" What 's this business about a tree , Arlissa ? " Helen Tunstall wanted to know . " Oh , it 's just a tree that Rosie and I used to meet at and we sat under it and talked . That 's all . I 'm sure she just wanted Benny to see it . Part of the memories we had together . " Arlissa nodded in a noncommital manner . " Say , Zeb , why don 't you tell us , do you and Angela have any plans for staying with us for awhile ? " This came from his stepfather , trying to relieve the tension floating through the air . " No , Hank . Just long enough for the services for Rosie , and then a day or so later to help settle her affairs . We both have jobs to get back to . " Zeb reached over and hugged his bride . " I know she is the light of my life ! I don 't know how I 'd go on without her . " Arlissa looked at the two of them with open envy . Would she ever find someone who loved her like that ? Right now she didn 't have much hope . She wondered if Hank Tunstall could help her with her search for her beginning . " Hank , did you know my mom , Eleanor Mae Hinton ? You 've lived around here your whole life , haven 't you ? " Helen Tunstall turned pale at the mention of Arlissa 's mother 's given name . " Did you say your mother 's first name was Eleanor ? Was she called Ellie ? " the next day after I was born . I know it 's common knowledge that she wasn 't married . I don 't know who my daddy was . Granny won 't tell me . " At that admission from Arlissa , Helen Tunstall 's expression became stony , and she looked at the girl with true repugnance . picked up on the implication and replied , " I sure would . Little sis , you have become a really great cook ! Mom , you surely have taught her well ! " started to rise from the table , but Hank got up quickly and said , " Aw , Helen , she 's a guest ! I 'll go help you , honey ! Arlissa , you just stay where you are ! " He smiled to soften the rebuke , and the two went into the kitchen . All was quiet for a few minutes , everyone trying to think of something to say . Arlissa knew the atmosphere had changed but hadn 't the slightest idea why . She didn 't know that this very subject had been discussed in this family . Those I know there are a lot of people who need help that can 't afford it ; I want to help people that way . Zeb is a policeman and helps people that way . Marie is becoming a nurse . " Hush ! You mustn 't shout like that . You needed to ask anyone here to give you some . Marie is sitting on the other side of you and could have given you some . Now , quiet down . " Hank returned to the table , with a smile and the iced tea pitcher . Arlissa everybody . I didn 't get to help fix supper , and it 's the least I could do . I used to help you all the time , when Rosie was here . " I tell you what , Arlissa . I 'm going to take you up on part of that . I 'll let you wash and I 'll dry . We can talk while we work . You other girls go on in yonder and rest while we get this all redded up . You all did help a lot to get it all ready . " She smiled at Marie and Angela Rae . the back of the chair . Arlissa dried her hands and followed suit . She was dreading this meeting , but , after much prayer , had already made her decision . Sheriff , " she smiled at him . Then a thought occurred to her . He would know something of her family 's history and would be a good person to ask . Hank looked around at all of them as they settled in . Looking at his stepson , Zeb , he suggested that Zeb begin the meeting with a prayer . Zeb nodded his compliance and began . we know that You have a plan for each of our lives . Please give us wisdom and guide us in the decisions that are made here tonight . We know Help us to decide who will be raising him to manhood . We thank you for your guidance and we give you all the praise and the Glory . Amen . " ten days ago , Rosie showed up at our front door with a single suitcase and a big purse , and a little boy . She claimed the boy was her son , Benito , whom she called Benny . They looked like something the cat dragged in , but I was so happy to see her ! who was Benny 's father . It seems she had taken Benny without his father 's knowledge . Then , a few days later , she went to our neighbor 's , the Hintons , and that is the last time we saw her alive . " ' Don 't you never touch me again ! ' she told him . I had noticed the purple and black places on her arms and she later told me that Roberto had beat on her , and even little Benny knew he had beat her . I reckon it we had supper and Benny fell asleep at the table . I put him down in my bedroom on the davonette . We talked some more , then Rosie got