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Prologue

Jessie

“Is it still alive?” Jessie squatted down beside the unertips to the delicate animal that must have fallen from its nest

“Of course it is, stupid”

Jessie jerked to her feet and punched her friend in the shoulder

“Ouch! What’d you do that for?”

She jutted her chin out angrily at Dustin’s bewildered expression “I told you not to call me stupid!”

“Jeez, you could have just told me You didn’t have to hit me!”

“I don’t call you stupid when you askhomework”

“That’s different”

“Why?”

“It just is; that’s why!”

“Hush, etting another whipping because of you”

Her friend’s face turned red “Your pa whips you again, I’onna beat him up” Dustin clenched his hands into fists as he pretended to punch the air

Jessie giggled “You will?”

“Yep, I told you that the last time he did I’m not afraid of that old fart”

“You’re not big enough to beat him up”

“Greer and Tate are They’ll do anything I tell them to”

She stared at him doubtfully “How about we just be quiet and nobody has to beat him up?”

Dustin’s angry expression faded “Okay, I don’t want your pa mad at me anyway”

Jessie gave hiently touching the wisps of the feathers Startled, the bird lifted its weak head and began chirping for its momma

Raising her tear-filled eyes, she stared up at the tree, hoping the momma bird would swoop down and pick up its baby

“She ain’t gonna come for it You touched it”

Jessie cupped the fragile bird in the pal its treh her thin cotton T-shirt

“Whatcha doing?” he asked with interest

“I’ to climb that tree and put it back in its nest”

“Why you going to do that? The mama won’t feed it It smells like you now”

“Quit saying that! I can’t leave it to die”

“Why not?”

“Because I just can’t; that’s why”

“You’re going to break your neck,” he stated matter-of-factly