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Clancy slugged Bill’s arm. “Stop worryin’ so much.”
“Can’t help it. Did she tell you anything at all?”
“She did, but she made me promise not to tell. So you gotta wait.”
Clancy was smiling. If it was bad news, he wouldn’t be smiling. Right? Bill continued to chew on his fingernails. He couldn’t help it.
His mama came running out of the back door of the house as soon as Clancy drove up. Bill had the truck door open and was running toward her just as fast.
“Oh, my boy,” she cried, “how I’ve missed you.”
His little sister wasn’t far behind, with tears in her eyes. “Look how big you’ve gotten,” he said to her.
“Me? Look at you!”
“Let me l
ook at you,” said his mama. “She’s right, you’ve grown a foot or more.” She started to cry again.
“Oh, Clancy.” She reached out to him. “How can I thank you for takin’ my boy in?”
Clancy tipped his hat. “No thanks necessary, Mrs. Flynn. Bill here is a real hard worker. We’re happy to have him up at the ranch.”
She put her hand on his arm. “It’s more than that, and we both know it is. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.” Bill swore Clancy’s weathered skin reddened.
He had a million questions. For starters, whose house was she living in? He knew it was far nicer than she could afford. He wondered if she and his sister worked for room and board. He hoped not, but that was the most likely explanation.
“Come inside, it’s freezing out here.” She took his hand and pulled him in the direction of the door, and then put her arm around his shoulders.
A man came out the same door they were heading toward. “There’s someone I want you to meet. Someone very special. Bill, this is Russ Snyder. Russ, this is my son, Bill.”
“Nice to meet you,” said Russ, shaking Bill’s hand.
“You too, sir.” There was something about the man that didn’t sit right with Bill. Something in his eyes.
Clancy offered to find another place to bunk for the night, but his mama insisted he stay with them at Mr. Snyder’s place. He had a guest room with two twin beds in it, she told him. He and Bill wouldn’t mind sharing a room, would they?
After thanking Mr. Snyder and Bill’s mama for their hospitality, Clancy suggested they call it a night. They’d had a long day of travel, he told them, and they were both mighty tired.
Bill wasn’t tired at all, and he doubted Clancy was either. He hoped this meant they’d have a chance to talk. The longer Bill was around Mr. Snyder, the less he liked him. His little sister didn’t seem all that fond of him either. The only person who seemed to like the man was his mama, and she liked him a lot.
“You didn’t do a very good job of hidin’ your feelings, son,” Clancy said as he closed the bedroom door behind him.
“Should I have?”
“Yes, you should’ve.”
“Why? You can’t tell me there ain’t somethin’ ’bout the man that rubs you the wrong way.”
“No, I can’t say that.”
“Can’t say what? There is somethin’ or there ain’t somethin’?”
Clancy opened the door a crack. “Let’s wait a bit before we have this conversation. I think they’re headed to bed too.”
That was more than Bill wanted to think about. His mama was sharing a bed with this man, and they weren’t married. If his papa wasn’t already turning in his grave over his wife being with another man, this would have him clawing his way out of the ground.
A few minutes passed. Clancy told him to follow him outside and to be quiet about it. They crept down the hall and out the door by the kitchen.
