The Promise of Forgiveness by Marin Thomas Page A

my own all these years. No sense changing that now.” Hank coughed, the rattle in his chest bouncing off the barn walls. Then he hacked up phlegm.
    â€œThat’s gross,” Mia said.
    â€œGot to clear out my chest in the morning.”
    â€œI could help you quit smoking if you let me stay with you.”
    Mia would rather live with a practical stranger than her own mother. Beads of sweat bubbled across Ruby’s upper lip, and she wiped away the perspiration with the back of her hand. Since Mia had been caught in bed with Kevin, she’d given Ruby the cold shoulder. Ruby had backed off, deciding to wait until they arrived in Kansas before addressing the subject again. But if Mia continued to avoid Ruby, they might have to duke it out at the ranch.
    â€œWhy would you want to live with an old man like me?”
    â€œYou’ve got horses and Friend.”
    â€œYou like animals?”
    â€œAnimals love you no matter if you’ve done bad stuff,” Mia said.
    Ruby’s heart hurt for her daughter. Was she worried that her mother wouldn’t love her after she’d slept with a boy?
    â€œAnd animals never leave you.”
    Who was leaving Mia? Ruby had always been there for her daughter.
    â€œI’d rather live here than in Kansas,” Mia said. “My mom got a job at a motel in some stupid town called Elkhart.”
    â€œI’m guessing you don’t want to live in Elkhart,” he said.
    â€œNot hardly.”
    â€œWhat does your father say about you and your mom moving?”
    â€œHe doesn’t care.”
    If Hank wanted to know more about Dylan, why didn’t he just ask her?
    â€œMy mom said my dad got her pregnant in high school. She thought he’d marry her, but he didn’t.”
    Which was why Ruby had to make Mia understand that sex had serious consequences and she was way too young to handle them.
    Ruby had run into Dylan—literally—at the roller rink. Some twit had cut her off during the girls-only skate and she’d careened into the half wall, where Dylan stood with his back to the rink. The jolt sent his Dr Pepper flying, and the drink had splashed his date—a girl named Penny.
    Penny had flown into a rage, but it had been Dylan whom Ruby couldn’t take her eyes off. Apparently he’d found her just as interesting. Later that night he’d dumped Penny and given Ruby a ride home. She’d known Dylan was nothing but trouble, but she hadn’t cared, because he’d wanted to be with her. After only three dates she’d handed him her virginity, and then a few months later the stick had turned blue.
    And Ruby had blamed her pregnancy on Glen Baxter.
    Every summer after Ruby had turned eight, she’d spent two weeks on the road with her father. Hands down, it had been the best part of her school break. No set bedtime. No rules against eating junk food. Candy bars for breakfast and giant-size sodas when they stopped to fill the Peterbilt with diesel fuel. And tours of roadside attractions—places like the Jesse James Wax Museum and the world’s largest ball of twine. One of Ruby’s favorite pit stops had been Leila’s Hair Museum, where she’d been in awe of the wreaths made from human hair.
    Then there had been the afternoon her father had pulled off in Effingham, Illinois, home of the world’s largest cross. Ruby had gazed up at the white monstrosity and asked, “Is God real, or did people make him up like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny?” Her father had said, “God is real if you want him to be, and not, if you don’t want him to be.” And Ruby had taken him at his word.
    In Indiana, they saw the Giant Lady’s Leg Sundial in Roselawn, but her father wouldn’t take her inside the resort because the people weren’t wearing clothes. Then they visited the Backyard Roller Coasters of John Ivers in Bruceville. Mr. Ivers had let them ride the smaller one for