I scooted back against the headboard of my bed.
"I went for a ride with Allison Butler."
"Butler? That Harve's kid?"
I nodded.
"Okay. So? You two were riding on her daddy's place?"
Of course. Leave it to a McFadden to think of a horse before a car.
I wished that I could say I'd been riding a horse. I had a feeling Brian would be a whole lot more understanding
if that were the case.
"No, Brian. Not horseback, " I said quietly.
Brian looked puzzled for a long moment, then when he realized what I meant, he started
yelling. "A car accident?! You were in a car accident, and you didn't think you should tell somebody?!"
"Unbelieveable!" he roared.
He was roaring so loudly that Ford came to the open doorway of my room.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Shut the door, Ford!" Brian hollared, and when Ford did, Brian looked at me and
narrowed his eyes. "This happened after school? That's why you were late?"
I hesitated, wondering if I should say yes. What was the use? He would find out everything anyway.
"After lunch," I mumbled.
"What?"
"After lunch," I said, more clearly.
I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but Brian's eyes got even darker, and his face looked like it
was made of granite.
"You cut school to go joyriding?!"
"I'm sorry, Brian, I know it was dumb-"
"It was more than dumb, Harlie! Damn, girl! You need a come to Jesus meeting!"
I shrank back on my bed, sliding down a little, which turned out to be a bad move, because
Brian loomed even bigger and scarier when I was laying down like that. It also made my back
hurt worse.
Brian didn't miss my wince of pain. "What's wrong?" he stopped yelling to ask. "Something's hurting
you. What is it?"
"It's my back," I admitted.
"Let me see," he said, and helped me sit up. "Where at?"
"Down here," I said, pointing to the spot where it hurt the most.
Brian lifted my pajama top. I know he saw the bruise because he said, "Damn!" again.
He went to the door, and opened it, bellowing down the stairs, "Crane! Get up here!"
Great. Just what I needed.
Crane came up, and Brian lost no time in filling him in on the details of my afternoon.
Crane didn't say anything, he just looked all sad and disappointed at me.
They both sat down on the bed, and Brian hoisted me up, lifting me in a humiliating way, halfway
over his lap. He and Crane pushed and poked and prodded on my back, asking me
silly questions, like did it hurt worse here or there.
"What did you hit it on, do you know?" Crane asked me.
"The door handle, I think."
Crane hadn't bothered to shut my bedroom door, and I heard Daniel before I actually saw
him. "What's going on?" he asked, seeing me stretched out, practically upside down,
with Crane and Brian hovering over me. "This looks like it has to have an interesting story attached."
I twisted to look at Daniel, standing there, with his guitar case in his hand.
"Go away, Daniel!" I said. Good grief, it was like Grand Central Station in here.
Crane told Daniel what was going on, and I turned my face back towards my pillow.
I didn't want to mention that it WAS hurting, the way they kept poking and pushing. I bit my lip,
determined to keep quiet. And I did, until they started discussing some nonsense about
whether my kidney might be bruised.
I struggled to look up at them. "It doesn't hurt that much," I said. "I know my kidney's not
bruised, or whatever."
They ignored me, and I struggled harder against Brian's hold. "It's fine!" I said.
"Keep still!" Brian ordered, and gave me a smack on my behind. It was a 'keep still or else'
swat, and I subsided, giving in to the tears I'd been holding back.
When Brian finally let me up, he sat there for a minute, and then he got up and went out
without saying a word, and we could hear him going downstairs. I knew he was so mad that
he left so he could get control of his temper.
I looked at Crane. " How bad? Scale of one to ten?" I asked him.
"A twelve," he said grimly.
He stood up. "I'll get you some Tylenol," he said.
"You can't!" I said, crying harder.
"Why can't I?" he asked, irritated.
"Because-because the bottle's empty!"
"For Pete's sake," Crane said, and then he left, too.
Daniel was standing there, just watching me, and I covered my face with my
hands. "Don't look at me like that, Daniel!"
"You stood in the field this afternoon and lied to me, Harlie. I'll look at you any way I damn
please. "
Crane came back carrying a new bottle of Tylenol, and a glass of water, and the
heating pad.
"Here," he said, holding two Tylenol out to me.
When I'd taken them with the water, Crane took the glass from me, and plugged the heating
pad in beside my bed. "Alright," he told me, arranging it behind my lower back. "Lean back."
"I'll come back in a while and turn it off," he said.
"Crane?" I said, watching his face thru my tears for any sign of sympathy.
