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Despair overshadowed the aggravation she felt that she couldn’t trust her sister to walk into the school, sit in her seat, and do her work.
    And she hated starting every day with the yelling, but she couldn’t get a response any other way. “Eli—”
    “Okay, okay.” Elisa rounded the corner from the hall. “You don’t have to yell.”
    “Don’t I?”
    Elisa downed her orange juice, then tugged on her backpack before heading out the door without another word.
    “Guess you don’t want your bacon.” Andi grabbed the crispy piece and stuck it in her mouth, then rushed through the door, spraying the air freshener behind her. She set it on the counter just before closing the door.
    Juggling everything, she locked up. She climbed into the driver’s side of the truck and slid in next to Elisa, who had already tuned her out with an MP3 player and ear buds. She nudged her sister, who responded with the look. “Turn it down. I shouldn’t be able to hear it.”
    “What?” Utter disrespect dripped from her lips.
    Andi fought to stifle her anger. Oh, how she hated starting her day like this.
Lord, if You’re there, please help me
. But then, she knew He wasn’t. She sighed long and hard. “Look, those things can damage your ears. I shouldn’t be able to hear the music.”
    “Whatever.” Elisa tucked them back into her ears and stared out the passenger side window.
    Andi deserved Elisa. Especially after all the trouble she’d given their father when she was a teen and then their grandmother who raised them. She’d died a year ago. It made Andi wonder what her grandmother or father had done to deserve
her?
Where did the cycle begin? Regardless, she was sorry for every time she’d given people a hard time when she was growing up.
    She started the truck and backed from the drive, taking solace in the fact that Elisa had turned the music down. Even so, Andi didn’t think God had answered the silent prayer she’d sent up. He stopped caring a long time ago. Out of nowhere, tears formed.
    Gut it up, this is life
. One long sniff through her nose and she was good to go. She wouldn’t give up. Not now. Not ever. Never mind that Mom left Dad when Andi was a girl and Elisa a baby. That Dad had died four years ago. That Grandma had left them with scarce funds when she’d died last year. That Andi had had to leave college to take care of Elisa.
    The house Dad had left them still had a mortgage on it. She’d had to think fast to keep it, so she ended up following in his footsteps, starting her own business. She’d obtained her license to become a contractor. It was all she knew to do. College could have changed that, but it was out of the question now. Still, she’d had a tough time winning any bids.
    Then Vance Erickson had come to the rescue, hiring her to remodel the missile site. She couldn’t have asked for a better job. Now he was gone, she had no new jobs, and what little money was left wouldn’t hold up long against the mounting bills.
    His namesake had shown up two days ago—a little strange like his uncle and cute in a nerdy sort of way. A whisper inside her said God had sent him. That He was listening after all. But she shoveled and buried the thought. Life had been too hard on her, and Vance Young didn’t deserve to inherit a property like that—he hadn’t even known his uncle. She had.
    Mr. E had loved her grandmother, wanted to marry her when they were younger, before Grandpa. Andi liked to think if they had both lived, they would have married.
    Waiting at a red light, she glanced at her cell phone resting on the seat. Still no call from Vance Young. She shook her head. Why hadn’t the guy called? Surely he could see that work on the missile site had to be finished.
    Plain and simple, she was desperate.
    She pulled up to the curb at the school.
    Elisa went frantic. “No! Park
away
from the school. I can’t be seen in this.” She slunk down into the seat.
    Andi drove past the school and stopped.