Page 26 of Reckoning

Roger couldn’t argue with anything she’d said. “Do you have money for a snow cone?”

She nodded.

“Please don’t stay out after dark,” he said, picked up the pie, and walked out.

Roger felt defeated. Once upon a time she would have heard him out, but those days were over. It started with his wife’s year of parole. They couldn’t leave. By the time her parole had ended, Mariah had insinuated herself back into the same circle, and being a big frog in a little pond suited her.

Mariah glared at Roger and the pie he brought back. “Well?”

Before he could answer, they heard Briar coming down the stairs and then the front door slam.

“There’s your answer,” Roger said.

Mariah frowned. “Where is she going?”

“To the snow-cone stand at the park. She’ll be back before dark.”

Mariah gasped. “You’re letting her run the streets?”

“Seriously? Are you referring to all six blocks of Main Street? She’s been taking herself to school and back since second grade. Tate is at work, and thanks to you, she’s disgusted with both of us.” He got a beer from the fridge and headed for the front door.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“The front porch, to drink my beer in silence.”

“What about me?” she asked.

He just kept walking, quietly closing the door behind him as he left.

The hair crawled on the back of Mariah’s neck. She’d pushed too many buttons this evening, but she had a remedy for that. After she finished doing the dishes, she poured herself a glass of wine and went out to the back porch to watch the sunset.

One big grand house. Three people. As divided as a family could be.

* * *

Briar walked through her neighborhood with tear-filled eyes, then started across the town square toward the snow-cone stand. One moment she was upright, then her foot was sinking into a hole. Her ankle popped, and down she went.

She cried out as she fell, then groaned as an instant pain began radiating up her leg. She rolled over on her back to get the phone out of the pocket of her shorts, but it wasn’t there, and realized she’d left it on her bed.

“Oh, great,” she muttered, and eased herself up into a sitting position, but when she tried to stand, the pain was too great, and this time she fell forward, catching herself on her hands and knees. Frustrated, sad for herself and for Tate, she sat back down with a defeated moan, covered her face with her hands, and let the tears roll.

* * *

At first, Andy Sparks, the owner of Sparks Grocery, had been hesitant to hire the Bandy boy, but all of Tate’s teachers had given him such glowing recommendations that he decided to ignore the town gossip and hired him anyway. Two days in, he already knew what a great worker he was going to be.

Tate was a self-starter, friendly, polite to everyone, and worked circles around every other employee there. He’d heard the stories about the boy having second sight, and while he didn’t believe in it, as far as he was concerned, it didn’t impact his work. Andy considered hiring Tate Bandy to be one of the best decisions he’d made.

* * *

It was nearing quitting time at Sparks Grocery, and Tate had faced out all the shelves and restocked the checkout lanes with bags. The store was empty of customers, and Tate knew his boss was in his office, working on the night deposit he always took to the bank.

He jogged back to the employee break room to get his things and was on his way up the hall when the shelves in his line of sight disappeared and he saw Briar, in the park, hurt and crying. Then just as quickly as the vision had appeared, it was gone.

Panicked, he hurried back to the boss’s office.

“Mr. Sparks, I need to leave now, is that okay?”

Andy looked up at the frantic expression on Tate’s face and frowned. “Yes, sure, but is everything okay?”