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“I bet Casper wants an apple.”
    â€œI’m sure that horse does. Pick one out and I’ll cut it up, sugar.”
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    â€œD O YOU THINK WE’LL EVER get a better TV?” Hank asked as Susan tried once again to get the salt-and-pepper mess off the nineteen-inch screen in their tiny living room.
    â€œI do,” she replied. She was absolutely positive they would get a better television. One day.
    Hank narrowed his eyes. “Soon?”
    â€œNo.”
    Hank sighed. “Jeremy has a television in his room that’s bigger than this. You wouldn’t believe how good it looks.”
    â€œOh, I would. This TV isn’t too big at all. But we’ve got other things to pay for, Hank. It can’t be helped.”
    â€œMaybe we could do without some things. Then we’d have more money for the good stuff.”
    â€œWhat are you thinking we could do without?” She, for one, didn’t have a plan. Already her car was limping along and her clothes were mainly purchased from resale shops.
    â€œI don’t know. Broccoli?”
    â€œBroccoli’s not making as much of a dent in our budget as you might think, buddy.”
    He slumped. “I guess you’re right.” He looked down at his shoes. “Guess I can’t buy new sneakers, huh?”
    Little by little, her heart broke. She hated not being ableto get him the things he wanted. “Maybe we can get new shoes after I get paid.”
    He flashed a smile. “’Kay.” Walking away, he opened up the fridge. “So, can I have an apple?”
    Once upon a time, the answer to that question would have been automatic. But now she hesitated. There were sugar levels and dietary concerns she couldn’t afford to ignore. “What else have you eaten today?”
    After he told her, she mentally reviewed the dietary guidelines that the nurses had given her. “I suppose so. But let me know if you start to feel funny.”
    Hank rolled his eyes as he bit into an apple, then scooted toward the tiny TV and watched his regular series of shows on the Cartoon Network.
    Usually, this would be the time that Susan would lean back and stretch and relax. But all she could do was watch Hank watch TV and worry.
    She’d gotten the lab results. They were going to need to up Hank’s insulin dose. And though the nurse probably didn’t mean to sound like it, Susan had the uncomfortable feeling that the nurse thought she wasn’t monitoring his levels closely enough.
    After scheduling yet another appointment with the pediatrician, Susan had hung up…and had wondered how in the world she would manage to get off even more time from work. Kay was going to be put out, that was for sure.
    And how was she going to be able to start monitoring things better with Hank? When they weren’t going to all these doctor’s appointments, she’d be spending even less time with him, not more.
    â€œI’m going to sit on the patio,” she told Hank, then walked out to her nine-by-nine concrete slab and took a seat.
    The moment she closed her eyes, the furnace that wasTexas in September engulfed her. On cue, she started to sweat. Any sane person would go on into the air-conditioning. But maybe that was the problem. She wasn’t sane. Not by a long shot.
    Why else would she have left Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, and all her family…for Electra, Texas?
    Maybe she should go back to Cincinnati. Living in the city would be difficult and more expensive, but she could probably find a good job. And then Hank would have everything he needed in case something went wrong….
    â€œYou in for the night, Susan?” Betsy, her neighbor, peeked out in between the row of holly bushes that separated their patios.
    â€œI am. What about you?”
    The closest friend she had in Electra smiled a gap-toothed grin. “Not on your life! It’s only seven o’clock.”
    Once upon a time,