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back into the same position in her lap. “You know, my friend Molly is gay too. In fact…well, when we lived together, we shared a room…and a bed. So you might not be the only gay person in this truck. How about that?”
    “Hmm.” That explained Amber’s live-and-let-live attitude, but Joy doubted someone who had lived mostly in relationships with men was ambivalent about her sexuality. “Most of the lesbians I know tend not to have boyfriends.”
    “I don’t know about that, but I bet I’d have been a lot happier if they’d been women. Corey had this other girlfriend, a woman named Rachelle. Sometimes she’d stay over too and one time we all—”
    “Oh, no! Too much information.” Joy started singing “Home on the Range” loudly when it became obvious Amber was enjoying the torturous effect her personal details were having.
    “What? You never did a three-way?” Amber was practically giddy.
    “I did not. One at a time, thank you, and never, ever with a man. That is the definition of a lesbian.”
    “If you say so. But I bet there are a lot of lesbians out there who end up with guys just because it’s easier. Or maybe they never felt like they had a choice. Doesn’t mean they aren’t lesbians.”
    Joy knew that firsthand, thanks to Syd, who couldn’t deal with the stress of secrecy and yearned to fit in with everyone else. She had never learned to define her life with her own identity, choosing instead to be a reflection of whomever she was with. “Being a lesbian isn’t just who you decide to sleep with. It’s who you are.”
    “Isn’t that what I just said?”
    Joy silently conceded it was, but gave Amber a skeptical look just the same. A journey of self-discovery was one thing. Dabbling in both worlds when it suited you was another.
    “Did you get that problem with your dad worked out last night? Sounded like you were going at it with somebody.”
    Joy groaned. “I can’t believe these people. I found four different agencies that do home health care but all of them say they don’t allow their workers to lift. Something about their insurance not covering back injuries. I told them my pop didn’t need to be lifted. He just needs someone to provide a little leverage so he can lift himself without having to use his bum shoulder.”
    “What happened to him?”
    “He’s been in a wheelchair for twenty-some years, but he’s got good upper body strength, so he can do just about everything on his own. In fact, he absolutely hates it when he has to ask for help.” She didn’t add that he’d grown even more stubborn about it since her mother died, and was getting worse every year. “Last week he went for his poker night at the American Legion and took a header when his chair caught a bump on the ramp. Broke his shoulder and had to have surgery. It happened the day after I left with Madison, but he didn’t even tell me about it for three days because he knew I’d turn around and come back.”
    “How long is he going to be like that?”
    “The doctor said he had to let it heal for eight weeks and keep getting physical therapy for a couple of months after that. If I know Pop, he’ll try to cut that in half, and he’ll hurt himself even worse. Right now, he’s stuck at the rehab center until I can get somebody lined up to come to the house while I’m at work. And that’s the other thing. I have to be at work at five o’clock in the morning and they say it’s hard to schedule someone to come that early. The only way they can guarantee it is if we hire two shifts—midnight to eight, and eight to four.”
    “That’s freaking ridiculous.”
    “No kidding. That’s twice as much money just to cover three measly hours.”
    “No, I meant you having to be at work at five o’clock. That’s insane.”
    Joy gave Amber a sidelong look and was only half surprised to realize she wasn’t kidding.
    Amber said, “The best I ever managed was eight thirty at the Friendly Mart and half the time I