Smiling, she gave him a hug and kiss. "I might've liked that."

"Oh, I would've driven you mad with ecstasy. But then we couldn't be great friends, could we? And we'd both be dirt poor, because ! I would never be able to finish any paintings. You'd no sooner strike a pose than I'd be overwhelmed with urges of the flesh and leap on you."

"Lech."

He gave her rump a swat. "Now, leave if you must." He opened the door for her.

"See you later."

"Not nearly soon enough, I'm afraid."

"Oh, don't pout," she said, stepping outside.

"Ciao, babe!"

She gave him a wave, then trotted down the porch stairs and went to her pickup truck. As she opened the door, she looked back at Blaze. He still stood in the doorway. He waved at her, and she waved again. Then she climbed in, turned her truck around, and drove down the long, curving driveway.

As usual, she felt sad about leaving.

Blaze was her only friend. Driving away, she felt as if she were returning to solitary confinement.

It's hardly that, she told herself. I've got Eric.

I love Eric.

But he wasn't much of a companion. Sure, she could talk to him and he seemed to understand much of what she said. He couldn't talk back, though.

Maybe that's a blessing, she thought.

No, it's not.

Besides, Eric was hardly ever around the cabin anymore.

And that made her sad.

We've got to spend more time together, she told herself.

Doing what? Running through the woods?

She used to do that. When Eric had been younger, Sandy would often spend hours with him. They'd explore the wooded hills together, run side by side, chase down wildlife.

Correction, he would chase down the wildlife. Leaving me behind.

But she remembered how he always brought the fresh kill back to her. Far from home, she would cook her meat over a campfire while Eric, crouching at the other side of the fire, always devoured his portions raw.

Those had been great times.

But they'd pretty much gone away.

Kids grow up, she thought. Before you know it, they stop letting you be their best buddy. Even if you haven't changed, they suddenly see you as a nuisance.

But I did change, she reminded herself. I made myself into a nuisance.

Starting with the time Eric went chasing after a deer but brought back the boy instead.

Maybe I shouldn't have made such a big deal out of it Frowning, she drove slowly down the hillside road below Blaze's house.

I didn't make that big of a deal out of it, she told herself. It's not like I smacked him. Just calmly told him not to do it again. Hell, I even let him go ahead and eat the twerp. That was pretty damn understanding, you ask me.

But I wouldn't eat any. That's what got to him. I already had the fire built and everything, and be brings back the prize for me-chased it doum and killed it all by himself-and I won't touch it, won't cook it up, won't eat any.

She remembered how he'd crouched there, all bloody and silent, devouring a thigh and staring at her-a hurt look in his eyes as if he couldn't understand why Mom had turned against him.

She felt her throat tighten.

I should've just gone ahead and eaten the little shit.

Even now, she doubted that she would've been able to stomach such a meal. But she wished she'd given it a shot.

Nothing had been quite the same after that.

He damn sure never brought me any more dead people.

Sandy felt certain that Eric loved her no less than before, but she'd lost some of the closeness and trust.

Once that's gone, can you ever get it back?

Maybe. Who knows? Might be worth a try. Maybe if I go running with him again?

Hey, kid, how about letting the old mom tag along?

Nah. He wouldn't want me around. Afraid I might disapprove of something.

Which I might, too. God only knows what he does all day.

At the bottom of Buena Vista Parkway, Sandy eased her pickup to a halt and waited while a string of cars rushed by on Fort Platt Boulevard.

Maybe I should bring Eric into town with me one of these days, she thought. He's been wanting to do it for years. He would love it. If I did that, maybe we could be buddies again. I'd have to cover him up really good. Make some sort of outfit for him?

God, it'd be so risky.

Introduce him to Blaze.

What if Blaze freaks out?

What if Eric eats Blaze?

No, no, not a good...

A car bore down on her from behind, growing suddenly in the rearview mirror. A white sports car. A convertible.

In front of Sandy, a pickup truck sped by.

As she waited for it to pass, the sports car stopped behind her.

The driver raised a bare arm above the windshield, waved and smiled.

The guy from the beach!

Terry?

He followed me!

Sandy opened her door and leaned out. No cars were approaching from up the hill, so she shifted to Park, set her emergency brake and hopped down to the pavement.

Terry stayed in his driver's seat as she walked toward him.

He still didn't have a shirt on.

"Hi," Sandy said.

"We meet again," said Terry.

"I noticed." She thought that she ought to sound angry, but she couldn't quite pull it off. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Making a nuisance of myself?" he suggested, and lifted his eyebrows.

"You followed us when we left the beach?"

"Did a pretty good job of it too, don't you think? Did you ever catch on?"

"Not till just now."

"Well, just now is when you were supposed to catch on. I decided to spring out of nowhere and astonish you."

"Really. So...now what?"

"I think we should spend some time together."

"Why would I want to do that.?"

"Why not?" he asked.

"For one thing, I have other things to do. For another, I don't even know you."

"Teny Goodwin," he said. He let go of the steering wheel and swung his left arm toward Sandy.

She shook his hand. "I'm Ashley."

Keeping her hand, he asked, "Ashley what?"

"Maybe I don't want you knowing my last name. You seem to be some sort of stalker. You might look me up and arrive on my door-step."

"Pfff! Yeah! I'd be a fool not to."

She laughed.

Still holding her hand, Terry said, "I had to follow you. I know it makes me seem like a nut job, but...I couldn't just go home. Not without knowing who you are. What if I never got a chance to see you again? It would've been..." Scowling, he shook his head. "I would've regretted it the rest of my life."

She stared at him.

She felt strange inside. Warm and trembly.

"So what do you want?"

"I want you not to vanish."

"I'm right here. Besides, you've got a pretty good hold on my hand. It'd be tough for me to vanish right now."

"there do you live?"

"Get real. Do I look like a moron?"

"Not in the least. Are you on your way home?"

"Not at the moment."

He smiled gently and released her hand.

"I have to make a stop at the grocery store," Sandy said. "Do you want to come along?"

"You bet I do!"

"All right. See you there."

Back in her pickup truck, Sandy drove to the grocery store.

Terry followed her. In the parking lot, he swung his little car into the nearest space. He climbed out and came toward her, pulling a T-shirt down over his head.

"Ah, you're making yourself decent," Sandy said.

"Not entirely."

On the T-shirt, a cartoony wizard was pointing at Sandy as he intoned, "Turn to shit."

She burst out laughing. "That's nice."

"I know. I really shouldn't wear it in public."