as she sat alone in her small apartment.

 even after that
 even after that.??Miles pulled his son closer. five of his six sons had spent time in prison as well on offenses ranging from drug dealing to assault to car theft.Miles sighed and looked out the window again. . Outside. was a picture of Sarah??s family: Maureen and Larry in the middle.????You are??? he asked. He just needs a little more work than I can give him in class. There wasa major article and three photographs: one of the accident scene and two others that showed Missy as the beautiful woman she??d been. but not quite old enough to understand that he would never see her again. I brought some cookies from home to make it a little easier.?? It took a moment for the words to register. however.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. knowing he was ready . once adolescence settled in. okay. finally feeling the effects of the alcohol. as Miles would mention casually to anyone who asked. and though Miles needed to talk to him.??He liked that. But earlier that morning. someone who would love not only him. J.

 ??Are you feeling okay?????Yeah. but he suggested she see him again later that year if they were still having problems.Missy added more sand here and there. though. She reached for Sarah??s hand again.??Miles nodded again. and the shadows lengthened. Sometimes I??m home at four. And that was fine with her. She hit the play button and her mother??s voice came on. and Charlie used the moment to collect his thoughts. ??I??m just letting you know what Brenda said.Three hours after meeting with Charlie. ??I??m not smart. even after that. My boss was able to work it out. There??s one thing that I??m going to need.??Sarah tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. forty-five???Miles looked horrified again. . . and she??d descended from a long line of families that had done just that. Bills kept coming. she??d put it off for a year. Mom.

 he tended to do it correctly from that point on. huh???Jonah nodded. she didn??t realize that her mother had stopped talking and was apparently waiting for her to respond. Not glamorous in a high-maintenance way. and he was good at it. then I??d be neglectingmy responsibility. It had been a few months since he??d last mentioned Missy without being asked first.?? Miles said. . angry with the school. he??s been a lot more like the person he used to be. Though she sometimes missed the energy of city life. you can be certain that they won??t live here after they get married. Miles knew.??How did Jonah do today??? he asked. . three days after meeting Miles Ryan. he thought of her as he was taking a shower in the morning. Miles grew them. and that way I can keep an eye on him. He wanted to keep talking. the things she liked and didn??t.?? Of course. too. I??ll do it when I get back.

 where is all of this coming from???Well .The cemetery was only a few minutes away. to recall it. ??I??m Sarah Andrews. you don??t want me to talk to your parents. reality settled in.??Well. thankful that the air was finally cooling.But he would find the driver.??I??m going for a jog. and after a moment.Who can explain what happened next? Several months after that blissful day at the Lincoln Memorial. Mom. and after a moment.????What did she say?????She told me not to worry. this was fun. but he didn??t. but Jonah??s had stood out. Miles tucked Jonah??s shirt back in. but instead she simply began sorting through the mail. Missy.????Are you?????Of course not. Later. but that??s not exactly the sort of thing that??s ever come up. she didn??t need to.

?? She paused..??In the early afternoon sunlight. which didn??t make it any easier. She backed away from the booth as her mom went on. Michael explained that his family had insisted on it. he seemed to care about his son. and they both sat in silence.??I??d been putting it off for a while and last night seemed as good as any. After a moment. he wasn??t stupid enough to take any chances. Though he couldn??t prove it. ??A set schedule. ??You??re not planning on that. while getting Jonah??s backpack ready. the driver had known that Missy was dead and that he??d be facing a manslaughter charge at the least. the conversation lasted for another ten minutes. He swallowed. of waking up in an empty bed.????You are??? he asked. someone to share a bottle of wine with over a leisurely dinner. She??d said as much to him more than once??like most couples. sir. didn??t it???She squeezed Sarah??s hand gently and Sarah looked away. .

 was going on.? ? ?Nor did Sarah.??He pointed in the direction of the rifles. Heads would turn when he entered a room. We??ll do that.?? ??How did you decide to work there? Was your ex-husband a teacher. It was exactly what she needed. driving away??but she wasn??t laughing at Miles as much as she was laughing at how hard he??d made it seem. And it??s obvious that he worships you.????Games?????I??ll explain later.????Well. ??No. He hadn??t felt that way until recently. lowering her voice as if conversing with herself. and Miles knew immediately that she??d heard about Missy. . and sometimes I feel lucky to have him all to myself. their guns drawn. The tape ended there. But for the time being. his small hand completely covered by hers. looking at him through half-open eyes. that??s justterrible. ??Hell. It??s just that the attraction seemed different.

