garage, and if there were a male equivalent of beauty salon gossip, he worked in the midst of it.
"Rob Parker. You ought to remember him, Brenna. He's younger than you—you would have been out of high school before he started up—but his family's lived around here for a long time. Used to run with a disrespectful bunch, Toby Ellis and Gary Rawlins, mainly."
Emily, whom he'd met at the community college in business classes and who had grown up on the other side of the city, just shrugged at him. "Must have been before you lured me here to live with you in the great white north."
"She's never forgiven me for putting her in the path of yet more snow," Sam said, giving the statement a grave face as he moved up behind Emily and gave her shoulder a squeeze. North of Monroe City received considerably more lake-effect snow than south of it, no doubt about that.
"It was a significant sin," Brenna said, trying to look stern.
Emily said, affecting much primness, "You could have opened up a garage anywhere ."
"The good school district was here," Sam said.
"Foo," Emily sighed. "I can't argue with that."
Sam grinned briefly, then sobered. "But Brenna, seriously. You might not recall; they got into the worst of their trouble about the time your dad took ill. Then Toby joined the army; word is he was nothing but trouble—eventually went AWOL from basic, got himself killed thumbing a ride home—dark night, bad weather, stupid choices. Driver never even saw him. Gary'd started a good construction job, could have gone places—but he quit it right after. No one really understood what came over him. He never worked steady after that—but always had plenty of money, if you catch my drift. And Rob took off, went to Ohio somewhere, spent time in auto assembly."
"He said he'd lost a friend right after the last time he'd been at the spring," Brenna said. "Toby, maybe? And another friend not long ago?"
Sam nodded. "Gary. Couple of months ago. You ought to have seen it in the paper—they followed the story pretty closely for a couple of weeks. Unsolved homicide. He brought it on himself, if you really want to know. Just like Toby. Stupid choices. Good riddance."
"Sam!" Emily said, truly shocked.
Sam shook his head, unrepentant. "I mean it, Em. He was bad news, and he carried it around with him. He might have been lost in Monroe, but this community's too small for someone like him. I'm glad he's not carrying on his smarmy deals anywhere near our girls. And I'm not so happy that Parker came back."
"It's been years," Emily said. "And he hasn't been anywhere near his bad-luck friends. He might not be anything like them."
"Those kind make their own bad luck."
Emily tipped her head to stare at him, evidently no more used than Brenna to hearing such harsh statements from Sam, but he didn't give; he just shook his head once. "See if I'm not right."
"People change," Brenna said cautiously. Though she hadn't. Just the same now as she ever had been, except maybe a little less patient, a little more tired, and a lot more aware of what people did to their dogs in the name of ignorance. Still in her parents' house, the same house she'd been in when Toby died, Gary led his short and seamy life, and Rob had years of life elsewhere. With Dad dead and Mom living with Aunt Ada in Sunset Village, playing bingo, going on bus trips and fancy restaurant trips and tours of the wine country in the southern part of the state.
Russell had married, found a partner and bought out the small flooring company where he'd worked since he was sixteen, and been to the community college along the way.
And Brenna was still waiting to remodel the second floor of the farmhouse into the loft-like master bedroom she'd envisioned when she was
"Rob Parker. You ought to remember him, Brenna. He's younger than you—you would have been out of high school before he started up—but his family's lived around here for a long time. Used to run with a disrespectful bunch, Toby Ellis and Gary Rawlins, mainly."
Emily, whom he'd met at the community college in business classes and who had grown up on the other side of the city, just shrugged at him. "Must have been before you lured me here to live with you in the great white north."
"She's never forgiven me for putting her in the path of yet more snow," Sam said, giving the statement a grave face as he moved up behind Emily and gave her shoulder a squeeze. North of Monroe City received considerably more lake-effect snow than south of it, no doubt about that.
"It was a significant sin," Brenna said, trying to look stern.
Emily said, affecting much primness, "You could have opened up a garage anywhere ."
"The good school district was here," Sam said.
"Foo," Emily sighed. "I can't argue with that."
Sam grinned briefly, then sobered. "But Brenna, seriously. You might not recall; they got into the worst of their trouble about the time your dad took ill. Then Toby joined the army; word is he was nothing but trouble—eventually went AWOL from basic, got himself killed thumbing a ride home—dark night, bad weather, stupid choices. Driver never even saw him. Gary'd started a good construction job, could have gone places—but he quit it right after. No one really understood what came over him. He never worked steady after that—but always had plenty of money, if you catch my drift. And Rob took off, went to Ohio somewhere, spent time in auto assembly."
"He said he'd lost a friend right after the last time he'd been at the spring," Brenna said. "Toby, maybe? And another friend not long ago?"
Sam nodded. "Gary. Couple of months ago. You ought to have seen it in the paper—they followed the story pretty closely for a couple of weeks. Unsolved homicide. He brought it on himself, if you really want to know. Just like Toby. Stupid choices. Good riddance."
"Sam!" Emily said, truly shocked.
Sam shook his head, unrepentant. "I mean it, Em. He was bad news, and he carried it around with him. He might have been lost in Monroe, but this community's too small for someone like him. I'm glad he's not carrying on his smarmy deals anywhere near our girls. And I'm not so happy that Parker came back."
"It's been years," Emily said. "And he hasn't been anywhere near his bad-luck friends. He might not be anything like them."
"Those kind make their own bad luck."
Emily tipped her head to stare at him, evidently no more used than Brenna to hearing such harsh statements from Sam, but he didn't give; he just shook his head once. "See if I'm not right."
"People change," Brenna said cautiously. Though she hadn't. Just the same now as she ever had been, except maybe a little less patient, a little more tired, and a lot more aware of what people did to their dogs in the name of ignorance. Still in her parents' house, the same house she'd been in when Toby died, Gary led his short and seamy life, and Rob had years of life elsewhere. With Dad dead and Mom living with Aunt Ada in Sunset Village, playing bingo, going on bus trips and fancy restaurant trips and tours of the wine country in the southern part of the state.
Russell had married, found a partner and bought out the small flooring company where he'd worked since he was sixteen, and been to the community college along the way.
And Brenna was still waiting to remodel the second floor of the farmhouse into the loft-like master bedroom she'd envisioned when she was
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