restless and went out onto the front porch and was gone awhile . She came back in and laid down on my couch in the living room when I went in to go to bed . " the next thing I know , I 'm wakin ' up to the sound of Benny tryin ' to wake up his mama . Of course , you know she was gone by then . The next step was to call the doctor and the sheriff . I reckon you all know it from there . She left a paper for me , which I didn 't know she was goin ' to . We didn 't talk about Benny at all that I can remember . I know she really loved him , though , and didn 't want his Daddy around him or her . " know you all are wonderin ' what I 'm a aimin ' to do about the paper she left and takin ' care of Benny . I have made a decision about it . I was thinkin ' that if I followed Rosie 's wishes , I 'd . . . " " Ma ! Ma ! You can 't do that . Arlissa is a guest in our home . Please sit down . Let her finish what she was going to say , please . " little grandson , Hank ! I 'd almost give him over to Arlissa before I 'd let him have the little sweetheart ! " Helen wailed . One could see that they were now really considering what was best for the child at the center of the problem they faced . " But how would we know she wouldn 't take him off somewhere and we 'd never see him again ? No ! I won 't allow it ! We 'll keep him and protect him from Helen , I 'd do my best , but what kind of a life would we have , knowing we 'd have to be on our guard all the time ? He 'd be learning fear , more than he knows already , if we were to do that . We 'd be afraid to let him out of our sight ! " have a suggestion , folks . We 'd like to take Benny back with us when we leave . He seems to have taken to us , and we could protect him . How do you feel about that , Ma ? " you sure ? When would I ever get to see him ? Oh , I don 't know . . . I already love him so much . Wouldn 't it be strange for him , being in another place , so soon after coming here ? " charm . They had the funeral and burial of Rosie to contend with as well . The next few days were going to be full of activity . " Zeb , one more favor . Will you speak at Rosie 's funeral ? " " Yes , Ma . I 'll do that . She and I were close growing up and I think I understood her pretty well . " " When did you decide to have visitation , Mrs . Tunstall ? " The Sheriff inquired . " Tomorrow At this news , Arlissa perked up . Now she would be able to get more information about her past , perhaps . Soon they were getting ready to leave , and the Sheriff spoke to Arlissa . " How about I follow you home , Arlissa , just to make sure that Douglas fella is watching for you ? " no idea she was goin ' to do any of the things she did . She was a good friend to me , and I miss her . Thank you for the good supper and I hope we can be friends . Goodbye for now . " Arlissa Miss Arlissa , I 'll just walk you to the door . It 's as black as pitch out here ; you could stumble and fall . Nobody 'd know you were even hurt . Just humor me , okay ? " " Blinky ! What are you doin ' up here ? Why are you sleepin ' on my front stoop ? You silly cat ! You know you belong in the barn ! " " Sheriff ! Looky here ! She 's dead ! Why does she have a red ribbon around her neck ? She ain 't never wore a ribbon on her neck ! " The Sheriff examined the cat lying in Arlissa 's hands . Douglas ! That 's who ! " She realized with a fury . " He is a lowdown polecat ! He used to get in trouble all the time for shootin ' at squirrels and dogs and birds - anything that moved . " I remember , " replied the Sheriff . " He was reported several times for being on people 's properties shooting animals . Listen , I 'm going to go in with you and check to make sure he hasn 't been inside your house . He could be waiting in there for you to come home . You stay right behind me . " chair with his own hands over twenty years ago for her granny . She realized she was still holding Blinky , and lay her down on the floor . " How is my Granny goin ' to take this ? How can I get it cleaned up before she comes home ? " now the Sheriff had moved into the bedrooms and saw bed clothing torn into shreds . The intruder ( or intruders ) had also invaded Arlissa 's dresser and cut all her clothing into shreds and strewn it about . Urine had been put on the clothing as well . He back into the living room , he shook his head and said , " You can 't stay here , Miss Arlissa ! The person who did this is too dangerous to let you be without protection . You 're coming home with me , at least for tonight . My wife will be glad to have some company . You remember I told you she is bedridden . I have someone