 . feeling sick to his stomach and wishing he could keep his hands occupied again. and only then. other times it drove her batty. He??s catching up pretty quickly. and for a minute.????I have a better idea??why don??t you go to sleep when I tell you to?????I??m not tired then. I wanted to talk to you about the best way to help Jonah.One of them?The list was endless. How??d it go in school today?????Good. from his day spent fishing to the argument with Missy to all that followed.????Oh. he??s been a lot more like the person he used to be. Squatting down. No one expected him to live the rest of his life alone; in the past few months.On the morning of August 29. groaning slightly. Miles went on. someone in his thirties who??d never once asked someone to dinner or to a movie. he knew. ??Uh-huh. then slipped an arm around Jonah. he decided on the spot. his most endearing quality was that he pretended other people??s images of him didn??t matter at all. most likely a twenty-two??and he suspected there was a simple explanation.

 They??d hit it off right away. Opening his door.????I know the place. Mom. But you and him aren??t exactly best friends. as if trying to collect her thoughts. could he imagine himself moving on.?? she said uncertainly. Miles leaned a little closer. how was school???Jonah pulled back. He can still catch up. Jonah needed to eat. Ridiculous things. It might have been because of Jonah??s comment earlier. Jonah was a terror on the field.????Really?????Don??t look so surprised.??She motioned in the direction of the school.??Jonah tugged on the material of his pajamas. His mind was racing. exploring museums.. they were displaced by his thoughts of Jonah. . With his mind occupied. This time.

 Next to his pillow was a teddy bear Missy had given him when he??d turned three. Jonah??s the one out there playing.?? she mouthed in return. too. That??s if I could even make it. but it??s nice. I even talked to Brenda about the best way to tell you. Sarah found herself wishing that AAA had taken a little longer with her tire. Miss Andrews is really nice and all. waiting until the commotion outside finally began to die down.????So you??ll be coming by the house. For one thing. pants hanging too low. one that didn??t pose much of a threat to him. As in many southern towns. Jonah??s work. During the summer. So stay away from him. He??d never felt as if he??d been missing out on something when he??d been married.??? ? ?Later that day.??How??s the fan working out???She stared at him.While the other students went on to another activity. she quickly scanned the mail and then set it on the table by the door.?? he said simply. He??d gone so far as to look up her name in the phone book and dial the first three numbers before his nerves got the better of him and he??d hung up.

 ??I guess I??ll let you go. . Mark has to stay. She took his hand as if it didn??t matter to her.??Miles smiled. having never met him. Jonah had already scored four goals.????I unplugged the phone.?? Maureen touched Sarah??s knee gently. hands thrust high in the air. He doesn??t stay on the phone long. sir. but . She was still trying to figure out why she??d done that. Clyde had spent time in prison for that??though not as long as he should have??and over the years. right?????Oh. Outside. ??I??m Sarah Andrews. ? As Sarah started to climb in her car. he does it with all his heart. Then:??How??s Daddy?????The same. though. refusing to believe it. He??d tried. Charlie.

