“Why do you wear these all the time now? You didn’t used to.”

“I need them,” Taylor answered, sticking her hand out, palm up. “May I have them back?”

“When you first moved here, you hardly ever wore your glasses. Now I never see you in contacts.”

“I like my glasses,” Taylor said a little stiffly. “And I can’t see you right now, so I’d like them back.”

McKenna put them in her hand. “Here you go. And don’t be mad. I wasn’t trying to be hurtful. I’m just curious. And maybe concerned.”

“Concerned, why?”

“I don’t know. I just kept thinking that maybe something happened.” She must have seen Taylor’s expression because she quickly added, “I get the feeling that you’re hiding, or just hiding behind the glasses. But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just… projecting.”

A whistle from the pool tables drew Taylor’s attention and she glanced over at Callan who had her hand out, collecting dollar bills. It seemed she’d just won another game.

“I’m not hiding anything,” Taylor said after a moment. “Just trying to… look… older.”

“Why?”

Taylor shrugged. “I was told back in early December that I didn’t look mature enough. That I was too young. So I’m trying to dress more age appropriately.”

“Age appropriate for what? Too young for what? Take over Margaret’s job as head librarian?”

“No.” Taylor hesitated, her heart pounding a little too fast, making her suddenly queasy. She really didn’t like discussing Doug with others. Family dynamics were difficult enough without other people weighing in. “Take care of my brother.”

“You have a younger brother?”

“He’s not a child. He’s twenty-two. He’s… at Hogue Ranch.”

McKenna’s forehead creased. “That work ranch, halfway house place out in Paradise Valley?”

Taylor nodded again. “He’s been there since early September, and he had a chance to be released before Christmas. He was supposed to come live with me, but the judge didn’t think I was old enough, and mature enough, to manage my brother—who happens to have some problems—so instead of letting Doug spend the six month probation period with me, he said Doug had to stay at Hogue.”

“What did your brother do?”

“He wasn’t respectful to an officer.”

“I don’t understand. Did he hurt someone? Attack someone?”

“No. He was argumentative with a local sheriff who pulled him over for driving too fast. They booked him, and drug tested him and he tested positive for marijuana. He tried to explain that he was argumentative because the sheriff treated him like he was an idiot, and he’s not, he was just scared and uncomfortable, and then they labeled him as some loser, and he’s not a loser, either. Doug said in court that he sometimes smokes to manage his depression but the judge said this isn’t Colorado or California.