Winds of Change

By Marianna Palmer

Gene hates Dusty Steppe. She hates living in the desert. But two guys wanting her? That she can totally get behind! Nick is suspicious, angry, and always shows up when she doesn't want him to. Shonn is sweet, obsessive, and will do anything for her.
Both have secrets. What Gene doesn't know WILL hurt her, because there is a dangerous secret in Dusty Steppe as well. On the roar of a dragon, everything will be discovered.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marianna Palmer
• Release date: Aug 25, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227267382

Marianna Palmer

Marianna Palmer is a creative force who has been crafting captivating stories from the depths of her imagination since she first learned to dream. Encouraged by a dare from her sister, she bravely embarked on a journey into the world of writing, which became her sanctuary during years of solitude, personal challenges, and overcoming deep-rooted fears. With an unwavering passion for storytelling, Marianna pursued her education and proudly earned her BA degree. However, she didn't stop there. Preferring the enigmatic allure of privacy, she briefly disappeared from the public eye, resurfacing intermittently in the company of her sister before once again retreating into her world of words. Currently residing in the vibrant city of Tacoma, WA, Marianna draws inspiration from the beauty of her surroundings while reveling in the safety of her sister's presence. Determined to live life to the fullest, she fearlessly confronts the unknown, defying the daunting obstacles that once hindered her path.

Book preview

Chapter One 

The wind swept across the barren land in front of me. Desert scrub poked out every few feet. Dusty dunes of sands broke the sparseness, and I knew I was in for a long trial. The bus station was the only thing around for miles. Besides my mother of course. The woman I hadn’t seen in years. Everything framed behind her was death. But Mom gave me the look. The look that said I had no choice in this. I had to just deal with the new living situation. I wondered if losing all the trees was worth never enduring another punch from my father again. This new punch was bad enough.

The punch of a desolate wasteland with no greenery in sight. The heat of summer still lingered here. I wiped the sweat off my brow and stared at my mother.

Do you have everything, Genevieve? Mom asked stiffly. The bus was long gone. I wish I was on it.

Yep. I had only two things with me right now. One being a duffle bag that held three or four outfits and some toiletries, and the other was a cat carrier that held Star— my black and orange mixed cat who even now yowled at all the dust.

Mom nodded and gestured me to her little black Toyota truck. She didn’t try to take my bag from me. I’m glad she didn’t. She hadn’t been my mother for eleven years. Playing one now was bad enough without her trying to be considerate. As she stepped into the driver’s seat, I walked to my side, moving only in obstinate inches. I didn’t want to obey her gesture, but at the same time, I had no recourse. I tried not to look at her but failed. I couldn’t see the resemblance between my long-lost mother and me. I just couldn’t. My mother had long brown hair, so thick and luxurious it could easily be in a shampoo commercial. Mine wasn’t anywhere near as long or thick. I usually cut it short, hitting my ear because long it looked like a rat’s nest.

And I certainly didn’t have my mother’s wire frame. Mine was stocky and thick. As I finally made it to the passenger seat and caught an accidental gaze from my mom, I was startled to find we both had the same color eyes. Green like a watercolor of a mossy pond.

Mom turned the key in the ignition, and the truck rumbled to life. Okay, she said. It decided to start today. It’s always fifty-fifty.

Great, I responded. It looked like I wouldn’t be borrowing it to go...somewhere. As the truck rumbled down the dusty highway, I wondered if there would be anywhere to go. Back in Tacoma, Washington, I’d find places to disappear even with the city around me. There were always pockets of greenery, places I could be free.

Is this what I should expect? my mom asked. One-word responses and noncommittal grunts? The dry scenery gave me little to look at, but it was better than staring at her.

I grunted just to annoy her.

She nodded and pushed the truck faster. The dusty highway turned into dustier streets. Small businesses and the like popped up as if out of the ground. The sun shot through the windshield, burning my face. Fine. Let’s just say how it is. I abandoned you when you were four. I get the anger you must have.

Do you? I asked silently. I truly wondered if she knew the avalanche of fire and brimstone behind my eyes when I thought about her driving off that day leaving me holding my little blue horse on the side of the road, my dad next to me. Wondered if she knew how many hits I got came from that very incident. Dad hated her leaving. I hated being abandoned.

