When I'd finished by saying how Adam had practiced hairstyles until I was content and happy with the way that my hair looked, I gave a quick

look over in Adam's direction..

He gave me reserved smile, and then a wink. I smiled back at him, and looked back at the Judge.

"How about-" the Judge began, and then looked over at Brian. "Brian, is it?"

When Brian nodded at him in acknowledgement, he went on, "What about Brian? He was young too, to have so much responsibility."

"Yes," I agreed. "He was. At the beginning, of everything, he was still in high school, so he went to school, and then came home to give Adam

a break from Guthrie and I when we just little, and then he'd usually do most of the cooking."

I thought for a moment. "When I was about six, and in first grade, and May came around, our teacher told us that the next day we were going to make these cards

for Mother's Day. She was nice about it, and she told me that I could make a card for someone else, since-since my mom had passed away. I thought

about making the card for Marie. She'd been good to us, and she's sort of like a grandma to Guthrie and I. But I still felt bad about it, because I was

the only kid in the class that didn't have a mom to make a card for. When I got home from school that day, I was feeling sad, I remember, and I guess

I was sort of quiet. I was out in the barn after supper, in the hayloft. That's where I always went, and Brian came out to look for me.

He climbed up there, too, and sat with me, and asked me what was bothering me. So I told him about the Mother's Day project, and how I was feeling.

He told me to go on and make the card the next day at school, just as if I was making it for our mother, and that when I brought it home he would tell

me what we were going to do next."

I hesitated, remembering. "I asked him what he was talking about, but he wouldn't tell me then. He just kept telling me to bring the card home. So I

decorated my card, and wrote on it, and all of that, just like the other kids. I think I wrote that I loved her, and that I was sad she wasn't there with me. So

I brought it home after school, and showed it to Brian. He told me to put it on the top of the piano until two days later, on Sunday, Mother's Day, and that

we would do something special. So when Sunday morning came around, everybody else went to church, but Brian told me to bring the card, and he took

me out to breakfast. Then we went to the cemetary, and went to my parent's graves. I kept asking him what we were going to do there, and

he said just wait and see."

I stopped, and took a breath, feeling my heart clutch a little at the memory. "Brian told me to put the card on the stone below my mom's name, and then

he sort of crouched down and held me. He said that if I left the card there like that, that our mom would see it. And then he said there was a sure-fire way

to tell if she liked the card. And that was if, the next morning, when I woke up, if the sun was shining, that would mean that she really liked it, and that the sun meant

she was smiling."

I looked in Brian's direction then, and he had his head down, just slightly, and I could see the emotion on his face.

"It was later," I went on, "when I was a lot older, that I realized that it had been a pretty safe thing for him to promise, with it being California and all,

there was bound to be sunshine the next day. And there was. So I was really happy about that, and the next year, I did the same thing for Mother's Day. I

made the card at school and we took it to our mom's grave. But that year, when I woke up the next day, it was raining. And I got so upset. I ran

into Brian's bedroom, and woke him up, and I was crying so hard he had trouble understanding what was wrong. I just kept saying that it was raining,

over and over. And that Mom hadn't liked my card I'd left, because the sun wasn't out. And so then Brian said that I didn't need to feel bad, because

he'd forgotten to tell me something, and that was, 'if the sun was shining, it meant my mom was smiling about the card', but that if it was raining, that

wasn't something bad. Because it meant that she'd liked the card so much that she showed it to some other mothers in Heaven, and that they were

sad because they wished they had such a beautiful card, and that the rain was their tears."

I finished, and sat quietly for a moment. It seemed that the judge was touched by my story, and he cleared his throat a little, and

looked towards Brian. "That's quite a story, and quite a testament. You should be proud."

When I looked at Brian again, he was nodding at the judge, but I saw a quick, and only a quick, glimmer of tears in his eyes before he

blinked them away.

"I just want to say that all my brothers are good guys," I said. "But Adam, and Brian, they did something when they were so young, something that

they didn't really have to do. They took care of all of us. And they did a good job."

The judge smiled at me. "Thank you, Harlie. Those are heartfelt words, I know." He leaned back a little in his chair, studying me. "Tell me

how you got acquainted with your aunt. How did that come about?"

