Tyler whispered as a glittering red boat swept close to shore, sending a high spray of water arcing like diamonds. “Can we—”
“Yeah, cool,” Drew broke in, leaning across the backseat to give his brother’s shoulder a bump. “Are we getting a boat like that one?”
Erin thought about the debts she still had to pay and the shaky financial situation at the hospital, and smiled at Drew through the rearview mirror. “Probably not for a long while. I’ll bet we can rent one, though. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
He flopped back in his seat. “Yeah, right. Like that’s gonna happen. You’ll think it’s too dangerous, or say it costs too much money. Like with the horses.”
Erin shifted her attention back to the road, knowing that explanations would just provoke an angry response.
Back in Wausau, there’d been an old man with horses who lived just a mile away. She had no doubt that Drew had badgered the poor guy until he finally agreed to let Drew clean the stalls in exchange for riding privileges.
The next day, a woman at the local saddle shop had rolled her eyes when Erin asked her opinion. The two geldings had been used for barrel racing and had been hot as pistols, she’d said, so who knew what they might be like after not being ridden for ages?
It had been clear to Erin that a boy from the inner city would be no match for twelve hundred pounds of barely leashed energy, but Drew still hadn’t forgiven her for refusing to let him ride.
A mile farther out of town, she slowed down after passing a ramshackle shed emblazoned with a faded Smoked Fish! sign. She turned up a narrow gravel road leading through a stand of aspens, then into a dark pine forest that crowded the road on either side.
“Almost there, guys,” she called out.
Lily twisted in her seat, her eyes wide. “Here? All alone?”
“Just wait,” Erin assured her. At a Y in the road she bore to the right, the van’s suspension creaking as the road grew rougher. “I think you’ll like it.”
A moment later, the narrow lane ended at a small, one-and-a-half-story log home shaded by a trio of towering pines, and beyond, a meadow strewn with a late summer rainbow of rosy fireweed, blue vervain and goldenrod. Only the distant rat-a-tat of a woodpecker broke the silence.
“So, guys—what do you think?” Erin pulled to a stop in front of the little house and held her breath, hoping for a positive reaction.
The past few months had been hectic, thanks to Sam’s insistence that their house be sold as soon as possible. Perhaps he’d been right in wanting to list it before the winter slowdown in real estate, but the abrupt change had been just one more painful chapter in a fast divorce she hadn’t expected.
Luckily, she’d finished her degree in hospital administration the semester before, and had found the job in Blackberry Hill. The interview and house hunt had involved a quick trip north—this place had been the only decent rental in her price range. There hadn’t been a single weekend free to bring the kids to see their new home.
She’d expected them to launch out of the van like missiles, excited about seeing the place. Instead, all three remained still and silent, their expressions wary.
Erin unbuckled her seat belt and twisted around to look at them. “Just a couple of rules, okay? No fighting over bedrooms, because we’ll get it all figured out. And everyone helps until we’re done today. Any questions?”
“How far are we from town?” Drew asked, his voice heavy with suspicion. “Like, can I bike there?”
Erin shook her head. “It’s almost a mile down to the road, and after that there’s another couple miles of busy highway into town. I don’t think that would be safe.”
His eyes widened in horror. “I’m going to be stuck out here?”
“Monday’s the Labor Day holiday, but after that you’ll be in town five days a week for school,” Erin said firmly. “I’m sure we’ll also be running lots of errands while we’re settling in, so you aren’t going to be ‘stuck’ out here. What do you two think? Lily? Tyler?”
Lily stared out of the front window of the car, her hands knotted in her lap. “A-are there any other kids out here?”
“I’m not sure, sweetheart. We’ll find out.”
“What about a dog? Can we get a dog?” Tyler piped up after a long silence. “We’d have room for a dog!”
“Yeah—what about a dog? Something big,” Drew suggested with obvious relish. “Like Angelo’s dog that knew how to attack. Not some sissy dog.”
Erin could well imagine the sort of guard dog Drew meant. Their mother and her last boyfriend, Angelo, had lived in a rough inner-city area, and both of them were now serving twenty-five years of federal time for multiple drug offenses.
“I’d never buy a dog that might be dangerous,” Erin warned them. “It’s not worth the risk to us, or anyone who visits.”
“But you’d get a nice one?” Tyler whooped with joy. “Really?” He bounced on the seat. “When? Can we go today?”
Back in Wausau, she’d never been able to get them a dog or cat because Sam had been allergic to both. “Look, guys,” she said. “I know it sounds like a great idea. But first, we’re going to give this town a try. If things work out—if my job goes well and if the school system is good—then we’ll look into buying a house of our own. Until then, a dog just isn’t possible.”
“Why not?” Drew demanded. “We’d take care of it.”
“This is a rental. I didn’t check the lease, but I’m sure the landlord wouldn’t let us.”
“Please,” Lily pleaded. “Can you ask? Please?”
“Well…” Erin found herself confronted by three desperately hopeful faces. “Okay. Once we get moved in, I’ll ask the Realtor, but if she says no, then we have to abide by that. And if—if—we can have a dog here, I’ll expect you all to help look after it. Deal?”
All three kids nodded, their eyes sparkling with excitement, and she knew she had to do everything in her power to make it happen.
They’d each faced the loss of one home after another, and they’d learned to avoid attachments to people and places. Maybe they weren’t excited about this cabin, but having a dog to love would be wonderful therapy for them all.
From behind her car she heard the rumble of a truck creeping up the steep, rocky lane, and minutes later a small moving van lumbered into view.
“Okay, so here’s the plan. The guys I hired will help us get everything into the house and put the big pieces where they belong. The rest of it is up to us.” She grinned at them, her own excitement rising, as she handed Drew one of the house keys. “The sooner we get settled, the sooner we can have some fun. Let’s go inside and figure out who gets which bedroom.”
At that, the van doors flew open and the kids ran for the house, with Lily lagging behind as always, because of her weak left foot. At the porch, though, the boys waited
