Cowboy All Night
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Vicki Lewis Thompson
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15.0K
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20
Prologue
“BRANT ELLISON. That’s a good, strong name. It suits you.”
“Yes, ma’am. I like it.” He gave the blonde lady driving the pickup truck a smile. Her name was Mrs. Padgett. So far she seemed nice.
“I don’t know what you’ve been told about Thunder Mountain Ranch.”
“Not much, ma’am. My aunt Susie found out about it and said it’d be the best place for me ’cause I was eating her out of house and home. But don’t worry. I’ve got that problem handled. I hadn’t thought of it before, but you know what? I can fill up on cereal instead of the more expensive stuff.”
Mrs. Padgett made a noise in the back of her throat as if she didn’t like hearing that.
“I’m talking about cheap cereal.” He said it real fast so she wouldn’t turn around and take him back to his aunt’s. Living on this ranch for a while could be awesome. “Corn flakes.”
“I promise you won’t need to fill up on any kind of cereal. I enjoy feeding growing boys. The food’s not fancy, but there’s plenty of it.”
Okay, that sounded great—he began to salivate at the thought of all that good food. Eating was one of his favorite things. Even if this place only lasted a month or two, he’d enjoy it while he could. “I appreciate that, ma’am. I’m grateful that you can put me up for a little while.”
She glanced at him in surprise. “I guess you didn’t get much information, after all. The office is understaffed right now, so I understand how certain procedures get lost in the shuffle. But this isn’t a temporary situation. You can stay as long as you want.”
“Even though I’m a foster kid now? I thought foster kids got moved around. Which is okay. I’m used to that.”
“I’m sure you are.” They stopped at a light and Mrs. Padgett gazed at him with her kind blue eyes.
He recognized that look. It meant the person, usually one of his teachers at school, had read his file and knew that his dad was dead and his mother had flown the coop. At least she’d left him with Aunt Jane, and yeah, that hadn’t worked out, so Aunt Susie had taken a shot, which also hadn’t worked out. But that was life, wasn’t it?
The light changed and Mrs. Padgett went back to her driving. “Brant, you don’t have to leave Thunder Mountain unless you hate it there. And I don’t think you will. The other boys seem happy.”
“Oh, I can guarantee I won’t hate it, ma’am.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m happy anywhere I go. There’s no point in feeling miserable all the time, so I just don’t.”
