Pole Position (Country Roads 2)

And her words iced the cake.

Colt studied the child with porcelain skin and dirty hair. She had washed her face when she’d asked to use their bathroom right before dinner. Even though her hair was still matted and quite dirty, she’d tied it back away from her face using her own hair to secure and tuck the ends in the center.

Brant took a deep breath, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and Colt saw his future again. Yes indeed. He understood what tomorrow held in store.

?

?I had an idea,” Brant began. His jaw twitched, and he seemed to have a problem choosing the right words. A time or two, he ran his hand over the length of his face, and finally he said, “Would you like to spend the night with us here tonight?”

She dropped one of the dishes in the sink. It was one of those heavy plastic plates, so it didn’t break, but she jumped anyway. “Don’t worry. It’s not broken.”

For a split second, Colt thought she might cry. She acted frightened, like she expected to be scolded.

“Even if the darn thing had shattered, it wouldn’t have been a big deal,” Colt assured her. “Brant thought you might want to stay here tonight. What do you say? It might be nice to sleep in a comfortable warm bed for once, huh?”

Her eyes watered and she immediately turned around. “I don’t know. I’d have to think about it. I have a very hectic schedule. Besides, I couldn’t leave Ralph all alone. He might get scared of the dark.”

Colt wondered how many times Princess had been frightened and all alone. “Tell you what, why don’t you leave the dishes. We’ll walk over to your place and grab Ralph, and whatever else you need. Then, we’ll come back and check out that campfire. See if it’s a good spot for roasting those marshmallows. What do you say?”

She thinned her lips.

“We’d be honored to have your company,” Brant told her.

“I don’t know,” she admitted skeptically. “My grandmother used to tell me I shouldn’t hang out with strange men.”

“And where is your grandmother now?” Brant asked in an accusatory tone.

Princess shrugged. “Some say she went to heaven. Others, especially the women around these parts, swear she went to hell.”

“Here,” Brant snapped. “You shouldn’t be talking about your dead kin that way.”

“No, but I reckon it’s true. She was a mean somebody,” Princess said, laughing affectionately rather than looking like she caught the brunt of whatever cruelty the woman exhibited.

“When did she die?” Brant asked, obviously skeptical again.

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s hard to say but maybe in the last year or two.” Princess tapped her chin with her fingers as if she were contemplating either her grandmother’s death or the invitation they extended.

“You’ve been on your own since then?” Colt asked.

“Not the whole time.”

Brant frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“There was this man that took care of me once. He was old and dying, too, but he made sure I ate, and we had plenty of food and clean water. He always said that was mighty important. Sometimes I think he might still be alive if he hadn’t struggled so much looking after me. He was pretty sick, but we did the best we could by each other, and I like to think I made him smile. That’s what he used to tell me when I would sing for him. He said I made him happy.”

“I’m sure you did,” Colt assured her.

“He called me kid, too,” she said softly. “I thought you might have known George.”

“Who is George?” Brant asked.

“Please try to pay attention,” she said, using the very words Brant recited earlier in the day. “George was the old man I told you about.”

“When did he pass away?”

“I think it was about a year or two ago.” She slapped her knee. “Time just flies when you start getting on in years.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Um, kid, can you give us just a minute to talk over something?”