Page 70 of Rangers Mountain Rescue

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27

Havoc

The house settles hours later.

Dylan finally falls asleep on the couch.

Buddy curled against him.

Guard dog on duty.

Grandpa was sleeping on and off, not knowing what was going on.

Ace and Blaze rotate watch outside.

Wolf’s running patrol.

I step onto the porch.

Need air.

Need quiet.

Aspen is already there.

Sitting on the steps.

Wrapped in a blanket.

“You should be inside,” I say.

“So should you.”

Fair.

I sit beside her.

Not too close.

Not far either.

The night is still.

Texas quiet.

Stars stretched across the sky.

“I used to sit like this with Joseph,” she says softly. “When we visited grandpa.”

There it is.

The name.

The line I shouldn’t cross.

I stare out into the dark.

“He talked about the stars like they were something you could navigate by forever,” she continues.

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