The first thing Develyn spotted when she stepped outside the next morning was Uncle Henry in the pasture alongside Aunt Jenny.
“How did you get in there?” She marched over to the fence. “All summer long you hated that pasture like a prison, and now you sneak in? You come here right now. I will not have a disobedient watch-burro.”
The second thing she viewed was Renny Slater's red Dodge truck bouncing up the driveway.
Renny parked in front of the burned-out cabin.
“Looks like you brought the house down, Devy-girl.”
She strolled over to the mustang breaker. “I still shudder when I look at it. Coop's going to bring one of his rigs in here and haul it all off. How did you hear about it?”
“Well, I was sittin' around by the phone, pinin' for my Indiana schoolteacher, and…”
She slugged him in the arm. “You were not.”
“OK, I was in Bridger helpin' a pal shoot coyotes.”
“Why?”
“They were eatin' his sheep. Livestock men are funny that way. They just don't cotton to feedin'coyotes.”
“You didn't answer my question.”
“Well, I did get a phone call.”
“From who?”
“I thought it was ‘from whom.’”
“Are you correcting the teacher?”
He grinned like the first-place winner at a spelling bee. “No, ma'am.”
“From whom did you get a phone call?”
“Burdett asked me to make a delivery. He told me about the cabin and said you were in need of a few things.”
“What kind of delivery?”
Renny pointed to two huge cardboard boxes in the back of his truck. “I reckon about half the clothes Miss Emily ever owned.”
“He sent me her clothes?”
“That's what Lindsay told me.”
“But I can't take them, Renny. They belong to Miss Emily. Doesn't matter how long she's been gone; they will always be called Miss Emily's.”
“I sort of reckoned that's what you'd say. But I didn't want to interfere.”
“You'll just have to take them back.”
“That's where it gets complicated. I've got an appointment tomorrow morning bright and early. I need to keep heading west to be there on time.”
“Where?” she asked.
“Twin Falls, Idaho.”
“Are you going to check out that rodeo coach position at the college?”
“I figured it wouldn't hurt to know what I'm turnin' down.”
“I'll pray that the Lord will lead you.”
“I sort of figured you would. I'm not in a hurry. I took to heart what you told me. I know there are a lot of people to help around here. I need to know how much time off they'd let me have.”
“Ask to see a sample contract and study the details. Make sure everything they promise is down in writing.”
“Yes, ma'am. I'd have you go with me and check it out, you know, if circumstances were different.”
“You mean, if I weren't too old for you?”
Renny laughed and gave her a hug. “I don't reckon I will ever live that one down, will I?”
“I would go with you anyway, but Delaney is here. We have some things to work out.”
He pointed to the burned cabin. “That's quite a welcome you gave her.”
“It was so bizarre. It seems like a dream.”
“It don't look like a dream.” Renny turned toward the truck. “What do you want me to do with these clothes?”
“Will they fit in my Jeep?”
“Does the back seat fold down?”
“Yes. I'll take them back to Quint myself.”
“There's another problem. The reason he didn't bring them down himself is that he and Lindsay are flying to Austin this afternoon. He needed to do some maintenance on her plane.”
“She's going to take that job at the University of Texas!”
“Is she coachin' rodeo too?” Renny grinned.
“Not hardly. Director of communications, or something like that. When are they leaving?”
“He said around 2:00 p.m.”
Dev rubbed her nose and looked at her watch. “If I headed up there now, I could get to the ranch by ten and be home by noon or so. That might work.”
“You got some cowboy waitin' for you at 1:00?”
“Delaney has a doctor appointment at 3:00 in Casper.”
“Is she sick?”
“Eh…it's a…”
“A female thing?”
“Yes.”
“Well, don't tell me. I might get squeamish.”
“Renny Slater, squeamish?”
“Did I ever tell you about the only time I fainted?”
“I can't believe that.”
“I was visitin' some friends in the hospital, Barry and Barb Greenfield. They got that nice place east of Kaycee. It was their first baby, and I was in town. So I bought the little guy a pair of cowboy boots. I sauntered over to St. Joseph's to give my congrats. I had been workin' outside all day. It was July hot outside and air-conditioned cool inside. Anyway, I joked with Barry in the hall and stepped in to tip my hat at Barb.