"What?" he asked, shortly.
"This is the worst day of my life."
"Well, who's fault is that?" Crane returned, not sounding at all sympathetic.
When he left without saying goodnight, I turned my face away from Daniel's
intense gaze. "Go away, Daniel."
Daniel sat down on the edge of my bed. "No, I'm not gonna go away. Tell me what you were
thinking. Why would you do something so stupid?"
"I guess because I AM stupid."
"No, you're not. You're one of the smartest people I know, squirt. That's why I don't understand."
"I don't know, it sounded like fun-"
"Now that is a dumb thing to say. If that's all you've got, I'm gonna start getting mad, too, here in
a minute."
I shrugged at him, and Daniel shook his head in disgust, starting to get up.
I caught at his arm to pull him back down. "No, Dan'l, please! I can't do this without you!"
"Then give me something to go on, so I understand."
"It's just, it was such a bad morning, and it was terrible at school, too. When she asked me to
go, I just did."
Daniel frowned at me, obviously not impressed.
"I just did it, Daniel! I don't know what to say!"
"That's lame."
"It was like my head just wasn't thinking."
"Huh," he said. "I've had those moments myself."
He tucked the blankets up around me. "Better get to sleep," he said.
"Crane's mad at me," I said, in almost a whisper.
It takes a lot to make Crane angry, so Daniel knew what I meant. He nodded.
"Yeah. He'll cool off."
"Brian won't."
"Well, no, I didn't say that Brian would." Daniel smiled at me, but I didn't feel
like smiling back.
"Get to sleep, squirt. Tomorrow's another day." He kissed the top of my head, and
stood up.
He paused by the door. "Want the light off?" he asked me.
"Yeah." I felt like crying again. "Daniel?"
"What?"
"I'm a screw up."
"Naw. You're a mess up. There's a difference. Go to sleep."
"I love you, Daniel."
"Love you, too, squirt."
The Tylenol was helping a little with my pain, and I was so exhausted that I went to sleep almost
right away. As I was drifting off, I thought I heard Brian's raised voice shouting from downstairs, and
I was immensely glad that for the moment it wasn't directed at me.
7 = 7 = 7 = 7 = 7 = 7 = 7
When I woke up the next morning I knew it was later than I usually get up, because
the sun was shining into my tiny window, and there was no noise at all. The entire house
was quiet. I got up, moving carefully. My legs ached. I've never been in a car accident,
and I didn't know if that was normal for the day after.
I went to the bathroom, and then went downstairs. The big clock in the living room showed
9:30. Nine-thirty, and noone got me up for school? I wandered to the kitchen.
It was empty, too, but there was a note propped up on the kitchen table, leaning against
a loaf of bread. I picked it up to read:
'There's pancakes and bacon in the warming oven, and orange juice
in the refrigerator. Two Tylenol in the window sill if you need them. Be
dressed by 11. I'll be in at 11:30 to take you to the doctor.
Brian
Short and to the point. No loving undertones, though I guess I didn't deserve
any. Still, he'd left me breakfast. I took the Tylenol and got a glass of orange juice.
I nibbled on a piece of bacon, but threw the pancakes out the back door to Gus.
I went back upstairs and got dressed slowly. It was difficult to pull on my jeans, and
tugging my shirt over my head really pulled on my back. I tried to brush my hair, but that
really was painful, so I just made a braid, tangles and all.
The phone was ringing as I came back downstairs. I debated about answering it, thinking it might be Adam.
I thought he'd probably heard about what had happened, and I was in no hurry to talk to him. But just maybe it was
Guthrie, or Hannah. I would have given anything at that moment to hear Guthrie's voice. I hesitantly said,
"Hello?"
Allison's angry voice yelled into the phone. "Why did you say anything about yesterday?!"
"I had to! My brother saw my scratches!"
"Well, I hadn't told my father yet, and your brother called him, and now he's ragging on me!"
"I didn't know Brian called your dad."
"I don't know if it was Brian! I don't know which one it was! I told my father that a deer ran in front of me, and
you need to back me up on that!"
"I already told Brian what happened, I can't tell him that now! It wouldn't sound right, he'll know it's a lie!"
"I don't give a damn what it sounds like! Just do it!"
She slammed the phone down. I thought then what a spoiled brat Allison really was.
