harlie?" Miranda asked.

"I doubt it."

"You never go to any of the parties, do you?" she asked.

Miranda is a newer student to the school, only being here about two months, since the Christmas break. I

wasn't that well acquainted with her yet.

I shrugged. "I've been to one or two."

At Miranda's questioning look, I said, "I just don't see the point really. Everybody just seeing

how drunk they can get."

"My party is going to be way cooler than that. If it's warm enough, we're going to have a bonfire

at our lake. My dad's even getting some boats for us. You know, those pedal boats, and a few

canoes," Miranda said.

"Oh," I said, thinking that it did sound like fun.

"You should come," Miranda encouraged me.

"Come where?" Lori asked, as she and Trent walked up to join our table, followed by Guthrie,

who sat down beside Kristin.

Miranda went on talking about her party, and how much fun it was going to be. I watched Guthrie,

but he didn't show any reaction, one way or the other.

When I came out of school that afternoon, I was only halfway across the parking lot when

I saw Karissa's car parked across the street, in the same spot it had been in several days

before.

I walked across the street, and tapped on the window, startling her. She opened the door

and got out. She was wearing a slim gray skirt, and a very expensive looking sweater. And really

tall heels.

"Hello, sweetheart," she greeted me. "I wasn't watching for you. Are you out early today?"

"Just a couple of minutes early."

"Oh. Well, it's so good to see you." She was smiling, and acting, I thought, as if she hadn't seen

me just the night before.

"Did the sweater fit?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get a chance to try it on yet," I explained. "It was late when I got home, and

then I had school-"

"That's alright. If you don't like the way it fits, we can return it and get another size. Or another color

if you'd like."

I wasn't used to having someone cater to me like she did. If I was honest, I'd have to admit that

I did sort of enjoy it.

"I like the color fine," I assured her.

"Would you like to go get a bite to eat?" she asked.

"I can't," I said, and her face showed her disappointment.

"I have chores," I tried to explain. "And lots of homework. I didn't get last night's homework finished,

so now I'm behind."

"Oh, sure, I understand. What are your weekend plans?" She leaned back against her car, crossing her

ankles, and lighting a cigarette. She looked so sophisticated. And she really was an attractive woman, I

thought.

"I don't know," I said. "There's always a lot to do on the weekends. I try to help Hannah with the

baby, and I always have homework to catch up on."

"No time for fun?" Karissa asked.

"Taking care of Isaac is fun," I told her.

"I mean dates, and parties. Isn't there any time for those things?"

"Sometimes," I said, and turned to look over as Guthrie was nearly to his truck, walking with

Lonnie.

I called to him. "Guthrie! I'm over here!"

Guthrie looked towards me, and lifted his hand in an acknowledging wave.

I thought, or rather I hoped, that Guthrie would come over to join us, to say hello to Karissa. He

didn't though. He just stood where he was, talking to Lonnie, and some of the other boys. I turned back

towards Karissa, hoping that her feelings weren't hurt by that. She didn't even seem to notice.

"Are you dating any special boy?" she asked me.

"Not really," I said. "Once in awhile I go out with Kenny."

"Kenny?" she asked, with a smile.

"I've known Kenny since the fifth grade. He's nice, but it's nothing serious or anything."

"You've got plenty of time to be serious. This is when you should be having fun. Going out with

lots of boys. As mature as you are, maybe an older one?" she asked.

Without thinking first, I made a huffing sound of dismissal. "That wouldn't work. They wouldn't

like it. Especially Evan and Daniel."

She looked at me questioningly, and I shrugged. "They don't think I should go out with anybody

that's more than a year older than I am."

"I see." She tossed her cigarette to the ground, stepping on it with the toe of her high heel shoe. "How is Evan? You

haven't said much about him to me."

"Evan's good," I said. "He's working on breaking some horses for a rancher over by Angels Camp. He was

doing the rodeo circuit last year, but he broke his collarbone, so he's been taking a little bit of a break."

Karissa looked amused. "You're very enthusiastic about your brothers. You must get along very well

with Evan."

"We do now," I said, and then thought of the rotten apple tossing incident. "But I could tell you

some stories about when we didn't-wow!"

Karissa lost her amused look. "I'd like to hear those stories, Harlie. All of them. Every single

story about you, happy or sad."

For a moment I felt awkward. She seemed so sad again all of a sudden.

"I can tell you lots of stories," I assured her. I was thinking how nice it would be if she could

come to dinner on a Sunday afternoon at home sometime. Well, it would be nice as long as

she didn't insult any of the guys, and as long as they were polite and welcoming to her.

