Her gray hair was freshly set in stiff waves, and she had on a dark plum sweater with silver buttons down the front.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Darla said.

“Morning, Grandma,” Sadie said, tucking a strand of hair behind her left ear.

I slid into the front seat, reached into my coat pocket and took out two folded twenty-dollar bills.

I held them out over the console toward Darla’s lap.

“For gas, Darla,” I said.

“It’s sixty-five miles each way to Sioux Falls.”

Darla didn’t reach for the money.