Page 251 - My FlipBook

T R A I L O F C R U M B S

But that vision included Ash. Her joy dropped away.
If she asked him, he’d walk away from anyone—Roger,
Nate, Alice, Elgin, Aunt Lori—to sleep in a ditch by her
side. She traded places with him in her mind, tried to
imagine Ash shopping around for another home while she
couch surfed at Aunt Lori’s. He’d never. She felt a twinge
of guilt. She didn’t totally understand his anger, but she
understood his loyalty to her. They had just dragged each

other through a valley of broken glass and vinegar. That
counted for something. She’d tell Roger “not yet” when he
dropped her off later and do her best to explain. It stung,
seeing something that beautiful, that comfortable, and
knowing she had to let it go. But there was relief in finally
making a decision.
The doorbell rang, and Roger hollered, “Come in!” He

clapped his friends on the shoulders as they came through
the door. Greta smiled and squeezed past them, sitting on
the edge of the bottom porch step while they hauled in the
big furniture.
The end of the sofa dipped close to her head. She ducked
to avoid it and the men’s clumsy feet as they groped for the
next step. She slipped off to the side, by the wilted flower bed,
and waited for them to pass. As she settled back on the step,
a yellow blur moved in the corner of her eye. Rebus at the

curb. Then a shadow up the path, a loping gait, hair flopping
over one eye.
Greta smiled. Like she had waved a magic wand and
willed him there.

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