“She said, ‘Come here, Renny, and look at the first pictures of little Cody.’ Well, I figured it would be an insult not to look at the photos, so I stepped over and she shoved a stack of pictures at me. They were the first ones of the baby, alright.”
“What do you mean?”
“She was naked from the waist down and strapped into some harness thingy, and the baby is halfway out of the womb, so to speak.”
“Oh, my.”
“I said somethin' a little stronger, right before I blacked out. When I came to, I was on the cold linoleum floor with a uniformed nurse lookin' down at me.”
“What did she do?”
“Nothing. She just looked at me and said, ‘The same thing happens to me all the time,’ then walked off.”
“You did recover?”
“Yeah, but I promised myself to steer clear of delivery room pictures and female problems.”
The cabin door opened, and shorts and T-shirt clad Casey Cree-Ryder waltzed out to the yard. “Hi, Renny!”
“I like your hair down, Miss Casey. Are you ready to dump that Hill kid and ride off into the sunset with a real bronc buster?”
Casey turned to Develyn. “It's pathetic when they beg like that.”
“Oh, darlin', you are turnin' down the chance of a lifetime.”
Casey laughed. “Jackson Hill is my chance of a lifetime, and I'm not letting go.”
Renny hugged Casey's shoulder. “Jackson is a lucky cowboy.”
Casey studied his eyes. “Thanks, Renny. I know you mean that.” She turned toward his truck. “What are you hauling?”
“Sequined blouses and designer jeans, I reckon.”
“You just peddling them out of the back of your truck, or are you headed to the thrift store?”
“They are all for you and Devy-girl, I reckon. A present from Quint Burdett. They are for all three of you,” Renny said.
“I can't fit into anything Miss Emily ever wore. I was bigger than that when I was eight.”
“It doesn't matter. I'm hauling them back. I want to choose my own clothing,” Develyn said.
“You just going to dump them in his yard, or what?”
“Of course not. I'll just say…I'll…I'll think of something.”
The cabin door banged open, and Delaney emerged with cutoff jeans and a gray sweatshirt turned inside out and her hair pulled behind her in a short ponytail. She padded across the dirt yard barefoot.
“You must be Delaney. I recognize the toes.”
Delaney curled her toes in the dirt. “Don't look at them. Do they look like Mom's?”
“I wouldn't know. Your mother always curls them just like that and forbids anyone a glance. I recognized you from the picture in your mom's wallet. One time, in a fit of generosity, she let me look at your picture.”
“You must be the mustang breaker.”
He tipped his hat. “Yes, ma'am. Renny Slater. How did you guess that?”
“You look exactly the way my mother described you.”
“Delaney,” Develyn cautioned.
Renny grinned. “And just how is that?”
“I think her words were…”
“Delaney!”
“Renny's a short, thin, blond-haired, weak-eyed young Robert Redford with dimples that will melt your socks.”
Casey burst out laughing.
Develyn's face flushed as if she had been drinking Tabasco with a straw.
Renny shook his head and sidled up to Delaney. “But now that you've seen me in person, you figure I'm much better lookin' than your mama described?”
“I think she overrated things.”
“Listen,” Renny said, “I'll unload these boxes in the Jeep if that is what you want. I've got to get on down the road.”
“Are you going to a rodeo?” Delaney asked.
“No, I'm looking into a college teaching job in Idaho. You want to come with me? We can swing down to Wendover, Nevada, and get married on the way.”
“Wha…what?” Delaney stammered.
“Am I rushin' things a bit?”
“Slater!” Develyn cautioned.
“But I just got here.” Delaney recovered her smile.
“Your point is?”
“She needs time to look around, Renny,” Casey chuckled. “She could probably do a whole lot better than you.”
“No, that's not it,” Delaney stammered. “I just have never…”
“That's alright, Dee-Darlin'. Concernin' runnin' off and teachin' college, I was just teasin' about that one.”
“Which one, about me running off with you, or teaching college?” Delaney probed.
“You are a lot like your mama,” Renny laughed.
“No one has ever told me that.”
“Toes and nose and tease–you are practically twins.”
Develyn looked her daughter over. “Twins?”
“Devy-girl, do you look like your brother?”
“Not at all.”
“And you are twins, right?”
“I get your point,” Develyn grinned. “Dee and I are like nonidentical twins that are twenty-five years apart.”
“Yeah, that's it.”
