The Fort Read Online Free PDF

that conclusion.” He took a card from his pocket with his name and contact information on it, and slid it across the table to her. “This phone number goes directly to my desk. Get some sleep—just read a book and relax if you can’t—and then call me in the morning, either way.” He stood. “I hope to hear in the morning that she’s home.”
    “You won’t,” said Sam, as she lit another cigarette. “Like I said, she respects a curfew, and this isn’t how she is.”

8
    When Tim woke Tuesday morning, he stripped off his pajamas and quickly dressed. Next, he brushed his teeth and headed off to the kitchen, not totally sure that the events of the night before had actually taken place. Everything sure seemed like a dream, but when he got to the kitchen, he knew it wasn’t. His dad was nowhere to be found, but his mom and Becca were sitting at the table. His mom looked angry now, instead of sad like before, and Becca looked miserable.
    Ignoring them, or at least trying to, Tim filled a bowl with Cheerios, topped them with milk, then grabbed a spoon and sat at the table. “What’s going on?” he asked.
    Becca stood. “I’m going to my room.” She stomped off, looking tired, furious, and indignant all at the same time.
    Tammy called after her, “We’re not done talking about this, young lady!”
    A door slammed in the distance in answer. Tammy took a slow drink of coffee and then set the mug on the table before turning to look at her son.
    “Your sister made some questionable choices,” she said. “As did some of her friends, and some boys made those bad decisions almost turn out a whole lot worse.”
    “Tyler Cranston?”
    “No,” Tammy said, frowning. “At least I don’t think so. Becca hasn’t told me exactly who it was, just that they met some older guys and things didn’t go as planned.”
    “Dad said he wasn’t really going to kill anybody.”
    “Good. I’m not sure your father has that in him. Which is a good thing, Tim. My brother—your uncle Mike—he thought he was a pretty rough guy, and he signed up for the army along with a bunch of other guys who thought they were too, and a whole lot of them came back in boxes.
    “There’s nothing wrong with just being a regular guy like Dad. In fact, it’s a really good thing. There’s also nothing wrong with being a gentleman, unlike those guys your sister met. Do you know what I mean when I say that? If you want, I can get Dad and you two can talk a—”
    The ringing phone cut her off, but as she moved to stand, it stopped. She waited for Becca to yell that it was for one of them, and when she didn’t Tammy opened her mouth to continue. Seeing an opening, Tim cut her off.
    “I know what you mean,” said Tim, having no idea what she meant at all. “I don’t need to talk to Dad about it either. Besides, he’s probably really busy.”
    Tammy turned, leaning back in her chair to look out of the blinds into the backyard. She had excellent timing: as she turned, Stan heaved a transfer shovel to the ground in disgust. “You may be on to something, Tim. Your father does seem to have his hands full.” A sad smile pulled at her lips, but then gave up. She looked at him. “But if you want to talk about this, we can. Just give your sister some space, and try and be nice without being obvious about it.
    “Oh, and one more thing: this is a problem our family has, and it does not need to be blabbed all over the neighborhood. Becca has a reputation to think of. Is that clear?”
    “Yes, Mom.” Both of them turned as Becca came back into the room, and Tim forced an insincere smile onto his face.
    Ignoring him, Becca said, “That was Molly’s mom. Molly never came home last night.”
    “Is she still on the phone?” Tammy asked as she stood, walking quickly to the kitchen phone. “Did you tell her what happened?”
    “No, Mom. I’m sure she’s fine.” Tammy, who was dialing before Becca could finish talking, stuck the phone to her ear