Since I didn't have my homework with me to do, I sat in the living room, looking at
old photo albums of when the boys were all little. There aren't so many pictures of me and Guthrie,
but a few. Looking at the pictures made me feel weepy. I didn't know if I was just feeling
extra emotional or what. I didn't want to go to the doctor, and I wondered if I could talk Brian
out of going. I closed my eyes.
I heard Brian's boots coming up on the porch, and I sat up, realizing that I had dozed off.
He came in, and I noticed that he had grease on his jeans and his hands.
"Hey." he said.
"Hey."
"Did you eat?"
"The bacon. And juice."
"Did you take the Tylenol?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Get your jacket on. I'll go wash up and we'll get going."
I wanted to ask him if I had to go, but it didn't seem the right moment. He went into the kitchen
to wash his hands, and I started to pull my jacket on. When he came back, I was still
struggling. Without saying anything, he held it out so I could push my arms into the sleeves.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"Yep."
I had to grit my teeth to get up into the Jeep, and I know Brian noticed.
It's a twenty minute drive to Murphys from our house, and it was quiet the whole
way, until I said, "Why do I have to go to the doctor?"
"Because Crane and I think you should, just to make sure you're okay."
"Where is Crane?" I asked, wishing he was here, too.
"The vet's coming to look at the calf."
I subsided, until Brian pulled up in front of the doctor's office, and parked the Jeep.
He came around to my side, obviously to help me get out, but I sat still.
"Come on," he said, impatiently.
"I don't think I need to see the doctor, Brian."
"You can't even get your own jacket on. You need to see him. Come on."
"The Tylenol really helped. And the heating pad. I think if I just rest a little-"
Brian half lifted, and half pulled me down, towing me along, until I pulled back.
"Brian! I don't need to!"
Brian turned to look at me, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet, but hard.
"Young lady, you don't get to decide whether or not you're going in there. I'm saying
that you ARE. Now, you either walk, or I'll pick you up and carry you in over my shoulder."
Well, when he put it that way.
7b47b 7b47b 7b47b
I've known Dr. Fairbanks all my life. He's stitched up every single one of my brothers on more than
one occasion, and set their broken bones. He says Evan holds the record.
He's even had to patch me up a few times when I was younger, when Guthrie and I had one of our more adventurous escapades.
When he was done examining me, asking me questions, he straightened up and rubbed
absently at the back of his neck. I thought I'd done alright answering his questions, but he gave
me a 'dad' type look and said firmly, "Now, Harlie, I know that bruise has to be very painful. Pretending
that it's not isn't going to make it so. How about you answer my questions a little more honestly
this time, alright?"
I avoided Brian's dark look, and said, humbly, "Yes, sir."
It turned out that Crane and Brian's hunch was right, I DID have a bruised kidney. I listened to
the doctor give Brian instructions. I thought sarcastically that they'd both think they should have an
M.D. behind their names now, too.
Dr. Fairbanks was laying out the rules. "No school for two weeks. No lifting. No strenuous activity.
Plenty of rest."
I wondered glumly if 'no lifting' or 'no strenuous activity' meant I didn't have to do
chores.
"Her appetite's likely to be down, but it's important she eats what she can," he was telling Brian.
When we left the office, Brian was carrying a prescription for pain medication. He helped me into
the Jeep, and I leaned against the door, feeling like I could burst into tears at any moment.
Brian pulled in the drugstore, and parked. When he came back out he was carrying my
medicine. He sat for a minute, reading the instructions, and then drove down the street
and pulled into the grocery store. He didn't say anything this time, either, but he came
out with a box of crackers and a small bottle of chocolate milk.
"It says this has to be taken with food," he said. "So let's get something in your stomach
so you can take one."
I wanted to protest that I couldn't eat, not one bite, or I'd be sick, but Brian was holding the
milk out to me, and he didn't look like he was going to take no for an answer.
I drank half the milk and ate a few crackers while we sat there in the parking lot, and then
Brian handed me one of the pills, putting the bottle in his shirt pocket.
The ride home began as silently as the ride into town had been. Afterwards, I wished that it had
stayed silent.
"Was there a deer involved in your little adventure last night?" Brian asked.
I looked at him, and then looked away, back out my window. He must have talked to Allison's father
a second time if he knew about that. I was trying to decide whether to go along with
Allison's story or not.
Brian reached over and flicked my leg. "I asked you a question."
"I guess."
"You guess? There either was a deer, or there wasn't."
"Why ask me?" I said, in a less than respectful tone.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means, if Allison says there was a deer, and her father believes her, then why ask me? I mean, she's
a princess at her house. I'm not."
