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CHAPTER ONE

NEELY

You’ve got to be kidding me”

I hit the brakes, and er than a cracker box, rolls to a co in the ht where the yellow stripes would be if this were a toith more than a thousand people, lifts his head I tap the horn He lays his head back down and yawns

“Hang on, Grace” I sigh, pulling the phone away fro as theslides down and the sun washes across ht The sun doesn’t do this in New York City

My head pokes out the“Come on, Blue Move it!”

He doesn’t He doesn’t even bother to blink

“Who’s Blue?” Grace asks “Like the color blue?”

“He’s a dog”

“I thought you were in the car?”

“I arumble “Blue, come on, boy Get out of the way Please?”

“Why are you negotiating with a dog?”

Ignoring her, I watch Blue lazily yawn again and then close his eyes without a second thought to ray, his eyes droopier than e used to load him up in the back of a pickup truck and cruise toith him all weekend It’s kind of sad

“Fine,” I tell hi “Have it your way”

Piloting the car in a wide berth around his body, I forge ahead

“I can’t believe you just had a conversation with a dog,” Grace says “You’ve been in Tennessee for, what, twelve hours, and you’re already losing your mind”

“Hoeet of you to insinuate I still have a mind”

A long pause stretches between us as I heed a stop sign

When Grace dropped ht to catch the red-eye back to Tennessee, I stained her new cream blazer with my mascara-laced tears It was the first time she’d seenis not soy tears easily