Adam went to a nice restaurant for supper. Sort of a steakhouse, where they cook your food in front of you. He ordered a steak,
well-done, and I asked for a baked potato with bacon, and a salad.
I surprised myself by eating everything, even the salad, which was enormous, and filled with cheese, eggs, and vegetables.
It was pretty loud in the restaurant, because the people who were watching the guy doing the cooking kept calling out to him, and
he would call something back. So Adam and I didn't talk much during the meal.
"That was neat," I said, as Adam and I walked out to the parking lot. "Watching him cook like that in front of everybody."
"It was good to see you have an appetite," Adam said.
After that, we went to the Cattlemen's Association meeting, which was being held at a brick building, and had pictures everywhere. Lots of them
were old photos, black and white, of ranchers and their cattle, or ranchers with awards.
I looked at the pictures for awhile, until more men started arriving, and then I went to stand beside Adam, while he talked. After awhile, they
all assembled at one long table, and discussed their business. Some of it I didn't understand very well, but I tried to pay attention. Two ladies,
who were really elderly, served pie and coffee to all the men, pulling a tray around. When the lady that appeared to be the oldest
paused beside my chair, she asked, "What would you like, sweetheart? Pecan pie or apple?"
"No, thank you."
"You don't want any pie?" she asked.
"No, ma'm."
"Well, would you like something to drink? Tea or lemonade?"
"Lemonade's good. Thank you."
She handed me the glass, and then pushed on with her cart full of pie. I watched as she tried to steer the cart back into
what I supposed was the kitchen, and the wheel kept catching on the door. I began to feel sorry for her. I got up and went over
to where she was, and reached down to turn the wheel straight.
"Now it should go," I told her.
"Thank you," she said, and pulled her cart into the kitchen.
I went back to my seat beside Adam. He gave me a half-smile.
There was more talking. More voting. And then, even after the meeting was over, there was still talking going on. I could tell that
Adam was ready to go, but he kept getting caught by some of the older men there, and he would stop, and listen, and then talk some
more.
Finally, we were done, and walking back out to the truck. The sky was lit up with stars.
Once in the truck, Adam said, "Not very interesting for you, I know."
"I didn't mind," I said, and I meant it.
I looked at him, and in the parking lot lights I could see his face clearly. "I like spending time with you."
He looked at me, a little surprised, I thought.
"I like spendin' time with you, too," he said. "I don't think we've done enough of it the last few months."
"No," I said, in agreement.
He started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot.
"I guess the Cattlemen's Association is pretty important, huh?" I asked.
"I think it is. If we don't get more younger ranchers involved, though, then it might fail."
After a few minutes of quiet, he said, "I saw what you did for Mrs. Baird, helping her with her cart. That was nice."
Adam is pretty sparing with his praise sometimes, so when he does hand it out, it really means something.
"She seemed like a nice lady," I said.
"Yeah. She is."
He cleared his throat a little, and said, "We need to discuss some things."
I worked up my nerve, and asked, "I guess I'm not going to be doing any driving anytime soon, huh?"
"No. You're not."
"Can I finish my night class, though?" I asked.
"You can finish. One of us will drive you and then pick you up."
"Am I going to be able to get a job this summer?" I asked.
"We'll have to see how things go," he said, and I had to be content with that.
"School, church, chores, and homework. That's pretty much it for you for awhile," he said.
I wasn't surprised. I'd known when he said, 'grounded indefinitely' to me on the phone what it had meant.
"No attitude about the grounding, either," he went on. "Otherwise, I'll have to get tougher."
I gave him a sideways glance in the dark truck cab. I wasn't sure just what 'tougher' meant, but I knew I didn't want
to find out. "Okay," I said, subdued.
"I don't want there to be any more big secrets between us," Adam said. "I know there's going to be things that you don't want to tell
me, typical girl things and all of that. I understand that. But I mean important things. Things that are life-changing, or that have the potential
to be dangerous for you. Things like that, I want to hear about from you, right off. No more hidin' things from me."
I was taking in everything that he'd said, when he asked, "Harlie? You understand me?"
"Yes," I said.
"Alright, well, I mean it. This whole debacle could have been avoided, if you'd told me from the beginning, about her showing up. Some of it's not
your fault at all. But if you'd told me right out of the gate, well it might have gone better," he said.
I bit at my lip, and felt the tears, easily provoked, rise to the surface. I tried to cry quietly, but I know he could tell.
"I'm glad you shared that stuff with me earlier, about her drinking, and how you rode with her. It shows that you're
taking all of this seriously," he added.
"Okay," I managed.
"I want to make sure you understand, because if something major happens, ever, and I don't hear about it from you, or you
lie to me about it, then the conversation we have is going to be entirely different than this one," he said, his voice stern.
Wow. I felt that threat, or whatever it was, down to my toes.
"I understand," I said, feeling miserable. This was the worst scolding that I'd gotten from Adam in I didn't how long.
"Alright," he said, and then he was quiet.
I cried silently, or as silently as I was able to, swiping at my face every couple of minutes.
