Page 56 (1/2)

1

SAVANNAH

“Katie,” I sang “Come out, come out wherever you are”

I snuck up to the huge rosebush, searching through the wild pink tea roses for a glimpse of my kid

“Gotcha!” I pushed apart the thorny branches only to find CJ, the orange tabby, sleeping beneath its leaves

This is getting ridiculous

A quick Saturday ht-year-old was turning into an all-day event I pushed through the ivy and weepingbranches that dominated the back courtyard, but Katie wasn’t in any of her usual spots

She’d upped her game

I tripped over a broken cobblestone and caught ainst a thick blanket of vines that had eaten up the fountain and obliterated the bird feeder

It was getting very jungle-like back here Soon these games with Katie would require a machete

That would add a whole new dimension to hide-and-seek

“I told you,” I cried “You can run but you can’t hide”

The branches of the cypress rustled overto the trunk of the old tree

This is new

It was only a e to clier than the two-story house in front of it, and its roots were pushing through the cobblestones, breaking up the courtyard like soround monster

As if it had been yesterday, my foot found the small lee in the trunk, my hands found the knobs on the lower branches and within seconds I was halfway up into the leaves Carefully looking for snakes, and hoping hter had done the same

What would my clients say if they could see their staid researcher now? The kids at the library, would fall over their stolen library books if they saw Ms O’Neill cli trees

I foundacross one of the thick branches directly over the decrepit greenhouse and back stone wall of the property The girl had only been up two hours and the new red silk pajaht back from her cruise were covered in dirt and leaves

“Found you!” I cried “You’re doing dishes for a week”

“Shh!” Katie hissed, not turning away fro on

“What’s up?” I whispered, cli out over the courtyard on my belly

“Margot,” Katie whispered My sild child daughter pushed the red tangle of curls behind her ear, revealing her freckled face, her wide lips and long nose She looked nothing liketo serve her well Because she was so h Independent Beautiful in her oay Pure at heart