"Look at me," he ordered.
I looked at his angry face. "What?"
"Don't 'what' me. You're being rude and sassy. Knock it off."
"Why? You and Crane are mad at me, you're so mad you can't even hardly talk to me."
"And you think talking like this is going to make me less mad?"
"I don't know," I said carelessly.
Brian pulled the Jeep to the side of the road, and stopped so fast that the tires squealed in protest. He switched
off the engine. "You're right," he said. "I am mad at you. I'm more angry with you now than I've ever been."
"I told you I was sorry, Bri!"
"I know you did. But that's not good enough."
"I figured I'd be grounded forever, too-"
"You're gonna be grounded, too, alright. And we are going to discuss the deer, and the other
details of last night. But before we do that, we're gonna get something else straightened out
first."
"Like what?" I asked, in a near whisper. I didn't like the look on Brian's face.
"Like the fact that you left school to go joyriding for one. And the fact that you've done
nothing but lie and try to hide that you'd been in a car accident, for another. And because of those
two things, I'm gonna turn you over my knee."
I stared at Brian in horror. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been spanked by Brian, or Adam, or anybody
for that matter.
"No, Brian! I won't leave school anymore! I won't lie to you ever again!"
"That's good. I hope not. This is gonna be an added incentive to help that along."
Brian got out and came around to my side of the Jeep.
"Bri! I don't want you to!"
"I'm sure not," he said dryly, pulling me out of the Jeep.
"I'm too old for you to spank!" I protested.
"Nope," he said, pulling me along.
"You can't!" I told him. "My back's hurt!"
"I promise I'll aim my incentive lower down than that."
The problem with living in the country like we do is that there's lots of downed
trees around. Brian found a log and sat down, pulling me across his knee.
He spanked me so hard that it felt like my behind was on fire. When he let
me up, I would have sworn right then that I would never, ever lie to anyone again.
When we got back into the Jeep, Brian started the motor, and said quietly,
"I know it seems like I'm being tough on you. But I love you, Harlie, I love you enough
that I'm not gonna let you turn out wrong."
There was no talking after that, and the only sound the rest of the way home was me
crying.
7
When we got home, we met Daniel, Evan, and Ford coming out of the house. Their hands were full of
cookies and apples, and Evan was eating a big chunk of cheese.
"Did you hogs leave any food at all?" Brian asked them.
"Not much," Evan said.
"You're home early," Brian told Ford.
"Water pipe burst," Ford said, around his mouthful of cookies.
"Did somebody get something out of the freezer for supper?"
"Crane did. Hamburger," Daniel said.
"Okay. I'll make chili," Brian said.
It was obvious to anyone that was paying attention that I'd been crying, and Daniel
is good about paying attention. He smiled at me in sympathy, but I didn't feel like smiling back.
Brian opened the front door, ushering me in ahead of him.
"Hey!" he yelled at the boys. "Will one of you do Harlie's chores? And tell Crane to
come in as soon as he gets a chance, okay?"
The boys all said okay, but I knew it would be Daniel who did my chores.
When we went into the living room, Brian hung his jacket up, and helped me out of mine.
I felt like limp spaghetti, I was so tired.
"You want to lay down awhile?" he asked me.
I nodded.
"Okay. Get your boots off. I'll get you a blanket."
When Brian came back with my favorite quilt, I was sitting on the couch, but I'd only
managed to get one boot off. He lifted my foot, and pulled off my other boot.
"Lay down," he said, motioning towards the couch.
He covered me with the quilt, and I think I was asleep almost right away.
+7+7+7+7+7+7+7
When I woke up, Ford was sitting in the chair next to the couch, doing homework. He was
singing kind of softly. It was a Johnny Cash song, 'Ring of Fire', and for a minute I just
laid there, listening. I love to hear Ford sing. When I moved and stretched a little, Ford
looked over at me.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey."
"Did I wake you up?"
"No. I think I've been asleep a long time."
"Yeah. It's after six. You missed supper."
"That's okay." I didn't feel like eating, anyway.
"Oh, we saved you some," he grinned.
"Where is everybody?"
"Daniel's gone, but everybody else is in the kitchen. They didn't want to wake you up, talking
in here."
"Oh." I struggled to sit up, wincing as my sore behind came into contact with the couch. "Ouch."
"Brian said the doctor gave you some pain pills. You want me to get you one?" Ford offered.
