BRAD WAS THIRTEEN WHEN HE BOUGHT WHAT THE music store called a starter five-piece drum set. Nothing fancy. Just the basics. But as far as he was concerned, the toms and the snare and the rest were worth every penny he’d paid for them. He’d done extra chores around the ranch for his dad and had worked for a couple of neighbors to save up for the set of drums. Now, at last, they were his. And his dad had agreed to pay for drum lessons as long as Brad agreed to be in the junior high school band. Sure. Why not? It would just mean he could play more, even while at school.
When he and his dad got home from the music store in Boise, Brad moved his bed closer to the window and put the drums in the corner.
“Makes me glad I’m leaving for college in a few weeks,” Penny said from the doorway.
He tossed a scowl in his sister’s direction, but she responded with a grin.
“Dad may be deaf by the time I get my degree. Maybe sooner than that.” She stepped into the bedroom to give the drum set a better look. “Couldn’t you have bought an acoustic guitar instead?”
Taking his seat on the stool, he answered, “Don’t want to play the acoustic guitar.” He took the pair of drumsticks in his hands. “Didn’t you ever know there was something you just had to do? I’m supposed to play drums. I feel it in here.” He touched his chest with a drumstick before tapping out a simple rhythm on the drums.
Penny reached to ruffle his hair with one hand. “Okay, buddy.”
He wished she would stop doing that. Made him feel like a little kid, and he wasn’t. Not anymore. He was already taller than her, and his voice was low enough that sometimes, when he answered the phone, the caller thought he was his dad.
“When do you start your lessons?” She took a step back, then another.
“Next week.”
“Good. That means you don’t have to practice now. Let’s go for a ride along the river. We won’t have many more opportunities before I leave.”
I’m gonna miss you, Pen.
Something flickered in her eyes as she watched him, as if she’d read his thoughts. Truth was she often knew what he was thinking, almost before he knew it himself. Were all older sisters like that? He didn’t think so. His friends even said he was lucky his sister was leaving for college. He didn’t feel all that lucky. Penny had always been there for him, even before their mom died. Sure, she’d teased him plenty, and sometimes he thought her a royal pain in the backside. But mostly he loved her and knew she felt the same about him.
He set down the drumsticks as he rose from the stool. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Before Penny could respond, Brad darted around her and raced down the stairs. “Betcha I can get my horse saddled before you can,” he shouted over his shoulder, ending with a laugh.
“Not a chance, buddy.” She was hard on his heels by the time he flew off the porch. “That day’ll never come.”
Yeah, he was going to miss her plenty.