that comes in during the day , so you needn 't be worried I would be having you take care of her . " my animals ! I can 't go off and leave them ! The cows and the pigs and the chickens can 't be left without somebody takin ' care of them ! " barn door stood wide open , and they saw devastation there also . Blood was everywhere . Minnie and the other two cows lay with their throats cut . " Oh , no ! Not Minnie , too ! How could anyone be so cruel ? How could he , Sheriff ? " Arlissa looked up at Sheriff Bradshaw in horror , as she knelt beside her pet cow , still holding Blinky . She had forgotten she was holding him . Gently she placed him beside Minnie . along , Miss Arlissa ! I 'll get some fellas out here tomorrow to clean all this up for you and dispose of the bodies . I 'm so sorry you 're having to go through this right now . I know now for sure that it 's not safe for you to be out here alone . I hate to think what could have happened if you had decided to come back here while he was still doing all this . " evidence is not clear yet , but circumstantially , I 'd say it 's a good chance it was him . He was mighty mad at you this afternoon . He strikes me as a dangerous man , with the family background he 's got . I 've had some dealings with them over the years ; and the dealings weren 't pleasant , to say the least . " in the State Troopers on this one . I 'll get fingerprints and see if they can match them up with any they 've got on file . I 'm going to bring in Con and question him this evening . But first , I 'm going to take you to my house for safety . " Arlissa , I hardly know what to say about all this , except how sorry I am that it has all has happened . I know you don 't deserve it . I 'm going to do my best to bring him , or them , if it was more than one that did it , in for questioning and put him or them in jail . " see you get it in time to drive it tomorrow . Don 't worry . I am concerned for your safety , so I 'm going to have one of my deputies follow you there and then follow you back to my house when you are ready " As long as it takes to get this guy . Maggie Lou is going to love having you around . " " Will your deputy go with me to feed my chickens and pigs ? I can 't let them go hungry . " see that he takes you and helps you . Don 't you worry ! In fact , I may have him just drive you to the hospital after taking you out to the farm to feed them . Here we are at my home . Come on in and I 'll have my day help , Sarah , to get you one of Maggie 's nightgowns to wear tonight and maybe one of her dresses to wear tomorrow . " you 're bein ' awful good to me . I don 't understand why , but I really appreciate it . I don 't know what I would have done if I 'd gone back home and seen all that by myself . I still don 't know how Granny 's goin ' to take it . I don 't even know if I can tell her or how I can ease into it . " sake , Woody ! What you doin ' with this young lady , bringin ' her in here this time of evenin ' ? What 's wrong with you , Arlissa ? You look like you 've seen a ghost , ' er somethin ' ! " gets things mixed up these days . She had already started getting confused before the cancer . The cancer has taken its toll on her , besides . Don 't pay any attention to what she says . Doc Henry says she ain 't long for this world , so I just try to see that she 's comfortable , " a marker in it here in Psalms . She likes to hear them . You can read to her until Sarah comes in to tuck her in for the night , then a little longer till she drifts off to sleep . Sarah will show you where you can sleep and she 'll lay out the nightgown and dress for you on the bed where you 'll be sleeping . " minutes . She found the girl had drifted off to sleep as well in the easy chair near the bed . Just reading the Psalms had quieted her soul , too . Sarah Arlissa was almost walking in her sleep to the back bedroom where she was to spend the night . After making use of the facilities , she changed into the nightgown and went to bed . Sarah the sun streaming through the trees outside . " Oh , my goodness ! I 'm late gettin ' up . They 'll think I 'm a regular sleepyhead , a sleepin ' in like this ! " bone in her body seemed to be aching ; she felt a depression she had never before experienced . What was she going to do ? How would she ever tell Granny what had taken place ? " Well , " at herself in the mirror , she thought it looked okay on her , a little old - fashioned maybe , but it fit her good . The sheriff 's wife was a short , slender person as well as Arlissa . " Hmm . Wonder what Sheriff Bradshaw found out last night when he went to