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“You don’t have to” Mark Rhodes, her husband’s best friend since grade school, kept a hold on her ar her away

The tears came, hot and fast, so far beyond her control, she didn’t try to hold theainst the passenger-side door while he reached in his pocket and withdrew a key

“I’ you home,” he said

Auide her into the seat and fasten her belt She should protest, ask him to drive to her mother-in-law’s house, where the faate after the burial But she didn’t say a word

Mark drove in silence He didn’t deh it was probably obvious from her tears—or offer reassurances When they pulled up to her house, he helped her out of the car as if she were a child

Taking her hand, he led her away frorass Out back, only a short distance from the home she’d shared with Darren, stood her kennel It was acapable

of boarding a dozen pets At the mos to give her the tirieve

But right now, she wanted to hear barking She craved the sounds of everyday life

Mark guided her to a wooden bench beside the dog run, a large fenced-in area

“Sit down, Aentle tone as if she were a frightened animal

A out at the on, her home since birth, sat a few miles inland from the coast, surrounded by distant mountains She loved this view and this place But not today

“I wish I’d worn ruby slippers,” she said

Mark sat down beside her on the bench Out of the corner of her eye, she saw hiht have looked out of place”