She didn’t wait for my response. But your father’s out of the picture. I’m in. Let’s just start over at the beginning. We are strangers even though we share blood. So, let’s act that way. I’m Tanya Turner. You can call me that. Mom seems weird.

I was pleasantly surprised by her statement. I had no intention of calling her Mom, but I thought she’d insist on it. Suddenly, I felt as if this might be just a bit okay. She wasn’t playing that I’m your mother, and now you have to listen to me thing. I liked that she acted like we were just meeting each other. That I could handle. Because we were. Tanya, it’s nice to meet you. I guess since I’m living with you now, I’ll tell you my name. It’s Gene Turner. I won’t use his last name anymore.

Tanya shot me a look that quickly went back to the road. You don’t go by Genevieve? It’s way too long. I believe in one syllable names, thank you very much.

Tanya didn’t answer. I wondered if I had offended her. More small businesses showed, with wooden fronts. Many streets went off in every direction. A few vacant lots were interspaced between. The town looked like it had stopped in time. I wondered if there was even any cell reception wherever on earth I was now. It was as if I had been dropped off the face of the planet. Sidewalks were shaded with the dust around, and each one went around the town in this little maze of concrete. It looked like people walked here much more than drove.

Where in hell are we? I muttered.

Dusty Steppe, Arizona, Tanya answered. It sounded like there was a smirk to her tones even though her mouth hadn’t changed from its thin line. Or did you miss the sign when the bus roared to that stop?

I pursed my lips. Star yowled inside the cat carrier, wanting out. I understood how he felt. I wanted out too. I know the name. When you told me I had to live here, I looked it up, but I couldn’t find it on any map.

Yeah, you wouldn’t. Mayor Glazebrook got into a fight with the cartographer, and he pissed him off so much that Dusty Steppe isn’t on any map. It can barely be found these days. Don’t worry. You can always catch a bus to Phoenix. It takes a little more than two hours. If you get sick of small-town life.

I couldn’t read Tanya. Not surprising considering we just met, but it seemed like she was eager for me to take her up on that offer. This wasn’t what I had expected at all. In all honesty, I had expected hostility. Tanya should have been on the defensive. Or maybe she should have said she was sorry a hundred thousand times—I wouldn’t forgive her. But this casual demeanor didn’t sit well with me.

And it sure sounded like she was eager to get rid of me. Well, no way and no how. I was here to stay. She abandoned me all those years ago, because she didn’t want me, but the powers that be decided that I was her responsibility for the next three years. Until I was eighteen. And if that got in the way of her carefree life then so be it.

She stopped at a red light and waited quietly. I leaned back and threw my feet, complete with my dusty shoes, onto her dashboard. I could get used to small town life, I lied. Her face tightened. Any greenery around?

Tanya wrinkled her nose. Not for miles. Get your feet off my dash. She swiped at me, and I almost laughed. That was the first order she had issued. Funny, I listened without a second thought.

Do you like to read?’ she asked. Library’s down Valley Road."

Reading’s for kids, I said, but I made a mental note. I still loved mystery books, even though I was really too old for such stuff. Dad had hated it when I read—he called it a waste of time. It hadn’t stopped me. The light turned green, and we were going again.

The store is further down the road, she added. She turned left down an even dustier street. Spilling across the desert sands were rundown, formerly whitewashed homes and yards with sporadic scraggly grass. A few yucca trees were in some yards.

"The store?" I asked.

There’s only one in Dusty Steppe. Tom’s Market sells all sorts of stuff. It’s like a miniature department store. Tanya glanced at the scenery herself, but I could tell she wasn’t really looking at it.

Where is a real department store? I asked, hopefully. Not in Dusty Steppe.

I almost screamed. If I couldn’t get to the forest back in Tacoma, I could always hang out at the mall. Just another spot that I lost. This place was looking better and better. The high school is about two blocks away, so you can walk to it, but I thought you’d settle in before starting up classes, Tanya continued.

Well, that was good news at least. Me and school didn’t get along so well. I usually just faded into the walls. I had a few people who had tried to make friends with me, but I never knew what to say or do, so they stopped trying. I wondered if Tanya would let me settle in for a year or so. It being September, I wouldn’t be too far behind, but coming late was coming in late. Did anyone ever catch up? I had never had the displeasure of starting behind everyone else before. I had always been right there with the rest of my class. Dad had given me only one thing, and that was stability.

Not big on school, huh? Tanya asked, surprising me. Was I so transparent?

