School had been out for nearly three weeks, when I began to really feel the constraints of the grounding restriction that Adam had

given me. It wasn't so bad when there was school, and then just the evenings to fill. But now, with no school, and no night class,

either, it gave me way too much time on my hands. Well, that wouldn't be correct. It wasn't that I had too much time on my

hands. Because there were brothers, always ready to give me chores to do to keep me busy.

But, besides the chores, and horseback riding, which I was allowed to do, there was occasional swimming or fishing at the creek,

and, if I was fortunate, hanging out with Kristin or Nancy on the weekends if they came over. That was it. Sometimes I went to

town with Guthrie if he was running an errand or something like that, but it was only for the errand. I knew without being told

that it did not include doing anything else.

I began to feel discouraged about it all. Adam, and Brian too, would tell me every once in a while that I had

done a good job on something or other, but never was the ending of my grounding discussed. And I didn't have the nerve

to bring it up. I knew taking off to Daniel's the way that I had was serious. And I knew that I deserved to be grounded for it. But

I'd never had any grounding this severe before. Of course, I also knew that my trip to Tennessee was the most dangerous thing that I'd ever done.

7

One morning, Adam caught me before he went outside, and asked me if I wanted to go camping that night.

"You and me?" I asked.

"Yeah. You and me."

"Sure," I said.

"Figure out some grub for us. We'll build up a fire and cook our supper," he told me.

"Okay."

After I did all my regular chores in the house, and outside, I put some thought into what food to take

that night. Beans, for sure, I thought. I put some brown sugar and molasses in little containers, and tucked them

into the side of the grub bag. A package of hot dogs, which Adam wasn't that fond of, but which I thought we could

cut up into the beans. Bread, and a couple cans of corn. Coffee, and a coffee pot. Cookies. Apples.

A couple of small pans to heat stuff up in over the fire. Cups. Plates. Forks.

The bag was chocked full by the time I was done.

I shoved some extra socks and hairbrush and hair ties in a backpack, and added some crackers and granola bars. I got

my diabetes stuff ready and put into a separate bag, and then tucked it into my backpack.

I rocked Isaac to sleep for his late afternoon nap, and then sat down at the piano. I ran thru some scales,

and then I began to play something that I'd heard Daniel fool around with.

I was involved, and focused, and I didn't even know anybody was in the room until I stopped, and

Brian spoke up, "Damn, girl, that's fine."

I turned to look at him, and Adam, who was also standing there, with Ford behind them. All three of them

looked surprised.

"Since when have you played like that?" Ford asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just started playing more often."

"It's really good," Ford said, coming over and sitting down beside me on the piano bench. "Play some more."

"Like what?" I asked, almost embarrassed by their praise.

Ford flipped thru the music book and turned to a page. "Try this one."

"It's too hard," I said, peering closer at it. "I'd have to practice-"

"So go. Practice," Ford said, and then he began to play on the keys where he was sitting. He gestured towards

the piano keys at my end, and I looked at the notes. After Ford had played for a few minutes, I began to play

along with him.

"You play by ear," Ford said, suddenly, sounding excited.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You play by ear. You don't read the notes." He turned around, exalted. "Did you hear that, Adam?"

Adam, who had found a seat on the couch, to listen, said calmly, "I heard."

"That's amazing. Do you know that only a percentage of the population play by ear?" Ford went on.

"Okay," I said, thinking he was awfully excited about something silly.

"How did we not know this?" Ford demanded. "All these years, and we never knew."

"I can read the notes," I protested. "At least some of them, I can."

"What's this one?" Ford demanded, jabbing his finger onto a little black squiggly line.

"I don't know." I gave him a push. "You're being silly."

"Ready to go, sugar?" Adam asked, and I got up quickly. "Yes," I said, gratefully. "I'm ready."

"We're gonna practice every night," Ford hollered after me, as Adam and I went towards the kitchen.

"Not every night, buddy," I muttered, without thinking, and I heard Adam chuckle a little. I looked up at him, and

he said, "You got enough food packed for us?"

