Wandering Heart by Rita Hestand

out on her before you know if things are going to
work out. She's alone except for you, Josh. You're big enough to
know sometimes things don't work out the way you plan. What if he
hurt her? You know, you've gotta sort of take care of her."
    "Gee, I…I
hadn't thought about that. I hadn't thought about that at all. I
guess I've been kinda selfish. Thinking how I felt, not her. I know
she's lonely. She hasn't had anybody but me and Uncle Henry."
    "Yeah, women
get lonely after a while even though they love you. They until get
lonely."
    "Man, I'm glad
we had this talk. I guess I wasn't looking at the whole thing. But,
what about you, Coop? Will you stay when they get married?"
    There was a
long silence before Cooper finally answered.
    "I don't know,
Josh. They might be thinking of selling this place and moving into
town. Doesn't he have a pretty nice place in town? There are all
sorts of possibilities, but what I do isn't important. You'll be a
family then."
    There was a
silence, and then Cooper continued. "Look, Josh, you, your mom, and
Greg are going to be a real family. A real family. And even though
I'm sure Greg could never take the place of your dad..."
    "No, he
couldn't. I mean I know I never knew my dad. And I'd like you to
know I appreciate you telling me about him. Sorta man to man." Josh
face twisted into a frown. "I never liked to ask Mom. She always
gets kinda misty about it. You know—sort of female like. I feel
like I kinda know him now. You know what I mean, putting everything
together. Man, it's too bad they don't let kids choose their
parents."
    Cooper chuckled
softly. "Wouldn't that be something? Just promise me you'll try to
get along, Josh. For her sake."
    "Okay, I'll
try. For her sake."
    "Give Greg a
chance. I've met him, and he seems like a fairly nice guy, as far
as I could tell. He comes on a little stuffy, but I'll bet he's
pretty regular, once you get to know him. And consider this. After
they are married you will have the best of everything, pal. Have
you even given that a thought?"
    When Josh
didn't answer, Cooper went on. "I'm sure your mom has."
    "She doesn't
have to marry him on my account. I got the best of everything right
here. Don't you see? Can't she see that? I don't need anything
else. I got Tim and Pete, my two best friends nearby, and Partner,
and now the piglets and the best mom, and…and I even have you now.
When they get married all that might disappear."
    "But I'll give
him a chance, for her sake. He doesn't know anything about
baseball, hunting, or fishing or stock car races. Can you see him
dissecting frogs? I don't even think we speak the same language.
All that stuff is the best of everything to me," Josh complained.
"Besides, he doesn't like Partner either. I guess that's what set
me off first about him. He called him a mongrel the last time he
was here. And I can't give him up. Greg has a registered pit bull,
and he's meaner than a junkyard dog. He says a good dog must be
trained. But Partner does everything he's told."
    "Maybe you
won't have to give everything up," Cooper encouraged.
    "Yeah, maybe."
But he didn't sound convinced.
    "There might be
another solution, Josh."
    "What?"
    "I might be
interested in buying the farm, if your mother sells. Then you and
Partner could come out here and work for me. You could help me
raise the piglets."
    "Really? Gee,
if you bought it I could come out whenever Mom let me." Josh
sounded excited.
    "Maybe. I'm not
promising, but it's a possibility. Now, why don't you check on the
stock before the storm hits? Make sure they've taken cover," Cooper
instructed. "I've got to put stuff up in here, and store the gear
away, so we can make a temporary home for Elmerine and her piglets.
Then we'll check the house and see if everything is tied down
proper."
    "Okay. Thanks
Coop."
    There was
another silence then Josh added, "It'd be simpler if you'd marry
Mom. Don't you like her?"
    Cooper
hesitated with his answer... "Of course I like her, Josh. Your