Free Bound by Honor by Donna Clayton Page B

developed a staph infection that invaded her bloodstream. It ultimately took her life."
    "That's terrible," Gage said.
    She nodded. "Amy was nine when Mom died and, being the oldest, I felt I had to lake over Mom's responsibilities. My dad had never been a very good provider. He did what he could, but he had a tiny drinking problem." In truth, her father was a flagrant alcoholic. "He floundered from job to job." She shrugged. "So I did what I could to keep the household running. When cash was low, I found odd jobs that would earn a little bread money."
    "Must have been tough."
    She swiveled her head to look at him. "You do what you have to do. I'm sure lots of people have had it harder than me and Amy. At least my dad kept a roof over our heads while we were growing up."
    "Is he still in Rock Springs?"
    "He died two years ago. His liver was in bad shape."
    Gage's expression filled with sympathy.
    "So, with both your parents gone, I guess you and Amy were close."
    Jenna nearly winced. "Not as close as we should have been. We didn't agree about her education. I wanted her to attend classes at community college. We couldn't afford tuition at a bigger school, and her grades weren't good enough to earn any academic scholarships. That really didn't matter because the idea of going to college didn't appeal to her, anyway. All she was interested in was painting. However, that didn't keep me from harping on the subject. After one particularly loud argument when she was eighteen, she packed her things and left home. She ended up in Chicago. I would hear from her now and then, but one day she called to say she was moving back to Montana. That she'd met an artist named David Collins and they were getting married. They moved to Broken Bow where David was certain things would be economical for them. And it was. They were happy here. And I liked having Amy close again."
    Gage was quiet a moment, then said, "Well, I know a little about your sister, but what about you? Since education seems so important to you, were you able to attend college?"
    Self-consciousness forced Jenna to look away. "I took a few courses, but not nearly enough to earn a degree."
    He chuckled. "So you wanted your sister to do as you said and not as you did."
    She grinned sheepishly. "Something like that. But I found my niche very early."
    "Your computer work?"
    "Yes. I'd just graduated from high school, when the local public school system refurbished its computer labs. They gave away lots of computers, and one of them landed in my hungry little hands. I took a couple of computer courses, and I talked the local bakery into hiring me to build them a Web site. They really didn't expect anything to come of it."
    She lifted one shoulder a fraction. "And to t ell you the truth, I didn't, eith er. But soon they were sending cookies and cakes and bread to places all over the U.S., not to mention Japan and England and Germany. Delicious Desserts is still one of my clients. I'm proud to say that I've built a pretty lucrative business."
    However, the lessons she'd recently learned were heavy enough to round her shoulders. "But it came at great cost."
    His raised eyebrows were a clear sign that he was curious for more information.
    "Amy and I had done without for so long," she continued, "that once I started making money, all I wanted to do was make more. When I wasn't on the computer building sites or learning how to create even more intricate graphics, I was networking and querying, always trying to increase my clientele. It seemed that, in the blink of an eye, Amy had grown up and then she was gone. But I never slowed down. My engine was stuck in high gear, and I kept my nose to the grindstone."
    She rolled her eyes and quipped, "Mixed metaphors. Anyway, I thought I had forever to fix my relationship with Amy. Although we did see each other a little more often once she returned to Montana — especially after Lily came along — it seemed that everything still took second place