had left him alone since Margaret came around.
"Your girlfriend?" Snider looked doubtful. However, this was the first time he'd seen Walter fully sober and hadn't detected the smell of stale alcohol that followed him like a loyal pet.
"Yes, sir."
"Don't tell me you're talking about Margaret and her daughter, Cayte."
"Matter of fact I am."
"Good lookin' woman," Snider nodded his approval.
"You're tellin' me."
"What do you think, Zach?" Snider said.
Zach shrugged. He liked Margaret fine but Cayte had repeatedly warned him not to trust her. She was good for his dad though, that was for sure. Walter was making an effort to control his drinking and hadn't sworn at or smacked Zach in the past week. Yes, Margaret was good for Walter, which was good for Zach. It was nice to not have to walk on eggshells around his dad. But none of that mattered. Walter being with Margaret meant Zach got to be around Cayte. Margaret could have been a werewolf and it wouldn't have made a difference.
"Hate to see you go. I've heard a few folks around the fair talking. Said they came just to see Zach. But you gotta do what's right for you, and you've done right by me. Paid your fees each week and made some money in the process. Next year we'd love to have you back. We'll get you a bigger venue. Get you out of the barn and onto a real stage."
"Very kind of you, Mr. Snider," Walter said.
Snider touched the brim of his hat to each of the Hepsons and left without another word.
"What was that about?" Margaret asked, seeming to materialize out of thin air.
"Snider wanted us to stay on 'til the end of the fair," Walter said.
"I don't much care for that man," Margaret said.
What Margaret didn't say was that to get Cayte a side-stage show she'd offered to "persuade" him. Snider, being a stickler about his job, resisted Margaret's advances and demanded to hear the girl sing. Once he'd heard Cayte sing, Snider overlooked Margaret's attempt and booked them for the first two weeks.
"Find someone to take your camper and pickup yet?" Margaret asked Walter.
"Yeah. Got a guy coming by this afternoon to take it off my hands. Can't believe I'm getting rid of Ol' Rusty."
"Please, darlin', that thing shoulda been scrapped years ago."
Walter didn't say anything. Margaret came up to him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
"Chin up, sugar, we're hittin' the road tomorrow for Las Vegas."
"Yeah," Walter smiled.
It was nice to see Walter smile; it'd been a rare occurrence since Zach's mother died.
"God, this free time is killing me," Cayte said, walking through the barn.
"Calm your britches," Margaret told her. "We're on the road tomorrow. You should be practicin' anyhow."
"I can't practice all day, Margaret. I need to rest my voice."
"Hush up then," Margaret snapped.
"Wanna go for a walk?" Cayte asked Zach.
"All right."
The two had gone on many walks in the couple of weeks they'd known each other. Usually going for a walk consisted of Cayte complaining about her mother while Zach didn’t saying anything and nodded his head when appropriate. This walk started out a little different.
As they strode among the throng of fairgoers, Cayte asked, "How do you hear spirits?"
"I just do. I have for a long time." Zach almost felt bad lying to Cayte. Almost.
"But how? You don't hear them all the time, right?"
"Not all the time. I have to listen for them," Zach said.
"How do you listen for them?"
"I concentrate. I kind of turn off my normal hearing and turn on my other hearing. It's not the same as hearing normal stuff, where the sound comes to you. I have to reach out with my hearing and find the sounds, you know?"
Cayte shook her head.
"It's hard to explain," Zach said.
"Are there any spirits trying to talk to me?" Cayte asked.
"I don't know. I've never listened for you. Well, except that one time you came to my show."
When you built up a character the way Zach had you couldn't let the veil slip, not even a little, ever.
"Would you listen for me
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