Develyn raised an eyebrow. “Only I'm too old for you, and Delaney is too young,”
“Hey, don't look at me,” Casey protested. “I already turned him down once this morning.”
“I'm not all that young,” Delaney demured.
“Are you changin' your mind?” Renny said.
“She is busy today, cowboy,” Develyn added. “We are going up to the Burdett Ranch this morning.”
“We are?” Delaney asked.
“Yes, and we had better hurry, because we need to get you to Casper by 3:00.”
Delaney shrugged at Renny. “Yeah, I need them to check…”
Slater held up his hands. “I don't want to know. Whatever it is, I wish you a speedy recovery. But I don't want to know.”
The gravel road north had just enough moisture to hold down the dust. But the brief rain hadn't melted the washboards. Develyn had to keep it under forty miles per hour.
Delaney clutched the handhold above the door. “This is the only way to some big, fancy ranch?”
“It is rather remote.”
“No, Argenta is remote. This is fifty miles past remote. Now, you are not going to marry this rancher guy back here?”
“No, I'm not.”
“Mom, how do you know the one not to marry? All my life I've been trying to learn how to tell which one to marry. But I don't know squat about which one not to marry. I mean, I know not to marry a self-centered, woman-beating jerk. But beyond that, how do you tell?”
“Honey, that's something I've been trying to learn this summer. I think it has more to do with knowing yourself than knowing the man.”
“What do you mean?”
“We need to discover what life the Lord has planned for us. Then we know who fits in.”
“But you are old. You know what your life should be. I mean, you're not that old, but you know what I mean.”
“If you don't know where the Lord is leading you, you'll have a tough time finding the right guy.”
“What have you learned this summer, Mom? Who are you? What does the Lord have in store for you?”
“I'm an Indiana schoolteacher. That's who I am. That's who I will always be. If the Lord ever brings a man into my life on a permanent basis, it will fit well with that calling.”
“Are you saying I need to choose a career first?”
“No, Dee, it's more than a career, it's…”
“Was Daddy the right one for you when you married him?”
“I was convinced of it at the time.”
“Do you regret marrying him?”
“Never, babe. You are the wonderful reason I married your father. I regret the way it all turned out, that's all.”
“Whoa, is that an antelope?”
“Yes.”
“It's beautiful out here, Mom.”
“Wild, empty, and breathtaking.”
“Like some men.”
Develyn laughed. “I love the way you blurt things out. We haven't spent nearly enough time together during the last two years.”
“Can I drive? I just realized that I've never driven down dirt roads like this.”
“Sure, but you have to take it easy. With the loose dirt and gravel, the rig will slide on the corners.”
Delaney took the wheel and eased back onto the dirt road heading north through scattered scrub cedars. “This is the third time I've gotten to drive your Jeep.”
“You've driven it more than that.”
“No, the first time was when I hit the planter. The second time I locked the keys inside, and you had to phone AAA.”
“You always had the car your father bought you.”
“I like this Cherokee.”
“It's worked well out here.”
“Have you had to use the four-wheel drive?”
“On several occasions.”
“How much farther?”
“We are about halfway there, I think.”
“Wow, I can't believe anyone in America lives this remote.”
“Slow down a little on the curves. If it's muddy in the shade, we can slide.”
“This is fun, Mom, like explorers. We can have pretend adventures. Like we did in the summers when I was little and you and I would spend the afternoon in the hallway under the cooler. Remember all those stories we made up?”
“Yours were always about being at the beach.”
“And yours were always about horses. Hey, did I tell you I got an “A” in my creative writing class?”
“No, you didn't. I think when you got grades we were on a not-speaking-to-each-other jag.”
“I pulled a 3.37 grade point average this term.”
“That's wonderful, honey. Would you believe that Casey is a straight-A-type student?”
“Really? That's so cool. She is so...so...you know, out there.” Delaney put on the brakes. “What's that?”
“A piece of recap tire off a truck, I suppose.”
Delaney motioned to the side of the road. “Should I go around it?”
“It's steep to my side. It won't hurt to run over it. The Jeep is tough.”
“Oh...no!” Delaney swerved at the last moment. It was a muffled explosion and the Jeep slid to a stop at the road's edge.
“Did we get a flat tire?” Dev asked.
“It was a kill strip,” Delaney moaned.
“A what?”
“One of those things the police put across the highway to blow out tires and stop a chase. The reality police shows always use them.”
