Lost Boys Read Free Page A

drove just under the speed limit. The last thing they needed was a court date in some out-of-the-way Kentucky town.
    â€œHow much farther to Frankfort?” asked DeAnne.
    â€œMaybe half an hour, probably less,” said Step.
    â€œOh, I must have slept a long way.”
    â€œAn hour maybe.”
    â€œYou’re such a hero to drive the whole way,” she said.
    â€œGive me a medal later,” he said.
    â€œI will.”
    He turned the stereo back up a little. Everybody might have been asleep again, it was so quiet in the car. Then Stevie spoke up.
    â€œDaddy, if it was a bad guy, would you pop him one?”
    What was he supposed to say, Yessiree, my boy, I’d pop him so hard he’d be wearing his nose on the back of his head for the rest of his life? Was that what was needed, to make Stevie feel safe? To make him proud of his father? Or should he tell the truth—that he had never hit anyone in anger in his life, that he had never hit a living soul with a doubled-up fist.
    No, my son, my approach to fighting has always been to make a joke and walk away, and if they wouldn’t let me go, then I ran like hell.
    â€œIt depends,” said Step.
    â€œOn what?”
    â€œOn whether I thought that popping him would make things better or worse.”
    â€œOh.”
    â€œI mean, if he’s a foot taller than me and weighs three hundred pounds and has a tire iron, I think popping him wouldn’t be a good idea. I think in a case like that I’d be inclined to offer him my wallet so he’d go away.”
    â€œBut what if he wanted to murder us all?”
    DeAnne spoke up without turning her head out of her pillow. “Then your father would kill him, and if he didn’t, I would,” she said mildly.
    â€œWhat if he killed both of you first?” asked Stevie. “And then came and wanted to kill Robbie and Betsy?”
    â€œStevie,” said DeAnne, “Heavenly Father won’t let anything like that happen to you.”
    That was more than Step could stand. “God doesn’t work that way,” he said. “He doesn’t stop evil people from committing their crimes.”
    â€œHe’s asking us if he’s safe,” said DeAnne.
    â€œYes, Stevie, you’re safe, as safe as anybody ever is who’s alive in this world. But you were asking about what if somebody really terrible wanted to do something vicious to our whole family, and the truth is that if somebody is truly, deeply evil, then sometimes good people can’t stop him until he’s done a lot of bad things. That’s just the way it happens sometimes.”
    â€œOkay,” said Stevie. “But God would get him for it, right?”
    â€œIn the long run, yes,” said Step. “And I’ll tell you this—the only way anybody will ever get to you or the other kids or to your mother, for that matter, is if I’m already dead. I promise you that.”
    â€œOkay,” said Stevie.
    â€œThere aren’t that many really evil people in the world,” said Step. “I don’t think you need to worry about this.”
    â€œOkay,” said Stevie.
    â€œI mean, why did you ask about this stuff?”
    â€œHe had a gun.”
    â€œOf course he had a gun, dear,” said DeAnne. “He’s a policeman. He has a gun so he can protect people like us from those bad people.”
    â€œI wish we could always have a policeman with us,” said Stevie.
    â€œYeah, that’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” said Step. Right, nice like a hemorrhoid. I’d have to drive fifty-five all the time.
    Stevie had apparently exhausted his questions.
    A few moments later, Step felt DeAnne’s hand on his thigh, patting him. He glanced over at her. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to contradict you.”
    â€œYou were right,” she said softly.
    He smiled at her and held her hand for a moment, until he needed