“That’s enough, Megan.” Her mother folded her arms across her chest, a gesture that meant the subject was closed. “Not another word. I won’t have your brother hurt.”

“Wait a minute.” Ed, always the peacemaker, spoke up. “If Megan has something in mind, it won’t hurt for us to listen. We can always say no.” He glanced at Dorcas. “All right?”

She sighed. “All right. Go ahead, Megan.”

Megan told her parents about the driving school. “He’d be taught by a specialist, a person trained to teach people with disabilities,” she said. “He’d get help with the test and with learning to drive safely. The course would last until Daniel got his license, however long that might take.”

“You say the driving school’s in Cottonwood Springs,” her father said. “How would he get there? I’m too busy working and helping your mother to drive him to classes.”

“That’s where I come in,” Megan said. “If you’ll agree to this, I’ll stay in Branding Iron and be available to take him wherever and whenever he needs to go. When I’m not with him, I can help around here.”

“But what about the teaching job?” her father asked. “If you take it, you’ll be busy, too.”

“I’d have to pass on the job, Dad. I’ve got enough money saved to last me for a while. And I can pay for Daniel’s classes, too. You and Mom wouldn’t have to do a thing.”

“You’d do that for your brother?” Megan’s mother dabbed at her eyes. “You’d put your singing career on hold, give up your teaching and your life in Nashville?”

“It wouldn’t be forever,” Megan said. “And right now, we’re talking about Daniel’s happiness, for the rest of his life.”

“No promises, but I’ll think about it,” her mother said. “Meanwhile, not a word to Daniel.”

“Of course not,” Megan said. “If it’s a yes, I’ll need to talk to his boss at Shop Mart to make sure he can get the time off. The next step will be to contact the driving school. When everything’s in place, we’ll tell him together.”

Her mother frowned. “No promises, Megan. I said I’d think about it. That’s all.”

* * *

Megan lay awake that night, listening to the sound of windblown snow battering the windowpane. Her mother was still capable of saying no to the driving-school plan. She was a stubborn woman, fiercely protective of her vulnerable son. She would agree only if she could be made to understand that Daniel’s happiness mattered as much as his safety.