He spoke through split lips: “I kinda figured.”

“How much do you owe them?”

He told her. Sara dropped into a chair by the bed. “How could you be so goddamned stupid?”

“It wasn’t like I planned this.”

“You know they’ll kill you. Probably I should just let them.”

He surprised her by starting to cry.

“Cripes, don’t do that,” she said.

“I can’t help it.” Snot was running from his thickened nose. “I love Kate, I love the girls. I’m really, really sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t help. How much time have they given you to come up with the money?”

“I can earn it all back. Just stake me for one night. I won’t need much, just enough to get started.”

“Does Kate fall for stuff like this?”

“She doesn’t have to know.”

“It was a rhetorical question, Bill. How much time?”

“The usual. Three days.”

“What’s usual about it? On second thought, don’t tell me.” She got to her feet.

“You can’t tell Hollis. He’ll kill me.”

“He might.”

“I’m sorry, Sara. I screwed up, I know that.”

Jenny appeared, a little breathless. “Okay, looks like she bought it.”

Sara glanced at her watch. “That gives you about an hour, Bill, before your wife shows up. I suggest you come clean and beg for mercy.”

The man looked terrified. “What are you going to do?”

“Nothing you deserve.”

* * *

27

Caleb was building a chicken coop when he saw a figure walking up the dusty road. It was late in the afternoon; Pim and Theo were resting in the house.

“Saw your smoke.” The man who stood before him had a pleasant, weathered face and a thick, woolly beard. He was wearing a wide straw hat and suspenders. “Since we’re going to be neighbors, thought I’d come by to say hello. Phil Tatum’s the name.”

“Caleb Jaxon.” They shook.

“We’re just on the other side of that ridge. Been there a bit, before most folks. There’s me and my wife, Dorien. We got a grown boy just started his own place up toward Bandera. Did you say Jaxon?”

“That’s right. He’s my father.”

“I’ll be damned. What are you doing way out here?”

“Same as everyone, I guess. Making do.” Caleb removed his gloves. “Come in and meet my family.”

Pim was sitting in a chair by the cold hearth with Theo on her lap, showing him a picture book.

“Pim,” Caleb said, signing along, “this is our neighbor, Mr. Tatum.”

“How do you do, Mrs. Jaxon?” He was holding his hat against his chest. “Please, don’t get up on my account.”

I’m very pleased to meet you.

Caleb realized his error. “I should have explained. My wife is deaf. She says she’s pleased to meet you.”

The man nodded evenly. “Got a cousin like that, passed a while back. She learned to read lips a little, but the poor thing just lived in her own world.” He raised his voice, the way a lot of people did. “That’s a fine-looking boy you have, Mrs. Jaxon.”

What’s he saying?

You’re beautiful and he wants to go to bed with you. He turned to their guest, who was still fingering the brim of his hat. “She says thank you, Mr. Tatum.”

Don’t be rude. Ask him if he wants something to drink.

Caleb repeated the question.

“Have to be home before supper, but I reckon I could sit for a bit, thank you.”

Pim filled a pitcher with water, added slices of lemon, and placed it on the table, where the two men sat. They talked about little things: the weather, other homesteads in the area, where Caleb should get his livestock and at what price. Pim had gone off with Theo; she liked to take him down to the river, where the two of them would just sit quietly. It became clear to Caleb that the man and his wife were a little lonely. Their son had gone off with a woman he’d met at a dance in Hunt, barely saying goodbye.

“Couldn’t help notice your wife is expecting,” Tatum said. They had finished the water; now they were just talking.

“Yes, she’s due in September.”

“There’s a doc in Mystic when the time comes.” He gave Caleb the information.

“That’s very kind. Thank you.” Caleb sensed the presence of a sad history in the man’s offer. The Tatums had had another child, perhaps more than one, who had failed to survive. This was all far in the past, but not really.

“Much obliged to you both,” Tatum said at the door. “It’s nice to have some young people around.”

That night, Caleb replayed the conversation for Pim. She was bathing Theo in the sink. He had fussed at the start but now seemed to be enjoying himself, batting the water around with his fists.

I should call on his wife, Pim signed.

Do you want me to go with you? He meant to translate for her.

She looked at him like he had lost his mind. Don’t be ridiculous.

—

This conversation stayed with him for several days. Somehow, in all his planning, Caleb had failed to consider that they would need other people in their lives. Some of this was the fact that with Pim he shared a private richness that made other relationships seem trivial. Also, he was not innately social; he preferred his own thoughts to most human interaction.