The Long, Hot Texas Summer

Regular school had been a pain for Amanda, too. Figuring they could both use a rest, she went to the cooler in the corner and brought out two icy grape-flavored electrolyte drinks. She tossed one to him. “What does interest you?” she asked.

Lamar wiped the moisture away with the hem of his shirt. “I like watching TV. Listening to music.”

Amanda took a long drink. There had to be something that would help him connect with others. “Do you play any sports?” Even if Lamar didn’t qualify for school teams, there were always private athletic leagues to provide a little fun and make him feel involved.

“Nah.” Lamar finished half his bottle in a single gulp. “I’m no good at sports, either.”

So Lamar had suffered multiple failures, socially and otherwise. Catching sight of his dejected expression, Amanda’s heart went out to him. She knew was it was like to be a teenager who didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. “What are you good at?”

Abruptly, mischief crept into his expression. “Getting out of stuff I don’t want to do.”

Amanda could see that. “You can’t really make a living as a no-show.”

“So maybe I’ll be a security guard,” Lamar boasted, “and sit around and watch those TV monitors.”

Amanda couldn’t think of anything less interesting, but leery of discouraging him, she smiled. “Could work.”

He paced to the window and back. “You’re not going to try to talk me out of it? Tell me I have to finish high school and go on to college?”

Amanda held his gaze. “College isn’t for everyone.”

“Did you go to college?”

Amanda shook her head. “I didn’t like high school, either, so I got a GED instead and learned carpentry from my grandfather.”

His face grew pinched. “I don’t know about the GED,” he grumbled, as if it were the worst idea in the world. “All that studying and having to take those tests...”

Amanda could see where even the idea of that would be overwhelming for Lamar, given he’d skipped so much he had to be way behind on his studies. They walked back out to the truck to finish unloading supplies.

“Do you like being a carpenter?” Lamar asked eventually.

“Very much.”

He slanted her a wary glance. “How come?”

Trying not to think about the failures in her own life, Amanda offered him a faint smile. “Because I like building things that will last.”

* * *

IT WAS NEARLY noon when Justin looked up from behind his desk to see his dad striding into the lodge. As he walked across the spacious living area, Wade McCabe held a large high-velocity floor fan in each hand.

Justin strolled out of the administrator’s office to greet him. “Hey, Dad. Thanks for bringing those out.” Wade set them down next to the overstuffed sofas and chairs that had been donated by a local furniture store. “Some reason you couldn’t run into town and pick them up yourself?”

A very good one, as a matter of fact. “I’m supervising a teenager’s community service right now.”

His dad looked around, perplexed, noting they were quite alone.

“Lamar’s in the bunkhouse, assisting the carpenter. He’ll be back in here as soon as they’re finished carrying in all the wood from the pickup truck.”

His dad paused. “So this is a one-day thing?”

“All summer.”

Wade blinked in surprise. “You’re not really equipped for that, are you son?”

Justin tensed. Here we go again. He turned and walked into his office. “Dad, if this is where you tell me if I’m serious about all this, I need to go back to school and get a degree in psychology...”

Wade looked around the sparsely decorated administrator’s office, which at the moment was littered with the paperwork Justin was still trying to get through. “Your mother and I raised you to find what you’re good at and do it to the best of your ability.” He sank into a chair in front of Justin’s desk and gave him a long, level look. “What you are good at, Justin, is finance and accounting.”

Justin slid a stack of papers into a mailing envelope, sealed it shut and ran it through the postage meter. “I’m doing that here.”

Wade steepled his hands in front of him. “To a much lesser degree than what you were doing five years ago.”

Which, for his ambitious father and mother, was unacceptable, Justin knew. They wanted all five of their sons to have the same kind of financial security and success they’d built for themselves, while still holding on to their core values. “It’s important work, Dad.”

Wade’s expression softened. “I’m not discounting that. It’s why I made a sizable donation to help get the Laramie Boys Ranch up and running and accepted a position on the board of directors.”

Something Justin was beginning to regret. In hindsight, he saw answering to his father, even among a group of other involved adults, might not be such a good thing. “Then...?”

“Your mother and I are worried about you.”

Justin grimaced. “Why?”

“Clearly, you’ve yet to get over everything that happened in Fort Worth—first your broken engagement to Pilar, and then...”

Justin heard a feminine throat clear, followed by a knock. He and his father turned to see Amanda standing in the open door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, looking gorgeous as ever, despite her hot and sweaty state. “But have either of you seen Lamar?”

* * *

ACTUALLY, GIVEN THE conversation she’d overhead inside the ranch’s office, Amanda wasn’t at all sorry to interrupt. It sounded as though Justin McCabe needed a break. Having been the target of a great deal of parental lecturing growing up, she knew just how demoralizing such sessions could be. Not to mention the damage they inevitably did to the relationship. Although, unlike her mom and dad—who had seen her mostly as a stumbling block to their happiness—Justin’s parent seemed to genuinely care about him.

She continued, “I just got back with more wood and...”

Justin shot out of his chair, his expression filled with concern. “What do you mean you just got back?”

Why was he making a big deal out of this? “I had to run to the lumberyard to pick up the rest of the baseboard.” She paused. “He didn’t tell you?”

Justin shoved a hand through his hair. “I haven’t seen him. I thought he was with you.”

Justin’s father looked on with a mixture of resignation and disapproval.

Amanda felt for Justin. Whether or not the two of them should have seen this coming was a moot point. She swallowed uncomfortably. “He should have reported back to you about an hour and a half ago....”

Justin stalked around the desk to her side. “Where could he be?”

Amanda turned to let Justin through. She caught a whiff of soap and man as he passed by. “I don’t know.” She was, however, willing to help search.