School is just a place to be, I answered, noncommittal. Dusty Steppe High School is no place to be, Tanya said, shaking her head. The principal is a real idiot, but at least you can laugh at him. Trust me, idiots make the world a much funnier place.

Sounds wonderful. I went back to staring at the landscape. Dusty Steppe seemed like just another small town with no real stuff to do and nowhere to disappear. Tanya’s house was at the end of a street with no pavement, and it sat back away from the road. We had little to no neighbors as the only house I saw was at least ten thousand feet away. I wondered if Tanya owned a farm or something, but I saw no cows or barns or anything of that sort. At least the grass was green here.

I slammed the door of the truck with my duffle bag and just walked towards the front door.

Wait, wait, wait, Tanya ordered and ran up behind me, clutching around my shoulders and holding me in place. She made me drop my duffle bag on the grass. I didn’t move to pick it up. I still held the cat carrier tight in my other hand. I wasn’t sure what to feel right here. My mother was hugging me around the shoulders. I hadn’t had her touch in eleven years. I expected it to feel strange, foreign. Instead, I felt warm. Tanya was my mother—she felt like home.

What am I waiting for? I asked, hoping my voice didn’t catch. She may have been home, but she had robbed me of that for years and years. I so didn’t want her to know she almost had me in tears.

This is your new house. It will be for at least three years. You can’t just walk in and ignore it. You have to get to know the White Lady.

The who? I asked.

My house. The White Lady. She gestured to my new home.

I stared at her, looking for that show of insanity in her eyes. It had to be there. Who named a dwelling? But she looked back at me steady as the mountains, and her hand felt firm against my shoulders.

Um...how am I supposed to get to know her? I tried to pull away, but Mom had me firm. You appreciate her. That’s how. You never take anything she does for you for granted. Every moment on this earth is precious.

Even when you pick up a bunch of papers and slice your finger? I asked.

Every moment.

Even when you burn your hand, and it blisters for like a week afterwards?

Yes, even then. Her voice was starting to get strained though.

With a hidden smile, I added, Even when your mother is crazy and wants you to talk to houses?

Now she glared at me. I don’t want you ‘talking’ to houses, Genevieve. I want you to appreciate what is going to shelter you, protect you. Give you a safe haven from any storm. Just find something that is beautiful about the White Lady, and if you ever come home crying or angry... If you’re ever in bed and wishing to be anyone but yourself, you can think about the house that surrounds you and know she will be there for you.

I don’t know... Maybe I could read her better than I thought, but there was something hidden in her words. She wasn’t just talking about the house. Maybe there was another lady in front of me that I was supposed to find something I liked about. Someone who asked me not to call her Mom...

But I followed her orders and took in the house. It looked like a normal enough farmhouse. Two-story with shudders on every window. I almost looked like a storybook home. The yard had a few rosebushes in it just starting to bloom with big red bounces. I didn’t think roses could exist in such a barren world, but they were so beau- tiful I wanted to run up and smell them. I didn’t of course. What would that have looked like?

A little stone path led to the porch, which was a wraparound. The house had more windows than I would expect. The best thing about it was the top. Right below the little pointed roof was a window that had a blue frame. Some pretty, fluffy, pink curtains framed the inside. I’ve never really been that into pink, but the curtains were way more like a sunset than the pink I had seen before.

I like that, I said, pointing to the gable.

Tanya followed the direction of my finger and nodded. Good. Because that’s your room.

You’re kidding! I said, forgetting to keep my cool. Nope. That’s technically the attic, but I remembered that you like to be up high.

I broke out into a grin. Mom! I... I trailed off. I hadn’t meant to call her Mom. It had been ages since I had last said it. It had just come out by accident. The idea that she had remembered that much about me had felt so good, so warm—so home. I mean, Tanya, thank you. My stuff will be coming in a few days. Dad said that Uncle Larry would get it all gathered up and sent out in a moving truck.

Tanya’s face hardened. I guess she didn’t like it much that I easily called him Dad and had to rescind her motherly status. Hey, she was the one who had suggested me calling her Tanya!

Well, good. In a few days, I’ll call some friends over to help move your stuff in. Are you still going to talk to your father? she asked as she finally let me go. I picked up my bag, and we started inside.

