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His FJ Cruiser was really nice If I had to choose between soer’s SUV, I’d live in his SUV in a heartbeat The seats were soft and lined with pale gray leather, and when he turned the car on, Native A infro with the movement of the car as he pulled away from the curb We drove to Mrs Carpenter’s house in silence, just listening to lanced at ine The car became pitch black inside

"Why did you turn off your car?" I asked, instantly nervous

"It’s dark out I thought I’d walk you to the door," he said as if this should have been pretty obvious I glanced at the house The porch light flooded the night and the s glowed

"I’ll be fine by myself Thanks for dinner And the ride It was nice, not … running … home in the dark"

"Are you sure you don’t wanthis seat belt

"No!" I blurted, reaching for the door handle

"Wait," he said

"What?"

"Thanks"

"For what? You paid for theme a second chance"

"You’re welcoht flashed on, giving ered on his lips and the truth was, I wanted him to walk ine hiht

I cliet attached, don’t get attached," I chanted as Bridger pulled out of the driveway

16

It was Sunday er O’Connell were sprinting through irl, I’d stop being friends with him Because I felt a lot ht of hirubby clothes, then went outside to work in the garden It needed a good weeding

The day arm, the air utterly still The screech of a bird filled thethe tip of a shovel into the soil at the base of a weed It screeched again, swooping overhead I looked up and a sray bird soared to the far end of the property and into the branches of a knobby pine Sohtsun, like a bleached tree skeleton with branches pointing to the sky

I walked to the edge of the property and paused, noticing for the first time a pattern in the trees A perfect circle of pines had been planted around a central location, like planets orbiting the sun Only these trees were orbiting Mrs Carpenter’s house And they were perfectly spaced, as if soet them all the exact distance apart

But it hat lay perfectly spaced between the trees that caught ht was a horse skull, to ht my attention, came from an animal with tall, branchlike horns I clasped ray horn and lifted A centipede slithered in the wet indentation the skull had left, and earthworm trails lined the dirt

I examined the skull’s earden, skull in hand, to resu

A few minutes later, Mrs Carpenter walked out of the house in a white denim dress, tan nylons, and rubber-soled pumps with her white hair pulled back in a bun and turquoise earrings dangling in her ears I leaned on o to church withto look at the pile of weeds I’d pulled out of the freshly sprouting garden

I wiped ritty forehead "I’ late The Lord forgives such things I feel bad leaving you alone all day again"

I shookreal nice"

I looked at the straight rows of sprouts coround and set some of the chicken row" Her eyes arden and paused on the animal skull "Where did that come from?" she asked

"I hope you don’t ht look cool in the garden"

She frowned "My second husband must have put it there--he’s the one who planted the trees It looks lovely in the garden and will probably scare scavengers away" She sot into the truck As the door slammed shut, I almost called out to her to wait A whole day alone with no one for company but my sprouts didn’t hold much appeal

The truck crawled down the driveway as I hacked at the roots of a weed and pulled a fragrant piece of sage fro pile of weeds and felt so lonely my body seeine ru steadily closer, and a vehicle turned into the long driveway Mrs Carpenter o with her And I’d say yes this tiround and saasn’t Mrs Carpenter’s baby-blue truck that stopped in front of the porch

I let go of the shovel and s on a Sunday?" Bridger asked as he stepped out of his SUV He walked toward me, slow and leisurely, his hands in his jeans pockets He wore a simple T-shirt, but the way it fit him, it looked like T-shirts were invented for his body At my shovel he stopped and peered down intoe to wipe under et your cell number"

"No cell phone Sorry"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah Why’d you want rinned "Why do you think? So I can call you"

"Call ed "I knew the Navajo Mexican was closed today and thought younew in town and having no fa me mad