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Officer Leprechaun studied me for a mo that age?"

"I didn’t go around stealing condioing to press charges for so so trivial, but he’s known Trey awhile He’s worried"

I am, too, I wanted to say, but I didn’t know this rief was private It was ours "I know you hear this froood kid"

"I didn’t think otherwise, but even good kids act out when life isn’t going their way" He took a sip of tea, winced at the heat, and then blew over the top of thefor o," I blurted "I thought ere doing okay, but maybe we’re not"

I waited for the usual questions: How did he die? How old was he? Are you doing okay? But Officer Leprechaun simply nodded I waited another e He was probably really good in interrogations His patiencewasn’t really us, but a te the person who ht death was permanent, so I couldn’t say that honestly The stress would always be there The ?" he said after the interminable silence

"What?"

"I’d like to see what you’ve done out there since the village threatened to shut you down" The twinkle was back in his eye, and this tiht

When alked onto the patio, I tried to see the garden through the eyes of sole to survive every day It had a haphazard look, like thirty gardeners had co The overall effect was anized, but I could see so there," he said kindly "Don’t know if those tomatoes will ood fertilizer"

"Are you trying to say I’ of the kind"

We walked around,as I realized how hard the plants orking to take root They wanted to flourish They wanted to live "It’s a lot of work, but I like it"

"My grand as this one Still, she always had a lot of produce left over to share with the neighbors What do you intend to do with all your bounty coust?"

Suddenly shy, my deal with Mykia seemed like a pipe dream I didn’t want to tell him about my salsa enterprise, but then I didn’t want to see to make salsa and sell it at the farmers’ iving so, and studied the tomato plants up close "Gonna still be a while until these are ready," he said, pointing to the now plureen tomatoes

"So I have ti into the sun "What are you doing on Sunday?"

"What?" I choked on the word

He stood "I have the day off My grandht me how to can It’s easy, and I could teach you in an afternoon"

It was like a wintry wind swept through the backyard My hands went cold, andif I said I hadn’t thought about dating Actually going through with it was another uilt, sadness, guilt, fear, guilt, and a heart-stopping, gut-clenching excite It felt undeniably wrong

"Paige?"

But this man, this ruddy-faced bear of a man, seemed sweet Maybe it wasn’t a date? Maybe he pitied me and wanted to help out the poor ?

"Don’t overthink this" He smiled, the mind reader