Free A Summer to Remember by Marilyn Pappano Page B

the edge of a clearing, trees nearby for shade from the morning sun, and for a while he and Mouse had lain in the back, watching for shooting stars and far-off planes. The only noises he’d heard all night were the birds in the trees, fish breaking the water’s surface, and distant coyotes. It would have been a perfect night except that Fia wasn’t with them. She wouldn’t even have had to kiss him, or let him kiss her. Just sharing the peace and the beauty of nature with her would have been enough.
    For now.
    So far this morning, he’d driven to the campgrounds down the road to shower and change, then returned to the clearing, where he fed Mouse and ate his own breakfast of peanut butter and crackers. He and Mouse had worked on her training for a while, and he’d waited for a call back from Fia. He never sweated calls back. Women liked him. They always called him back. It was as sure as the sun rising in the east.
    Though he’d checked the phone approximately every thirty minutes to make sure it hadn’t lost its signal.
    Okay, he liked women. So he liked this woman a lot.
    He was on the shore, contemplating bringing out his fishing rod to see how big those puddle jumpers were, when the cell rang. For an instant, his pulse accelerated, then calmed again immediately. That ring tone belonged to Emily.
    “Hey, older sister.” He put emphasis on older , since she’d been determined as a kid never to let him forget it. He figured he owed her a reminder now.
    “Hey, little brother.” She’d also been determined never to let him forget he was shorter. “Where are you?”
    “Tallgrass, Oklahoma.”
    “Are you stopped for gas, lunch, or sticking around?”
    “I’m gonna stay a…” A few days was his standard answer, then he would reevaluate, stay on or move on. But so far there wasn’t much standard about this stop. “Awhile.”
    “Hm. Job or woman?”
    “You think that’s all I’m interested in?”
    “A job makes living possible. A woman makes it worthwhile.” The teasing faded from her voice, caution replacing it. “Can I send you some money?”
    “Nope.” Every couple months, she and their parents offered him money, and he always gave them the same answer. He didn’t have a regular job. A lot of people didn’t. He picked up day jobs when he could, worked part-time gigs when necessary, and when he did have a job, he budgeted his money carefully. No splurges, except for Mouse’s vet bill, and that hadn’t been an option.
    “Bill and I can afford it, El. Consider it an early birthday present.”
    “No, thanks. I’m fine, Em.” He really was. The day he had to choose between food for Mouse and gas for the truck, he’d point the pickup west and spend some time with his family. He wasn’t too proud to accept help. He just wouldn’t do it until he needed it.
    “Tell me about the town.”
    He gave her the rundown and noticed the change in tone of her hm s as he talked. He didn’t have to wait long for her to explain them.
    “You spent five months in Jackson, Tennessee, and never sounded like this about it. And four months in Tampa. And three months in Austin. And yet after only a few days in Tallgrass, you’re sounding…”
    “Like I’m home?”
    “Yeah.” She sighed wistfully. “I wish home could have stayed home for all of us.”
    He did, too. But when a town just up and died, one business after another closing down, and everyone who depended on those businesses having to move away, it had made keeping the ranch going that much harder. He was glad he hadn’t been there, like Emily, when their parents had been forced into the decision to give up. His family spread across different states wasn’t what he had expected for the wife and kids he planned to have someday.
    “Now tell me about the woman.” Emily’s tone was cheerful again, and he could tell even with nearly seven hundred miles between them that she was grinning from ear to ear. “Come on, bubba, don’t deny it. There’s