"You're a good kid," he said. "I see it in the things you do. The way you treat people. Like what you did tonight for Mrs. Baird. Being
truthful and having people be able to trust in you is important, too. Real important."
"Yes, sir," I said, not clearly.
After that, it was quiet until we turned into our own driveway. I had stopped crying and sniffling, and I was feeling tired and drained.
I just wanted to go upstairs and crawl into my bed.
When we went into the house, the living room was quiet, except for Hannah, who was sitting on the couch, holding a wide-awake Isaac.
"Hello, you two," she greeted us, standing up to give Adam a quick hug.
"What's this guy doing up?" Adam asked her, rubbing Isaac's belly, which made the baby chortle with glee.
"He has his days and nights mixed up again," Hannah said. "How was the meeting?"
"Long," Adam said. He turned to me. "You gonna get a snack?"
"No. I'm still full from supper. I'll go do my shot," I said.
He nodded at me, and Hannah reached her arm out and gave me a squeeze. "Night, sweetie."
"Night," I said.
I looked at Adam, and thought about giving him a hug goodnight. But I was still feeling raw from the talking-to he'd given me. I wasn't mad
and I didn't want him to think I was having an attitude, but I was just hesitant. Adam made the decision for me, when he wrapped an
arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick hug. He released me just as quickly.
"Sleep good," he said.
"Okay. Goodnight."
I did my shot, and went upstairs to my bedroom, pulled on my pajamas, and literally crawled onto the bed, not even getting completely under the blankets.
7
The next morning, I was woke up by the same noises as the day before. Noise in the hallway, footsteps pounding. I peeked at my clock.
6:23 a.m. I covered my head with my quilt and curled back up into my warm cocoon.
Next thing I was aware of, was a light brushing on the bottom of my foot. I jerked it back, but the brushing followed. When I yanked my foot
completely up, I heard laughing. I uncovered my head to see Daniel standing there, his eyes lit up with amusement.
"What are you doing?" I demanded, sitting up.
"Wakin' your behind up," he said. "Time to get moving."
"No school," I reminded him.
"Ah, yes, but chores. Lots of chores."
I tucked my feet up and wrapped my arms around my legs. "I'm going to do the same thing to you tomorrow morning," I told him. "Only I'll
do it at like four a.m. or something. And I'll use something sticky on your feet, like syrup! Or dots of paint-that would be funny!"
"Not funny for you," he denied. "Not when I catch you."
"You wouldn't be able to if I used paint," I said, grinning at him. "Because then you'd be tracking paint all over the house and
be in trouble with Hannah!"
Daniel swooped down and tackled me, capturing my wrists in one hand, and tickling my ribs with the other.
I was hollering and squealing. "Stop! Daniel, quit it!"
"Give it up," he said.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement in the hallway, and a familiar colored green t shirt.
"Guthrie!" I yelled. "Come help me!"
Guthrie came to my rescue, hurling himself on top of Daniel, until we were a massive dogpile on my bed. I slipped out, and the
two of them kept on, wrestling, and hollering.
Once, when Daniel got the upper hand, he pinned Guthrie, and said, "Never goin' to get the best of me, little brother."
"Little brother, huh?" Guthrie hissed, and toppled onto the floor, taking Daniel with him.
There was a loud throat-clearing in the open doorway, and both Daniel and Guthrie stopped to look up from their position on the floor.
"It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye," Brian said dryly.
"Just havin' a little fun, Brian," Guthrie said, looking up at Brian with a grin.
"As long as you can both still work today, then go ahead on," Brian said. "Any injuries incurred will not keep chores from
bein' done." He knocked on the wall of my room, as a signal to continue. "Back to it," he said, with a laugh.
As he went on down the hallway, Guthrie and Daniel went back to wrestling.
I stepped over them, grabbing my clothes, and left them to it, going to the bathroom to get dressed.
7
I hurried, getting dressed, so I could catch up with Brian. I found him in the living room, sifting thru papers on the desk.
"What are you doing today?" I asked, hoping he would need me again, so I could be on horseback.
"Stuff around here," he said, without looking up.
"Oh," I said disappointed.
He must have heard that in my tone, because he did look up now. "You did a good job yesterday," he told me. "I don't know
if I would have heard that calf if you hadn't been along."
I hugged his approval to myself, as if it were a hug. "Thanks."
He looked thoughtful. "I tell you what. Let me get some stuff done this morning, and then this afternoon, you and I'll go riding. How's that?"
"Good!" I told him.
I went to eat my breakfast, and ask Hannah what chores she had for me to help with, feeling hopeful. Things were looking up.
7
I put in a full morning helping Hannah in the house, and then I took Isaac, and went up to Clare and Brian's attic apartment, so
that Hannah could have a break and take a nap.
Clare and I took turns holding Isaac, and just had some 'sister' talk. She showed me her high school yearbook, and did my hair
in a French braid.
I asked why she wasn't at work the last couple of days, and she told me that the hospital shift had gotten to be
pretty rough. She'd had to stay late when other people didn't show up for their shift, and one night the previous week hadn't
gotten home until three in the morning.
