When I came to where Kenny was waiting for me, he took my hand.

"You get ahold of somebody?" he asked me.

"Yeah. Adam. He's coming in-to see if there's anything he can do," I reported.

"That's good."

I told the neighbor man thank you for the use of his phone, and we all went to stand back near Guthrie and Kristin again.

Kristin was shivering, and Guthrie went to dig thru behind his truck seat, and brought out an old denim jacket.

We could still hear shouting from inside the mobile home. Every time there was a another raised voice, Kristin would

wince.

"Buddy's in there, too," Kristin revealed.

Lovely, I thought, sarcastically. Buddy was a loser. A horrible brother to Kristin.

I said, in a quiet aside to Guthrie, "Adam said for you not to go inside. No matter what."

"I won't unless I have to," Guthrie said.

"He meant it, Guth," I said, in a low voice. "He did."

Guthrie got my meaning, because he looked at me in understanding, and said, "I'm not gonna do anything stupid."

"I won't let you," I muttered.

We didn't hear any sirens, but we did see flashing lights, as a two deputies pulled up into the trailer park and

down the street. They came to a stop, and got out, coming over to where our little group was huddled.

The neighbor who had called them identified himself, and then one of the deputies turned to the four of us.

"And you all are-?" he asked.

"I'm Kristin Atherton," Kristin said. "My mom's in there-and my stepfather, and brother."

He nodded, and looked at the other three of us.

We all gave him our names, and he looked at Kristin. "Are there any weapons in the house? A gun?"

"Frank has a gun," Kristin said. "But, he didn't have it out when I was in there before-"

"When was that?"

"Um-" Kristin looked at Guthrie and I. "I think about thirty minutes ago-"

"Is anyone inside intoxicated?" the deputy asked her.

Kristin nodded. "They've been drinking. I don't know how drunk they are."

"Alright. I'm going to have you kids all move, and go over to the other side of the street there," he said.

So, the four of us moved and stood watching as both deputies went up to the door, and one of them gave a rap

on the door, calling out, "Deputy Sheriff!"

I felt my heart pounding, and when I took a look to my left to Kristin, I was amazed at her calm demeanor. She held

Guthrie's hand, but stood straight, not crying, or falling apart.

When I saw our old ranch truck pulling up nearby, and saw Adam and Crane getting out, I thought I'd never been so

glad to see anybody before.

They walked to where we were standing, and Adam asked again, "Everybody alright?"

We all nodded, or said, 'Yeah', except for Kristin, who was silent.

A long few minutes passed by. We couldn't hear anymore shouting from inside.

"Maybe I should go in," Kristin said.

"No, they wouldn't want you to do that," Crane said. "They'll sort it out and then come and talk to you."

I think we were standing there for another twenty minutes or so, at least, and then the trailer door opened, and

a deputy stepped out. He looked around, and then came walking over to where we were.

"Neighbors?" the deputy asked Adam and Crane.

"No." Adam gestured to Guthrie and me. "These two are mine. I'm Adam McFadden. This is my brother, Crane. We

thought there might be somethin' we could do."

The deputy nodded in acknowledgement, and then looked at Kristin.

"Well, miss, this is what's going to happen tonight. Your stepfather is being arrested, and because he is alleging assault

by your mother, we're going to take her in, as well."

I sucked a breath in, shocked. Kristin, on the other hand, stood stoic.

"From what we can gather, your brother was involved verbally, but he claims he was trying to curtail the argument,

not escalate it," the deputy said. "He's not being taken in. He says he's going to see about bail for your mother. Once we

have your stepfather in the car, you can go on back inside." He was giving Kristin a kindly look.

"She'll come home with us," Guthrie spoke up. He looked to Kristin. "That's what your mom would want you to do, right?"

Kristin only nodded, not speaking.

"Your brother said he would look after you," the deputy told Kristin.

Buddy? Look after Kristin? Not in any way.

"I'd rather go with Guthrie, and his family," Kristin said, her voice quiet, but steady.

"Is that alright with you all?" the deputy asked, looking at Adam and Crane.

"Absolutely," Crane said.

"Alright. We'll talk to your mom first, alright?" the deputy said, and Kristin gave a brief nod.

"Let's just have you all hang tight, right here, for a few more minutes," the deputy said, and then turned to

go back into Kristin's mobile home.

Kristin let out a huge, really long sigh. I didn't know if it was from relief, or from the stress.

"I'm not staying with Buddy," Kristin said, in a really low voice.

"We'll see what your mom says," Adam said, calmly.

"Even if she wants me to, I won't," Kristin said.

Nobody said anything to that.

Just a few minutes after that, a deputy brought out Frank, who was handcuffed, and being led by the deputy.

Frank was disheveled, to say the very least. His hair was sticking up, and he looked, (at least from that distance) to

be wearing rumpled clothes, and his shirt was buttoned crookedly.

He was muttering his displeasure about something, but was ensconced into the back seat of the police car without

much fuss.

Next, out came Kristin's mother, being led by the other officer. She wasn't handcuffed, at least, though the deputy

that had been talking to us had what looked to be a good hold on her arm.

He paused, beckoning to Kristin. Kristin walked towards them. Guthrie made a move as if to go with her, but Crane

said, "I'll go, Guth."

So, we waited again, while Crane and Kristin stood talking to Linda. We couldn't hear every single word, but Linda

was crying. There was lots of head shaking on both her and Kristin's part. Buddy had come out and joined them, and

he was arguing, and then pointing at Crane, and over at Adam and the rest of us.

