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“Wow, that’s amazing. Your mom sounds really cool.”
Ruth nodded and swallowed. “She was. I miss her. All she wanted out of life was to be a mom and have a big family and instead she got stuck out on this lonely ranch with my dad who barely talked.”
“And you. She had you.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Ruth said. “Just doesn’t seem like much of a life.”
Now she really had me confused. “But… Then why do you want to stay on the land so bad?”
She frowned. “Because… well, I’m the last of us. Of the Harshbargers. It was originally Hirschberger, but they changed the spelling during World War I to make it sound less German. My ancestors came here in the 1840’s with a wave of German immigrants. They were badasses seeking a better life. My great great grandmother married Hermann Hirschberger after her husband died on the passage over and had three sons, only one of whom survived to adulthood. They renamed him Hermann Jr when his older brother died and he bought the ranch and built the first farmstead. Each generation fought and barely managed to keep hold of it. There were so many tragedies… And then for it all to end like this with me. God, it makes me sick.”
She was staring straight out the front now, her jaw tight.
“But it wasn’t you,” I said, sitting up in my chair. “It was your dad. There wasn’t anything you could do by the time you got control of things, it sounds like.”
She shrugged. “Maybe there was some way I couldn’t think of to hold onto it. Maybe if I’d been smarter or tried harder, I could’ve gotten the bank to extend the loan or something…”
I raised my eyebrows. “Well, it sounds like you were pretty tricky in whatever you did to keep hold of the bit of land you did, where the house is. The twins definitely weren’t happy about it.”
She grinned at that. “Fuck yeah. I’ll never forget the look on Jeremiah’s face when he realized.” She laughed out loud. “Thanks, I needed that. See, I knew we’d be friends. And look! We’re here.”
We were indeed finally slowing down and I could see buildings ahead instead of more pasture on both sides of the road.
“Welcome to town.”
Town was a street, just one street apparently, but to be fair, I did count… two restaurants, a small grocery, and a nail/hair salon in addition to the hardware store/feed shop Ruth pulled the truck into. And there were people out and about, the first I’d seen in weeks other than those on the ranch.
But it also made me slink down in the truck. This was exactly the kind of place I had not wanted to land for just this reason.
“Sheesh, what’s the population of this town?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light.
Ruth laughed. “You noticed we don’t even have a stoplight, did you? I don’t know, probably about three hundred give or take.”
My heart sank. This was the sort of place where everyone knew everyone. If Jeff ever sniffed me out and came through, all he had to do was flash my picture and all fingers would point to the new girl, number three hundred and one. Dammit, I never should have agreed to come into town.
Ruth shoved open her door.
“Maybe I’ll just stay here,” I said.
She frowned. “Don’t be silly. I know we’re hicks, but we don’t bite. Besides, I’ll need help with the feed.”
Dammit, she had me there. I nodded and tried not to let the panic show on my face as I hopped down out of the truck.
Suddenly I really wished I had my old hoodie. Though maybe that would make me look even more out of place. My flannel and jeans were probably the best camouflage. Plus, any photo Jeff had was of the old Penelope. Fully made up, dressed to the nines, glossy blonde hair.
Besides, Jeff wasn’t going to find me. I’d covered my tracks. I’d switched buses so many times, been so careful…
I took a deep breath and slouched as I walked with Ruth into the hardware store that looked like it had seen better days. Penelope Chambers had perfect posture. Charlie slouched.
The little bell rung as we stepped through the door.
“Hey, Ruth,” said an aging man who had to be in his 70’s. He stepped out from behind the counter and grinned at Ruth. “What can I do ya for today, Ruthie?”
A big grin spread across Ruth’s face. “Heya, Sam. How’s Gracie doing? She feeling better after that stomach bug?”
Sam nodded. “You know nothing’s gonna keep my Gracie down for long. She’s getting all excited about planting spring roses.”
Ruth smiled. “Just have her give me a call if she needs any help. You know I always love digging in the dirt with her.”