“No one would put a kill strip way out here.” Develyn stared at the flat front right tire. “It's flat, alright.”
Delaney hiked back to the dirt road and dragged the rubber mat behind her. “Look at the spikes. We are lucky to only have one flat. Why would anyone have this out here?”
“Maybe it fell out of a sheriff's vehicle. Anyway, we have a flat to change.”
“Did you ever change a flat?”
“No, but I watched AAA do it several times. The spare and the tools are under the floor in the back.”
“It's steep over there. I didn't want to pull any closer. You would think they'd have guardrails.”
Develyn opened the tailgate. “Let's pull out these clothing boxes and put them over on that level spot. Two Worrell women are as strong as one mustang breaker, right?”
“Yeah,” Dee mumbled, “I guess.”
“I'll take the steep side. Work your fingers underneath, and we'll lift it down.”
The gals staggered back with the huge, heavy cardboard box. Develyn felt her right heel catch on a rock.
“No …”
As she tumbled to her backside, the box slipped from Delaney's hands. Eighty pounds of clothing slammed against her chest and face. Develyn shoved the brown cardboard box, and it somersaulted over her head and down the embankment. She leaped to her feet. “No!”
On the second rotation, the folds of cardboard untucked and broadcast the contents into the dirt and mud of the hillside.
“Oh, no...no...no,” Develyn moaned. “This is absurd.”
“Most of them are, but that green one looks nice.”
Develyn turned to her daughter, and both ladies burst out laughing. They hugged each other and watched the box lodge against a sagebrush.
“Mother, what are we going to do?”
“Retrieve the clothing, change the flat, and go to Casper. We'll take them all to the dry cleaners. What else can we do?”
“That hillside is steep.”
“We'll strap our belts together or something.”
“Mother, I believe we're building a memory.”
“I have a feeling for the rest of our lives we will say from time to time...remember when we dumped all those sequined blouses off a cliff in the middle of Wyoming?”
“It's not exactly a cliff.”
“Oh, it will be twenty years from now when we retell it.”
“I like that, Mom. You know, thinking about you and me laughing and giggling at the past, twenty years from now.”
“I do too, honey. And the sooner we get this mess cleaned up, the better.”
Develyn found the dirt and rock on the side of the hill loose but soft. As long as she jammed her foot down and leaned into the mountain, she could scoot to any place she wanted.
She stationed Delaney about ten feet below the gravel roadway. As she retrieved a garment she tossed it up to her daughter, and Delaney tossed it up at the remaining cardboard box.
“I like this one, Mom.” Delaney held up a mauve short-sleeved top with a silver sequined armadillo.
“That's horrible.”
“But it came from Rodeo Drive.”
“Then it's expensive and horrible. It should crawl back home.”
“Maybe we should leave it here on the mountain.”
“Oh, no...somewhere there is an inventory of Miss Emily's clothing. I'm just sure of it.”
“Maybe you can tell the guy at the cleaners that you are doing this for a friend.”
“I'm thinking of leaving the cardboard box down there. It's tough to get to.”
“Do you think there are any left in it?”
“Oh, rats. You might be right, baby. I'll go down. Here...catch this.”
“Did you look at this one?”
Develyn shaded her eyes and stared back up the hill.
“You can see right through it. Whoa, this is like something they wear to the Academy Awards or something.”
“I'm sure Miss Emily wore a discreet blouse under it.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I want to. I'll go get the box.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Fold everything and set them on the back seat for now. We'll stuff them in the box after we change the tire.”
“Is this a good day, Mom?”
“It's an adventure–a mother-daughter adventure.”
Digging in one heel at a time, Develyn inched her way down the hillside. Ten feet above the box her right heel struck rock and provided no traction. Her left foot staggered forward. To prevent tumbling forward, she plopped down on her rear and began to slide. Before she could get her heels speared into the hillside to break her slide, she crashed into the empty cardboard box.
The box launched into the air. Develyn's flailing right hand clutched the box and yanked back. She slammed against the mountain. The big box swallowed her like Jonah in the big sea.
She tried to catch her breath.
OK, that was cool. I don't hear Dee dying of laughter. Maybe no one saw it. Maybe it didn't happen. Perhaps I am as classy and together as everyone thinks.
Sorry, Lord. You and I know better, don't we? Do things like this happen to other people and no one ever discusses it? Did Miss Emily slide halfway down a mountain once and look like a complete idiot?
