That night after we'd had a supper of sandwiches and potato chips, and were mostly all gathered in the living room,

Guthrie put out the request that he and I stay home from school the next day.

He was pointing out that he wanted to be here when Daniel got home, and that last minute things might be needed

from the store, and all of that.

I was fairly certain what the answer was going to be, so I kept mostly quiet, except to nod and say, "Right," when Guthrie

added that our help might be needed. Cattle needed to be worked, and somebody would have to drive in and bring

Daniel and Jill home.

Crane, who looked exhausted, studied Guthrie from where he sat on one of the couches, pulling off his boots.

"We don't know when he's going to come home. It might not be tomorrow," he said.

I hadn't gotten that impression from what the doctor had said earlier, so I gave Crane a quick, surprised look. As did Guthrie.

"I thought he was," Guthrie said, and for a moment or more there was an unsettling lapse in conversation.

"Hopefully so," Adam said, speaking up to fill the silence.

"The doctor said he thought so," I said, looking from Adam to Brian and then to Crane.

"Like I said, hopefully so," Adam repeated.

I wrinkled my forehead, wondering if there was something that they weren't sharing with Guthrie and I.

"So, what about stayin' home tomorrow?" Guthrie asked.

They all three exchanged one of those looks, like they do sometimes. Where they talk without saying anything. Years of

practice, I guess, for when they didn't want us youngers to know what they were thinking.

"I don't think there's any need in you two missin' school," Adam said.

"One day is nothin'," Guthrie said, in protest.

"It's getting near the close of the nine weeks," Crane said, letting his second boot drop to the floor. "Finals coming up. It's not

the time to be missing."

"One day, Crane," Guthrie objected.

"Guth," Adam said. In Adam-speak, that meant 'stop arguing'.

Guthrie wisely said no more, but I knew he wasn't happy about being told no. In Guthrie-like fashion, though, he shrugged it

off and went to the kitchen to get a glass of milk.

When he returned, milk glass in one hand, and cookies in the other hand, Crane was standing up, stretching his back.

"Did you both get all your homework done?" he was asking Guthrie and I.

"Yeah. It's been a crazy weekend," Adam added.

"I didn't have much," Guthrie said. "It's done."

"How about you?" Crane asked, turning to me.

"I've got a little left to do," I admitted.

I went to do my diabetes shot, and got a snack of my own, taking my bowl of grapes and crackers and going back to the

living room. I said my goodnights and began to head up the stairs to my room.

Once I was upstairs, I set down my snack, and went to take a quick shower. Even quicker due to the fact that somebody had used

nearly all the hot water.

I set to work on my remaining homework. Two math worksheets, which I admit that I did sort of haphazardly. Then I set to work on

an article for journalism class. I was in the midst of that, intent on my writing, when there was a tap on my door.

"Harlie?"

"Yeah, come in," I called out.

Adam opened the door and stood there in the doorway. "Lights out," he said.

"I need to finish this," I said.

He stepped on into the room, and closer to my bed. "What is it?"

"An article for journalism."

"Well, you can finish it in the morning," he said. "Put it away."

He sounded tired. I looked up at him, as I shoved the papers together, and stacked them on the nightstand. He looked tired, too.

There were creases of weariness across his forehead, and around his eyes. Sometimes it seemed as though Adam was aging right

in front of my very eyes.

I felt a tenderness swarm over me, and I reached out for his hand. "You should go to bed soon, too," I told him, rubbing my

thumb across the work-worn callouses on the palm of his hand.

"You think so, huh?" he said.

"Yes." I gave him my own interpretation of a stern look.

Adam gave me a brief half-smile. "I'll try to do that," he said.

7

Things over the next few days seemed to get more complicated and chaotic around our house. Things are rarely dull or moving at

a slow pace at the best of times. So, now it was chaos. Or nearly chaos. Only Hannah's calming demeanor and Adam and Brian's

steady hands kept it from being completely out of control.

