“Have you looked into other places?”

Cindy nodded. “Most won’t take wanderers, much less disruptive residents. And they’re pricey.”

“How pricey?”

“Four times what we’re paying.”

Liv guffawed. They could barely afford Twilight Meadows. “We can’t swing any more money. With Maggie leaving for college, we’re going to struggle just to cover our mortgage.” It was even worse than that, she believed. But after their last fight, she’d relinquished the monthly bills to Evan. For now she was staying blissfully ignorant. A reckoning was coming, she knew.

Cindy just stared ahead at the miles of flatland.

Liv didn’t want to say it, but she had to. “The house. Have you considered selling—”

“Where would I go?” Cindy said, her tone indignant.

“I don’t know. It’s a big place. Maybe you could—”

“What, rent a room above Pipe Layers?”

Liv frowned. “Of course not.” Then again, Cindy might fit in with the toughs who rented the flophouse rooms above the town’s only bar. Before taking her job running the local post office, Cindy had been employed by Adair Irrigation like their father. Working alongside the lifers on the line hadn’t exactly softened her rough edges.

Liv scolded herself—she was being too harsh. Like the candy from Parker’s, her sister might have a hard exterior, but there was a soft center in there. Though you might spit out the sour candy before ever finding it.

Cindy said, “I get that this town hasn’t been good to your family, but this is my life.” Cindy had stubbornly stayed in Adair. Most of the citizens hadn’t held her relation to the Pines against her, probably for fear she’d throw away their mail.

The hum of tires on the road filled the silence.

“Is there any way we can convince them to let him stay?” Liv said at last.

Cindy frowned.

“It can’t be that bad,” Liv said.

“He’s wandered off four times. And last week Dad threw a bedpan against the wall and called the nurse a”—Cindy lowered her voice because of Tommy—“a effing c-word.”

Liv put her fingers on her temples and massaged them. She’d been there only an hour and already her head was pounding.

“Trust me,” Cindy said, “I got into it with the staff. They threatened to ban me from the home if you can believe that.”

Liv could believe it.

“But I got a call yesterday from the director,” Cindy said. “He said there may be something you can do to help.”

Liv looked at her sister. “What is it?”

“I’ll let him tell you,” Cindy said.

Liv sat quietly again, annoyed that Cindy was keeping her in suspense.

Purposefully changing the subject, Cindy said, “You hear about Noah?”

“Hear what?”