I felt my face warm up in embarrassment immediately. "Well," I hesitated, "Since this all came about, since I met Karissa and everything, and

then when she filed this custody suit, everything just got so big, so fast. It seemed as though it's all I could think about sometimes. I had trouble with

my grades and-" I let my voice trail off, realizing that I was getting off of the subject of what he'd asked me. "It was confusing at first, because she

kept telling me things about my father, and about Adam and Brian, and all that. I was going to tell them about meeting her, but she asked me not to."

At this, Karissa made a sound of protest, and the judge swiveled in his chair to look at her. "Quiet, Mrs. Bonner."

"I know now that I should have told them anyway," I went on, "but I didn't. And then when I did tell them, Adam and Brian were upset, but they

let her come to the house, and eat with us, and they said she could come there to visit with me. And she did that, a couple of times." I thought back,

trying to remember details.

I sat up straight in my chair, determined to take responsibility. "I wanted to hear stories, about my mother, because I didn't really know

a lot about her, when she was younger, I mean. And Karissa could tell me those things. And she had pictures that she gave me. So it was

something that I wanted to do. But then, it seemed as though it became less about that, and more about her feelings about my brothers. She

was always finding fault with them. When I hurt my wrist, and all that. And she would tell me they were too strict on me. Things like that."

I stopped talking, and looked at the judge, wondering if I'd answered what he'd wanted to know.

"Tell me about when you injured yourself," the judge said.

"Well," I said, worried that I would say the wrong thing. "I broke my wrist, and sprained my ankle, when I was on horseback, chasing a

calf. It was because I took the downhill side of the hill too fast. I misjudged it. It's just something that happens sometimes on a ranch."

"You have a lot of responsibility, though?" he asked me then. "Is that something that you're comfortable with?"

"I have responsibility," I said, carefully, not wanting to seem as though I was contradicting the judge. "But not the final responsibility, or

anything like that. I mean, it's not any more than what my brothers had at my age. The fall I took was because I didn't wait for whoever

was closest by." I hesitated again, thinking. "I mean, Adam wasn't happy about it."

"No?" the judge prompted me.

"No, sir. He-well, he got onto me for it," I said, not certain if that was the right thing to say.

"And do you feel, as most teenagers do about their parents, that Adam, and Brian, too, are too strict with you?" he asked.

Here I really hesitated. He'd probably be able to tell if I wasn't entirely honest with him. I mean, he was a judge, after all.

"They're strict," I said, in honesty. "Sometimes I think they're too strict. But, I understand why they are. I try not to get

aggravated about it."

The judge smiled at me, his eyes kind. "What are the things that you differ with them on?" he asked. "Things that you seem to

butt heads with them on?"

"You mean the things that they get the most upset with me about?" I asked him, and he nodded.

"Well, with Crane, it's my grades. He keeps a good eye on Guthrie and I with all of that, and if our grades go down, then

he talks to us, and he'll help us if we need it. And he gives us a certain amount of time to get them up."

"And if they don't come up?" he asked me.

"He's grounded us for it, until we get them back up," I said.

The judge nodded, in an indication for me to continue.

"With Brian, it's honesty. He doesn't like if I lie to him, or tell him only half-truths, or something. And Adam is like that, too. They'd both

rather me just come and tell them something, straight out. They might get angry, but not as much as if I lie about it to them. And they

don't, any of them, like it when I talk back to them, or if I'm disrespectful."

"Tell me about your trip to Tennessee," the judge said then. "How did that happen?"

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. I began to pop my knuckles in nervousness like Guthrie does, until I realized what I

was doing and made myself stop and hold my hands still.

"Like I said, it was stressful, not knowing what was going to happen with all of this custody stuff," I said slowly. "I let it get to me, and

one really bad day, I just-decided that I'd feel better if I saw Daniel. It had been awhile since he'd been home and all-" I let my voice trail

off a little. "I shouldn't have done it," I said, knowing that I sounded sort of vague.

"So it was a sudden decision?" he asked me, leaning back and clasping his hands together.

"Well," I hesitated. "Sort of."

He raised his eyebrow a little, and I flushed again. "I decided on a Saturday to do it, and on Sunday I went," I admitted.

"So it was thought out somewhat then," the judge determined.

"Yes, sir," I said, feeling discouraged and embarrassed. Now he'd think I was out of control, selfish, and that my family couldn't

take proper care of me.

Instead of saying any of that, however, the judge just looked at me steadily. He looked sober but not angry.

"Was there no one at home that you felt you could talk to about how you were feeling?" he asked me.