"No, thanks," I said, choosing not to enlighten Ford on the exact location of my pain at that
moment.
"I'll tell 'em you're up," he offered.
"That's okay. Can't we just talk for a minute.?"
"Okay."
"Anything happen at school today? Besides the water pipe breaking?"
"Not really. I brought your homework home. It's up in your room."
"Ughh. That's not what I meant."
"I know." He grinned. "Crane told me to get it for you."
"Was Allison at school today?"
"I don't think so. I didn't see her."
"I guess you think I'm pretty dumb, too, huh? For going with Allison?"
"I don't think you're dumb at all. That's why I don't understand. I mean, why do you
want to be friends with her for, anyway?"
"I don't want to, Ford. Not anymore. It was temporary insanity. She's a spoiled brat."
"Yeah. She sure seems like it. Stuckup, too."
"Spoiled and stuckup. And snotty."
"Yeah. Mean, too." He was grinning now.
"Yeah. And ugly."
Ford held up a hand. "I'll have to stop you right there. That girl is definately NOT ugly."
"Oh, you male you!" I giggled, and tossed a pillow at him. That pulled on my back, and
I winced again. "Oww."
"You okay?" he asked. "We better quit fooling around."
"It's okay. This is the best part of the whole last two days, Ford. I'm sorry you had
to look for me after school yesterday."
"Yeah. Well, I was worried."
"I'm sorry."
The sounds of our voices had reached the kitchen, and Crane came into the living room.
"Well, hey," he said. "You ready for something to eat?"
"I'm not very hungry," I told him.
"Well, you have to eat. Besides, Brian outdid himself with the chili." He went back towards the
kitchen, and returned with a tray, with a bowl of chili, cheese, crackers, and a glass of milk.
I looked up at Crane, feeling overwhelmed.
"Eat what you can," he said, sinking down beside me on the couch, and stretching his long legs out.
Evan and Brian came out, too, and when Evan sat down opposite me, I looked up to see
him watching me. I waited for him to say something bossy or insulting to me, but he
didn't. He even gave me a half-way smile.
"Guess what, Har?" he said.
"What?" I asked,
"You remember Arlene Ramsey?"
"Uh huh."
"You know how long she's been after Darrel Akes? Well, he finally asked her out, I heard."
"He did? Wow. That took a long time."
"Yeah. I think she's had their wedding planned for two years or more."
"Maybe they'll go out, and she'll find out she doesn't like him at all."
"I bet that's what happens," Evan agreed.
After that, the four of them started talking, mostly about ranch stuff. The subject of the sick calf was
uppermost in the conversation. Doc G, the local veterinarian, had come out that morning, and Brian
and Crane were discussing the cost of the vet visit, and medication.
"One of you boys has got to go to vet school," Brian was telling Evan and Ford. "So we can have our
own family vet, and save all this money."
The boys were laughing, and Crane said something about no more expenses the rest of the month.
Brian told Crane to talk to the cows and the tractor about that. He was joking, but I could tell he
and Crane were both worried about money.
I'd been trying to eat, but I gave up, trying to keep my tears at bay, thinking about the money Brian
had pulled out of his wallet for my doctor visit, and then the medicine at the drugstore.
"What's the matter?" Crane asked me, laying a hand on my leg.
"I cost you guys money today. That could have paid the vet bill for the baby calf," I said tearfully.
Crane and Brian looked at each other, and then Crane said, "Ev, can you take the tray to the
kitchen? And then can you guys disappear for awhile?"
After the boys had gone outside, Crane said, "Time to talk."
"Okay," I said.
"And, it's important you tell us the truth about everything," Crane told me.
Before I could tell him that I would, Brian spoke up, "She's not gonna lie to us, Crane. She's done
with that. Right, Harlie?"
I tried to meet his direct look. I could still feel the sting in my backside. I had no intention of
lying. "Right," I said quietly.
"Was there a deer last night?" Brian asked.
"No."
Brian didn't look surprised at my answer. I think he knew that already.
"What caused her to hit a tree?" Crane asked.
"She was lighting a cigarette."
"Where did you go during this ride?" Brian asked.
"Nowhere. Just driving, mostly. Then when she hit the tree, we had to walk to town,
and Jake went to tow her car."
"And you got home how?"
"Old Vernon gave me a ride."
"Huh."
They both looked at me for a minute, and then Crane said, "You've never done anything
like this before, Har. What provoked this?"
I remembered my talk with Daniel the night before.
