Free Target by Connie Suttle

shelf of his library.
    "Time for bed," his mother's voice floated from down the hall. She knew Ashe would hear. Frowning grimly, he shut down the computer and went looking for clean pajamas.
    * * *
    "The Corpus Christi Packmaster has offered us space for a garden, and she has also offered summer jobs for anyone sixteen and older," Adele said Friday morning as Ashe sat at the kitchen island, eating a bowl of cereal. He'd gotten up before his mother because his stomach was growling. Adele had given the cereal an irritated frown before going to the stove to prepare an omelet. Now she sat opposite Ashe and was chattering away, although Ashe hadn't spoken, preferring silence except for the clinking of his spoon in the bowl and the sound of the cereal crunching in his mouth.
    "What kind of work, you ask, and a female Packmaster?" Adele was asking the questions Ashe was considering, so he kept chewing. "Her name is Shirley Walker, word has it she can stop a speeding bus one-handed and she owns cotton fields, grapefruit, avocado and peach groves. She needs help with the peach and avocado harvests. And no, cotton isn't picked by hand any longer. Machines do that."
    "Knew that already," Ashe said before he thought.
    "And here I thought you'd lost your ability to speak," Adele gave a small smile. "You need more than a bowl of cereal, Ashe."
    "I can make my own eggs," he grumbled, dipping up the last square of cereal and a half-spoon of milk.
    "Then make eggs," Adele said. "You need more than that; you haven't eaten since early yesterday." She nodded at the now empty bowl. Ashe picked it up and walked to the new dishwasher. The appliance was nicer than the one they'd had in Cloud Chief. He then went to the fridge and pulled out the carton of eggs. His mother had gone to the grocery store, Ashe saw. The refrigerator was full.
    "When do I start? If the Corpus Christi Packmaster hires me, I mean?"
    "I wanted to take you in for your driver's exam on Monday; I found out where to go," Adele offered a real smile this time. "And don't stand there and tell me you don't want your license."
    "I do." Ashe cracked an egg into a bowl, followed by a second. Briefly, he beat the eggs with a fork; he liked scrambled eggs without milk added. Turning on the burner beneath the skillet, Ashe waited patiently for it to heat up properly before pouring in the beaten eggs.
    "Then we'll go on Monday. There's a bookstore not far from the Corpus Christi Department of Public Safety. You can take your driving test first and go looking for books after that. Shirley Walker says Wednesday is soon enough for people to come and interview. She realizes we're still settling in."
    "How did you find out about that?" Ashe stirred eggs in the skillet, watching them cook.
    "Marcus, of course. Shirley contacted him as soon as he arrived, I think."
    "How much does it pay?"
    "Minimum wage, but that's still good for anyone without prior work experience."
    "I have prior work experience." Ashe did—he'd worked afternoons, weekends and summers at Cordell Feed and Seed.
    "Ashe, that was unofficial. You didn't get a real salary and paid no taxes. This is a chance to do both those things. Plus, Shirley's groves are guarded by werewolves."
    "Fine." Ashe raked cooked eggs onto a plate, set the skillet on the back of the stove and turned off the burner. Grabbing the salt and pepper, he walked back to his seat at the island. "How many hours per day? What are the working conditions?"
    "I think it won't be more than eight hours, but that's a guess, Ashe. Harvests are unpredictable, as you know. I miss our vegetable garden."
    "The tomatoes were coming along," Ashe nodded. They'd had to leave their garden in Cloud Chief. Ashe loved fresh tomatoes.
    "I know, honey," Adele sighed. "And your father doesn't want to purchase another business here until the old one sells."
    "I understand that," Ashe nodded and scooped scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Were you going to do the same thing this