Page 45 of Alex

“She never walks,” Dylan said with a shake of her head.

A little while later, Dylan waved as her mother drove off with Zoey. She closed the door, entered the house, then pulled on her coat and hat and walked to the barn. Stalls needed to be mucked out, and she wanted to check on the other bulls. They better be where they were supposed to be.

Chapter Six

“Dad?” Alex entered the kitchen of his father’s house, to find it empty.

Closing the door behind him, he removed his hat, and coat, and set them on the bench beside the door, and walked toward the living room.

“Dad?”

“I’ll be right down, son,” his father said.

Alex sat on the sofa, picked up a magazine, and flipped through it while waiting.

“Alex? What’s up?” Brooks Reeves asked when he entered the room.

“Nothing. I thought I’d stop to see if you wanted to grab dinner.”

“Uh, sure.”

“How about tonight?”

“Sounds good. Where are we going?”

“Hartland?”

“All right.”

“I’ll pick you up around—”

“Brooks?”

Alex turned to look at his father.

“You have a woman here?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“Well, no, but you could have said something.”

“I didn’t know I had to ask your permission.”

“Oh, come on, Dad. You know better than that. I meant you could have said something when you came downstairs.”

“Sorry, son.”

“So, who is she?”

“Uh…”

“Alexander? Is that you?”

Alex turned to face the staircase and almost fell over when he saw his tenth grade English teacher, Mrs. Crane, walking down the steps.Wearing a robe!He’d never unsee that.

“Mrs. Crane?” Alex looked at his father.

“I’m sure this is a surprise, son, but Thelma and I have been seeing each other.”

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