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"And she didn’t take Ja dummy named Frisco, so she didn’t even look back Girl was oblivious to Jamal’s crush He was too afraid to ever tell her how he felt"

"I can hear you back there," said Ja nore him He’s bitter," said Ronald "Mostly because I told hiet off his seat cushion and tell her Next tiing Don’t count onto that noise And beware, y’all The boy can nag like nobody’s business"

I suys make me wish I had a brother"

"You have one," said Ronald "His narinned at us and rode ahead to join his brother, reaching over to punch hilanced at Peter as already looking at me "I think I would have liked to have you as a real brother," I said softly "Your sister was a lucky girl"

Peter smiled sadly "I was the lucky one But if you want, you can consider me your adopted brother I’d like that"

I reachedhands for a few seconds until ere interrupted by a swerving, drunk Bodo He’d been doing so well and keeping to hi well; but when he kept on riding diagonally right into the guard rail on the side of the road and fell off his bike, I kneas more serious than I’d realized

We all stopped and circled back to help him

"Can we stop for a little while?" he asked froround "I think I need just a bit of a rest"

"Whatever gave you that i his bike

"I don’t know," said Bodo, totally serious "But soht now"

"Get up, goofball," I said, holding out my hand "We’ll stop for so We have only a few more hours of travel tiht

A couple of cars were nearby, both of the like they had been in one of those s up and down the street nervously I knew exactly what they were thinking How long can we stand out here and hope to not get challenged by soh the bags to get us all so to h to justify taking part of our ladly took the water

"We need to try and catch so up at the sky It was blue as could be right now, but thatin south Florida Rain clouds could et on that," I said, looking over at Bodo, disturbed by how pale his face was and the skinned elbow he’d suffered in his last fall I went over and sat down next to hi hioin’?" I asked "You feeling okay?"

He shook his head and said nothing

I hated to see hi so pitiful "It is your sto off into the distance

"Why don’t you call her again?"

"No I haff no food for her Da first time she comes back, I have to reward her"

"Can’t you just pet her or so?"

"No Birds of prey are not like dat Dey are not like dogs dat chust want to have dare bellies tickled Nina wants ling his head under et a pet from me I absently played with his ears

"Just like Kiersten and her girls," I said, trying to get a s snort had zero humor in it "Maybe"

I put my aret to the prison you can build a special place for her Maybe you can find more birds, too, and train them I’ll bet some of the kids would love to learn how to do that … what you do"

"Maybe," he said He took another s to onna be okay later I chust need soht in s are still swi him on the back "I know I can wait I’m here for you if you needfor attention Bodo reached out to touch hi it see was tooout his hand "Coo"

A sound of soave serious emphasis to his words Buster barked several tirab hirowled at hi to bark and looked at uys hear that?"

"Yeah," said Jauys, do you think?"

"Assuhway, now"

We scra faster than I’d seen hi a bit, like he was drunk, but he was able to grab his handlebars and get on his ride

"What about the sign?" I asked, looking at Winky, panicked "For Rob and Fohi?"

"I’ll do it later" She glanced left and right, looking over both sides of the shoulder "Where are we going? Which way?"

"There!" said Peter, pointing to a copse of trees in the distance, off to our right We had to get across at least one hundred yards of weeds and tall grasses to reach it

"Run!" I said, pushingI waited for Bodo to get in front of y into it