"I don't have any excuses," I said. "I just-" I looked at their expectant faces. "It was an
impulse. A bad one," I finished with a sigh.
"Here's how it's going to go," Brian said. "You have two weeks according to the doctor that
you can't ride. When that's done, you have two more weeks from me."
A month without riding Petra! She would be impossible to control by then!
Now Crane was talking. "Ford, or Guthrie when he gets home, will get your homework for you
every day. I think Ford brought some home today."
"He put it in my room, he said."
"Okay. Well, since there's not alot you can do for a couple weeks besides keep up on your
homework, you can do a report every day. I'll give you the list of subjects in the morning.
Two thousand words, each. That should help keep you occupied."
That was a new one. I looked at Crane, bewildered. Two thousand words sounded
like an awful lot. I realized that they had most likely used my nap time to agree on my
punishment.
"And," Brian said, "it goes without saying, that you aren't going to hang around with
the Butler kid anymore. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Any questions?" he asked me.
I wanted to ask about Petra, and what a month with no one riding her would do to her
training, but I couldn't work up my courage. Brian still looked like he was angry.
"No questions," I said.
Brian looked at Crane. "That all?" he asked.
"That's all." Crane answered.
"Okay. I'm gonna make some coffee," Brian said, and went off towards the kitchen.
Crane kind of jiggled my knee with his hand. "It probably seems like we're being
hard on you. But considering what you did, we went pretty easy."
Easy! Getting the daylights paddled out of me, no horseback riding, and writing what
would probably be a million words! That didn't sound easy to me. But I knew better than
to complain. Besides, Brian was too close by for me to complain.
Crane stood up, and held out a hand to me to help me up. He looped his arms over my shoulders
and said, "Look at me."
When I looked up into his face, he said, "You scared me so badly, Harlie. You know how we
worry about car accidents, right?"
Of course I knew! Considering that my parents were killed in a car accident, I knew it was
a fear that the older guys had. But I had to admit, I hadn't thought of it in the last two days.
"I'm sorry, Crane!"
"I believe that you are sorry. Accidents can happen anytime, and not be a person's fault.
But like this situation, when you were where you weren't supposed to be, that's a preventable
accident. You understand that?"
"Yes."
"That's why Brian and I are so upset with you. Because you PUT yourself in that situation."
"Brian's mad because I lied."
"Well, sure, that too, of course. But mostly, he was scared. Just like me. If something happened
to you, Harlie," he hesitated, and brushed back my hair with one hand. "Well, I think it'd just
about kill us."
I felt tears running down my cheek, and Crane reached up with a thumb to wipe them off.
"I'm going to ask you something that I never have before. I want you to promise me you'll
never put yourself at this kind of risk again. I want you to think twice, three times even, before
you make a decision to do something you know is wrong. I want your word, Harlie."
"I give you my word," I said, really quietly. And I meant it, too. I was sorrier than I could explain
for being the cause of the worry on Crane's face.
"Alright," he said, and stepped back a little. "Are you going to take a shower tonight, or in the
morning?"
A shower sounded really good, but I didn't think I could stay awake long enough to accomplish
it. "In the morning," I told him.
"Okay. Is the heating pad still in your room?"
"It was this morning."
"Go on up and get into your pajamas. I'll bring your medicine up in a couple minutes."
I trudged up the stairs, feeling as though both of my feet weighed twenty pounds each.
I was in my pajamas, already under the blankets, when I saw Evan standing at the door.
"Hey," he said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. You can come in."
"Truce?" he asked, with a grin.
"Truce."
Evan came in and sat down in the chair by my bed.
"So, a bruised kidney, huh?"
"I guess so. Have you ever had that?"
Evan's had so many injuries from his rodeoing that I figured he had.
"Nope. One thing I've never had."
"You have a rodeo this weekend?"
"Yeah. In Modesto."
"I wish I could go. I bet you'll do good."
"Thanks."
When Crane came in with a glass of milk and my medicine, Evan stood up.
"See you," he told me.
"Night, Ev."
I took the medicine and drank the milk.
"Did you brush your teeth?" Crane asked.
"No."
"Don't you think you should?"
"No. I've decided to let all my teeth rot out, and I'll eat ice cream the rest
of my life."
"That's a plan. Of course, being toothless, we'll never be able to get you married
off."
I giggled. It felt good to joke around with Crane.
"Well, then, I guess you'll be stuck with me forever," I told him.
Crane kissed the top of my head. "Actually," he said, "that would be just fine with me."
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