“That old girl’s the pick of the litter,” said Paul. “She’ll take the highest price.”

Pete rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know if I can sell her. She’s one of my favorites.”

“They’re all your favorites, Pete. Just look at her. That dog was made to hunt. If you keep her, she won’t get to hunt a lick. No sir, that dog’s got heart. She was made to use it.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“All part of raising pups. You give ’em all you got, do everything you can to make them into the best, then you let ’em run.”

The sound of a screen door slapping interrupted them. The sound echoed across the wide-open field. In the distance, Pete could see Ruth running toward them. She was long and lean, and her red hair whipped behind her like ribbons.

Pete held his eyes on her, watching her high-step through the tall grass. She was hollering, playing with Pete’s own dog, Stringbean, the only dog of the bunch he hadn’t trained to hunt because she was too gentle.

Paul placed a thick hand on Pete’s shoulder. “Hey, I wanna ask you something, Pete.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to promise me something.”

“Huh?”

“Promise me something, son. I want you to do me a favor.”

“What do you mean?”

Paul’s eyes were sharp, but the face around them was old. His hair was white, his skin crumpled. “Take care of my Ruth, will you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means what I just said. Just promise me you’ll take care of her, Pete.”

Pete shook Paul’s hand. Paul squeezed a little harder than he normally did.

Paul nodded toward Ruth. “That little girl’s got a lotta heart.”

Fifty-Eight
Homecoming

Joseph coughed until he couldn’t. His cough sounded like an engine in need of fuel. His chest sputtered and rattled. He leapt out of the Model A and leaned against it, hacking until he was out of breath.

“You okay?” asked Coot.

“Fine, I’m fine.”

“You sound worse than the car does.”

Joseph laughed. “And this car’s a lot younger than I am.”

“It’s nicer looking than you are too.”

“Now, is that any way to talk to your meal ticket?”

“I don’t know about this.”

“We spent every dime we had on this here car. This is just to buy us supper is all. Think of it like picking apples off a tree that ain’t yours. No big crime, right?”

“This is not like picking apples. This is taking advantage of innocent people.”

“Church people, Coot. These people give their money for the cause of charity. And that’s how we plan on using it, don’t we?”

“You shoulda been a lawyer, you know that? Or a preacher.”