I don’t know. The question troubled me. I mean, I didn’t exactly like him when he punched me. And I knew I shouldn’t have been covering up the bruises. That night when he went the worst... I had been sent to the hospital, and he had gone to jail. He had broken my arm. I hated him.

But as the law started getting involved, and my arm started healing, I kind of had forgotten that I did hate him. Now, though, I couldn’t make any real decision. So, I did a cowardly thing.

What do you think? I asked, stopping on the porch to sling my duffle bag over my shoulder. I put the cat carrier down as I leaned against the porch post. It was so shiny white that it could have been marble.

Tanya didn’t answer for a few minutes. Finally, she opened her door and said, I don’t think you should talk to that piece of trash for the rest of your life. Then she disappeared inside. I felt sick to my stomach. My brain knew he was a piece of trash. But my emotions yelled at me that at least he had been there for the last eleven years. Where was my mom in all this? If she hadn’t left, maybe she could have stopped the first time he made my nose bleed.

But I got what I wanted. I didn’t have to make the decision. Tanya had basically forbidden me from talking to him, and I really didn’t want to anyway. As I walked into the house, I noticed two things. One, it was extremely clean. I mean, really clean. Way cleaner than it should have been. She may own this big house, but I doubted she could afford to hire a maid. She must really hate dirt.

Still, I loved clean. Dad kept our house like a pigsty, and it was up to me to put some kind of order in it. Here that wouldn’t be a problem. My emotions soared a bit.

The other thing I noticed was that Tanya seemed to love figurines. She had many different kinds and shapes all over the place. There were porcelain Grecian maidens, stone animals, wooden carvings of men and women in lovers’ poses, and so much more.

Oh, yes, Tanya said as she noticed what her house looked like to me. I started collecting them when I... left you. I got those when you turned six, far away from me. She pointed to a wooden maiden next to a horse frozen in middle of a run. They were simple figures, made from smooth, stained wood, but I could feel some kind of meaning behind them—something more. For every moment I missed, I got one. There are a lot, in case you didn’t notice.

I felt the volcano behind my eyes again. Was this all I was to her, a collection of inanimate objects? My years in growth trapped in some faceless characters?

I own Dusty Steppe Café. She moved on from the figures. That takes a lot of my time, so you’ll be free to do what you want.

My throat choked up. Again, I was nothing to her. Star yodeled, so I pointed to him and said, Where’s my room? I want to let him out, give him some water, and maybe let him explore a bit.

Why do you even have a cat? she asked, as a response.

Of all the things she could have said, this surprised me the most. It was so random and out of the blue. I love cats. You wouldn’t know, of course. Oops, I was letting the poison out. I had promised myself I wouldn’t let her know how much she had hurt me. I’ve had one since I was five. Dad got me a little elderly cat from the shelter. He died when I was eight, and now, Star is my third cat. I’ve always felt a connection with cats.

There. I let her in a bit. Some sweet along with the sour. Tanya shook her head. Don’t you like dogs? I could get you a puppy. Manny’s dog just had some. They’re little black pugs. Adorable little things.

I felt almost blown over. What did she have against cats? No, I don’t really get along with dogs. They’re dirty and needy. I like independent animals. But thank you.

Then we stood there, not saying anything. I felt more than awkward. I suddenly repeated my earlier question, and without any more delay, Tanya pointed me up a row of stairs. Pictures marched along the wall. They ranged from sketches to paintings. I ignored that all were signed by Tanya Turner. I didn’t need to get to know her. Not at all. I thought I’d be able to figure out how to deal with my mother once I got here. I thought she’d apologize and then I’d pretend to forgive her. Then we could ignore each other. But she was more complex than I could imagine. It would be way too hard to ask the question I wanted to ask more than anything.

Why had she abandoned me?

Chapter Two 

Ihated my new bathroom . That’s it. I just hated it. The rest of the house was great. And my new room was amazing. The window let me see really far. Since Tanya’s house was on a hill, the whole of Dusty Steppe stretched out before me. All the businesses stuck between the sandy areas. At night, the stars filled the sky. It was much different than Washington. The sky went on forever and had a personality all its own.

The bed in the attic would do until my old one came and replaced it. The room even had lots of wall outlets for when my many electrical things arrived. The room itself was open and easy to move through.

