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Chloe clapped.

“Very good,” Taylor said. “Now we just have a mile to walk over

uneven ground filled up with pits, rocks, and thorny weeds.” Peppy ran on

enthusiastically ahead of them. It was obvious that he knew the way.

“Where are we going?”

“

To the dugout!” Chloe yelled. She skipped on ahead of them happily as

they started to walk. The ground wasn’t really that uneven, and there

weren’t any pits, holes, or thorny objects that Christina could see. There

also weren’t any cows, since they were still out in the far field, little specks

on the horizon.

“What’s a dugout?” Christina whispered.

“It’s just basically this big hole that holds water. It’s quite pretty. We

used to swim there when we were younger. Me and my friends. Sometimes

my mom would join in if it wasn’t too scummy. It’s been pretty dry this

year though, and it’s still hot out, so I doubt it’s very clean at the moment. It

has steep sides and it’s deceptively deep, so my mom always made us all

wear lifejackets, even though we were good swimmers. It can be kind of

dangerous.”

“Jesus.”

“Not like that. Chloe knows to stay away. If Peppy wants to go for a

swim, he can get out just fine.” The dog was busy up ahead, barking and

yapping at something. “It’s amazing. It’s like he’s been transformed into a

puppy being back here.” Taylor lowered her voice as she focused in on

Chloe, who was still skipping far enough ahead that she couldn’t hear what

they were saying if they whispered. “I’m thinking about leaving him here

when we go back. My parents adore him. He adores this place. I don’t feel

like it’s right, asking him to stay in the city with us when he’d rather be

here.”

“But you’d miss him like crazy, wouldn’t you?”