him.
Back at the house, Dwight let Bandit out of his crate,
put a couple of logs on the fire, then switched on the
television. End of the second period and the Canes were
behind 3 to 2. He went back to the kitchen and rum-
maged around in the refrigerator until he found a bowl
25
MARGARET MARON
of chili that one of Deborah’s sisters-in-law had brought
by the day before. While it heated in the microwave, he
drew himself a glass of homemade lager from the refrig-
erated tap, a wedding present from his father-in-law.
Every time he used the tap or held his glass up to the
light to admire the color and clarity he had achieved
with his home brew, he thought again of the potent
crystal clear liquid Kezzie Knott used to produce.
He hoped that “used to produce” was an accurate
assessment. Deborah would not be happy with either
one of them if he had to arrest her daddy for the illegal
production of untaxed moonshine, but with that old
reprobate, anything was possible.
The microwave dinged and he carried his supper into
the living room to watch the game. Bandit jumped up
on the leather couch beside him and curled in along his
thigh as if prepared to cheer the Canes on to victory.
Going into the third period, they tied it 3-all. Cal was
probably swinging from the rafters about now, Dwight
thought. He hoped Deborah was not too bored.
He finished eating, then stretched out on the couch
and stuffed a pillow behind his head. Tie games can
be exciting, but it had been a long day. The chili was
hearty, the beer relaxing, the room comfortably warm.
The fire gently crackled and popped as flames danced
up from the oak logs.
The next thing he knew, the kitchen door banged
open and Cal erupted through the door from the ga-
rage, his brown eyes shining, his arms full of Hurricanes
paraphernalia. Deborah followed, a Canes’ cap on her
light brown hair.
26
HARD ROW
“It was awesome, Dad! We won! Tie game, overtime,
They both glanced at the television screen just in time
for Dwight to see himself on the late newscast. He hit
the mute button.
Talking more excitedly than Dwight had seen him
since he came to live with them, Cal unloaded a souve-
nir book, a flag for the car window, a couple of Canes