"I don't know if it's enough, but it's all I could fit into the bag," I told him.

"Then I guess it'll have to be enough," he said, with a grin.

Hannah followed us out to the barn, as we saddled our horses. "Take this," she said, and held out the first aid kit.

Adam put it in his saddle bag, and fastened the grub sack over his saddle horn, along with a rope. His rifle, he had

tucked into its gun holster. He asked me if I'd filled the canteens, and while I went to do that, he talked to Hannah, and

to Crane, who'd come up to stand with them.

When I came back from the water hydrant, carrying the full canteens, I hooked them over my saddle horn.

He fastened rolled blankets onto the back of his saddle, and then did the same with mine.

"Looks like we're plannin' to be gone till winter," Adam said, as he finished tying my blanket roll.

"Be careful," Hannah said.

"Yes, ma'm," Adam said, and gave her a kiss.

"Have fun," Crane said, as we mounted our horses, and he opened the pasture gate for us.

"I thought we'd ride up close to the state park," Adam said.

"Okay," I said.

We didn't talk all that much as we rode. But that was alright. Put me on horseback, and I'm in my element. Out

in the air, amongst the trees and everything. And I knew Adam was the same.

We'd ridden for a long time, almost to our eastern property line, when Adam asked me if I was

getting tired, and wanted to find a place to make camp. Or if I wanted to ride on.

I hadn't been this far in a really long time. So I told him that I'd rather ride on, if it was alright with him.

"It's alright with me," he said, sounding relaxed.

We'd ridden another thirty minutes or so, when he said, "You ready to camp?"

"Yeah. I am," I said. I didn't want to admit it, but my legs were really stiff now, and my behind was

tired of being in the saddle.

We set up our little camp. I offered to look for the firewood.

"Right around here," Adam told me. "Don't wander too far. Snakes are out."

I shuddered. I really hate snakes. To me, they are the only drawback to it being summertime.

By the time I came back with an armload of firewood, Adam had unsaddled both horses, and was building the campfire.

I stood watching him, as he crouched, slowly adding wood to the growing fire.

"Pull up a blanket, and sit down," he told me.

"I'm gonna stand up for awhile," I said.

He nodded, knowing full well what I was getting at. "It was a long ride."

"It was good, though," I said.

"So, what's our menu for supper tonight?" he asked me.

"Oh." I went to bring the grub bag over, and began taking things out.

"Beans?" I said. "And hotdogs? And corn? And cookies for dessert."

"Sounds fine."

I opened the cans of beans, and the corn with the can opener, and set them all down next to the pans.

While Adam began to cut up the hot dogs into small pieces to go in the beans, I went to get his bedroll,

and my own, and spread them out, one on either side of the fire.

"Oh," I said, snapping my fingers in sudden remembrance. "I forgot!" I pulled the brown sugar and

the molasses containers out of the grub bag, and handed them to him.

"For the beans," I explained.

"So our beans aren't gonna be just ordinary campfire beans, huh?" he asked, with a smile, taking

the containers from me, and dumping the contents into the bubbling pan of beans and hot dogs.

"Certainly not," I said, curtsying like I was a princess. "Nothing ordinary here, sir."

He smiled at me, and went on stirring the beans. I sat down on my bedroll, watching him.

"Want some coffee, too?" I asked him.

"I won't turn it down," he said, and I pulled out the coffee and the pot, handing it to him. He got it ready,

and set it beside the fire to boil.

We ate our simple supper, agreeing that it was filling and tasted just as good as a restaurant meal at that

particular moment. After we ate, I rinsed off the plates and forks with our canteen water, and waved them dry

in the air. I opened the baggie of cookies and held it out to Adam. He dunked the cookies in his coffee, and

then leaned back against his upright saddle.

After he ate the cookies, Adam was quiet, poking at the fire with a stick.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, and wrapped my arms around them.

"This was a good idea," I said, into the quiet.

"I think so, too," Adam agreed.

He poured himself another cup of coffee, and then sat back against his saddle again. "There was a few things that I wanted to

talk to you about. I thought this might be a good time to do it."

