I
thought
about
how
Liet had
reacted
right
before
I left
for
Florida—how
he’d
wondered
if
I
was
dating.
Why
did I
have
to
explain
myself
to
him?
Why
would
he
care
in
the
first
place?
I
was
entitled
if
I
wanted
to.
When
Pam had asked
me
the
same thing, it
got
me
wondering.
Did
it look as if I
was
dating
Quinn?
From
his
words
and
actions,
we
were
friends
and
probably
always
would
be,
but
it
apparently
had
people
talking.
Quinn
didn’t
think
of
me
in
that
way,
anyway.
He’d
never
made
a
move
on
me,
or
even
hinted
that
he
might
be
interested.
He
even
suggested
I
date
Kyle.
I
wished
he
was
interested
in
me. He
was
attractive,
and
he
was
my
age.
Given
the
circumstances,
I
could
do
worse.
A
lot
worse.
As
Pam
said,
I
deserved
to
be
happy,
and
I
was
pretty
sure he
could
do
it.
Pam
stirred
next
to
me. She
extended
her
arms
out in
front
and
arched
her
back.
“How
long
have
I
been
asleep?”
“A
couple
hours.”
“Geez,
you
’d
think
with
all
the
coffee
I
had
this
morning
I
wouldn
’t
be
so
tired.
You
ready
for
me
to
take
over?”
I
shook
my
head.
“Not
yet.
I’m
okay.”
Pam
sat
up
.
“You
still
thinking
about
Pearl?”
I
shrugged
my
right
shoulder.
“Kind
of.”
“At
least
she
’s
happy.”
“I
guess.
I
don’t
understand
why
she’s
so
complacent.”
“Tha
t’s
how
the
majority
of
people
live
their
lives.
They
don’t
want
to
make
the
world
a
better
place,
they
want
to
exist
in it,
and
if
someone
tells
them
how
to
do
that,
then
they
’r
e
happy.
Not
everyone
has
a
sense
of
adventure
like
you
do.”
“Pfft,
yeah,
look
where
that
got
me.”
“It could
be
worse. You
could
still
be in
Florida.”
Pam
smiled.
“North
Platte
might
not
be
the
best
place
to
live,
but
at
least
we
’r
e
far
away
from
The
Families.”
She
shivered.
“God,
could
you
imagine?
I
doubt
they
can
go
to
the
bathroom
without
someone
knowing
about
it.”
I
couldn
’t
believe
those
words
came
out
of
her
mouth.
Did
she
live
in the
same
North
Platte
I
did?
“Liet’s
not
much
better.
In
fact,
he’s
a
lot
worse.”
“Only
if
you
’r
e
a
worker.
And
they
don’t
have
it that
bad.
They
have
food
and
shelter.”
I stared
at
the
road
for
a
few
minutes.
What
in
the
hell
was
Pam
talking
about?
I
decided
I
probably
didn’t
want
to
know.
My
guess
was
she
was
justifying
things in her
own
mind,
trying
to
convince
herself
she
wasn
’t
as
bad
as
The
Families.
If
we
got
into
a
debate about
it,
I
might
let
the
rebellion
slip,
so
I
played
it
safe
and
kept
my
mouth
shut.
We
rode
in
silence
for
a
few more
hours,
then
Pam
took
over
driving
responsibilities.
We
stopped
again
in
St.
Louis
before
heading
out
early
in the
morning.
After
we
made it
to
North
Platte,
Liet
waited
at
the
storage
yard.
My
heart
jumped
into
my
throat,
and
I
hesitated
getting
out
of
the
truck.
I
thought
for
sure
he
was
going
to
punish
me
for
hitting
him
before
I’d
left.
Maybe
smack
me as
he’d
wanted
to
in
my
room.
When
he
approached,
I
flinched
and
readied myself
for a
fight.
“It’s
about
time
you
got
back.
Complete
hell
has
broken
loose
since
you
left.”
I stared
at
him
in
confusion.
Was
he
waiting
to
get
to
the
punishment
part?
Was
he
trying
to
make
me
sweat?
“We
came
back
as
soon
as
we
could,”
I
said.
“What’s
going
on?”
“A
fire
destroyed
half
the
storage
yard.
Didn’t
you
notice it
when
you
pulled
in?”
I
shook
my
head.
“The
sky
is
always
filled
with
smoke.
Adding
more
to
it
really
isn’t
that
noticeable.”
“I
need
you
ready
to
go
as
soon
as
possible
to
replenish
the
supplies.”
“Can
I
have
a
day?”
I
was
tired.
It
’d
been
a
long
couple
days.
I
wanted
to
spend
one
night
in
my
own
bed
and
listen
to
my
CDs.
“Sure.
It’ll
probably
take
that
long
for
Quinn
to
get
here
anyway.”