Read Renewal 7 - When the Student Is Ready for Free Online Page B

wanderer approached in our blind spot, but that didn’t matter. The snow was melting rapidly during the daytime in July, but freezing hard at night. The thaw and freeze sequence left a hard layer of crunchy ice on top of the snow. As our first visitor demonstrated, we could hear fresh tracks punching into the snow at least five hundred feet away. Dad was in the tack room, watching long before the young man approached the barn.
    He was horribly thin, like a fund raising commercial for Africa, and he was so dirty, Dad said he had a hard time figuring out anything about him. Apparently Kirk was keen to shoot the guy and spent the entire approach whispering to Dad about that very idea. Dad wanted to watch and learn. From Dad’s viewpoint the starving boy came within forty feet and turned right towards the front of the barn, where I was perched up in the lookout.
    The intruder came into my field of view, making a beeline for the ashes of the Carroll’s former home. He walked up and kicked around in the ashes for a few minutes, which honestly creeped me out. I knew there were bones in that pile. Luckily, the fires from our sheds were all well-tended and burning clean. Otherwise, he would have known we were there from a distance. The skinny boy turned back toward the barn, and I could see him react when he saw the well trampled paths to the sheds. He took two more steps, saw fresh footprints, and took off running to the northeast. He curved around to the east until he was lost to my view.
    Several minutes later, I heard the tack room door open and shut. Dad and Kirk were off in pursuit.
     
    Chapter 7 - 6
    Aggie was happy to have her husband at the dinner table. Terry could tell by the peppy chatter, the flowery dress, and the feminine flourishes as she set the dishes in front of us. Bill sat at this usual place at the head of the table – he called it the tail – and stretched his wounded leg on an extra chair to the side. Aggie was making excuses for the general imperfection of the meal. Terry had noticed that women did that, especially when they were great cooks. He was still close enough to his life before Teeny Town that almost every meal felt exactly like a feast. This one, as it quickly covered the large table with Aggie’s graceful placement of serving dishes, was no exception.
    It took a noticeable length of time for Terry to recover his wits when Sally walked in. Bill and Aggie stared at his reaction, but Terry didn’t notice because the Terror of Teeny Town was wearing a dress, just like her mother. Terry was enticed by Sally’s everyday clothing, which was exactly the same attire as the men wore. A tall, willowy redhead in a dress, scrubbed clean and glowing, was another level entirely. Terry was thankful that Sally seemed to change her aggressive persona with her clothing, because his mind was completely filled with the sight of her. He stood up absently, and followed her with his eyes as she glided to the table and sat down across from him.
    “Hello, all,” she said in a voice that was somehow sweeter than he remembered.
    “Hello, my little girl,” Bill said.
    “Hi, Sally. Can you grab the rolls?” Aggie asked.
    “Wow.” That’s all Terry could say.
    “I clean up ok, huh?” Sally asked.
    “Yes you do.” Terry was drawling and leaving long pauses between words.
    Instead of her usual tactic of sensing Terry’s weakness and attacking, she simply smiled and said, “Thank you.”
    Sally picked up the rolls from the countertop, and slide them into the last empty spot on the table. Aggie filled glasses with water and a light golden tea, then sat down herself. Once Sally sat down, Terry was the only one on his feet. He still gazed at this new vision of Sally, perhaps one more to his liking. If his thinking cap was on his head, he might have been suspicious of her new strategy, but the part of his brain that watched for trouble was far, far away.
    “Care to have a seat, Terry?” Bill asked, trying not to