I couldn't help the little jump of panic in my belly. "Have I done something wrong?" I asked.

"No. It's nothin' like that. Sort of the opposite, in fact," he said.

I looked at him over the campfire light, puzzled.

"You've been doin' a lot of things right lately," he said.

"Yeah?" I asked, feeling happy.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I'm proud of the way you've handled things, since you got back from Daniel's."

At the mention of my 'misadventure' of taking off to Tennessee, I felt sort of timid again.

"I know I haven't said a whole lot to you about things, but I've been payin' attention," he went on. "You've taken your

restriction without complaining. That's good." He gave the fire another poke. "And I can tell you've been

tryin' harder to do the right things. I wanted you to know that I have noticed, and I appreciate it."

I nodded, hoping that he was going to tell me that I was off of my grounding.

"What I'm thinkin' is this," he went on. "You could start driving again, running some errands for us. Goin' to the grocery store for

Hannah, or goin' to pick up feed, or something like that."

Well. That wasn't quite what I was expecting from the way that he'd begun the conversation, by complimenting me. Still,

being able to drive again, even if it was only to do family errands, was better than nothing.

"Okay," I agreed.

Adam gave the fire another poke with the stick. "Let's say you see some friends at the Dari Kurl on your way

back out, after the errands are done. I'm not sayin' you can't stop and talk for awhile. Just call home if you're

goin' to be awhile, and ask permission first before you do anything else. If you're invited somewhere, come and talk

to me, and we'll decide then if it's somethin' that you can do."

"Thanks, Adam," I said, gratefully.

"What I said before, though, well, it still stands. About not keeping things from me. About bein' honest with me. I don't want

to hear things about you from other people, that I should have heard from you," he said.

"I promise," I said, hugging my knees, and rocking back and forth a little.

"Alright. I don't want you to be afraid to come to me about things, Harlie. I mean, you may think I'll get angry about

somethin', and I might. But, talking things out, well, it's important. Especially at your age," he went on.

He seemed thoughtful for a few moments. I sat quietly, waiting.

"A lot of girls your age, and even older, they don't talk to their parents about important things. That's how

teenagers end up in trouble, sometimes. I know I'm not your parent, but-" he hesitated here for a moment, and then

shook his head a little, "Well, I'm what you've got, kiddo."

For a moment I couldn't swallow past the lump in my throat. But, I didn't want the moment to pass without

speaking up.

"I'm glad," I said. "Not about dad and mama, and what happened. But about you, I am. I'm glad you're what I've got."

Adam met my eyes across the small fire. He nodded a little. "Thanks, sugar."

After that, our conversation wasn't so serious. Adam talked a little about when he and Brian were really small, and other

things like that.

I was standing, stretching, and munching on a granola bar, and Adam was refilling his coffee cup, when a booming sound rang out,

ringing like an echo thru the trees.

I began to ask what it had been, not really panicking at first, when Adam was suddenly on my side of the campfire, pulling me down by my arm, so quickly

that I was startled.

"What was it?" I asked, looking at him.

Adam was looking around, and tilting his ear up, listening. "A rifle shot," he told me.

"From far away?" I asked. "Or close by?"

"I'm not sure," he said.

"Maybe somebody else is camping, too," I suggested. "Up at the state park."

"Could be," he said. "Shouldn't be any rifles bein' shot at this time of night, though."

"Do you think it's somebody on our property?" I asked then, beginning to be really frightened.

In answer, another shot rang out, and I tried to catch my breath, reaching out for Adam in full panic.

Adam reached for his own rifle, and I clutched his arm. "What are you doing?" I asked, upset.

"Gonna try to see what's goin' on," he said.

"Nooo," I protested, tightening my hold on him.

"I'll be right back," he told me, still looking out into the darkness.

With one hand, he held the rifle. With the other, he ran his hand over my back. "I want you to stay quiet, and stay low," he told me.

When I didn't answer, he turned to look at me in the campfire light. "I don't want you to move from this spot. Hear me?" he demanded.

"Yes," I said.

And, then he stood up, and disappeared into the darkness.

7