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Sunday morning was, if possible, even more lovely than Saturday morning.
The Delbosque family had gone to church. Darcy lazed around the house until the chilly shadows were replaced by sunlight. They had invited her to go with them, and under other circumstances she might have accepted, if only to see what a service was like. For now, she felt safer staying out of sight. She told them she'd be happy at home until they returned.
It was impossible to observe the glorious day from inside, through the windows. Nearly everything she had seen so far was novel and fascinating—the smell of fresh mint, the calls of birds, the rough feel of the lichens on the boulders. There had to be many more surprises in store. She decided to ease out the back door and slip into the trees. It shouldn’t be difficult to get to the top of the ridge while remaining out of sight.
More than anything, she wanted to watch the clouds, a few of which looked dark gray and heavy, floating over the valley floor. Maybe it would rain on her. She could not remember the last time she’d felt rain.
It took a half hour to reach the ridge, followed at a comfortable distance by Musi, the wild but curious cat. From the summit, the ranch buildings below looked like toys. On the south, the mountain fell away to the wide valley, glowing golden in the sun.
She leaned back against a boulder and turned her face to the skies and the breeze, breathing the light air deeply.
Musi crouched in the shade of a nearby tree, studying nothing in particular, but very intently. Darcy smiled. It was an appealing animal: friendly but at the same time wary—not unlike her, come to that.
Just as she came to a decision to climb on top of the boulder, her eyes were drawn back to the cat, now hissing viciously and arching its back, its tail puffed out to three times its size. At the same moment, a rock rolled behind her.
A loud voice called out "Federal agents! Freeze! Put your hands in the air! Do not move!"
Spinning around, she refocused on the trees below her and saw three, no five, no eight, large men in camouflaged uniforms with horribly painted faces and big guns pointed directly at her!
She heard a loud “Pow!” just as she felt something strike her thigh hard.
Despite the intense pain, she stood frozen in place, horrified and paralyzed, barely able to register the men lowering their weapons and smiling.
And then slowly, her vision faded away until she saw nothing at all.