pick up Con Douglas ? " Arlissa followed the aroma of bacon coming from the kitchen and went in to see Sarah bustling about making breakfast . good morning , Miss Sleepy Girl ! " Sarah greeted her with a smile . " I 'm so glad you got you some good sleep ! I heard you snoring a little last night ! " you silly ! I slept on the couch in your room . I didn 't want to leave you here to have to get up and maybe get something for Maggie ! I quite often stay here when the Sheriff is out on an all night job . To be quite Just as Arlissa sat down at the table , the Sheriff came into the kitchen and sat down as well . " Good morning , Miss Arlissa ! Did you sleep well ? " I would have taken him in if I could have found him . He 's still on the loose somewhere . My men and I are going to start looking for him again this morning , right after breakfast . We went to his Ma 's house , where he lives and she said he wasn 't there ; she even let us look everywhere in the house and out - buildings . He wasn 't anywhere to be found . We 'll get him , though . " After they had breakfast , one of the deputies came by to take Arlissa to the hospital to see her grandmother . " Now , when you 're ready to come back home , you call my office or the house here , and we 'll see you get back here . You can 't go back to that farm till we got him in custody . You hear ? " the Sheriff instructed her . " Yes , sir . I sure ain 't wantin ' to get hurt by that Con Douglas ! " When the deputy came to the door , Arlissa went out with him to his car , and she realized she knew him . " Billy Newman ! I didn 't know you was a deputy ! How long have you been doin ' that ? " blushed and told her he had been deputy for a little more than a year . She knew him from high school , but not very well . He was one of the town had even gone away to college and everything . He was an educated young man and she didn 't think the job of deputy would take him very far , and doubted it paid anywhere like he was used to having for spending . What she didn 't know was that he and his daddy had come to a parting of the ways over his laying around doing nothing after college . She " Okay , Billy . Thanks . See you this afternoon . " She smiled at him ; he nodded , gave a half - smile in return and left . Arlissa Blinky just rubbed up against Arlissa 's legs . weaving in and out , looking up and meowing . Then he would take a few steps and run back , repeating the action . " Okay , jist wait a couple a ' minutes . I got to wash my hands ' fore I milk old Minnie . Jist hold yore horses , now . Get on out to the barn ! Scat ! " Within minutes she was back out the kitchen door with the milk bucket and heading to the barn with Blinky mewing and running slightly ahead of her . She laughed and chattered at him , feeling carefree for a few minutes , like a young woman should . Entering the barn lot , she herded old Minnie into the stanchion and put the feed in front of the old cow , then moving the stool near the Jersey , she sat and began milking , first washing the udders with warm water . Blinky sat there , waiting and mewling . " Okay , here goes , catch it , catch it ! ! " Blinky obliged by opening his mouth and catching the stream of milk . The act reminded Arlissa of the events of the evening that Benny and Rosie were with her . It brought the weight of the decisions she must make down on her shoulders again . It was going to take some mighty tall praying to decide what to do about Granny and about the little boy , Benny . She needed to do some searching for insurance papers that Granny might have stored away . That would have to be done after she got through with her outside chores . She also needed to clean Granny 's room while she had the chance . By the time she finished all her chores , she was really tired ; she could hardly keep her eyes open as she swept the kitchen and living room . Maybe in the morning she would clean Granny 's room and search for the insurance papers . She decided to go on to bed and start fresh the next morning . The night was spent with restless tossing and turning . She thought she heard noises outside but that was just foolish thinking and the fact that she was alone in the farmhouse . The next morning , Arlissa was still tired and felt cranky to boot . She opened the front door to see what the weather was going to be like and looked down on the steps to see a dead dove lying there . Had Blinky killed the dove and left it as a present for her ? She had never known Blinky to kill a bird and not eat it . Cats do kill birds , she knew . But Blinky had never left her a present of one . Hmm . Oh , well , she thought . don 't get better ? No ! I won 't think about that . . . she 's gonna get better ; I know she is , cause she 's a fighter ! " kinds of thoughts were running through the young woman 's head and she knew she couldn 't - shouldn 't - waste valuable time worrying about what couldn 't be changed . Just take it one day at a time - that had become her mantra . Arlissa looked up at the kitchen clock and saw that time was soon going to get away from her . Jumping up from the kitchen chair , she ran into Granny 's room and began stripping the sheets from the bed . She noticed Granny 's worn Bible lying on the night stand and brought clean sheets from Granny 's bureau were soon placed on the bed and she spread the counterpane back on the bed and fluffed the pillows with the clean cases on them . Her mind was busy thinking about how she was going to care for Granny once she brought her home . " I need to go into town and talk to Mr . Stanton about my job . I may not even have one after not going in for a few days . He said I could take a few days off ; but it 's going to take more than a few days , it seems like . If only I could think of some solution . What am I going to do ? It seems hopeless . . . " A tear rolled down her cheek as she thought of their plight . She looked around the room , searching for she knew not what . Her eyes lit on the half - open top drawer in the dresser . " Now , wonder why Granny left this drawer open ? She 's one of the neatest people I know about closin ' drawers . She must a ' been in a hurry when she was in here last . I 'll jist shut it fer her . " Maybe Granny keeps some important papers in that box . I 've never seen her open it . I 'll jist have a look - see , while I 'm waitin ' fer the sheets " Hmm . Must have been a wrong number . Oh , well . " Just then the door bell rang . " Well , my goodness ! What a busy morning this is ! Wonder who this is ? " hate to be botherin ' you at a time like this , with your grandmother in the hospital and all , but Zeb is on his way home and he has requested you be there this evening , if you can manage it . He knows of the situation and feels you should be a part of the discussion . So , if you would , it would be much appreciated . Helen has had some time to think about everything and she is going to be much calmer , I promise . " grabbed up the clothes basket and filled it with the sheets , got the clothespins and carried it all out into the back yard . After wiping the clotheslines , she proceeded to hang the sheets and pillow cases . Looking quickly as she could , Arlissa took a bath and dressed for her visit to the hospital . As she passed Granny 's room , glancing in , she saw the rosewood box sitting on the bed and hurrying in , picked it up to return it to its place . Looking inside it would have to wait . She left the house , locking the door as she went . She was soon on her way , and didn 't notice the shadow at the edge of the trees near her home . how you doin ' this mornin ' , Granny ? Oh , my , you done slipped way down in yore bed ! Let me see if ' n I can get you pulled up some . " began mumbling her objections . Finally , Arlissa rang for help . " What 's the trouble in here ? " asked the doctor , coming in the door . " Ms . Hinton , are you raising Cain in here again ? " he joked . worried . Granny also knew the chances were almost nil . " About one more week is all we can keep you , Ms . Hinton . You are improving each day , and we are glad to see that . " Lifting " Hey , Lissa ! How 's your Granny doin ' today ? Is she feelin ' better ? " She felt obliged to at least be polite to the guy , so she replied in the affirmative , and started on her way again . He reached out and grabbed her arm , possessively . " Wait a minute ! Don 't run off ! We 're friends , ain 't we ? " hurried off , and left him watching her leave , grinning all the while . She could feel his eyes on her and it gave her the creeps . It was all she could do to keep from running . Arlissa turned once to look and saw him wave at her , smiling . was she going to do about Con Douglas ? He was beginning to be a problem . Back in school he was just an annoying boy ; now he was a man , bent on getting close to her . Granny had warned her more than once about wonder what they will say about the whole thing this evening . Do I really want to take Benny on to raise ? What do I know about raisin ' kids , anyway ? Does a paper give me the right to take him ? What would God up , the sun had gone behind the clouds and it looked like rain . " Oh , no ! The clothes on the line ! I gotta run home