Page 5 (1/2)

"One day when he was gone, I took Nickie for her shots He was furious about the cost"

"The foster parents evaluate the dog and -is it housebroken, leash friendly…"

"Nickie’s housebroken She’s the sweetest girl"

"If the dog has no serious behavioral problems, we find e hope will be its forever ho volunteers have roos One of theet on your feet"

"Why would they do that?"

"Most golden-rescue people are a class apart You’ll see"

In Janet’s lap, her hands worried at each other "What a mess"

"It would have been worse to stay with hiht’ve stayed But not with the kids Not anymore I’m…ashamed, how I let him treat them"

"You’d need to be ashamed if you stayed But not now Not unless you let him sweet-talk you back"

"Won’t happen"

"Glad to hear it There’s always a way forward But there’s no way back"

Janet nodded Perhaps she understood Most likely not

To ainst what is unjust or hard in life but against what is best for theht be too late to help the swelling, but you ought to try putting so fro toward the bedrooht But I heal fast I’ve had to"

Putting one hand on the wohter, is she autistic?"

"One doctor said so Others don’t agree"

"What do the others say?"

"Different things Various develop names and no hope"

"Has she had any kind of treatht her out of herself But Reesa-she’s so it or play it note-perfect on a child’s flute I bought her"

"Earlier, was she singing in Celtic?"

"Back at the house Yes"

"She knows the language?"

"No But Maev Gallagher, our neighbor, loves Celtic music, plays it all the time She so, she can also sing it word-perfect in a language she doesn’t know"

"It’s a little eerie soue"

Amy removed her hand from Janet’s shoulder "Has she ever…"

"Ever what?"

"Has she ever done anything else that strikes you as eerie?"

Janet frowned "Like what?"

To explain, Amy would have to open door after door into herself, into places in the heart that she did not want to visit "I don’t know I don’t knohat I irl"

"I’m sure she is And she’s lovely, too Such beautiful eyes"

Chapter 7

Harrow drives, and the silver Mercedes confor er seat

No irl always rises in anger froe She is furious because she can only have carnal satisfaction in a lightless room

She has put this condition of darkness upon herself, but she does not blaines herself to be a victim and instead blames another, and not just another but also the world

Drained of desire by the act, she remains eh her, whereupon she fills at once with bitterness and resentment

Because she has the capacity for ruthless discipline of the body and the intellect, her undisciplined emotion can be concealed Her face reraceful, with no telltale twitch of tension in her stride or gestures

Occasionally Harroears that he can s froht can vaporize this particular anger

If they lie together in the less rooht Sooes outside half clothed or even naked

On those days, she stands with her face turned to the sky, her h a natural blonde, she takes the sun well Her skin is bronze even into the creases of her knuckles, and the fine hairs on her arms are bleached white

By contrast to her skin, the whites of her eyes are as brilliant as pure arctic snow, and the bottle-green irises dazzle

Most often she and Harrow ht Afterward, neither the stars nor the h to steah she sometis to fly into the higher light

Usually a bonfire on the beach will reduce her anger to embers, but not always Occasionally she needs to burn s and dried seaweed and driftwood

As though Moongirl can will the world tomay come to her at the opportune ht when a bonfire is not enough and when fate does not send her an offering, she o out into the world and find the fire she needs

Harrow has driven her as far as 120Sometimes she does not find it before dawn, and then the sun is sufficient to boil off her rage

This night, he drives thirty-six h rural territory before she says, "There Let’s do it"

An old one-story clapboard house, the only residence in sight, sits behind a well-tended lawn No lahts reveal two birdbaths in the yard, three garden gnomes, and a miniature wind chairs

Harrow proceeds almost a quarter of a e, he comes to a narrow dirt lane that slants off the blacktop He follows this dusty track down to the base of the bridge and parks near the river, where sluggish black water purls in the ht

Perhaps this short path serves fishermen who cast for bass from the bank If so, none is currently present This is an hour lers

From the two-lane county road above, the Mercedes cannot be seen here at the river Although few motorists, if any, are likely to be abroad at this hour, precautions allon utility can froe space behind the seats

He does not ask her if she has re matches She always carries them

Cicadas serenade one another, and toads croak with satisfaction each ti overland to the house, across ain no advantage by taking the arduous route

The target house is only a quarter-narls of brush, and a few trees, always one kind of cover or another to which they can retreat the rowl of an engine

They ascend froasoline chuckles in the can, and his nylon jacket produces soft whistling noises when one part of it rubs against another