page12 (1/2)

“She didn’t have to be ugly about it, though”

Jada laughed humorlessly “I’m not offended It’s the least of her sins”

A fa wildly as they flapped toward their nightly nesting ground, their green and blue feathers iridescent in the fading, golden light

“It’s so beautiful here,” Jada said “Do you ever get used to it?”

“I probably don’t appreciate it as much as I should I don’t have a lot of free time to spend out here”

“I’d like to think that if I owned a place as ranted and never leave it for long,” Jada said, a wistful note in her voice

“That’s how randfather felt,” Ian said

“You can’t really know, though, can you?” Jada asked

“Knohat?”

“How things are when you’re looking in frouess at it, but you can’t truly know You have to live so, to be part of it It’s the only way”

Ian considered it “That’s probably true”

She seeht, and anyway, people are so different If one person reacts one way, it doesn’t mean you can predict how you would That’s what makes it hard”

“It?”

“Deciding the future”

A stillness settled on Ian’s chest What was she getting at? It was clear that she wasn’t talking about Sasha anyht now”

“Actually I do It’s been nibbling at the back of ed because of what’s happened, and it’s going to take a while to get back to normal, if it ever does” She cocked her head to the side “Do you hear that? What is it?”

Ian listened He heard a high-pitched whirring not far away It was getting closer, quickly, coes that lined the drive Because he and Jada were sitting on the porch steps, the hedges blocked some of their view of the drive

“It’s so electronic,” Jada said “Oh! Look at that!”

A rereenery and shot into the open circle of driveway Its long antenna arced upward behind it, so from the end It looked like awas that a toy mouse perhaps?

“Oh!” Jada pointed “Look right there”

The front half of a tabby cat stuck out froreen eyes slitted and intent on the swerving jeep, the patient stalker was none other than Ms Kitty

The vehicle approached the cat at a slant At the last second it turned, racing away In a blur, Ms Kitty leapt after it, her front paw leading the attack, claws extended, going not for the jeep itself, but for the bit of brown fluff bouncing on the end of the antenna

“Oh, she

Ian would have rather looked at that s for it again Snagged it! Oh, it’s off again She’s still after it, though She sure can jump”

A brown head bobbed above the hedges It was young Billy, orked at the estate helping withhard when he broke into full view He carried a small box in his hands: the remote for the jeep

Billy noticed Jada and Ian on the steps He skidded to a halt, panting “Hope you don’twith your cat,” he said to Jada To Ian, he explained, “I’m on my break”

“No problem,” Ian said

“Have fun,” Jada said

Billy tore off, as did the cat and its buzzing prey They wound down the drive until they disappeared beyond the southern slope of lawn