right now and get ' em inta the house ! " She ran for the car . watched her as she ran for the car . He would soon have to leave her another " gift " . He smiled to himself as she pulled out in a hurry . He knew she would soon belong to him . got home just in time to grab the sheets from the line and carry them in . They were still slightly damp , but she spread them out over the kitchen chairs and she was sure they would finish drying that way . Then she saw the Bible she had left lying on the table and picked it up to take to Granny . Arlissa headed out again , carrying the Bible , after locking the back door . By the time she came into Granny 's room this time , Granny was sitting up in a hospital version of an easy chair . One of their favorite nurses , Anne , was getting ready to put her into a wheel chair to take her to physical therapy . " Granny , I brought yore Bible in so you could have it to read while you 're in here . I 'll jist put it here on the tray so 's you can reach it . I 've got yore eyeglasses here in my purse , too . I 'll put them with the Bible . " saw all kinds of equipment in use . There were also items that were to be used to manipulate manually . Puzzles , pegs , and small items to be placed in their proper spaces . Anne right hand . Please do your best to do what he tells you . This afternoon , our speech therapist , Mary , is going to help you with speaking again . I know you 're going to work hard and you will improve . I 'll see you after while . Okay ? " old lady nodded and tried to tell him her given name , but it came out unintelligible . Frustrated , she tried again and again . Finally , Arlissa told him it was Flora . Flora . Now I 've fastened a very light weight to your right ankle and I want you to do your best to lift your foot . Think about how we lift our feet . If you can lift it just a little bit , it will be great ! " Granny looked at him with a glint in her eyes that told him she was going to try , but was making no promises . He looked at Arlissa meaningfully and she nodded . Sam smiled at them both and left to get his next patient . It was lunchtime and Arlissa got a washcloth to wash her Granny 's face and hands . " Do your best to wipe yore face and wash yore hands , Granny ! They want you to do as much for yoreself as possible . Everything you can do gets you out of here much sooner . " the old lady did a fair job . Fortunately , her stroke was only a light one and she was going to be able to rehabilitate enough to be sent home soon . Anne brought in the tray , and placed it on the bed tray in front of Granny . It hand towel on Granny 's chest so that not too much food would fall on the old woman 's gown as she tried to feed herself . It was a painfully slow process , but Granny kept at it . Arlissa had to give her credit for her efforts . she had finished feeding herself , Granny sat back and sighed , looking pitifully up at the girl . Granny was worn out with the strain , but at Arlissa 's words of praise , she did look a mite proud and gave her a smile in response . Her Granny was made of strong stuff and the girl could tell she wasn 't going to give up . " I 'll bet you 'd like a little nap right now , or would you like to go down to the sun room and look out of the windows for a while ? There 's a garden out there and we can watch the birds . It is raining but it might clear up soon . I have some things I need to talk to you about . " old lady looked at the bed with longing , and said something that sounded like rest . Arlissa rang for help and an intern came in to help put Granny to bed for awhile . The questions would have to wait , it seemed . Just She kissed the old lady on the brow and picking up her purse , she took her leave quietly , heading for the cafeteria . Upon reaching the cafeteria , she purchased a sandwich and got a glass of water to wash it down . She had no sooner sat down than she looked around and saw the good doctor with his fiancee , who was looking as though she 'd rather be anywhere else than here in the dinky cafeteria . Then , a few minutes later , Con Douglas came into the room and saw Arlissa , and headed straight for her . " Leave me alone , Con ! I came in here for a little peace and quiet , not to be bothered by you ! " good doctor heard the angst in her speech and slowly got up to intercede on her behalf , which did not please his bride - to - be . She grabbed hold of his sleeve to stop him . He jerked his sleeve out of her grasp and moved toward the couple who were having the altercation . over when Con left and proprietarily taken the arm of Dr . Winston . Once again , he