Develyn tipped the box over and sat up.
“OK, that's enough fun, class. Recess is over. Time to go back to the classroom. Devy Upton, you make sure you wash up before you come to class.”
Wouldn't my class have loved to see that scene? Well, too bad, boys and girls. Nothing but smooth moves from now on.
“I have no idea why I wanted to save your life, Mr. Empty Box, but I've come this far; I intend to rescue you, whether you want me to or not.”
She couldn't carry the box in front of her and still keep her balance leaning into the mountain. With her hands over her shoulders, she held it on her back. Taking short, sure steps, she plodded up the hill.
Lord, this would be a great time for Coop to drive by and change my flat. No, not Coop. He's rescued me enough already. Maybe Cuban or Tiny, or one of the other boys from the ranch.
She could see the top of the Cherokee when she heard voices. Delaney was talking to a man.
Develyn stood straight up. “Dee?” But her center of gravity shifted when she stood, and she tumbled back into the cardboard box. When she tried to scramble out of the box, it began to slide down the hill.
“No!” she hollered.
Backward in the box, she could only see where she had been. Delaney appeared at the edge of the roadway with a tall, lanky cowboy next to her. She waved and screamed, “Mother?”
Develyn waved back.
That's it? That's all I did? I'm sliding down the mountain to my death, and I just wave?
She tried to peek over the edge of the box at where she was headed, but the box began to tip over.
No...no...She pulled herself back into the box. I will close my eyes and pretend that I'm riding the whip with Dewayne at the Montgomery County Fair. I'll wake up from a dream, or I'll wake in the hospital, or I'll wake up in heaven. It doesn't matter. No, it does matter. I want to be with Dee. Lord, I need to spend time with…
The box brushed against a low, gray sage, spun around three times, then stopped in the middle of a dirt road. With deliberate caution she crawled out of the box and stood. She brushed dirt off her new jeans and stomped her tennies on the roadway as if that would magically clean them.
She surveyed the upper roadway but couldn't see Delaney or the lanky cowboy.
“Mr. Box, you and I will take the road back up to the Jeep. I am going to load you up and carry you home. Then tonight I will slowly slice you to pieces and burn each scrap in the fire. Nothing personal, of course.”
Her thighs burned by the time she hiked the mile up the winding road. She spied a white Ford pickup, the Cherokee, and Delaney wearing a red sequined jacket, buttoned at the neck.
As she approached, the tall cowboy finished tightening the lug nuts on the wheel.
“Hi, Mom, that looked like fun. Did you have a nice ride? Isn't it so cool that Hunter just happened along? I think he was God sent, don't you?”
“What are you doing with Miss Emily's jacket? It's too tight on you.”
Delaney's voice softened to a whisper. “Don't ask, Mom. I'll explain later.”
Burke sauntered over to them. “There you go, Mrs. Worrell. It's all fixed. I just put the flat in the back by the clothes. I reckon you'll want to get that tire fixed. You'll need a new tire, of course.”
“Hunt offered to haul off the kill strip.”
“Thank you very much, Hunt. We do appreciate the help. What were you doing way out here?”
“I got lost. I was headed to Brady Fetter's place. You don't happen to know where it is, do you?”
“I never heard of him.”
“Where does this road go, anyway?”
“Follow it south and you'll end up at the corrals in Argenta. But that's about twenty-five miles back. To the north it leads past the headquarters of the Quarter Circle Diamond ranch.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Worrell. It's what I get for headin' out without directions. Kind of like a Sunday school class without a Bible, I reckon.”
Delaney listened to Hunt like a woman who wants to make sure the man feels good about himself.
“Delaney Melinda Worrell, we had better get back to town ourselves. I want to clean up before we go to Casper.”
“We will have to visit the Burdett ranch another day.”
“Are you headed to see the Burdetts?”
“That was our destination before we had a flat.”
“Their place is only four-and-a-half miles from here.”
“Yes, I know, but we must get back. Again, thanks for your help.”
He tipped his straw cowboy hat. “You're welcome, ma'am. Think I'll mosey up the road another mile or two. I'd hate to come this far and not see my old pal, Bradley.”
“Bye, Hunt. You promised to call, remember?” Delaney insisted.
His dimple caught the sunlight. “Hunter Burke keeps his promises.”