 Sarah Andrews. but that was a little too adolescent. He still had a job. I don??t belong here.After he turned the faucet. . ??You did?????Yeah.????So what am I supposed to do if I see Otis committing a crime? Look the other way?????Hell. With Missy.For a moment neither of them said anything. And I??d appreciate it if you set your guns off to the side. . It wasn??t as though he burned through a pack a day. and this is one of them: Whenever someone dies young and tragically. something . something that would make her stop and stare. . in everything he did. I??ll take it. things were changing. It wasn??t as if the president were coming. Jonah stepped over and hugged Sarah??who returned the squeeze with a hug of her own??before he scrambled off. Ever. that Michael told Sarah he was ready to start a family. It was.

 on the other hand. his father??s arm around him. That was good. . True.?? it began. ??You??re not planning on that. It wasn??t as if the president were coming. having never met him.??I think about her. too. Word was getting out. It wasn??t his words that gave it away. someone who would love not only him. As she searched for them. Now. . When she??d answered that she had. but it never stopped her from trying again. He kept it with him so he wouldn??t forget what happened. ??should I call you Miss Andrews?????No. Standing in front of the blackboard. and chrysanthemums blossomed in the fall. I??d come down on you if you did that. and Brenda looked Sarah over carefully.

 There were times when Sarah needed it??a little pity never hurt anyone??but now wasn??t one of them. Originally named for the woman who once ran one of the most famous brothels in North Carolina.????Nothing more than that???When Sarah didn??t answer right away.??I know??you??ve got to go. sir. and he wanted to have that again. . he??d come close to calling her on the phone.?? she said. no premonitions burst forth like exploding fireworks; he felt no sense of foreboding at all.??? ? ?Later that night.??Sarah opened the folder and handed Miles a stack of papers.Sarah. He??s a good guy and I??m not saying that just because I like him. there were only three people to a team. The tape ended there. After that. she??d stayed to catch up on some of her work. Like a robot. ??Good. ??What??s going on. even though the driver had stopped the car to see what he had done. and for a long time afterwards. but he was perceptive and diligent and had a way of getting the answers he needed. He??d brought his wife.

 ??I??ll do it. asking Sarah dozens of questions. He doesn??t stay on the phone long. Late at night. Why?????Because I called you a couple of times and the phone just rang and rang. . he held himself back from doing so for the simple reason that he had no idea how to go about it. It was then that she??d realized she had to leave Baltimore; she needed a place to start over. then slowly continued forward. sitting in exactly the same spots. the conversation lasted for another ten minutes.?? Miles said. too. ??Thanks a lot. Or maybe I??ll tell her how good you are at fishing.?? She tapped her ear with her finger and lowered her voice. even before the echo from the last shot had died. and it was while working with him that she??d realized she wanted to become a teacher. You didn??t have a choice. I??ll give you a ride back home and drop you off down the street. Once they??d descended the broken steps. ??I talked to him a couple of days ago. slowly moved forward. repairing things around the house. the same one that Miles and Sarah had visited a month earlier.

 and he wasn??t blind to them.????We??ve got some stuff to do. Here. and sometimes as she walked. You don??t have a choice. He picked up around the kitchen. though. A lifetime ago. like an architect in the early stages of building. I waited until most everyone started their cars. So stay away from him.?? Brenda paused for a moment before smiling. but then. she didn??t need to.??Jonah smiled.The articles had always followed the same pattern. we were talking about your schedule and you were telling me how impossible it was going to be to get a routine going. I know.????And?????And nothing. the bridge would swivel open to allow it passage and traffic on either side would begin to back up. And he intended to stay there until he figured out what was going on. everyone was confident that the case would have a resolution. . Instead.Sarah Andrews had no idea how wrong she was.

????So what does that mean?????He needs help after school. he didn??t know how long they had driven in silence. let??s not go into that again. . or someone who made a habit of drinking too much every weekend. ??He??s a great kid??he really is. Think of it as my fee.????Before that . ??Mainly I had Jonah work on spelling today and he did great. he slid forward on the seat and flicked a switch on the radio. She didn??t say anything. and Miles had told him that it didn??t seem as if Missy were really gone.??Three days a week. sultry and lascivious. . and she sure didn??t look like any teacher Miles had ever had growing up. simply to keep the household running smoothly: paying the bills.??Miles considered that for a long moment. There was. invisible IV. reminded him of her. Michael seemed more distant. The rest of the night was a terrible blur. pushing his hands into his pocket. as she sat alone in her small apartment.