THE SUMMER BETWEEN BRAD’S FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE years in high school, he got a part-time job as a bag boy at the Merc. He had his eye on a fancy new drum set, and there was no way he wanted to earn the money doing chores around the ranch. That might have been okay when he was thirteen. It wasn’t okay anymore.
He was bagging groceries for Sophie Anderson when he saw his sister enter through the automatic doors. His face broke into a smile that matched hers. “I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow,” he said as she drew closer.
“I couldn’t wait.” Penny kissed his cheek and lifted a hand as if to ruffle his hair, then thought better of it. She looked up at the two women on either side of the checkout counter. “Hi, Ms. Cook. Hi, Mrs. Anderson.”
“Another year of college under your belt?” Laura Cook asked as she rang up the final item on the conveyer belt.
“Yes. Three down. Three to go.”
“Getting your master’s, I take it.” Sophie Anderson slipped her debit card from her wallet. “Good for you. What in?”
“Library science.”
“Penny the librarian,” Brad said, rolling his eyes. “Doesn’t sound very exciting.”
“It’s what interests me, buddy. It’ll be a good career.”
Brad liked to read, but he didn’t care for the idea of spending his life inside some stuffy old library. He had bigger dreams than that. Or maybe just different ones. Had Penny ever wanted something different? Something that involved stepping out on a limb? Taking a risk?
“I’d better let you get back to work,” she said, intruding on his wandering thoughts.
“Okay. I’ll see you at home in a couple of hours.”
Penny bid good-bye to the other women, ending with a little wave that took in all three of them. Then she left the grocery store.
“Your sister has blossomed into a beautiful young woman,” Laura Cook said as she handed the paper receipt to Sophie Anderson. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she found a husband before she gets that master’s degree.”
Brad gave a slight shake of his head. If that’s what Ms. Cook thought, she didn’t know Penny Cartwright. When his sister set a goal, she didn’t waver from it. She made her plan and then stuck to it. She’d been like that as far back as he could remember. Maybe she didn’t look strong because of her slender figure, but she had a will made of pure steel. No guy she met would be able to alter the plan she’d made. Brad would wager on it.