on her, saying how nice it was to have family close by her.
“Good,” the older woman said.
“I’m hoping to convince my brothers to come home,” he told her then. People who lived in Dry Creek might move away, but they almost always came home sooner or later. He hoped his brothers would do the same. He’d written letters to each of them, saying how well his grandfather was behaving and how the ranch needed them. The envelopes were sitting on his dresser at home, waiting to be mailed.
“It would do my heart good to see them,” Mrs. Hargrove responded, beaming. “I miss those boys.”
Hunter realized he might not be able to mail those letters now. His grandfather was certainly not reformed. And then he looked at the dear woman’s face in front of him. Hunter didn’t know how many of her white hairs and worry lines were due to him and his brothers. He’d never told her about the struggles they’d had when the other kids had said things about the old man. He’d given Scarlett a hard time for only trusting one person, but he realized that, for most of his life, that one person for him had been Mrs. Hargrove. Even now, he didn’t want anything to smudge the good opinion she had of him. He’d never talked to her about his grandfather’s schemes although he was sure she knew.
They sat together quietly for a moment.
“Bring Joey to Sunday school tomorrow if you can,” Mrs. Hargrove said after a few minutes. She was watching the boy fold a napkin into bird wings. “He’s got a lively mind and will add to the class.”
“I’ll have to ask his mom.”
“Will there be a problem?”
Hunter shrugged. “She may not want him to come.”
Linda had left a pot of coffee on their table and he poured himself some more and lifted the cup to his lips.
Then Mrs. Hargrove leaned toward him. “Your grandfather tells me you’re dating the boy’s mother, so she’ll listen to you.”
Hunter almost spewed hot coffee all over the table, but he managed to swallow it instead.
“I just met her,” he clarified. “We don’t even know each other. She sure doesn’t listen to me.”
“Well, sometimes these things happen quicker than we expect,” she responded, the twinkle in her eye deepening. “Besides, I know you’re persuasive when you need to be.”
Hunter gave a quick look toward the back room. He didn’t think Scarlett would appreciate this conversation. He certainly didn’t. Fortunately she and Linda were still back there doing whatever they were doing about Scarlett’s suit.
“We’ve only know each other for an hour,” he whispered. And most of that time they’d been at odds.
“Yes, well, maybe it does take longer than that,” Mrs. Hargrove conceded with a chuckle as she picked up her fork to resume eating.
Hunter turned back to Joey. Linda had brought some colored paper napkins and scissors to the table for him to use. When the café owner had her Saturday-night specials, she sometimes decorated with strong colors. She’d had a beach theme recently. Hunter spied a bright pink napkin and picked it up.
“Bet you’ve never seen a flamingo,” he said to the boy.
Joey looked up. “A flammy what?”
“It’s a pink bird with long legs,” Hunter said. “Here, I’ll show you.”
Joey frowned slightly. “Pink is for girls.”
Hunter grinned as he started to cut up the paper. “Not if you’re a bird, it’s not.”
Between his grandfather and himself, they had made Joey cutouts of fifteen different birds by the time Scarlett returned.
Hunter tried not to stare at her. He thought he was used to her vibrant beauty by now, but his mouth went dry when he saw her in a simple white cotton blouse and a pair of Linda’s denim jeans. Scarlett walked over to their table and bent to hug Joey.
She was dangerous, Hunter told himself. And she probably knew it. Beautiful women did, in his experience. A man shouldn’t trust them.
“How are you doing?” Scarlett asked her son.
Joey held up the
Jade Sinner
Greg Sandora
Celeste O. Norfleet
Lisa Marie Perry
Lev Grossman
Emily Sharratt
Sam Ferguson
David Housewright
Ilan Stavans
Jake Vander Ark