"Brian wants me to take a little break," she said. "Maybe try to find a nursing job closer to home, so I don't have all that
driving at night to do."
"Brian's pretty protective," I said, and Clare crossed her eyes comically.
"You think so?" she asked, and we both laughed.
Clare didn't bring up my taking off to Tennessee, and I was grateful for that. We could just "be" with each other, with no
underlying tension, and no lectures. I knew that Clare had to have an opinion about what had happened, but she kept it to
herself. Nancy, I felt sure, would not have the same reservations about sharing her opinion with me. And she wasn't
even married to Evan yet.
"Anyway, it will be nice," I told Clare, "having you around here more."
"Thanks, toots," she said.
That afternoon Brian and I did go for a ride. It was a long one, nearly to our east property line. I was wearing a ball cap,
just like Brian was, and I was glorying in the fact that it was so warm.
I left the reins looped over the saddle horn, and spread my arms out wide, like I was flying.
"I'm never going to take the sun for granted again," I said.
"I didn't know you had," he said.
"I didn't know I was, until I saw how cold it is-other places." Something kept me from saying the word 'Tennessee'.
"A shock, huh?" he asked me, as I lowered my arms, and took up the reins again.
"Boy, was it ever."
We rode in companionable silence for a while. I decided to talk to Brian about the one thing that was uppermost
in my mind as a worry.
"Evan won't talk to me," I ventured.
Brian didn't say anything right away. He just kept riding, looking towards the mountains.
"What can I do, Bri?" I asked him.
"Keep tryin'," he advised.
I gave him a discouraged look, and he added, "It's only been a couple of days, peach."
"Yes. But I can tell-he's set on it. On what he told me on the phone."
"What did he tell you on the phone?" Brian asked.
"He said that he's my brother, and that won't change, but that as far as anything else goes with us, to just forget it."
"Hmm," Brian said, looking serious and thoughtful.
"Daniel tried to talk to him, but he acts the same."
"He's entitled to his feelings. Or don't you think that he is?" Brian asked.
"I do. It's just-well, I'm starting to feel like an Amish girl!" I said, in frustration.
"How so?" Brian asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"You know-what they do to somebody that does something wrong? They shun them, Bri."
"And you feel like you're bein' shunned, is that it?"
I nodded, and he looked away from me again, towards the mountains.
"I know it's hurtful," he said. "I can tell it's bothering you. You'll have to figure out whether you want to go at
the situation head on, and try to settle it that way with him, or whether to bide your time, and work at it more
slow."
"Which would you do?" I asked him.
"Well, I don't have much patience, so I'd probably do the head-on thing. But I'd say with somebody like Evan, the slower
way might work better," Brian said.
"Okay," I said.
"Do you want me to talk to him?" Brian asked.
"No. I want to try to fix it myself," I said.
"Okay," Brian said, and I thought he looked a little proud.
After talking it over with him, and hearing his advice, I felt a little better, and I just gave myself permission to enjoy the
ride.
7
That night at supper, over meatloaf and scalloped potatoes, Crane announced that the water pipe at the high school
had been repaired, and that school would be in session as usual tomorrow.
"Man, Crane," Guthrie groaned. "You could have waited until I was done eating to tell me that."
I wouldn't have minded more days at home, either.
It seemed like forever since I'd been at school, and I was trying to remember if I'd had a lot of homework in
my backpack. As soon as I was done eating, I went to the refrigerator to check the dishwashing chore list.
Evan came from the table at the same time, his hands full of dishes, and we nearly collided when I turned too quickly.
"Sorry," I said.
"It's okay," he said, and went on to the sink without even really looking at me. I felt discouraged again.
I went up to my room, and went thru my backpack, sorting out what was homework. I got busy on some English,
and then a science worksheet, when I remembered that the next night would also be my night class.
I got out my notebook for that, looking over what the assigned reading had been.
I was involved in reading 'Jane Eyre' when there was a tap on my half-open door. Adam.
"It's late, Harlie," he said.
"Oh," I said, looking at my little clock. 10:10 p.m. "I didn't know what time it was."
"Put all that up, and get to bed," he told me.
"I've got to go do my shot," I said, pushing the books and papers aside and scrambling off the bed.
He nodded, and I ran down the stairs, to the kitchen, and did my shot. When I came back upstairs, to my room,
Adam was still there, sitting on the edge of my bed. He'd gathered up all my books and papers, and had stacked them in
a neat pile beside my bed.
"I guess I'll take a shower in the morning," I said. "Can you get me up a little earlier than usual?"
"Alright. Did you get all your homework done?"
"Uh huh," I said, going to my dresser and pulling out a pair of pajamas. "Tomorrow night's my class," I reminded him.
"Right," he said. "We'll figure out who your ride is."
"Okay."
Adam got to his feet, pausing beside me, "I'll let you get to bed." He touched the side of my cheek, just for the
briefest moment, and then he dropped his hand. "Sleep good," he said.
"Okay. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
7
