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"I’m terrified out ofsalves and scented candles in Tampa now What would anyone ith her?"

Why does it go down like this? Women who try to heal the world’s ills, women who practice patience and tolerancewell, the world doesn’t deal kindly with them, as if it’s possessed by sentient malevolence that doesn’t want such endeavors to succeed But maybe, like everyone, Min had some secrets

Nobody knew better than I that the past casts a long shadow, but this didn’t see I wasn’t about tolist of them, so what’s one ht table," I ordered

To my surprise, he coled sideways until my knees touched his This close I could sne, and I felt the sa the frangipani on ht it for him, that same trip to London Touch wasn’t as expensive as soher Dior and Dolce & Gabbana’s By, but he stopped wearing the Touch because I’d liked the way it war trepidation, I put an arm around him and he nestled intohim but my face wound up in the curve of his neck His arms came around me so hard it hurt, and withhi He probably hadn’t slept in days, not since his mom vanished With all ift

But then, if that had ever been true, Ifor" My hairwith the unprecedented adht, Corine Please"

I didn’t

My eyes burned with tears I refused to weep, and I swa after I soothed hi,in one position, but he looked a little better I didn’t speak as I went to wash up

Quickly I scras and we ate those with the last of my tortillas and salsa I scraped the leftover rice and beans into the trash and then bundled it up in a tiny plastic shopping bag Chance raised a brow at ht on when I dropped it in a white decorative basket outside the shop, hung high to deter the dogs

He grabbed his backpack and I shoulderedIf we stayed longer I’d need to find a Laundros Once I worried about wearing the sa here had persuaded ave a rat’s ass what covered mine

"Where are you parked?"

"There" Indicating a black Suburban hting the odd sensation that so down the street both ways, but I saw nothing out of place Nothing to convince me it wasn’t paranoia But if Chance had found me, so could someone else, and there were a number of people ould like to see h to do it theht, Calle Jacarandas looked a little shabby Doubtless it would look worse to someone accustomed to sanitized Arates, the adobe and stucco buildings held griht it with flaolden-rod, sienna, violet, and rose hued houses

But there were reenest urban sprawls I’d ever seen My neighbor had a garden I envied: a huge noche buena tree with big glorious red flowers, native frangipani, rosebushes, hydrangea, and a wall full of bougainvillea As alked, I tried to see ave up as I clambered into the SUV

We were quiet as we drove I guess he was thinking about aited for us in Laredo, but to my surprise, he didn’t need directions to find the periférico or to get back on the federal highway that led north to Monterrey I brought my map, just in case, because I hadn’t explored the city ed, correctly interpretingfor you"

I didn’t ask how he’d found ift, he’d have stumbled on someone who knew about my shop That was hoorkedand why he didn’t use it lightly An unscrupulous person would turn such strange luck to any number of bad ends, but Chance had always used his power over coincidence with great care I felt a flicker of remorse that I intended to warp it in pursuit of e my course

Chance bitched beneath his breath at the other drivers while we got out of the city Maybe I should’ve warned hiestion and that they thought nothing of turning left froht lane Still, the Suburban ht to back up his vehicular threats and ave way

The demarcation from city to country came sharply, and the wide open spaces carried a remoteness you find nowhere in the US Even the likes of Montana and Wyo don’t compare to the vast empty stretches on the way to Monterrey, which sits on the southwestern Texas border Laredo is about two more hours away from Monterrey, and I hoped he didn’t intend to try to do it all in one day My ass protested the thought

The o a hundred n of life Tequila farhway, and far off the road, I i fro from Mexico state to Nuevo León on the carretera nacional covered a lot of territory Earlier this year, I read how a dispute between two Tzótzil Indian families over a pothole escalated into a full-blown shoot-out, resulting in four fatalities It isn’t rare for guns to settle arguenous areas; the n to catch you speeding doesn’t exist out here