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tattletales.”
    “I’m not about stuff like this. Do we have a deal or not?”
    Chad shrugged, but Zeke didn’t miss the grin that flirted at the corners of his mouth. “Sure. I got ten bucks that says you’ll cuss at least once before we get home.”
    “You’re on.”
    After stopping for lunch and running all the errands, Zeke drove home in a mild state of shock. “I can’t believe how much they charged for that damned window glass.”
    Chad grinned from ear to ear. “They gotta make a damned living.”
    Zeke grimaced and reached for his wallet.
    “You’re really gonna pay up?” Chad asked.
    “Of course. A wager is a wager.”
    Chad accepted the ten spot. A mischievous twinkle danced in his eyes as he stuffed the bill into his pocket. “I got another ten that says you’ll cuss again before the day is out.”
    “You’re on.” Zeke returned his attention to the road, convinced that he would win the bet. It was a simple matter of watching his language.
    By three o’clock, he owed Chad another ten dollars. As he opened his wallet, he said, “Has it occurred to you that this is an inequitable situation? You owe me a thousand dollars in repairs. Why can’t my cusswords go against your debt?”
    Chad shook his head and held out his hand. “My mama didn’t raise no fool. This way, I’m paying off the debt and making a profit.”
    Zeke couldn’t help but laugh. He was starting to like this kid. “If you put it against your debt, it’ll reduce the number of hours you have to work.”
    Chad shrugged. “Working for you isn’t so bad. I’m not bored, anyhow.”
    “Is it boring at home?”
    “You ever watched Court TV most of the day?”
    “Nope, can’t say that I have.”
    “Big-time boring. Gramps watches trials and shit.” Chad cast Zeke a sidelong glance. “I had that one coming. You cussed, remember? That means I can. It was our deal.”
    Zeke was beginning to regret having made that bargain. “What kind of trials does the old man watch?”
    “All kinds. He especially gets off on murder trials. Somebody he doesn’t know killed somebody else he doesn’t know, and he hangs on every word. It totally sucks. He’s fascinated by forensics. Blood splatter patterns and stuff. It’s kind of creepy.”
    “Takes all different kinds to make the world go round, I guess.” Zeke tugged a tape measure from his belt. “You ever used a circular saw?”
    “You want me to saw boards?” Chad cast a worried glance at the lumber. “I don’t think so. I’d better just wash the house and stuff.”
    “I’m the boss on this job,” Zeke said firmly as he handed Chad the safety goggles. “If I say you’re going to cut boards, you’ll cut boards. You can scrub the house later.”
    The boy eyed the saw as he might a scorpion. “You don’t know what you’re getting into. I’m real clumsy.”
    “Who says you’re clumsy?”
    “My dad. He says I was born with ten thumbs and two left feet.”
    Zeke didn’t think he would like Robert Patterson. “Bullshit. If you’re clumsy, I haven’t noticed it.”
    Chad grinned and thrust out his hand. “That’s another ten to me, bucko.”
    “No, it’s not. We didn’t bet last time.”
    “Too bad. I would have had you.”
    Scarcely able to believe he’d transgressed again, Zeke shook his head. “I never realized I cuss so much.” He arched an eyebrow. “Let it be a lesson to you. Get in the habit, and sooner or later you’ll slip up in front of your mother.”
    Chad nodded solemnly. “Yeah, probably. It really upsets her, too, so I’d better watch it.”
    “Enough said. Back to you using the circular saw. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to handle one. I’ll show you how.”
    “I’m not good at learning new things,” Chad warned him.
    Zeke had a sneaking hunch that his father had convinced him of that as well. “No one is good at anything the first few times. It takes practice.”
    “I’ll ruin your boards.”
    “No, you won’t. They’re