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“Where is this place?”
Instead of answering, Bullet handed her a sheet of paper with directions to the ranch.
“Read ’em to me.”
“You ever heard the word ‘please’?”
“Nope.”
What was his problem? It was logical for her to assume he was in on this. Did he really expect her to believe he didn’t know she was the one he was picking up? Irritated, she set the map back on the seat of the truck, folded her arms, and looked out the window. She turned back and glared at him. “I don’t know why you’re mad.”
“I don’t know why anyone has to be mad,” he grunted at her. “I didn’t know, okay? That’s the last time I’m gonna say it. And listen here, we’re goin’ to a ranch. If they call it a ranch, it means there’s lots of land. You can’t stand the sight of me? Keep away from me, and I’ll do the same.”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t stand the sight of you. What makes you think I feel that way? I just don’t think you’re telling me the truth. The two have little to do with each other.”
“You callin’ me a liar and you not being able to stand the sight of me are the same thing in my book. Now I suggest you stop with the accusations if you still want a ride. You be quiet; I’ll take you to the ranch. Deal?”
She didn’t answer.
“I asked you a question, McCullough.”
“I heard you.”
“Then answer me, or I’ll pull this truck over and you can fend for yourself.”
“Deal.”
“Good. Now, read me the directions.”
1968
“Your mama asked me to come get her and your sister,” Clancy said at the dinner table.
“You don’t mind? Couldn’t her husband drive her here, or am I that bad that he can’t bring my mama to my high school graduation?”
“Bad? Where’d you get that idea?”
“I ain’t seen my mama more than twice in the last few years. Gotta be somethin’ wrong with me.”
Clancy dropped his fork and looked at Bill. “There isn’t anything wrong with you. The problems are his fault, not yours.”
In all the years he’d known him, Bill rarely saw Clancy angry. And this time, he seemed very much so.
“It’s time you knew the truth about what’s been goin’ on.”
Bill sat still and waited. Over the last three years, Clancy had been called away from the ranch at least a half-dozen times without offering an explanation. It bothered Bill. Clancy was never secretive. When the first phone call came and Clancy told him he was going to Colorado Springs to help Bill’s mama with something, he’d asked Bill to trust that he knew best. Clancy wouldn’t say more. After all the man had done for him and his family, Bill couldn’t argue.
“Your mama isn’t married to Mr. Snyder any longer.”
“She isn’t?” Bill felt the heat rising in his cheeks. His mama had gotten a divorce and he hadn’t known anything about it? A sense of betrayal was forming in his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. “What else have you been keepin’ from me, Clancy?” Bill stood and stepped away from the kitchen table.
“It’s a recent development. I just found out myself, so sit yourself back down, and I’ll tell you the story.”
12
“I’m sorry,” Tristan said, over a half hour into the drive.
“Yeah? What for?”
