Out of the Shadows (Bellingwood Book 12) Read Online Free
Author: Diane Greenwood Muir
he could ride together and both boys would be able to stop riding the bus."
Polly looked off into space. "It's not the worst idea. Does he have a driver's license?"
Henry nodded. "He's driven my truck a couple of times. I wanted to make sure he knew what he was doing. He does okay for a kid."
"Jason and he don't get along all that well," Polly said. "They hang out in different crowds and Heath hasn't shown any real interest in the horses. He's down at the barn because we pay him to work with Eliseo, but I don't think he cares. He'd rather be mowing or cleaning up the yard than spend time with the horses and donkeys. Jason is pretty much offended by that."
"So, this is a bad idea? I thought maybe the boys could avoid the bus."
"How do I keep an eye on him if he's loose in Boone with a vehicle?" Polly asked. "It's not like school is here in Bellingwood. And I don't want his buddies riding with him. That whole gang mentality. That's when kids get stupid. That's when he got stupid. He's barely out of trouble with the Sheriff now. What if he does something ridiculous and hurts somebody with the truck?"
Henry waited quietly.
"Aren't you going to say something?"
"Everything you say is true. It was just an idea. We can sell the truck."
Polly pushed at his shoulder. "Sometimes you give up too easy. Talk to me about this. Don't just let me blather on and then agree. Tell me what you're thinking."
"Your concerns are valid. Heath has only been here a couple of months and before that he was nothing more than a common hoodlum. Nobody trusted him. Who knows if he could handle this responsibility? I certainly don't."
"We'd have to put him on our insurance," she said.
Henry nodded. "He already is. Since he has a license, I wanted him to be insured to drive our vehicles just in case something happened."
She bent over and kissed him. "You're so smart. Am I being too fearful?"
"Look," Henry said. "Nobody even knows this truck still exists in our lives except you and me. We can do whatever we want. Aaron stopped me yesterday and told me that they'd be releasing it in the next week and wondered if I knew what we might want to do with it."
"Raising kids is hard," Polly said. "How can I say that I don't trust Heath to do the right thing if I haven't given him the opportunity to make the choice? That's not fair. He's been good since he moved in. His grades are decent and he's helpful and Rebecca really likes him."
"So you want to do it?"
"You're still not talking to me," she complained.
He took a deep breath. "I hated riding the bus and as soon as I could, I talked Dad into letting me drive. If Heath's parents were alive, he'd probably have a car. It's his junior year and he's going to be seventeen. These last couple of years have stopped a lot of his social maturation and I just hate watching him have nothing. He needs something that says he's a young man. And he needs to be responsible for something."
"Will you teach him how to do maintenance on it?" Polly asked.
Henry nodded.
"Can we set down ground rules and will you back me up if I have to take the truck away because he's broken them?"
Henry grimaced. "The only thing I hate about that is we’d be responsible for transporting him again, but yes."
"I don't want him taking the kids anywhere yet. At least not until he's driven for a while. I don't want any of his friends or kids his age in the truck except Jason. Not for any reason."
"That makes sense," Henry agreed.
"He can drive it to school and back. After he drives you or me to Ames to his brother's house a couple of times, then we can talk about him driving it over there. And I want him to be responsible financially for this thing. I know we won't make him pay for insurance since it's already in place..."
Henry interrupted her. "No, if he starts driving regularly, he can be responsible for his portion. And he puts gas in the truck. If we ask him to drive anywhere for us, we give him gas money. I'll teach him how to do
Polly looked off into space. "It's not the worst idea. Does he have a driver's license?"
Henry nodded. "He's driven my truck a couple of times. I wanted to make sure he knew what he was doing. He does okay for a kid."
"Jason and he don't get along all that well," Polly said. "They hang out in different crowds and Heath hasn't shown any real interest in the horses. He's down at the barn because we pay him to work with Eliseo, but I don't think he cares. He'd rather be mowing or cleaning up the yard than spend time with the horses and donkeys. Jason is pretty much offended by that."
"So, this is a bad idea? I thought maybe the boys could avoid the bus."
"How do I keep an eye on him if he's loose in Boone with a vehicle?" Polly asked. "It's not like school is here in Bellingwood. And I don't want his buddies riding with him. That whole gang mentality. That's when kids get stupid. That's when he got stupid. He's barely out of trouble with the Sheriff now. What if he does something ridiculous and hurts somebody with the truck?"
Henry waited quietly.
"Aren't you going to say something?"
"Everything you say is true. It was just an idea. We can sell the truck."
Polly pushed at his shoulder. "Sometimes you give up too easy. Talk to me about this. Don't just let me blather on and then agree. Tell me what you're thinking."
"Your concerns are valid. Heath has only been here a couple of months and before that he was nothing more than a common hoodlum. Nobody trusted him. Who knows if he could handle this responsibility? I certainly don't."
"We'd have to put him on our insurance," she said.
Henry nodded. "He already is. Since he has a license, I wanted him to be insured to drive our vehicles just in case something happened."
She bent over and kissed him. "You're so smart. Am I being too fearful?"
"Look," Henry said. "Nobody even knows this truck still exists in our lives except you and me. We can do whatever we want. Aaron stopped me yesterday and told me that they'd be releasing it in the next week and wondered if I knew what we might want to do with it."
"Raising kids is hard," Polly said. "How can I say that I don't trust Heath to do the right thing if I haven't given him the opportunity to make the choice? That's not fair. He's been good since he moved in. His grades are decent and he's helpful and Rebecca really likes him."
"So you want to do it?"
"You're still not talking to me," she complained.
He took a deep breath. "I hated riding the bus and as soon as I could, I talked Dad into letting me drive. If Heath's parents were alive, he'd probably have a car. It's his junior year and he's going to be seventeen. These last couple of years have stopped a lot of his social maturation and I just hate watching him have nothing. He needs something that says he's a young man. And he needs to be responsible for something."
"Will you teach him how to do maintenance on it?" Polly asked.
Henry nodded.
"Can we set down ground rules and will you back me up if I have to take the truck away because he's broken them?"
Henry grimaced. "The only thing I hate about that is we’d be responsible for transporting him again, but yes."
"I don't want him taking the kids anywhere yet. At least not until he's driven for a while. I don't want any of his friends or kids his age in the truck except Jason. Not for any reason."
"That makes sense," Henry agreed.
"He can drive it to school and back. After he drives you or me to Ames to his brother's house a couple of times, then we can talk about him driving it over there. And I want him to be responsible financially for this thing. I know we won't make him pay for insurance since it's already in place..."
Henry interrupted her. "No, if he starts driving regularly, he can be responsible for his portion. And he puts gas in the truck. If we ask him to drive anywhere for us, we give him gas money. I'll teach him how to do
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