But I hated the bathroom. It was down the small hallway from my room and stuck there like someone had just stamped it in place. The white tiled nightmare was small and squat. I could reach up and touch the ceiling without trying. The water pressure for the shower was like a waterfall mixed with a dripping faucet. One minute it was rushing out and the next nothing. And, to make matters worse, the toilet kept backing up. Mom on the first day ever so understandingly handed me a plunger and said, The plumbing is very old. I can’t do much without tearing out the whole thing. When it backs up use this. Very helpful!

It wasn’t going too well between us either. When she had asked me to call her Tanya, I thought that meant she would be hands off. But no! She made a comment on everything I said, did, or had. It started with my cat and went on to my outfits. Of course, she claimed she was just making conversation, but she had hovered over me as I unpacked my duffle bag and had said things like, That’s a shirt, really? and You should wear more colorful outfits. I only had a small amount of stuff with me, thankfully, because she had an opinion on every last thing. She may have said she wasn’t my mother, but she was as big of liar as I was. Because she was becoming a real mother.

Thankfully, she left me alone after I was done unpacking. Once I settled in, I noticed that the nights were quiet. I fell asleep in my newly acquired bed but immediately woke up. Every little sound startled me. In Tacoma, there was noise, of course, but it was a variety of things. Sirens, pounding music as cars drove by, dogs barking, Star yowling—things like that.

Here the noises were much more foreign. Trees scraping across windows and wind blowing. Star was too interested in exploring the ins and outs of his new home, so he didn’t yowl. But when all of that settled down, there was an unearthly quiet. When everything stopped moving, and it was just eerily silent. No noise. Then the wind would start up again and move the trees.

What was weirder was that I could have sworn I heard chanting. A repeated rise and fall of the same words. I don’t know where that was coming from. All in all, my second day with my mom wasn’t pleasant thanks to lack of sleep. That morning, I got into real trouble when I didn’t come down to breakfast. Now, I had no idea that I was supposed to, until Mom came upstairs and pounded on my door. Genevieve, the pancakes are getting cold.

Ew! I yelled at the closed door. I never had any appetite for breakfast. I usually ate some cold cereal. I’ll pass. Uh, thanks. I didn’t want Tanya to think I was rude or anything. At the moment, I was lying on my bed trying to pretend I was still back in my old room. That was near impossible, for more than one reason. But the biggest was the heat. It was already seeping in like a poisonous cloud.

House rules, Genevieve. You eat breakfast and dinner with me. You can do your own thing for lunch, Tanya’s voice echoed in.

How nice, I shot back.

"I want you downstairs now." Then I heard her feet walking away.

I debated what would happen if I just ignored her, but she was nothing to me. I wouldn’t rebel against her when she hadn’t been my mother for so long. She wasn’t worth it. So, I shuffled downstairs, slowly. I wasn’t rebelling.

I reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the kitchen. Yellow walls met my gaze. Three windows showed the backyard. Small shelves climbed up to the ceiling. There were more figurines in here, but since Tanya had a yellow themed kitchen, the figurines were yellow silhouettes of people. I pointedly ignored what Tanya had said about them. If she truly cared about the moments she missed, she could have these unliving things.

I ignored them and looked at a little breakfast nook. Tanya was already sitting with a plate of pancakes and sausages. She pointed to across from her, and I sat. We ate a silent breakfast together. No, I wasn’t rebelling. I was tired. I just ate slowly and methodically. Then I returned to my room to read. I had read this book already, like, fifty times, but I needed something familiar. I never knew how hard it would be to leave everything behind. I hadn’t exactly loved my old life, but leaving it gave me a scar.

The day wasn’t eventful. I heard Tanya leave to her restaurant or whatever. I didn’t do much but read. Once night fell, I ate dinner with Tanya, and again we didn’t look at or talk with each other. Well, if this was how it was going to be, it wouldn’t be much different from the dinners I had with Dad. The only difference was the source of tension. It had changed from worrying that Dad would go off and hurt me to wondering what I was supposed to say to a woman who had abandoned me.

On the third day, I heard the door knock downstairs, and a few voices start chattering excitedly. Today my stuff would be arriving, which meant that whoever was here were the friends that Tanya had promised would help move me in.

I groaned as I heard footsteps on the stairs. I didn’t know if it was Tanya telling me to come and say hello or what. But it turned out to be much worse as a girl about my age appeared in my doorway. I only closed my door at night. I liked the feeling of a free-flowing house—no obstacles.

