“What trail today?” Mr. Jones asks on Friday morning. He’s going to drive Bobby Ray and me to our trail again.
Bobby Ray looks at me. “You choose, Cassie.”
“The Lighthouse,” I say quickly.
“Lighthouse?” Bobby Ray looks at me like I’ve gone loopy. “That’s one of X’s and Glinda’s trails. Besides, we still have to do the Juniper-Riverside and the Rojo Grande.”
“Okay. Let’s do them both today.”
“Both of them?” He gives me another loopy look.
“Yeah, then we can do the Lighthouse. I’ll go get Héctor.”
“Wait up, he’s not coming.”
“Why not?”
“He has to get his school vaccinations.”
“They’re going to school here?”
“Sounds like it.” Bobby Ray gives me a sideways look. “You’d know these things if you came over in the evenings.”
I ignore his sarcasm. “But that means Héctor will miss out on one of his trails.”
Bobby Ray shrugs. “He and X have already done a lot of them.”
“Don’t think we have time for two hikes today anyway.” Mr. Jones’s bottle-bottom glasses make his eyes huge. “The missus made plans for this afternoon, and I’m her chauffeur.”
“Yay for Mom,” Bobby Ray says. “Okay, then”—he looks at me—“I’m choosing. We’re doing the Juniper-Riverside ’cause it’s the flattest. Okay?”
I nod, sighing.
I’m getting nowhere. . . .
We finish the hike fast because the Juniper-Riverside is flat. And boring. The only trail that interests me now is the Lighthouse.
That night after supper, I watch Dad working in his bedroom for a while, then walk to his doorway.
“What’re you working on?”
He looks at me over his reading glasses. “Bookwork. Have to keep track of expenses and salaries.”
“This job’s a lot different than the one you had in Austin, isn’t it?”
“Yep,” he says, looking down at his paperwork. “I was a little fish in a big pond in Austin.” He looks up at me, his eyes twinkling. “Now I’m a big fish in a little pond.”
“You, uh, you making a lot of money? You know, like before?”
“Nope,” he says, looking down at his ledger again. “But I’ll take this any day.”
Leaving Dad to his bookwork, I sit down in front of the storm door. Feeling Ti rub against my arm, I describe what I see to him.
“Fire pits are sending up a lot of smoke and sparks . . . like sparklers on the Fourth.” I look at the sky. “And there’s a gazillion stars out.”
Ti turns his head toward a sound. X’s gang is at their fire pit. Hearing laughter, I wonder if they’re talking about Warden Winnie . . . or me.
A lump fills my throat. I feel like crying.
The cries of coyotes ricocheting around the canyon make Ti tense.
“It’s okay,” I murmur, holding him close. “You’re safe here.”
Why don’t I feel safe?
I glance toward Dad’s door.