“Pierce Granger. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I had some time on my hands and couldn’t think of anything better to do than to call you.” His tone said otherwise.
Why she brightened from hearing that, she couldn’t say. Maybe because it was good to hear his voice. Bestnot to analyze that too much. “Giselle made it home safe and sound, I assume.”
“Yep. She’s with Mom doing the dishes, deep in girl talk. Like I told you, it’s strange. Some things never change, even when everything has.”
She could see clearly what he didn’t say. “While your brother is gone, your family is still there. Life goes on, like it did before.”
“That’s it. It’s nice. Skip and Sean are out feeding the horses. I was going to borrow Sean’s computer to try to instant message you, but this time he really hid it good. I’ll find it, but it’s going to take a little more effort.”
“I have every faith in you.”
“Good, because failure isn’t an option.”
She could picture his big smile, the one that reached all the way to his eyes and made dimples bracket his lean mouth. Total charm, made all the more awesome for the substance beneath.
“I owe you a big thanks.” His voice grew serious and low. “Giselle told me about the support group.”
“I only made one call and held her hand. No thanks necessary.” She was glad she was able to help. She was doubly glad to hear his relief. “Have they talked you out of the Army yet?”
“No chance of that. How come you can understand when they can’t?”
“I don’t have the same expectations as your family does.” She took a sip of her tea, surprised to find she was still seated in the crowded dining hall. “It has to be hard to be torn between what your family wants for you and what you have to be.”
“That’s one tough journey, walking your own path. God doesn’t always mark the way well, but you’ve gotto keep faith and keep on trekking.” He cleared his throat. Maybe he’d had enough serious talk. “Tomorrow we’re going over to Uncle Frank’s ranch for the day. He’s firing up the barbecue pit and having all the family over.”
“I’ve never been to a hog roast, although my aunt and uncle smoke ham for family get-togethers. It sounds like fun.”
“It usually is. Every woman in the family bakes up her best dishes. It’s the best potluck ever.”
“My mom’s side of the family does that, too. It’s funny how we grew up so alike.”
“You ran wild in your youth, too?”
“Ha! That’s an image.” She could see him as a little boy, brown hair wind-ruffled as he raced through mountain meadows. “I was a quiet child. If I was outside, I was under a tree in the shade with my nose in a book.”
“I was a Hardy boy fan, myself. I read every one of them. In the summers, Mom would pack us a lunch and we would take off for our tree fort. We would spend most of the day on top of that platform, keeping lookout for enemies and digging into our books. We’d spend day after day that way.”
“I can picture that. Something tells me you did more than read.”
“True. Sean would trail along with us most of the time, but he was the one who held down the fort when Tim and I got antsy and needed a little more adventure.”
“Adventure?”
“We would take off into the hillside, climbing over downed trees and trailing through the woods. There were animals to track—deer, elk, moose, cougar and the occasional bear. It was fun following the tracks andevery once in a while we ran into one of the animals. We’d sit in the brush, still as stones, just watching.”
“There was a creek on our land, that my aunt and uncle own now. My cousins and I used to wade in it. When we were older, we used to go swimming where it ran deep. Fun memories.”
“When we were shipped off to Uncle Frank’s place we did serious damage. We put a rope in a tree so we could swing out into the river. Foolhardy. Could
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I had some time on my hands and couldn’t think of anything better to do than to call you.” His tone said otherwise.
Why she brightened from hearing that, she couldn’t say. Maybe because it was good to hear his voice. Bestnot to analyze that too much. “Giselle made it home safe and sound, I assume.”
“Yep. She’s with Mom doing the dishes, deep in girl talk. Like I told you, it’s strange. Some things never change, even when everything has.”
She could see clearly what he didn’t say. “While your brother is gone, your family is still there. Life goes on, like it did before.”
“That’s it. It’s nice. Skip and Sean are out feeding the horses. I was going to borrow Sean’s computer to try to instant message you, but this time he really hid it good. I’ll find it, but it’s going to take a little more effort.”
“I have every faith in you.”
“Good, because failure isn’t an option.”
She could picture his big smile, the one that reached all the way to his eyes and made dimples bracket his lean mouth. Total charm, made all the more awesome for the substance beneath.
“I owe you a big thanks.” His voice grew serious and low. “Giselle told me about the support group.”
“I only made one call and held her hand. No thanks necessary.” She was glad she was able to help. She was doubly glad to hear his relief. “Have they talked you out of the Army yet?”
“No chance of that. How come you can understand when they can’t?”
“I don’t have the same expectations as your family does.” She took a sip of her tea, surprised to find she was still seated in the crowded dining hall. “It has to be hard to be torn between what your family wants for you and what you have to be.”
“That’s one tough journey, walking your own path. God doesn’t always mark the way well, but you’ve gotto keep faith and keep on trekking.” He cleared his throat. Maybe he’d had enough serious talk. “Tomorrow we’re going over to Uncle Frank’s ranch for the day. He’s firing up the barbecue pit and having all the family over.”
“I’ve never been to a hog roast, although my aunt and uncle smoke ham for family get-togethers. It sounds like fun.”
“It usually is. Every woman in the family bakes up her best dishes. It’s the best potluck ever.”
“My mom’s side of the family does that, too. It’s funny how we grew up so alike.”
“You ran wild in your youth, too?”
“Ha! That’s an image.” She could see him as a little boy, brown hair wind-ruffled as he raced through mountain meadows. “I was a quiet child. If I was outside, I was under a tree in the shade with my nose in a book.”
“I was a Hardy boy fan, myself. I read every one of them. In the summers, Mom would pack us a lunch and we would take off for our tree fort. We would spend most of the day on top of that platform, keeping lookout for enemies and digging into our books. We’d spend day after day that way.”
“I can picture that. Something tells me you did more than read.”
“True. Sean would trail along with us most of the time, but he was the one who held down the fort when Tim and I got antsy and needed a little more adventure.”
“Adventure?”
“We would take off into the hillside, climbing over downed trees and trailing through the woods. There were animals to track—deer, elk, moose, cougar and the occasional bear. It was fun following the tracks andevery once in a while we ran into one of the animals. We’d sit in the brush, still as stones, just watching.”
“There was a creek on our land, that my aunt and uncle own now. My cousins and I used to wade in it. When we were older, we used to go swimming where it ran deep. Fun memories.”
“When we were shipped off to Uncle Frank’s place we did serious damage. We put a rope in a tree so we could swing out into the river. Foolhardy. Could
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