Chapter One

A dump truck full of red dirt roared by, going the same direction she had to go, shaking the ground under her as it passed. Ruth Ann decided to sit in the driveway a few more minutes, let that truck get way ahead of her before she got on the road herself. She read a story in a magazine about a dump truck accidentally dumping a load of rocks on a car behind it, killing both passengers in the car, a mother and her little girl.

Stories like that just tore her nerves up. She didn’t know why she read them, except what else was there to do in the checkout line at the grocery store? Of course, that truck only had dirt in it, not rocks, so if it did fall on her she might have a chance of surviving. But it just wasn’t worth the risk, and anyway, she wasn’t in no rush. Ruth Ann put the car in park and started opening her mail. Bills, that’s all it was. Phone bill, gas bill, magazine bill. That was twenty dollars a year she didn’t need to spend, but at least Family Circle give her something to look forward to in the mailbox besides bills every month.

There was a postcard too, from Alex. He was working in Dallas for two weeks and wouldn’t be able to come for the weekend. She could just smell the relief in his handwriting, that he didn’t have to spend a day or two with his family. He could’ve called, but she knew how much easier it was to write, to not hear the disappointment in her voice. Well, at least Angela would show up Sunday with the boys. That was better than nothing.

Ruth Ann slid the mail in her pocketbook and put the car in drive. She looked both ways one more time, then pulled out on the road. Seemed like a lot longer