Develyn loaded the box and the rest of the blouses into the Cherokee as Delaney walked Hunt back to his pickup. She was combing her short blonde hair using the side-view mirror when the Ford roared on up the road.
“Is that so cool that he came along? Mother, something is happening here.”
“I agree with you, honey. There are some unanswered questions.”
“Like what?”
“What was Hunter Burke really doing on this road?”
“He was looking for a friend.”
“Don't you find it strange that he just happened along?”
“I thought it was marvelous. Why are you so suspicious?”
“I'll answer that if you'll answer why you are wearing that red sequined jacket that's way too tight for you.”
“I didn't know he was going to drive up. While I waited for you, I wanted to try on one of Miss Emily's blouses. But I didn't want Hunt to see me in it.”
“He saw you in the jacket. What difference does it make?”
“It's, you know, the see-through blouse.”
“But that won't fit you.”
“I know,” Delaney grimaced.
She unzipped the red jacket and tossed it in the Cherokee. “See?”
Develyn turned her head. “Delaney, you get some clothes on right now.”
“But you didn't see…”
“I saw everything you were born with. Get dressed. I am positive that Miss Emily wore a shirt under that thing.”
They were headed south back to Argenta when Delaney asked, “Why were you suspicious of Hunter?”
“He said he was lost and didn't even know his way back to town, but he knew the Burdett ranch was 4.5 miles on up the road. Don't you find that strange?”
“I never thought about it.”
“Then he said he was looking for an old pal, Brady. But later on he called him Bradley. All this property is the Burdett ranch. There isn't anyone else living up here.”
“Mother, you are making too much of this.”
“I just want you to be cautious.”
“I can't believe I've been here two days, and you are doing this to me all over again.”
“Doing what?”
“Dissing any guy that I am interested in.”
“I'm just asking the questions you should be asking.”
“That's what you said about Troy and Peter and Chip and Johnny. Well, Johnny was a jerk; I'll admit that. Every boy I ever brought home to visit, in your eyes, had some big character flaw. It never fails.”
“Dee, that's not true. I just want to make sure …”
“It is true. Name one boy that I ever dated that you liked.”
“I'm sure that…”
“Name one.”
“Delaney, this is not...how about the foreign exchange student?”
“Jerold?”
“Yes, he was very nice. How come you only dated him once?”
“Because I didn't like being groped in the movie theater.”
“You never told me that.”
“Did you tell Grandma everything when you were in high school?”
“Of course not.”
“You criticize every guy I want to date, Mom. You always wanted me to be more discriminating, but no matter how much I tried, you could find fault. I gave up trying to please you.”
There was silence for several miles.
“Honey, I'm sorry. Never once in my heart did I want to make your life miserable. I was hoping for your happiness.”
Delaney reached over across the front seat and took her mother's hand. “I know. That's just the way you are. Grandma gets on your nerves. You get on my nerves. And someday I want to have a beautiful daughter who looks like Grammy Dev, and I'm sure I'll get on her nerves. It's a family tradition.”
“Grammy Dev, huh?”
“It sounds good.”
“Yes, it does. And if that's what happens, I will embrace it without regret. But if it's alright with you and the Lord, I'd just as soon wait a few years to be called that.”
“I won't mind waiting a while to be a mommy either.”
“Honey, if you are going to have a baby, he or she must be your focus. You'll have to learn how to be a single mom. For the first year or two, I don't think it would be wise for you to be dating. Maybe when the baby is here, the father will be more interested. You have to give the little one that option.”
“But what about my needs?”
“It's not about you. Life is about that baby.”
“And what if I'm not pregnant?”
“Then you can search for your man.”
“And you?”
“I think I'm giving up the search.”
“Why?”
“Because life isn't about me either, sweetie. I'm a single mother, and I have a daughter. Until you are settled into God's plan for you, I don't want to complicate things.”
“I've never heard you say that.”
“It took a dirt-road town in Wyoming to teach me that.”
“So, if I'm not pregnant, you'll let me date Hunt?”
“You are twenty years old. I can't tell you whom to date or not to date. But I can give you my opinion. I'll tell you what: if you're not pregnant, you date whomever you and the Lord agree on, and I won't say one word.”
“Not a word?”
“Unless you ask me.”
“I can't believe you said that, Mom.”
Neither can I, honey, neither can I.