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Back A Penny for Your Thoughts Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. A PENNY
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Thirty-Five
  40. Thirty-Six
  41. Thirty-Seven
  42. Thirty-Eight
  43. Thirty-Nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-One
  46. Forty-Two
  47. Forty-Three
  48. Forty-Four
  49. Forty-Five
  50. Forty-Six
  51. Forty-Seven
  52. Forty-Eight
  53. Forty-Nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-One
  56. Fifty-Two
  57. Fifty-Three
  58. Fifty-Four
  59. A Sample Chapter of Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
  60. About the Author
  61. Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark
  62. About the Publisher

We headed out, Carlos in front, as I shined the light on the stairs. His leg wasn’t a problem, but it was slow going for me—much harder than coming up had been. I tried not to look over the edge of the stairs as we walked, tried not to think how high up we were or how unsafe the tower might be. Halfway down, we could hear the shouts of Derek and Sidra from the bottom, and Carlos took off then, running the rest of the way. I stopped and leaned over to the right, training the beam of my flashlight on the stairs in front of him for as long as I could. When he was out of sight, I continued down. Below me, I could hear the joyous shouts of a child reunited with his parents. I continued walking slowly down, my heart light, my eyes filled with tears.

Fifty

Fifty

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By the time I reached the bottom, I realized the airport was once again swarming with cops. This time, however, they weren’t holding out guns but handshakes. Legs trembling, I waved off their congratulations and sat on the bottom step, trying to catch my breath.

I let the confusion swirl around me for a while, watching Carlos reunite with his sobbing parents, declining interviews with newscasters who were thrusting microphones in my face. Right now, I just wanted to get somewhere quiet and lie down. Searching the crowd, I caught the eye of Martin Van Buren, who gave me a strong thumbs up. Tears quickly filling my eyes, I gave the same signal back to him as cameras flashed. I had a feeling that’s the photo that would make the morning papers.

According to emergency personnel on the scene, the cut on Carlos’ leg was deep enough to require stitches. They were also concerned about dehydration and exposure, so they helped him into the back of an ambulance and started an IV as he chattered excitedly about taking a high-speed ride to the hospital. Sidra climbed in next to him, assuring him that they had plenty of time to get there and could go at the regular speed. They were just about to shut the door when Carlos held out his arms, reaching for me. I leaned inside and gave him another hug, opening my eyes to see Sidra over his shoulder.

“Thank you,” she mouthed silently, her eyes also filled with tears. We shared a meaningful look, and then they were gone, Derek following along behind in his car.

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By the time Angelina and I turned into the Smythes’ driveway, Nick and Marion were in her car about to pull out. The police were all gone and the house was dark. I parked the Lincoln along the driveway and walked over to theirs.

“Where’s your car?” Nick asked. “Is that a Lincoln?”