in. I stayed with him a couple of times, of course any place I didn’t have to take a number to pee was heaven to me.”

“We did have a tub that we’d fill with hot water out in the Spring House for baths. And we did have running water, so that wasn’t as big a chore as it could have been. And there was a working outdoor shower stall that Aunt Hil said had been put in when the place had ranch hands.”

“Oh, shit!” Billy said, “I almost forgot!” He bolted up and went in the house.

“What?” Everyone turned to watch Billy scrambled.

“Don’t worry Billy, I had to…” Ian yelled after him, “It’s probably nothing!” He yelled even louder.

Tippy threw a bean at him that landed in the middle of his forehead. “Someone found something under an old tree on the farm, and they thought it was mine. Billy brought it out with him.”

Billy soon appeared with what appeared to be a box wrapped tightly in garbage bags and duct taped. He put it at Ian’s feet and handed him a pink envelope. “There’s a note.”

Ian opened the envelope and pulled out several pages in matching stationary. He looked it over, “It’s from Jane Osborne, one of the people who bought the place.”

“Well read it out loud, Baby Doll. We’ll pretend it’s a letter from home.”

“It’s hard to read so bear with me…” Ian had to squint, not because the light wasn’t right enough, but because Jane Osborne’s barely educated handwriting was difficult to interpret. “Dear Mr. Ian. I hope this letter and the box finally make it to you. I’m gonna take it to the TV station next time we drive to Bristol, but I know you aren’t there anymore. Miss Hillary said she had no idea where you were either, but to tell you to call her and she still loved you mighty fine…”

“Aww, how sweet…” Tippy cooed.

“Kyle found this buried close to that old tree out near the back field. The tree had died last summer and he was finally around to pulling up the stump. You can see it has your name on it, so we figured it was something you had hidden as a boy and forgot about. We thought you’d like to have it. Ronnie Kyle wanted to put it in his museum but we talked him out of it.”

“Who’s Ronnie Kyle?” Reese asked quietly.

“Must be their boy” Ian answered. “He tells everybody that he lives where Ian Justyn the TV star grew up. Anything he finds in the barn, he draws a note on it and puts it in that old chicken coop that we don’t dare tear down cause he says that’s his museum.”

“That’s sweet.” Tippy cooed more.

“He even managed to talk Miss Hilary into parting with some of her goo gahs, and you know how she doesn’t throw anything away. Anyway, we hope you enjoy what ever memories it brings back to ya and I pray they are happy ones, much like the happy ones our little family is making here. Please come to visit us soon. We told ya when we bought the place that you was always welcomed and we meant it. Course you won’t recognize the town. They put in a Pizza Hut where Tedder’s Grocery used to be and they built a new high school on the old Quesenberry Place. It ain’t