It was late Monday before Daniel got home from the hospital. I was already home from work at the vet office by the time Crane

came driving up to the house, with Daniel. Jill had called earlier in the day while I'd still been at school, wanting a ride home

from the hospital. At least from what I'd garnered from conversations. I thought that was sort of dumb on her part, to leave hours

before Daniel was due to be released. Still-probably it was for the best. Jill didn't seem to be at her strongest in a stress-filled situation.

And I was sure that Daniel was likely okay with Crane being his driver back to the ranch.

Anyway, Hannah, along with Clare's help, had gotten some supper ready. Tacos, so that all that had to be done to finish was to

heat up the hamburger meat.

Crane had called and said they were on their way, and so we were all ready. Kenny had come over, too, and he was out with Guthrie

somewhere, helping with chores. I was chopping up tomatoes for the tacos when somebody hollered out that Crane was coming up

the driveway. I laid down my paring knife, and Jill, who'd been setting the table, surprisingly, looked flustered, and anxious.

She set the plates down and we both headed to the front door. Crane had helped Daniel out of the truck cab, and was holding onto

one of his arms for support. Daniel had a wide brace thing wrapped around his waist. They were coming up the front steps slowly, as I stood,

holding the screen door opened. Adam was walking behind them a bit, and Evan was heading over from the corral area. Jill ran down the stairs and met them at the bottom, taking the other side of Daniel.

She started telling him to go slowly, be careful, all of that. I stayed quiet, and when Daniel finally made it to the top step he

gave me a greeting of "Hey, brat," in a sort of raspy voice.

I gave him a glad smile. "Hey."

When Daniel had been installed on one of the couches, and Jill had tucked herself against his side-the side with his unbroken arm,

so she could hook her arm thru his, Hannah sat on his other side for a few brief moments.

"How hungry are you?" Hannah asked Daniel, reaching out to smooth his hair away from his forehead, in an affectionate gesture.

"Starving," Daniel confirmed.

"We can eat in here," Hannah said, gesturing around the living room.

"No need to make more of a mess for yourself, Hannah, draggin' everything in here-I can come to the table just fine," Daniel told her.

"Alright," Hannah said, quietly, and she went off to the kitchen to heat up the meat. I remembered my still unfinished job

of cutting up the tomatoes and went after her.

I finished that and also set the table, since Jill was still attached to Daniel. Kenny came in the back door while I was setting out

the plates, and moving chairs closer together.

I turned to smile at him, and he grinned back, as Hannah said, "Go on and wash up, Kenny. We're about ready to eat."

"Yes, ma'm," Kenny said, going to the sink to wash his hands. He turned from the sink when he'd finished, to smile at me again.

"Is Guthrie coming along?" Hannah asked him.

"Yeah. He was right behind me," Kenny said.

I handed Kenny a handful of silverware and he followed along behind me around the table, putting down the forks and spoons.

When we were all gathering around the table, squeezed in together, the food began to be passed around. I noticed how cautiously

that Daniel seemed to be sitting, sort of extra straight, as though it was taking great effort. I wondered if his back was hurting him. Nobody talked about the

accident, or where his truck was at, or what the results of the MRI had been, or any of that. Conversation was light, and everyday,

about fence, and the need for more feed, and the need for caulking in the bathtub.

Daniel, even thru his statement of having been starving, didn't eat all that much, I didn't think. Clare got up to get out some ice cream

from the freezer, and the table got cleared off with everybody helping. Daniel ambled back to the living room, Jill still sticking close to him. Kenny

left to go outside again with Guthrie.

"The ice cream needs to soften up," Clare said. Hannah tried shuffling me out of the kitchen, telling me to go and get my homework

done.

I resisted, and said, stubbornly, "I can help. You've probably been on your feet all day."

Midway thru the dishes, Hannah had finished putting the food away, and came to take the dish towel from my hand, taking my place

next to Clare, who was washing the dishes.

"Alright, I'll take over," she told me. "Scoot."

I didn't get much homework done, sitting in the living room. I kept watching Daniel, who'd fallen asleep, stretched out on

the couch, with his head in Jill's lap.

