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“Ireland, actually”

“Oh,” Kevin said with a nod, blushing a little “I love the accent”

“Thanks,” Mary Catherine said brightly

“How you liking your stay so far?”

“It’s a beautiful country,” Mary Catherine said

“You like country,” the kid said, “you’ve hit the jackpot”

They careenhouse It athed in white plastic and had a table inside, covered with Styrofoam cups Each cup had a little pot plant in it, like it was part of show-and-tell at a hippie kindergarten

On the other side of the building, in the distance, there was a white-haired wo in a ditch She was attaching soation system She waved, and Kevin waved back

“That’s my mom,” Kevin said

Mom was also armed, Mary Catherine couldn’t help but note In a holster on her hip was one hunum, Mary Catherine realized She’d never actually seen one outside of a Clint Eastwood movie

This really was the Wild West, she thought, feeling a little dizzy

After another hundred yards, Kevin let her out through a cattle gate and pointed down the red dirt road

“You follow this till you get to the creek, and then you’ll see Mr Cody’s silo down the hill”

“Thanks, Kevin,” Mary Catherine said, riding Spike through the gate “It was niceyou”

“You, too,dope farmer said, with a tip of his hat, as Mary Catherine rode away