The girl was very pretty, not that I looked at her long. I don’t do well with people—any people. I blame my dad. Of course, I can blame him for most stuff. But for this it really was true. He didn’t like me having friends. He never let me talk to other kids when I was growing up. He absolutely forbade me having any kind of sleepover or playdate. By the time I got to high school, I was so out of touch with other people, I couldn’t even keep my head up when I talked to them.

What I caught from the corner of my eye was a boisterous head of curls, all dusted with blond highlights which couldn’t be natural. She wore short boots with socks that had green pompoms on them. The green matched her T-shirt and her skirt flared down to her calves. I had caught a glimpse of a heart shaped face with really thick eyebrows and teeth that had a gap between them.

Hi! she said.

Hey, I choked back, pretending to be so absorbed in my book that I hadn’t really noticed her.

I’m Linda Sue Barry. Your mom and mine grew up together.

I blinked. Here in this town? I asked. I realized I didn’t know anything about my mom from before she was my mom. That wasn’t surprising. Dad didn’t talk about her. He had thrown out all her pictures except for the one I stole and still had in one of my books.

Yeah. Linda Sue bounced over and sat on the end of my bed. They were besties, so that’s what we need to be.

I almost laughed. Not really.

Linda Sue jiggled my foot. You’re shy, aren’t you?

I gasped a bit. That was a first. Most people thought I was a snob, because I could barely speak. Whenever I got the guts up to speak above a whisper, I said things that came off as arrogant. Like just now. I had meant to say that it wasn’t exactly true that we had to be friends just because our moms were. Instead, I said something stupid. I was always saying something stupid. No one liked me much. But Linda Sue had nailed it. Yeah... I’m sorry. No biggie. What’cha reading? she asked reaching for my book.

Oh, nothing. I blushed suddenly remembering how extremely childish it was to read. Just a school assignment. I closed the book and tossed it on my bed.

Linda Sue stared at me. I managed to look back. You haven’t started yet.

From my old school... I need to send it to my teacher, or else he’ll fail me retroactively.

Linda Sue laughed. Nice! But in the future never try and lie to me. Really. Never.

I stared at her. What the hell did that mean? I had to grin though. I usually lied as a matter of course. Very few people had ever caught me in one. Okay. I’ll be honest. I’m not the best friend type.

Up to now, she said firmly. She had the cutest dimples when she smiled. But this is a whole new life for you. Your mom talked to mine about you, and I eavesdropped shamelessly. Is it true that your dad knocked you around? That the last time sent you to the hospital?

I wanted to lie, but somehow, I trusted that I shouldn’t. Yeah. He had a short fuse. Anything could set him off. Tanya left me with a monster. The last part kind of just slipped out.

She didn’t know. Tanya has been a mess for the last few months. She cries to my mom a lot. The guilt on her... Linda Sue trailed off and looked away.

Star took that moment to saunter in. He always liked meeting new people. Hey! You have a cat! That’s wonderful. Linda Sue pulled him into her arms, and he started purring. Well, that did it. Linda Sue was good in my book if Star liked her. My mom doesn’t think so, I said with a shrug. Linda Sue pushed her nose into Star’s fur. That’s because she is resistant. She’ll come around. I mean, how could you not be what she is?

Now that confused me. What?

Linda Sue blushed and handed Star to me. Here you go! You’ll have to learn to ignore me. I speak without thinking sometimes.

What on earth did that mean? I shook my head mentally. Linda Sue was being silly. As if there was some big secret that my mom didn’t want me to know about.

But to why I am here! I’ve come to help you move. Please tell me you have little, teeny tiny things that I can carry with one hand!

I laughed. Nope! Queen sized bed. Three dressers and lots of shoes.

Linda Sue groaned and reached for my book. I let her look it over.

Looks cool, she said. "I like reading myself. I hate when people says that since I’m fifteen I should only read, like, young adult books. But come on! Books aren’t for a certain age. I have read everything from picture books to biographies and everything in between. Please don’t tell me you listen to what they tell you to be."

I shook my head. Never. Even though I did. Linda Sue slapped my knee. No lies now!

"Okay, okay. I listen sometimes. I’m not exactly what they think I should be either. I’ll try to stop."

Linda Sue spread her hands and smiled. That’s all any of us can do. Try.

I smiled as I hugged Star. He looked happy here. And for the first time so did I. If someone like Linda Sue was around, maybe I could like this place. Even with the dry and hot weather that