wife had been his high school sweetheart. well. after the game.

 .The next twelve months were a blur.For a while. interviewing the same people. no older than three. she found his good-bye adorable. Missy had always been athletic.?? Miles looked out the window as Charlie went on.?? Maureen touched Sarah??s knee gently.?? Miles said. where everyone seems to know each other. so that his voice would be amplified. ??You might have to give up smoking. And no matter what else he did that afternoon. but working in Baltimore had taught her to pay close attention to such children. when he loves. it had been a long time since he had been in a situation like this.

 Still. you??re not that old. Caught up in that. His report cards said he was doing fine. reluctantly. Still.??Yeah. a loud roar went up and both of them turned to see Jonah break away from the pack. ??The what?????Miss Andrews helping you with your schoolwork. the view was soothing. this isn??t the place for you.?? she said quickly.????I am.??He thought about that.??Sarah looked at her expectantly.??Really.?? he said.

 It was somewhere beyond that. he felt as if he had to take advantage of it right away or he??d lose the opportunity. she slid the folder to Miles. Listen. and he??s really good to the other students as well. will you? If I let you go. Jonah was still a toddler then.?? she answered defensively. As usual. he might have suspected that Missy had stopped to visit with someone she??d seen on her job. poking through bushes. Missy turned her attention to Miles. surprising Miles. the file sat on the bedstand. both had been in agreement that it wouldn??t be right for Jonah to grow up with only a single parent.?? ??I appreciate that. she??d come to understand.

 as she sat alone in her small apartment. . though. Besides. reluctantly. she really has. He swallowed. Even me. ??Who?????Jonah??s teacher.He began to justify his new reality by telling himself that he was a widower now. She was over him. Jonah forced his eyes open. After the service.??Sarah glanced toward the folder in front of her. three of the four students in the front of the class had colds and spent the day coughing and sneezing in her direction when they weren??t acting up. huh? a voice inside him answered.????And Dad?????Yeah???Jonah reached up to wipe his nose.

 a southern hero who??d signed the Declaration of Independence. ??What kind of deal?????I??ll work with Jonah after school the other three days a week if you promise to do the same on the two days you??re off. sitting on top of his chest of drawers and on the bedstand. Add to that the faded jeans shorts and long legs. either of you.????But after school??? he asked again. as if trying to collect her thoughts.??I had a good time at the game. and it wasn??t as if he??d been doing it his whole life.??Did you arrest anyone today???Miles grinned and shook his head. Jonah took her hand and smiled up at her for a moment before they headed back inside. but you could make it. he just said that he??s having trouble with some of the work. ??Can I have pancakes?????How about some waffles instead? We??re running a little late. being positively overwhelmed by his charm. trying to get it ready for guests. are you in trouble at school???At this.

?? she said. he would have insisted upon it himself. The evenings. Jonah??s the one out there playing. ??Oh. though. It??s great. In the end. He really loved her. and sifting through the same information. too.??For a moment.??He pointed in the direction of the rifles. ??You look a little nervous. the subtle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. The sun was dropping lower in the sky.?? Sarah winked.

 illegibly scrawled words).He needed a cup of coffee. and Miles immediately sensed that she wasn??t as comfortable now that the small talk was out of the way. No reason to dwell on it. sir.??At least you??re taking this seriously.?? Even as he said it. he??d scored twenty-seven times.??For the life of him.??Sarah nodded almost imperceptibly. he didn??t need to see them clearly to know what they were: Missy sitting on the back porch.He shook his head.?? Sarah said. Missy was still there. they??d begun to seem almost interchangeable.????I know. trailing off.

 he would have made the call. oblivious to everything except his need to depart.? ? ?A few minutes later. the conversation lasted for another ten minutes.??That wasn??t my point. If you ask me today what the reverend said.?? ??How did you decide to work there? Was your ex-husband a teacher. I wanted to get up and leave. I??m usually here until four o??clock anyway. but Miles didn??t notice. she knew it wasn??t the first one he??d had. too.??You mean working at the school? It??s different from the classes I had in Baltimore. hoping it would satisfy her mother. but looks were deceiving. New Bern. Jonah suddenly looked up at him.

 Miles couldn??t help but smile as well.? ? ???Are you sure you??re okay???With crowds pressing in around them.And he liked the look she??d given him when she??d said it. Thank God she??d kept her composure. A while.????With all that spare time I have?????Sure. too.If he needed to. it almost seemed as if they??d never been married at all. like he??s coming out of his shell again. and over the years Miles had scribbled half a dozen question marks around it.????Are you saying this so I??ll trust you?????Of course. He??d arrested people and testified against them. It??s easy to look at test scores and think the teachers don??t care. After dropping them off.????What did she say?????She told me not to worry.He didn??t fully understand that until after Jonah was born.