I could see Crane and Evan and Brian and Adam standing outside, just at the bottom of the front porch steps, talking together

in a circle.

I put down my books and went outside, hesitating at the top of the porch, and wrapping one arm around a porch column.

After a couple of more minutes of them talking, I caught only a couple of words. They all looked up at me standing there,

and Adam said, "Need something?" to me.

I shook my head no, and they turned back to each other, talking again. Feed pickup the next morning, and other ranch stuff

again. I could hear the phone ringing inside. And ringing. And then, Clare came to the door, pushing open the screen.

"It's Ford," she said, to the group. "He called to talk to Daniel, but he's sleeping. Ford's asking to talk to one of you."

"He likely wants to know what was said at the hospital," Crane said.

"Likely," Adam said, in agreement. "You want to go?" he asked Crane.

"Yeah," Crane said, and headed up the steps, and going past me, and inside, with Clare in front of him.

Ford hadn't really wanted to go back to college that morning. He'd been leaning towards staying-at least until

Daniel came home, but everyone had talked otherwise to him, and he'd let himself be convinced to go back.

Adam made a motioning sign to me, and I went down the porch steps to stand in their small circle.

He put his arm around my shoulders, and gave me a gentle squeeze.

They began talking about going to pick up Daniel's truck, from where it had been left. The highway patrol had moved it off of the

roadway, and it needed to be either hauled or towed home.

I garnered from their conversation that they didn't want to have to have it towed by a tow truck. I knew enough to know that they

were considering the financial aspect of it. And, too, they thought the truck would likely be totaled out, not salvageable.

I waited for a lull in the conversation, and then I asked, "What did the MRI show?" I hadn't had a chance to ask anybody privately

since I'd gotten home, and I hadn't wanted to ask around Daniel.

"His back's sprained," Adam said.

"Oh," I said, sort of subdued. That sounded bad to me. "What does that mean? Like what can he do for it?"

"Rest, heat, ice, things you do for any sort of sprain," Brian said.

"That's why he's wearing that-brace thing?" I asked.

"It helps with the support," Adam said.

"The brace'll help ease the pain, too," Evan added.

"Oh," I said, again.

My tentativeness must have shown thru, because Adam squeezed my shoulders again. "Daniel's gonna be alright," he said, quietly.

I met his eye, and nodded. Mostly because I knew that's what he expected.

It was while we were standing there that Jill came out and down the steps, and past us, walking towards the barn, and sniffling

and swiping at her eyes. She didn't say anything to anybody or even really look our way. Just went towards the barn and inside.

Crane was coming back as well, and Brian asked, "What's up with her?" nodding his head towards where Jill had gone.

Crane shook his head slightly. "I don't know, she's upset about something. I didn't hear it all."

"Well-it's hard," Adam said, as though he was excusing Jill.

"Daniel's the one who's hurt," I muttered. "Not her."

Nobody told me to knock it off, or to hush up. The three oldest McFaddens must be giving me the benefit of the doubt, or else they

were just too darn tired to react. Only Evan did, giving me a look that seemed to say, 'not the time'.

The sky was starting to change colors, as the sun prepared to descend.

"I'll go tomorrow, to pick up the truck," Evan was saying.

Guthrie and Kenny were walking our direction. Guthrie caught the tail end of the conversation, and said, quickly, "I can go with, and

help get it home."

"You've got school," Crane said, shortly. Repeating the same argument and answer as from the night before.

"One of us will be around to help," Brian said.

Evan went on, talking about the trailer that was behind the barn, and planning to use that to load the truck on.

Kenny was standing off, just a bit, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and I turned to him.

"Want to go for a walk?" I asked him.

He gave a nod, and a slight smile, and I could see the eagerness in his eyes. To be off by ourselves, for a bit.

"We're gonna walk," I said, in a sort of broad announcement to anybody.

"Not long." It was Brian that spoke up. "Ken, you're gonna need to be heading home soon."

Kenny gave a respectful nod of his head, and we walked off, towards the orchard.

7