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clothing that she loved to share.
    A quick brush of powder, thick black eyeliner and a couple of passes of mascara made her eyes look more dramatic. She finished off with a coat of red lipstick.
    She tucked her money, lipstick and ID in her back pocket—how wonderful was it not to have to carry a purse?—before she slipped on her heels.
    Thomas leaned against the Pontiac he’d inherited from Darren. His eyes went wide. “Jesus Christ, Carolyn, what the hell are you wearing?”
    “Language,” she snapped. Her brothers cursed like sailors. It drove her crazy.
    “You can’t wear pants. People will think you’re a guy.”
    Carolyn tossed her hair and stuck out her chest. “Really? I look like a man? This Randy you’re introducing me to is into guys?”
    “Jes—jeez, that’s disgusting and beside the point. Now go change.”
    “No. This is perfectly acceptable, completely fashionable attire to wear to a ballgame. And besides, I wore clothing like this all the time in Montana,” she lied.
    “Right. I can’t see the nuns or the priests being onboard letting you prance around in that get-up, let alone Aunt Hulda.” He shook his finger at her. “You get any shi—crap about that outfit? Don’t come crying to me, wanting to go home. You’re stuck.” He climbed in the car and slammed the door.
    As soon as they hit the paved road, Carolyn cranked up the radio. She was switching back and forth between the county station and the rock and roll station, singing along, when Thomas reached over and turned the music down.
    “If you didn’t like my singing you should’ve said so.”
    Thomas shook his head. “You were born with an angel’s voice, sis. I turned it off because I need to talk to you about something.”
    “Okay.” She had a warning flutter in her belly because Thomas was never serious.
    “You’ve been back here for three weeks. Mom and Dad expect you to stay the summer but have you given any thought as to what you might do come September?”
    She picked at the tiny balls of fuzz on her sweater and dropped them in the ashtray. “No. I mean yes, I’ve thought about it but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Mom needs someone to take care of her; she has for years, so I’ll probably—”
    “No, Carolyn. I know you want to help, but you didn’t go away to school just to come back here and become Mom’s sole caretaker after you graduated.”
    She turned sideways in her seat and gaped at him. Then why did he—and her brothers—expect her to do everything for their mother? “But—”
    “I’ve decided to go to college,” Thomas blurted out. “I want a job where I don’t have dirt on my collar and under my fingernails every damn day. So I’m moving to Denver with Randy at the end of the summer.”
    “How will you afford that?”
    “I’ve been saving money since I scored that first job at Woolworth’s. You still considering taking up your friend’s offer to move to Chicago?”
    She shouldn’t have mentioned that to her nosy brother. Now he’d nag her even more. “I’m not sure if Cathy was serious or just being nice. And I don’t know that I’m cut out for life in the big city.”
    “Do me a favor—don’t tell Cathy no just yet. By the end of the summer you’ll probably be more than ready to get out of Wyoming.”
    “Is that why you’re leaving here?”
    Thomas didn’t speak until he’d parked in the lot behind the ball field. Even then he stared straight ahead instead of meeting her gaze. “There’s no place for me here. Harland is trying to run a ranch. Darren is helping his father-in-law in his sheep business. Marshall has a great job with the railroad. Stuart is happy as a carpenter. I only took the job at the coal mine after I graduated from high school because I didn’t have other options. Now I do.”
    As much as she hated the thought of Thomas not being around every day to annoy her, she understood his need to set himself apart. “Have you said anything to