After Ford told me about Cal Tech, I was sort of quiet. He turned on the television to an old western with the Cisco Kid, and we

sat together, just watching that. Though my mind wasn't really on the show.

It was only a little while after that we heard the dogs barking, and saw headlights turning into the driveway.

"They're home," I said, instantly tensing up, wondering if the talk with Karissa had been a disaster.

I went to open the front door, to see that it was only Brian returning in Clare's little sports car.

I switched on the porch light, waiting till he came up the front steps, and then stepping aside so he could walk past me

into the living room.

"Hey," he greeted me.

"Hi."

I shut the door behind him, as he started shrugging out of his jacket.

"Where's everybody else?" I asked.

"Adam and Hannah were gonna drop Crane off somewhere and then they were goin' out for awhile."

I wondered what Adam and Hannah were going to do. They don't often go out in the evenings, especially since Isaac's

been born.

"Oh," I said. I hadn't thought about the fact that they might not all come home together.

"Where's Clare?" Brian asked me then, hanging up his jacket.

"Upstairs. She was giving Isaac a bath earlier."

"Okay." He made a move as if to start for the stairs. I was still standing there, just looking at him. Wondering if he was actually

going to say nothing at all about what had happened.

I guess he took pity on me or something, because he sighed, and said, "It wasn't horrible. And it wasn't great, either."

"Oh," I said, wondering just exactly what that meant.

"Yeah." He gave me a long look, and then sighed again. "We'll talk to you about it in the morning, alright? All of us together."

That wasn't what I wanted. But there was a tenseness around Brian's eyes, and I knew he was in no mood to be nagged at.

"Okay," I said, reluctantly.

"Okay," he echoed. "Don't stay up too late," he added.

I nodded, and he reached out to run a hand down my cheek.

"Night, peach," he said.

I told him good night, and watched as he went on up the stairs, saying goodnight to Ford, too.

I went back over to plop down next to Ford on the couch, feeling all wound up, and frustrated.

"Try not to let it get to you," Ford told me quietly.

I shrugged, not answering.

"You'll find out in the morning how it went," he reminded me.

"Unless they find another excuse to not talk then," I muttered.

Ford didn't say anything, but when I looked at him, he was frowning, looking disapprovingly at me.

I looked pointedly away from him, staring at the Cisco Kid on the television.

7

In the morning, I woke up before my alarm went off, going down the hall to the bathroom, and then back to my room to get dressed. I could hear

murmurings as the house began to wake up and people were moving around.

I pulled on my jeans and boots, and an old Willie Nelson t-shirt. I went downstairs without running into anybody else, until I opened the front door to see

if Clarence was in his customary spot. Which he was, blue blanket nearly covering his head.

"Good morning, buddy," I greeted him, crouching down to pet him. Clarence obligingly rolled over, so as to make it more convenient for me to scratch

his belly.

I was rubbing his stomach, when I heard voices coming from the direction of the barn. Adam and Brian appeared from the corner, where Brian latched the gate

behind them. They stood talking for another couple of minutes. I couldn't hear what they were saying.

As they turned to come towards the house, I gave Clarence a final scratch and stood up.

"Good morning," Adam greeted me.

"Morning," I returned.

"You're up and around early this morning," he said.

I nodded in answer, and we all just stood there for a couple of seconds.

"Well," Adam said, looking at me first, and then at Brian. "You're waitin' to hear what happened, I guess, huh?"

I nodded again.

"Brian and I both behaved ourselves," Adam said then, giving me a half-way smile.

I recognized his attempt at levity, and I appreciated it. I did. Really. But I wanted to know what was said. What happened. Period.

"That's good," I said.

"Yeah, peach, you would have been proud," Brian threw in. "Crane didn't have to strong-arm either one of us."

Now they had me really curious. For both of them to keep making jokes about it could either mean that it had gone well, or that they were making jokes because

they didn't really want to tell me what had happened.

"I am proud of you," I said, serious as can be.

