THE LONE OLD TIMER 23

in the truck buck was froze to the wheel driveing to cloes house stareing straight ahead. cloe looked at him as he drove. "whats that all about?" she asked on a soft voice. " that kid would be about the age of my kid that died. hes got sand, like i would have my kid to have. i can help him. ill help his momma too, i just dont know how to go about it. " buck didnt look at cloe. "cloe didnt say anymore until they pulled up at her house..then she asked" is this going to come between us? ill help if i can, but your important to me, i dont want to loose you."she said. " i keep seeing that burning house and me not being able to help them. maybe i can make up for that here. i dont want to loose what we have either. not every one wants to mess with a scared old timer." buck turnned to look at her. " one day at a time huh?" cloe asked as she got out of the truck. " yeah, come gimme a kiss before you go. ill be back in town tomorrow, ill let you know what happenes." buck asked. cloe walked around to the driver side and leaned in the open window and kissed buck long and hard. when she backed away she said" remember that when your makeing deals with other women." all the way home buck was in a state of confusion. that sweet kiss from cloe kept pushing thoughts of art and his mother from his mind. he felt a strong pull to help the boy and mother but he knew he couldnt let them come between he and cloe. he had to find a way to keep cloe and still help the boy and his mother and not help the druunken father. buck knew that man was probably takeing every dime from art and his mother just to stay drunk. the very thought of it made him angry. he would study on it. cloe lay in bed staring at the ceiling. she could see buck being consumed by the thoughts of the boy and mother. loosing his family had been something he had yet recovered from she understood that now, what she didnt know was how to deal with the problem. the next day buck pulled up at the little cafe. when he went iinside he found the woman picking up dirty dishes and carrying them into the kitchen he took a chair at a table in the back of the room. when the tired waitress came near he pushed a chair out in front of her with his foot. " sit down a minute, we need to talk." the woman shot a glance back toward the kitchen then sat down." my name is sharon.who are you?" buck explained who he was and and asked her how many hours she worked in this cafe. she looked down at her folded hands" 10 to 12 hours a day. but with this and the tips we get by." "i got reasons for what ime going to say. i want art to come live with me at the ranch. ill care for him and his horse. ill make sure he gets to school and when he works for me ill pay him. as for you do you want out of this prison?" buck was speaking low. "sharon looked at him "yes, but i dont know how to do it." she was about to cry. " talk to art about comming in with me. and then decide what you want to do.. if you want out ill do my best to find you a better job and a place to stay. your killing yourself here." buck looked her right in the eye. sharon nodded then started to get up " can you come back tomorrow morning? ill have a answer then" returned to work picking up dishes off the tables and carrying them into the kitchen slowley buck got up from the table and started to the door. what had he done? he had offered to break up a marriage. a bad marriage but a marriage none the less.