shrugged her off . This time he just gave her a look that sent her back over to their table . Turning once again to Arlissa , he asked if she were okay . now , in case you haven 't guessed , I 'm fumin ' mad ! You have no right to come over here and interfere in my business ! I was gonna take care of Con Douglas ! I 've been knowin ' him for more than fifteen years . I can handle him ! Now , if you don 't mind , I 'd like to finish my sandwich ! It looks to me like you got enough on yore hands . " She looked over at his fiancee with those last words . " Oh , I 'm sorry , Miss Hinton . I promise I won 't interfere again . " Arlissa knew she shouldn 't have spoken to her Granny 's doctor in that manner , but she was so angry , she didn 't consider anything else . Her temper was always getting her into trouble , it seemed . She looked down at her half - eaten sandwich and suddenly was no longer hungry . Picking it up , she wrapped it in the paper bag and dropped it into the nearby trash , and returned the glass to the tray return in the cafeteria . As she left , she held her head high and didn 't look in the direction of the doctor and his bride - to - be . She didn 't see Con watching her departure . When The old worn Bible of Granny 's was heavy . She had a few clippings and other things in the leaves of the book . One item was a dried rose , pressed and faded . It had once been yellow , now you could barely tell what color it had been . two pages that seemed to be stuck together . Now that is strange , she thought to herself . She carefully pried them open . They had once been glued , it seemed , but the mucilage had dried out over the years , and now couldn 't be right ! Whoever had entered that date for her birth had the year wrong ! It made her a year older than what she really was ! was going to have to ask Granny about this when Granny could talk again . It would be useless to ask her now . She wouldn 't be able to answer Arlissa , and would only agitate the old lady . Her began to think over things that had taken place in her life . . . how much of it was real ? How much had been a lie ? All at once she felt she could not trust what anybody told her . How many people were in on the deception ? Did her daddy even know she existed ? Had he promised not to ever contact her ? She felt her life falling apart at the seams , disintegrating , like an old rag that had been used over and over till it was only a remnant . Quietly , many people knew she was fatherless ? How many knew who he was ? All she knew was that she had to find some answers ; she was going to look for them now . It hadn 't seemed to matter so much before ; but now that she knew she had been lied to so greatly , she had to search . old graveyard where her Mama was buried - that 's where she would head first . They never went there , Granny always told her to live and not worry about the dead . She said , waren 't no use a ' grievin ' over them , wouldn 't bring ' em back . into her car , she started it up and decided to leave Amblin and head for Hickston , where their Doctor , old Doc McReynolds , had his practice . He was close to retirement , and she would be able to ask him what year she was born . Surely the doctor would tell her . ' Why am I hesitating ? ' she thought . ' Is it that I don 't really want to know ? No , no . . . that couldn 't be it . ' Arlissa Hinton , what 're you doin ' here ? Ain 't your Granny in the hospital right now ? Are you sick , honey ? Come right on in . Doc Henry is out on a call right now , but he should be back soon . " him , and he 'd been around for a long time . In fact , he took over his practice from his father , who 'd been Dr . William McReynolds . Hetty cream , don 't cha ? " The old lady could see that she might get some more information out of the girl if she encouraged her to relax a little more . " You come right on in here to the kitchen and I 'll fix us up some coffee . You look like you could use some a ' my apple pie . I jist baked it a little while ago . " As the old woman poured the coffee , she peppered the girl with questions . " Now , it seems I heard something about your friend , Rosie O ' Hanlon , passing away ? ? Poor little girl took her own life , I hear ? " She followed Arlissa to the door , and watched her with glittering eyes as she left . " Darn ! I near about had some answers . Hmm . Don 't know what year she was born . Now , don 't that take the cake ! " now , I can 't help you there ! Why you wanta be goin ' all the way out yonder for ? Ain 't nothin ' out there you 'd be needin ' , is there ? " Honey . I 'll tell Doc Henry as