"I could have," I said, again worried I would say the wrong thing. "They all talked to me about it, at some point, but-" I hesitated.

"But what, Harlie?" he asked, looking kind.

I tried to focus on his kind eyes, so like Doc G's. "Well, they told me not to worry, that nothing would come of it, all of that. I know

that they didn't know what to say to me to make me feel better and not worry so much."

"So you traveled alone to Tennessee?" he asked. "By bus?"

"Yes, sir."

"That was a huge risk that you took, young lady," he said, sounding more stern than he had yet in our conversation.

"Yes, sir," I said, heat rising to my face again.

"And was Daniel able to tell you something different, something to make you feel better?" he asked.

"He didn't have anything different to say than what the rest of the family said," I admitted. "He said he didn't think

there was anything to worry about, and that I should have waited it out. He was angry because I did something so stupid."

"Have you been punished?" the judge asked me.

"Yes, sir," I said, still embarrassed.

"Is that a risk that you're likely to take again?" he asked me then.

"No, sir," I said, with certainty, meeting his eyes. "I'd never want to worry them all that way again. I regret it."

I felt my eyes begin to tear up, thinking of Evan. "I hurt them all. I'm still trying to make it right."

He nodded, looking approvingly at me. "That's what you must do," he agreed.

"I have one last question for you, Harlie," he said. "Do you want to have a relationship with your aunt?"

I hesitated. "I did. But now, after everything, no, I don't. Not right now."

"Alright. You may go back and sit by your brother," he told me, and I got up, going back to my chair in between Brian and

Adam. Adam gave me a half-smile, and patted my knee.

The judge swiveled in his chair so that he was facing everyone in the room directly once again.

"This case, interesting as it may be, has been a waste of the court's time," he said. He sounded so severe that my heart

thumped a little, not sure what he was getting at.

"There is no indication, either in records or via observation, that this young lady should be anywhere but exactly where

she is. She, and apparently the brothers slightly older than her, are doing well in their studies, and have a good work ethic, and a

sense of responsibility. "

He gave me a smile. "I find Harlie to be a delight to speak with." He included Brian and Adam in his gaze. "You have done

a fine job, gentlemen." He smiled at Hannah. "I'm sure that you, and the other family members at home have helped that job

along as well."

He turned towards Karissa. "Mrs. Bonner, even without the concern of operating a motor vehicle while having had too much too

drink, which is undoubtable a huge concern, there is no substance to this case. Having more money does not necessarily constitute

a better upbringing for a youngster."

"Harlie has been brainwashed," Karissa burst out, her eyes flashing, and sitting forward in her chair.

I felt Brian stiffen beside me, but the judge only seemed amused. "In just my short conversation with Harlie, she strikes me

as a young lady who is decisive, and capable of realizing her own errors. And, most especially, she seems to be the sort of young

person who is very capable of following what is right and wrong, and deciding her own mind. Anyone who believes her to be 'brainwashed' as

you say, obviously does not have a correct view of her character and personality."

Karissa made a huffing sound, but was silent.

"It's my determination that Harlie remain exactly where she is," the judge said, and I heard Hannah let out a sigh of relief. I could

hardly take in what he was saying. It was over?

"Gentlemen," he said, addressing Brian and Adam, "Keep doing what you're doing. Your family is apparently a successful one." He stood

up, and everyone else did, as well, as he came around from the side of his desk.

He shook hands with John and the other lawyer, then Karissa, and then Hannah, Adam and Brian.

He stood near to me, and put out his hand. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Harlie," he said.

"Thank you," I said, so grateful to him that I wished I could hug him. "For everything."

"You're welcome." He surveyed me seriously for a moment. "Keep on, young lady. Don't lose your way."

"Yes, sir," I said.

He nodded, and we all made our way out into the hallway. I was worried then about what Karissa might say, or do.

Her eyes were flashing as they landed on me. She said nothing, but I felt that look piercing me.

"You really are Kate's daughter," she said, as if to insult me. "You behave just like her. Stubborn, and not seeing opportunities

right in front of you."

"Thanks, John," Adam said.

"You bet," John said.

Adam took hold of my hand, and then Hannah's. "Let's go," he said.

We were already walking when I turned back to look at Karissa. There was so much that I wanted to say. I settled for, "Thank you

for saying I'm like my mom," I said, effectively turning her 'supposed insult' into a compliment.

7

He came around