"Buddy's whining about how we take Kristin over," I observed.

"It's not like he really wants to help her," Guthrie muttered. "He's just tryin' to look like a big man in front of the deputies."

"It's up to her mother," Adam said, calmly.

"Nothing should be left up to her," I said. "She doesn't deserve it."

I felt Adam's hand on the middle of my back. He didn't say anything. He just put his hand there. I knew how he meant it, and

it did help.

Crane and Kristin began walking back to us, and Guthrie went forward.

"You comin' home with us?" he asked her.

Kristin nodded, and Guthrie took her hand.

"Good," he said.

"I'll go in and get some of my stuff," she said.

The sheriff's car pulled away, and was gone. It looked as though Kristin was going to buckle, for a moment.

Buddy was standing near the front of the mobile home, glaring across the street at us in the street lights.

"You can wear some of my stuff," I offered. "If you don't want to go in." I thought she might want to avoid Buddy.

"I need to get something," Kristin said, looking at Buddy.

"I'll go with ya," Guthrie offered.

In a move that I understood was meant to protect Guthrie from a possible confrontation with Buddy, and also a move

to not undermine Guthrie, or make him feel like a kid, Crane said, quietly, "I'll go, too."

As the three of them prepared to cross the street, Adam said, "Hey, listen, Crane, I think I'll take Harlie and Kenny. And, then

you can come along with Guthrie and Kristin. Alright?"

Crane nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright," Adam said. "Come on, kids," he said to Kenny and I.

We were in the truck, heading home, in the quiet. Kenny took my hand in the darkened cab.

None of us really made conversation. I guess we didn't feel like it. I was tired. I felt wrung out.

When we'd arrived home, and Adam parked the truck, he got out, and I slid out after Kenny.

Adam headed on up towards the porch steps, and Kenny said, "Guess I'd better get goin'," to me.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"I'll call ya tomorrow, okay?" Kenny said.

"Okay."

Kenny cast a glance toward the porch where Adam was at, and then, instead of kissing me goodnight, he squeezed

my hand. "Night, Adam," he called out.

"Night," Adam called back.

I walked to the steps, and up onto the porch to where Adam was standing, as Kenny started his truck, and drove down

the driveway. Adam held the door open for me, and we went into the living room. The lamp had been left on, and Brian

was sitting on one end of the couch. He stood up as we came in.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"The kids are okay," Adam answered.

"Alright. Good," Brian said. He came over closer to stand next to me. "Some night, huh, peach?" he said, quietly.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Kristin's comin' along home, with Guthrie and Crane," Adam told Brian.

Brian nodded, and Adam put his hand on the back of my neck. "You ought to get your shot done, and get a snack," he told me. "And then

get on upstairs and get the cot ready for Kristin."

I nodded, feeling weary.

"I feel so bad for Kristin," I said. I looked up at Brian. "They arrested her mom."

Brian was surprised, I could tell. "They did?" he said. "Not Frank?"

"Frank, too," I said.

Brian raised his eyebrows and shook his head slightly.

"What sort of a mom is she?" I said.

"She may have been protectin' herself, Harlie," Adam said. "Being arrested isn't a good thing, but-she may not

have had a choice but to fight back."

"I don't mean that part of it," I said. "I mean-she stays with Frank, when she knows that's he's a drunk, and a loser. She knows

that Kristin doesn't want him there, but she only thinks about herself!" I finished as my voice broke off, and I brushed at my

eye.

Adam regarded me somberly for a long moment, and then he reached out and pulled me against his chest. He hugged me

tightly, and rubbed his hand over my back. "It's hard to understand, I know."

"Go on and do your shot now," he told me.

I went to the kitchen, and did my shot, and took a banana and went upstairs to get the cot ready for Kristin. I got

her clean sheets out of the linen closet. I was reaching for a blanket from the top shelf, when Hannah opened their bedroom

door and came out into the hallway.

"Harlie," she said, quietly.

I took the blanket and held it against my chest, walking down the hall to where she was.

Hannah reached out and brushed my hair back. And then, she met my eyes, and she said, "Terrible things happen-things

that are impossible to understand-to people that we love, like Kristin. We can't always fix it for them. Sometimes, all we really can do,

Harlie, is just keep on loving them." She laid her hand on my cheek.

In sudden, impulsive gratitude, I hugged her. She smelled like the lavender shampoo that she uses.

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?" she asked.

I leaned back so I could look at her. "For taking care of us. Me and Guthrie, all this time. Like a mom."

Tears swum in Hannah's blue eyes. She reached out to pat my cheek again.

7

I was in my pajamas and had washed my face with Noxema, and was curled up in my bed with only the small lamp

on, when Kristin came in really quietly.

I turned on my side to look at her. I didn't say anything at first. I didn't know what to say.

Kristin sat on the edge of her cot, and began to pull off her shoes. She looked up and saw that I was watching her.

"I thought you were asleep," she said.

"Not yet."

She left and came back from the bathroom, dressed in a nightgown.

Without saying anything, she turned off the lamp, and, in the darkness, I heard her settling on the cot, and rustling under

her blanket.

"I don't know what to say, Kris," I admitted.

"You don't have to say anything," Kristin said. "Let's just go to sleep."

So I was quiet. I drifted off into sleep, but sometime later, in the early morning hours, I woke up to the sound of

Kristin crying softly.

7