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  She averted her gaze to the rocking chair and the acoustic guitar on a stand in the corner. She smiled at the guitar, remembering evenings when her grandfather played for them. His rocking chair was just as he’d left it. She touched the worn piece of furniture with a loving hand and vowed that one day she’d find out what had happened to the old man. If Morris had anything to do with his disappearance, she’d find a way to make him pay for it. She blinked away the tears and went to the kitchen.

  “What’s for supper?” Tad asked, returning after he’d placed his backpack on his bed.

  “Whatever we can find that won’t put up much of a fight,” she teased.

  “I saw a chicken in a yard down the street,” he said, his gray eyes twinkling.

  “We are not chicken nappers,” she said haughtily. Her own eyes began to sparkle. “However, if you can spot a beef steer, I’ll go looking for a big bag!”

  He grinned. Beef was rarely on the menu. It was mostly chicken, in a dish to go over rice, or canned salmon made into croquettes. Mashed potatoes and biscuits went with most evening meals. In the morning they ate cereal, because cornflakes lasted for several days. On the weekends, she made bacon and eggs and biscuits for breakfast. It was a frugal lifestyle.

  “Oh, I wish we had a cake,” she sighed, picking at her mashed potatoes.

  “You could make us one.”

  “Dream on,” she said sadly, thinking of the expense that even a pound cake added to the budget.

  “Maybe we could get just a slice each at the grocery store,” he suggested. “That’s not as expensive as a whole cake.”

  She smiled at him warmly. “We can get two slices of cake when they send the Batmobile home and it’s safely stored in our Batcave.”

  He made a face.

  “It’s ours,” she emphasized. “I’m sure of it. Any day now, some smarmy lawyer’s going to come to the door and say they’re bringing it right over.”

  “When dogs fly,” he agreed.

  “I’m sorry we’re poor,” she said gently. “I wish I had more education, so I could get a better job.”

  He went around the table and hugged her tight. “I’d rather have my sister than a Batmobile,” he said huskily. “You’re so good to me, sis. I don’t care if we’re poor. We got each other.”

  She bit her lip and hugged him back, tears threatening. “Yes, Tad. We’ve got each other.”

  He went back to his place and finished his supper. “Sis, what are we going to do when Morris gets out?” he wondered aloud.

  Her heart jumped. The thought terrified her and she didn’t dare show it. “We’ll cross that flaming lava bed when we have to.”

  “It’s his house, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Well, until they either find Granddaddy or prove that he’s...dead. In which case, I’d inherit his half of the house. But that would take a lot of time.” Her eyes saddened. “Tad, I’ve been thinking about the military. It’s a good job, with great benefits. We’d get to travel...”

  “No!”

  He looked horrified. She stared at him blankly.

  “All my buddies live here,” he said, his face tragic. “We have this house, where we both grew up. Cal Hollister is close by if we get in trouble and need help.” He sighed. “Our family settled here before the fight at the Alamo. You told me that. We can’t give that up to go away to some foreign place. Please, Clancey,” he added, his eyes huge in his face.

  Her eyes narrowed. “That isn’t why you don’t want to go,” she said suspiciously.

  His thin chest rose and fell. His eyes lowered. “Mostly, the Army goes into bad places overseas. Lots of people in the military get killed.”

  “Oh. I see.”

  He didn’t quite look at her. “You’re all I’ve got, sis,” he said softly. “I don’t want to be put in a foster home. My friend Gary lives in one. He says it’s awful...”

  “I’d make sure there was no combat involved before I signed up,” she began.

  “What if they lie to you, just to get you to join?”

  “You have a suspicious mind,” she accused.

  He grinned. “My sister works for the Texas Rangers,” he teased. “Of course I have a suspicious mind. One day, I’m going to be a Texas Ranger and chase crooks.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “Your boss looks real mean,” he added.

  Her heart jumped unaccountably. “When did you see him?” she asked.

  “Last week. He was on television. They interviewed him about a robbery. He caught one of the bad guys. They said the case had been sitting for several years, but Mr. Banks worked it out from a slip of paper that had been found in a trash can after the robbery. He tracked down the thief.”

  “I remember,” she said. She shook her head. “He’s very good at puzzles. I think you have to be, if you want to work in law enforcement.”

  “I’m good at puzzles, too.”

  “In fact, yes, you are.”

  “Do you think your boss would ever talk to me, about being a Ranger?” he asked.

  She felt uneasy. She didn’t want Tad around Banks. She didn’t know why. It was just that she hesitated to let him into her private life. She guarded it from everybody. She had, for years.

  “Do you have homework?” she asked, trying to sound natural when her head was buzzing.

  “I do,” he replied. He grimaced. “A lot.”

  “You should get to it. Afterward, you can play video games until bedtime,” she added.

  “Okay!” He finished his milk and went tearing off to his room.

  She sighed with relief. She didn’t want to introduce him to Banks. She didn’t know exactly why.

  She washed up and cleaned the kitchen before she went to her own room to listen to music while she knitted. It was something she’d learned from her late mother. It relaxed her when she had nothing else to do. She liked to make shawls and hats, in all sorts of wild colors.

  Tad and his video games, she thought amusedly. He had a space one that he was crazy about. It was good that he was, because one game was all she could afford to buy him for their used gaming console, which had belonged to Morris. The game had been on the discount shelf. It was gently used, but Tad didn’t mind. Most of his electronics were second or even third hand. They couldn’t afford much in the way of entertainment.

  Clancey had been delighted that the benefits package she got with her new job was even better than the plan she’d had when she worked for Hollister at SAPD. Medical and dental were included. Medical expenses were the arrow in her knee. She had health problems that weren’t apparent, but they could be expensive from time to time. It was nice that she didn’t have to try to treat herself. She could afford to go to a doctor and be treated. There was a small co-pay, but she could manage that.

  She was sorry Tad was so vehement about the military. It was probably just a wild dream anyway, she thought. They were unlikely to let her in. But on the off chance, she’d gone by the Army recruiting office before she picked up Tad at school and got some literature about joining. She’d mentioned her health issue to the soldier in charge, who grimaced, but said they did occasionally make exceptions, and she was welcome to try anyway.

  She didn’t want to make life even more complicated for her little brother. But when Morris got out, what were they going to do? Compared to living in a homeless shelter, the Army looked good. It looked very good.

  She picked up her grandfather’s guitar, sat down with it and began to play.

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  Copyright © 2019 by Diana Palmer

  ISBN-13: 9781488054211

  Wyoming Heart

  Copyright © 2019 by Diana Palmer

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