The sound of a horn honking had me looking towards Guthrie's truck. He motioned me

to come.

"I've got to be going," I said.

She nodded, and I felt compelled to be honest with her. "I'm going to talk to Adam and Brian

tonight."

"About me?" she asked, looking slightly alarmed.

"Well, yes. Adam can tell there's been something on my mind lately, and I don't want to keep

on, with them not knowing. It's too much like lying to them."

When she didn't say anything, I asked, "You understand, don't you?"

"I do understand. I'm just worried about what they might say."

"Adam's one of the fairest people that I know. He'll be reasonable," I said.

"You're very sure of that," Karissa said, her tone evident that she wasn't sure at all.

"I am sure. I believe in them," I said, stalwartly.

"Perhaps just a little while longer?" she asked then. "Before you break it to them about

me approaching you?"

I couldn't believe that she was still asking me that, when I'd just gotten finished explaining to

her why I needed to tell them.

"I can't," I said.

"Alright," she said, sounding resigned. "I was hoping we could go shopping on Saturday. And, I

had thought about taking you by the house where Kate and I grew up."

That caught my interest. "The house in Marklesville?" I asked.

At her nod, I said, "I'd like to see it."

"It's for sale. The real estate company that I used to work for has the contract on it, so we could even go inside and look around."

"Wow, that would be great," I said.

"How about going on Saturday, then?" she asked, looking hopeful.

"Maybe," I said, thinking that if I talked to Adam and Brian tonight about everything, maybe, possibly,

they might agree to me going with Karissa for the day on Saturday. To see the house where Mom grew up. Maybe

Guthrie would go, too. They'd probably be more inclined to agree if Guthrie was with me.

"That would be wonderful," Karissa said. "And we can go to lunch afterwards."

I was thinking of my now-usual chore of going to get the feed on Saturday mornings.

"It might be the afternoon before I can go," I said. "I usually go pick up all the feed on Saturday mornings."

"That's fine."

I hesitated, and then added, honestly, "I'll have to ask first, if I can go."

Before Karissa could reply, Guthrie walked across the street and up beside us.

"Hello, Guthrie," Karissa greeted him.

"Hi."

"How are you today?" Karissa asked him, but I thought she sounded a bit forced.

"Fine, thanks. How are you?" Guthrie asked.

"I'm fine, as well."

"That's good." Guthrie looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, we need to get goin'," he said, in a

general way, but he looked at me when he said it.

We said our goodbyes, and since Karissa's last comment was how she was looking forward

to Saturday, as soon as we were alone Guthrie jumped right on that.

"What's Saturday?" he demanded, starting his truck, and moving out onto the road in front

of the high school.

"She wants to show me the house where Mom grew up."

"All that way?" Guthrie asked, sounding dubious.

"It's only a couple of hours," I defended.

"You can't just take off and go two hours away without askin' Adam," Guthrie said.

"I went to Modesto last night to eat with her," I said, and was rewarded for my honesty

by a dark scowl from Guthrie.

"You shouldn't have done that," he said.

"Why?" I asked, honestly perplexed.

"Because. For one thing, you don't know her all that well. And-"

"So you think she's some kind of a kidnapper or something?" I interrupted him to scoff. "No kidnapper would get a cent out

of our family-"

"Listen up," Guthrie told me, and then added, "Listen!" more vehemently

to me as I opened my mouth to say something.

"I know she's our aunt, and everything," Guthrie went on, "but she's still almost like a stranger,

really, if you think about it. You don't know what kind of a person she is."

"She's mama's sister!" I couldn't help protesting.

"That doesn't mean anything," he said firmly.

"You're crazy! It means EVERYTHING!" I said, raising my voice.

"Shut up!" Guthrie said, raising his voice, too, and I was so surprised that I did shut up.

"And for another thing," Guthrie went on, "you shouldn't have gone to Modesto or anywhere

with her when Adam and Brian and everybody don't even know anything about her being around."

I crossed my arms and stared straight ahead. I was peeved at Guthrie. Never mind that

what he said was probably right. I was still peeved. And I was determined to stay quiet the

rest of the ride home.

"I thought you were just meetin' up with her before your class last night," he said. "If I'd

known you were gonna go to Modesto, well, I wouldn't have let you go."

I twisted in the seat to glare at Guthrie.

"LET me?!" I yelled. "What do you mean, you wouldn't have let me?!"

7