Riding Tall by Kate Sherwood Page A

keep them as foster care. Even for Lacey, the government will pay for her education costs if you can manage to get her into some sort of postsecondary program. We wouldn’t do that if she was adopted.”
    “I’m working hard just to get her to stay in high school,” Joe said. It was true. The girl was turning eighteen in a couple months, and once that happened she’d be legally able to drop out and get a full-time job. Joe was pretty sure she was working on her résumé more than her homework.
    “I’ll try to help with that,” Jean said. She pushed her wooden chair back from the table and heaved herself to her feet. “I’m glad the girls are here, Joe. It’s the best place for them. And if you can find space for the dog, that’d be even better. Lend the truck to Lacey for visits to Kami, and you qualify for full herohood.”
    “Let’s not get carried away,” Joe said.
    “You’re a good man, Joe Sutton. Sorry if you don’t want to hear it, but I’m afraid it’s true.”
    “I’ll call the girls,” he said, and he headed for the base of the stairs.
    Ally and Austin came down with the girls, and after they left with the social worker, Ally stayed in the kitchen, looking at Joe expectantly. He ignored her on principle, saying only, “Can you watch Austin for a couple hours?”
    She said, “Oh, are you going out?”
    “Thought I might.” He considered it. “Actually, Austin can come. You want to go for a car ride, buddy?”
    Much to Ally’s obvious annoyance, Austin didn’t ask where Joe was going, just trotted to the mudroom to start putting his boots on. Joe followed and bent to help him, aware of Ally hovering in the background. Austin was completely ready and Joe was reaching for his own jacket when Ally finally said, “If you happen to be going to the animal shelter… I could come. Make sure you get the right one.”
    He didn’t look at her, annoyed that she knew him so well. And annoyed that she’d known Jean was going to tell him about the abandoned animal but hadn’t thought to give him a heads-up herself. “How many dogs named Jasper do you think they have?”
    “I don’t know. Sure would be funny if there were two.”
    He stepped to the side, making room for her in the doorway, and she practically sprinted toward him, then skidded to a stop in front of the coatrack. “This is so cool,” she said as she tugged the boots on. “It’s going to be such an excellent surprise!”
    “You know my not so excellent surprise today?” Joe asked, trying to keep his voice mild. “I found out that two kids who’ve been through a lot wanted to put a bit of their family back together, and I didn’t make it happen because I didn’t know about it.” He stepped around so Ally couldn’t get past him and tried to look her in the eye. It wasn’t easy when she refused to turn in his direction. Finally, he gave up and spoke to the side of her head. “Why didn’t I know about it?”
    She pulled her jacket on. “It’s not easy, Joe. If they say they don’t want me to tell you something, I’m supposed to respect that, aren’t I?”
    Good point. “As long as it’s not about something that could get someone hurt, yeah, you should respect it. But, damn, Ally, couldn’t you have dropped a hint or something? Or couldn’t you have convinced them it would be good to tell me themselves?”
    “I was trying to do that!” Ally grinned at him. “But I knew Jean would tell you, once she got you alone. And this is going to be a good lesson for Lacey and Savannah, probably. They need to start getting trained in how to get you to do what they want. It’s not nearly as hard as most of my friends have it. They want something, they have to manipulate and connive. Me? I want something? I have to ask for it .”
    “You’re not that spoiled,” Joe protested.
    “Only because I don’t want to be,” Ally said gleefully. Then she saw his expression. “Oh my God, Joe, are you going to worry about this now?