Well, that got their attention. The grins faded, and they looked at each other again.

"Sit down," Adam said, gesturing to the porch swing, so I obeyed, sitting down, while he sat beside me, and Brian leaned against the railing.

"Margaret," Adam began, and then hesitated. "Karissa, I mean, she does want to continue to visit with you. Take you shopping, things like that. She seems to feel

that the two of you have a strong relationship already."

At that, Adam stopped talking and they both looked at me, kind of questioningly.

"Is that right, peach?" Brian asked me.

"Is what right?" I asked, confused.

"Do you feel like you have a strong relationship with her, like she says?"

I thought for a moment. "I wouldn't say it's strong. Maybe if I saw her more, it might be. I don't know."

"She's pretty insistent on seeing you," Adam said.

"She is?" I asked, though I'd known that already.

He nodded.

"What we told her was, she can come here to the house, to see you and Guthrie. We don't want you going alone with her anywhere. Not right now, anyway."

I was shocked nearly into silence. The whole conversation was going so differently than what I'd imagined. And Adam had actually told Karissa she could come to the

house!

"But did she apologize for anything she did, when we were little?" I asked.

"There were no apologies," Brian said. "Not on either side."

"Oh," I said. I didn't really know what to think.

"Why, though?" I asked. "Why didn't you ask her about calling social services? Why didn't you make her own up to it?"

"She's not gonna do that," Brian said.

"Nope," Adam said, in agreement. "The conversation wouldn't have stood a chance if we'd went in, loaded for battle about any of that stuff."

I was still stunned by the mild way they had undertaken the "talk" with Karissa. I was glad, of course, but puzzled.

"I don't think Guthrie wants anything to do with her," I said, into the silence.

"No. Well, that's his choice to make," Adam said.

"I'm goin' in and get started on a pot of coffee," Brian said then, and went inside, letting the screen door slam.

Which left Adam and I standing there, in the crisp morning air.

"How come you changed your mind?" I asked him, curiously.

"About her coming here?" he questioned, and I nodded.

"Well, that, and also about letting me see her, and talk to her."

"Well, it's like this," he said. "You're not a little kid anymore. You're getting old enough to make some of your own choices about who you want to

have a relationship with. If talking to Karissa about Mom when she was growing up and hearing stories, if that's important to you, then we want you to

have that. We can't tell you the stories the same way, because we weren't there. So that's somethin' she can do for you that we can't."

I was overcome by the simple sincerity of his words. I nodded, because I honestly didn't trust my voice right at that moment.

"The only thing is," he went on, apparently not noticing the fact that I was all choked up, "I'm not willing to give in on you goin' to stay with her, or any of that, like she wants. Right now,

like I said, it's only here at the house. I don't want you drivin' anywhere with her, alone. I think she's still drinkin' quite a bit."

When I didn't say anything, he looked at me closer.

"We're clear on that, right?"

I nodded wordlessly.

"Okay. Because that's the way we put it to her last night, too. So she understands."

I nodded again, and he frowned a little. "What's wrong?" he asked.

In answer, I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my face into the front of his shirt, and hugging him.

"What?" he asked again, sounding puzzled, and patting my back.

"I just appreciate it," I managed. "I know it wasn't easy for you and Brian."

"Oh, that," he said, sounding breezy, and joking, as if making light of it all.

I looked up at him. "I mean it," I said, trying to sound stern.

Adam turned serious again. "I know you do," he acknowledged. He kissed my forehead. "Let's not hatch our bridges before our chickens are crossed," he said,

doing a wordplay on the old sayings. "Let's just take it slow. See how it goes, and all of that."

"Okay," I agreed.

I stepped back a little. "I told Ivy Ramsey I might be able to help her with some stuff today," I told him.

"Yeah?" he asked, and I thought he looked pleased.

"Is it alright?" I asked.

"It's fine with me. If you get your chores done."

"Okay."

"Okay," he echoed, and gave me a final pat on my back. "Now turn me loose so I can go get some breakfast," he added, joking again.

7

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