\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d\u00a0 Kellin asked.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stasia shook her head and pointed.\u00a0 \u201cIs that the farm, you think?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was hard to tell at first, since so much of the landscape had changed, thanks to earthquakes, a rising Lake Michigan, and rocks falling out of the sky, but as Kellin squinted into the distance, she thought what she saw looked at least vaguely familiar.\u00a0 She nodded slowly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI think so.\u00a0 Trees and everything are right, so\u2019re the fields.\u00a0 This should be the place.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stasia nodded and kicked the bay into motion, heading down the hill and toward the farm.\u00a0 Tala drew up alongside of Kellin and glanced at the other woman as Brandon passed them both astride a monster black stallion, following Stasia.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou okay?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kellin considered the question for a moment, then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI think so.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a while since I came out here, that\u2019s all.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot since Jamie left, right?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRight,\u201d Kellin murmured.\u00a0 She felt a pang of regret, of guilt.\u00a0 Maybe breaking up with her had been wrong.\u00a0 If they had stayed together, maybe Jamie would\u2019ve stayed inMichigan, stayed close instead of going back to the East Coast.\u00a0 Then Kellin wouldn\u2019t have been sitting astride her mare, wondering if the other woman had survived.\u00a0 She\u2019d probably never know.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a few weeks before she left, the last time we came.\u00a0 We\u2019d already broken up, but I came with her anyhow.\u00a0 She wanted to get some fleece for the road, y\u2019know?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tala reached across the gap between them and squeezed Kellin\u2019s knee.\u00a0 \u201cYou miss her.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI probably made a mistake when I broke up with her, yeah.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head slowly.\u00a0 \u201cToo late to fix it now.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know, maybe someday\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Tala\u2019s voice trailed off and Kellin shook her head.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s a nice thought, but it\u2019ll never happen.\u00a0 There\u2019s no way I\u2019m ever going to see her again.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDo you regret it?\u00a0 Letting her go, I mean.\u00a0 Would you regret it even if this hadn\u2019t happened?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGods and monsters,\u201d Kellin whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI do, Tala.\u00a0 I really do.\u201d\u00a0 Biggest mistake I\u2019ve ever made\u2026and hopefully the worst.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI think I\u2019d regret it even if this hadn\u2019t happened, yeah.\u00a0 I miss her.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAre you two coming?\u201d\u00a0 Stasia called from ahead of them.\u00a0 She and Brandon had reined up at the bottom of the hill, waiting for Kellin and Tala to join them.\u00a0 Tala shot Kellin an apologetic smile and got her mount moving.\u00a0 Kellin trailed in her wake.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Once the four were together again, they angled their horses west, along the gravel roadway that lead from the main road down toward the farm.\u00a0 Beyond trees at the far end of the property, the land had gone to swamp, the lake\u2019s water rising and falling with the tides, noticeable even this far inland.
\n\u00a0
![\"Romney](\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Romney_sheep,_ewe_with_triplet_lambs_in_New_Zealand.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The main house, which Kellin remembered as a beautiful old three-story farmhouse was now a blackened ruin, taken either by fire or by lightning\u2014probably fire born from<\/em> lightning.\u00a0 One of the barns looked to have taken a similar hit, though half of it was more or less intact.\u00a0 A smaller barn and what looked like a pair of storage sheds looked relatively untouched, and big, wooly sheep grazed quietly in a field, the fences around it still intact.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stasia reined up and frowned a little.\u00a0 \u201cThey haven\u2019t been out here in the rain.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Brandon frowned.\u00a0 \u201cHow do you know?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIf they\u2019d been, the fields out here wouldn\u2019t be as nice looking as they are\u2014they\u2019d be trampled down and muddy.\u201d\u00a0 Stasia\u2019s lips thinned as she looked slowly around, as if seeking threats.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone\u2019s been taking care of them.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Brandon, ever the eager would-be knight in shining armor, swung down out of his saddle.\u00a0 The gesture would have been more impressive, Kellin reflected, if he hadn\u2019t stumbled sideways a few steps before he got his legs back under him.\u00a0 None of them, after all, were that used to riding horses.\u00a0 Stasia was the sole exception to that, and Kellin envied her ease in the saddle.\u00a0 She already knew that her legs were going to ache, and badly by the time they got back to campus.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Brandon looked around, absently patting the stallion\u2019s neck.\u00a0 \u201cGuess we should find whoever\u2019s here, then, right?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cRight,\u201d Kellin agreed, then carefully dismounted.\u00a0 A tremor ran through her muscles and she leaned against the mare\u2019s flank to steady herself.\u00a0 The horse nickered softly at her, then nudged her shoulder as if in encouragement.\u00a0 Kellin choked on a laugh and shook her head.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Great, a horse is telling me to straighten up and get to business.<\/em>\u00a0 She almost laughed at that as Tala and Stasia dismounted as well.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhere should we start?\u201d\u00a0 Tala wondered aloud.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cProbably the barn,\u201d Kellin said.\u00a0 \u201cThe one that\u2019s still intact, I think.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Brandon started to walk toward the barn.\u00a0 \u201cSounds like a plan to me!\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The sound of a shotgun going off stopped all four of them in their tracks, set their horses rearing and the birds perched on the barn roof scattering.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cNot another step!\u201d\u00a0 A voice shouted.\u00a0 \u201cOr I\u2019ll punch you so damn full of holes your grandparents\u2019ll leak.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u00a0First<\/a> \u2022 Previous<\/a> \u2022 Next<\/a> \u2022 Latest<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Stasia whistled ahead of them, and Kellin reined up her horse, a gray mare they hadn\u2019t named since rescuing her and her stable mates from possible starvation the week before.\u00a0 The mare trotted forward a few more steps … Continue reading