soon as he gets home . I promise . Please don 't go out there , especially at this time a ' day . You 'll miss your supper . To be quite honest , you don 't look like you can afford to miss any meals . " I jist remembered I gotta be somewhere around supper time . Thanks for remindin ' me , Ms . Hetty . I gotta be leavin ' fer sure now . Please have Doc Henry call me at the Tunstall house or at my home later on this evenin ' . Thank ya for yore help , ma ' am . " she drove along , Arlissa considered what she was going to do next . She knew she needed to get to the Tunstall / O ' Hanlon residence soon . It wouldn 't be long til suppertime , and she didn 't want to be late for the meeting with them . was gonna do somethin ' like she did . I woulda stopped her if ' n I had . Oh , Rosie , why 'd you go and do such a Tomfool thing as that ? Killin ' yoreself and signin ' that little sweet boy over to me ! Am I supposed to honor that piece a ' paper ? Does the law say I have to ? " Ma never lived to tell me who my Pa was , and Granny sure ain 't never told me , if ' n she even knows . I reckon maybe it 's one a them things I won 't never know . But I sure can 't help wonderin ' about it , though . " " Get out ' n that car , Lissa ! You ' n me 's goin ' on a date right now ! " " I reckon we ain 't goin ' ! " shouted Arlissa and hit him with the door as he opened it , knocking him down . Then she gunned the motor and went around his car . He only thought he had her blocked in . He was speeding for her life . . . and she knew it . Con Douglas was becoming bolder and she realized she wasn 't going to be able to avoid him forever . " I reckon I 'm goin ' to have to talk to the Sheriff and see what I can do to stop Con from botherin ' me . " Just as she turned onto the road leading to the O ' Hanlons , Con had almost caught up to her once again . She began honking her horn , persistently , frantically , driving as fast as she could go . It When they saw the cars speeding toward them , they jumped out of the way . " Whoa ! " shouted Zeb . Arlissa pulled up to an abrupt stop and jumped from her car . " Help ! side road , waiting for speeders . He had seen the two speeding by , and was soon in pursuit . Sheriff Bradshaw parked his vehicle , got out , and hitching up his weapon belt , walked over to Con 's car . ran over and said , " I can tell you exactly why he was chasin ' me , Sheriff ! He was tryin ' to grab me and force me to go out with him on a date . I already told him I wasn 't interested in going nowhere with him , but he wasn 't hearin ' me ! " trying to be the bully , I see ! You always did want to be the boss of everyone , even in school . I remember you trying to push us younger kids around all the time . Now is the time to stop unless you want to wind up in jail like your older brothers did . " Con looked up at Zeb and sneered . " I see you 're still playin ' like yore better ' n anybody else , too , O ' Hanlon ! At least , my sister didn 't kill herself , like yore 's did . I 'll oughta be bringin ' charges against her . She caused me to get fired by that doctor ! He went to my boss and he fired me ! My mama 's dependin ' on me to take care of her and now , the only job I got is the one at the fillin ' station . It 's all her fault ! " so sorry about Rosie , Zeb . I 'm going to miss having her as such a good friend . I wish I had known what was in her mind and perhaps I could have Zeb wrapped his arms around the girl and patted her shoulder . " Thank you , ' Lissa . I 'm sorry you had to go through all that . I know how much you loved her . " then the front door opened and more people emerged from the house . It was the rest of the family and another person that Arlissa and the Sheriff had not yet met . Jake Tunstall was carrying little Benny , who was very quiet until he saw Arlissa . " ' Lissa ! Lissa ! " Then Jake shushed him . Just then Zeb and Arlissa turned toward those who had just come outside . " Mom , it was ' Lissa here honking her horn for help . You remember Con Douglas ? " At Zeb 's smile was about a thousand watts in brightness , if it could be measured in such a manner . " I 'm so very pleased to meet you , Arlissa . May I call you that ? " listen , you all ! Supper is on the table and going to be cold if we don 't get inside to eat it . We were just getting the table set when we heard the horn honking . Sheriff , why don 't you come in and have a bite with us ? " This I tell you what , my wife has got supper on the table right about now , and she 's gonna be that upset if I don 't make it . 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