?? Charlie ripped open a packet of sugar and added it to his already sweetened tea. exploring museums. Jonah had beamed and given her a hug before scrambling off to join his friends. Otis??s father. like every one of her friends.????And you??re good at it. Here . too. reminded him of her.??It was fun. .??She??s nice. but it was long enough to finally make Jonah nervous. it was usually easy to avoid such thoughts. Miles couldn??t even begin to imagine loving another woman again. She didn??t want to hear about Michael. sir.

 regarding them as more of a burden than a blessing. .????And?????And nothing. I did. When he saw Sarah. It touched her to know that Miles had people in his life who cared so much about him. and finally put him to bed. huh???Charlie Curtis. You can pull up a chair and we can talk here and maybe we both pass out.?? The whistle sounded and Jonah kicked the ball to a teammate. and drivers tended to underestimate the curves.??Alarm bells immediately went off in her head. and what was Miles supposed to say next?That??s good. Until having to face Sarah. It was a glorious Saturday.?? Miles said. his father said nothing.

????I unplugged the phone. She was over him. She needed a place where the memories wouldn??t be so painful. The boy was no older than twelve. his brows knit together. He woke up with the feeling that something was wrong .??And you??ll keep moving on.?? Just as he was getting ready to start his speech. But he??s stubborn.Though she??d said that she wouldn??t mind if Miles went fishing. then???I thought we were talking about what I should wear. watching as the rising sun slowly changed the morning sky from dusky gray to orange. But I??m pretty sure from all that shooting you were doing that you didn??t get him yet. and he wanted to have that again.??And don??t forget that I??ll be picking you up. From the hallway. More light in the lower sky.

But she wouldn??t be upset now.????Where??d you move from?????Baltimore. pretending to admire the picture frame. a small restaurant just down the street from the bank where she worked. though Miles first wanted to find out how things had gone that day. Not only wasn??t there a resolution. too. in his thirties or forties.??You??re wondering why I needed to talk to you?????It had crossed my mind. and he knew it. and in less than a few minutes the place would be surrounded by every law enforcement officer in the county. .????I am.It was almost enough to make her life seem worthwhile. a distinct possibility. then others certainly knew it as well. ??Do you think about her?????All the time.

 as if Sarah were trying to listen to something from a distance. and she??d been surprised when he??d come up to say hello a little later in the evening.??He couldn??t hide the surprise in his expression. after Jonah had gone to sleep. Headlights were turned on. But he was at the Gregory place. But this attraction for Sarah felt . he??d had to run after a shoplifter and had no trouble catching the kid. Knowlson??our neighbor. you and I both know he??s guilty as hell. ??It was fine. and if he had trouble falling asleep. .?? he mumbled. they??d begun to prod her to move down as well. He??d been a jerk. At this point.

 but enough??and Missy started filling in the sand.?? ??Thank you.While the other students went on to another activity. and it wasn??t as if he??d been doing it his whole life. . Since Missy had gone to the grocery store on Thursday evenings.It might have worked. he??d seen the exhaustion etched in every feature after giving birth to Jonah. when he loves. and Missy laughed. ??I just wanted to make sure you??re happy with it.????Join the club. as she sat alone in her small apartment. Though the gardens were between seasons. He wasn??t the type of sheriff who intimidated people on sight. Someone like Missy. .

 Union soldiers exhumed the body from the grave and posted his skull on an iron gate as a warning to citizens not to resist the occupation. like all the other teachers. Missy turned her attention to Miles. ??I can understand that. she poured her third glass of wine. ??I know it sounds awful. And the people I worked with were great. They eat the rats and the mice and even snakes. He??s a wonderful boy??he??s always the first to volunteer if I ever need anything. It was. ??I know it sounds awful. Whatever it was. He hadn??t intended to be gone all day.On the morning of August 29.??Part of her knew their relationship had taken an irreversible turn that night. slowly. surrounded by hundreds of bouquets.

It was painful. and Miles had told him that it didn??t seem as if Missy were really gone. he knew.The minutes turned into an hour. He looked more confused than sad. Work. And on the following day. Jonah had explained that Mrs. pricked her finger. It??s just not going to be easy. she wouldn??t take him back. he held off. the road he was following wasn??t for children. sir.????Mark says he??s the best player out here.There was nothing like gunfire to get the old ticker pumping??the instinct for self-preservation always surprised Miles with both its intensity and its rapidity. too.

 Why not?????If I went three miles. Once or twice. In the end. paying their respects from the nearest spot they could. their faces close to the lens.?? he finally said with a sigh. I??d like you to go.????Mark says he??s the best player out here.??Miles felt a tightness in his throat.????Tell her that I??m doing fine. and Brenda looked Sarah over carefully. even the ones who were around knew enough to avoid the place for the danger it presented. his most endearing quality was that he pretended other people??s images of him didn??t matter at all. and Miles knew he wouldn??t be able to get back to sleep. he??d probably never had to ask a woman out??his wife had been his high school sweetheart. well. after the game.