Runny03 - Loose Lips (54 page)
“Only the good die young, Louise. Have no fear.”
Louise stopped a minute, caught a ragged breath, then smiled through her tears. “We’ll live forever.”
“Yep.”
The sisters kissed each other and separated. Nicky reached for Juts’s hand. Mouse quiet, she finally spoke as they pushed open the gate into the backyard, seeing Buster stiffly ambling forward and Yoyo lounging under the big blue hydrangea bush.
“Momma, you won’t die.”
“Not anytime soon, I hope.”
“And Aunt Wheezie won’t die.”
“Nah.” Juts bent over to love on Buster.
“You all won’t die because I’ll remember you.”
Juts laughed. “Sure, kid.”
RITA MAE BROWN
is the bestselling author of several books. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, she lives in Afton, Virginia. Her website is
www.ritamaebrown.com
.
LOOSE LIPS
A Bantam Book
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam hardcover edition published 1999
Bantam trade paperback edition / May 2000
Bantam trade paperback reissue / February 2008
Published by
Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
All rights reserved
Copyright © 1999 by American Artists, Inc.
Illustration and design © 2007 by Wendell Minor
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-56079
Bantam Books and the rooster colophon are registered
trademarks of Random House, Inc.
eISBN: 978-0-307-57362-9
v3.0