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“We had to travel light. You wouldn’t believe what a nightmare it’s been trying to get down here.”

“I saw Manhattan on the news. I’m scared it’s gonna end up like that down here, too. Atlanta's getting bad.” She straightened and winked at me. “But if it does, we’re ready.”

“Where are Aunt Kim and your dad?”

“They went to visit a friend in Tennessee to buy a motorcycle and some more ammo. Ammo is getting scarce these days.” She shrugged. “They should be back by tomorrow night.”

“What kind of motorcycle?” Cody asked.

“Kawasaki Ninja.”

“Sweet! Can I ride it?”

“You know how to ride one?”

His nose wrinkled. “Kind of.”

Iggy chuckled. “Okay. Well, we have several motorcycles, and you’re welcome to ride any time we aren’t using them for work.”

Cody gave her a confused look, but she didn’t elaborate.

At the door, Iggy smiled. “I’ll let you guys get some rest. Breakfast is served between five and eight. I’ll show you around tomorrow if you want.” She looked at me. “A lot’s changed since the last time you visited.” She held up an index finger. “Oh, by the way. If your eyeballs are floating, the bathroom’s down the hall, third door on the left. See you in the morning.” She breezed out of the room, leaving behind a faint scent of vanilla and sugar cookies.

“What did she just say about eyeballs?” Cody asked me.

I fell back onto the bed. “Who knows?”

He stretched out over his own bed, tucking his hands behind his head and crossing his feet at the ankles. “Your cousin is totally hot, but I can’t understand half of what she says.”

“I always had a difficult time with that, too. Mom usually translated.” I pulled out my cell and looked at it as if I could make a text appear by staring. I powered it off and then restarted the system, hoping that the icon for a text message would pop onto the screen. No icons. No unread texts or missed calls from my parents.

Cody said, “Give them time, Cael. They’ll get here. Your mom was a Marine. Have some faith.” After a pause, he suggested, “Why don’t you think about your cousin instead? She’ll certainly distract you from your thoughts.”

I stuffed a pillow under my head. “Isn’t that incest or something?”

Cody guffawed. “Hah! You two aren’t really related. But that’s okay. If you don’t think about her, I get her all to myself.” He got up to go stuff his clothes into the dresser drawers.

I threw a pillow and it hit him in the head. “Stop picturing her naked.”

“She has a great ass.”

“I know. But now I’m starting to feel like a perv.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“Her dad’s a cop.”

Cody’s eyebrows rose. “That almost ruins it for me. But she’s legal, right?”

“She’s eighteen. But you still have to worry about jail.” I pointed to his right hand which had a death grip on a big plastic pouch full of dime-sized bags. “Marijuana’s not legal in Georgia, you know.”

He raised an eyebrow at me before stuffing it into the back of a drawer. “Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to smoke it all before her dad gets back.”

Chapter 3

Cael

When I woke up, Cody was already gone. I called my parents’ cell phones and left messages for them, and then I followed up with text messages. After a quick shower, I threw on jeans and a t-shirt and headed for the kitchen. Cody was sitting caddy-corner from Iggy at a table that could fit twelve; he was leaning toward her and grinning like a fool.

I offered a brief wave. “Morning. Mind if I help myself to some coffee?”

“Go for it,” Iggy replied. “We keep coffee brewing all day. You missed breakfast though. The guy who usually cooks has to clean and be gone to his other job by nine, so you’re stuck with cereal, instant oatmeal, and fruit unless you want to cook for yourself. Or there’s always peanut butter, if you still like it as much as you used to.”

I suddenly pictured elementary-school-aged Iggy and me sitting on the back porch with soup spoons, Jif-smeared faces, and empty jars. I could tell by the smile on her face that Iggy was thinking about the same thing.

“Where are all those people I saw last night?” I found a mug and filled it.

“A lot of them commute to Atlanta or other cities for work, so they’re up and at it pretty early. Kids are at school. The rest of us work on the farm.”

I sat down across from Iggy and Cody cleared his throat. “I’m trying to flirt with your cousin and you’re interrupting.”

Iggy said, “Oh, is that what you were doing? I thought we were talking about the stupid, macho stunts boys pull.”

“We were?” He scratched his scruffy jaw and wrinkled his brow.

“You were telling me about your ice hockey games and how you lost your tooth and got a concussion. That’s not flirting.”

I swallowed a sip of coffee, enjoying the heat. “Looks like you’re losing your touch, Cody.”

He grimaced. “Must be out of practice.” To Iggy he said, “Guess you’re not impressed by my stories.”

I mumbled, “Leave her alone. She has a boyfriend.”

Cody sat back in his chair and smirked. “No she doesn't. We’ve already talked about that. I thought she and that blond guy, Wesley, were a thing. But they’re just friends.”

Iggy rose from the table. “And on that note, I’ve got leave. Chores.”

His face fell. “Guess I just don’t know how to charm southern girls.”

She patted his hand and said, “Don’t worry, Cody. You left a big impression.”

“I did?” Eyebrows rose with hope.

“Yeah. In the French toast.” Iggy looked at me and said, “He polished off half the platter all by himself.”

Cody rolled his eyes as soon as he realized he’d been had. Then he sat back and patted his stomach. “Takes a lot to keep this machine going.”

Cradling my mug between my hands, I said to Iggy, “You expanded the kitchen too, I see. All modern, stainless steel appliances now. A refrigerator with a built-in TV.” I glanced over to find a news report about some kind of explosion, but the volume was too low to hear.

Her head bobbed up and down briefly. “It’s less like a farmhouse than it used to be. Your mom will really be surprised. I just hope she’s not upset by how different this place is now than when she grew up in it.” She pushed in her chair. “Any word from your folks, by the way?”

“No.”

She bit her bottom lip and hid a worried look. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Like a rock.”

“Good. Then I’m gonna put you guys to work today.”

Cody groaned. “Thanks a lot, Cael.” He asked Iggy, “What exactly will we be doing?”

“Chopping wood for the fireplaces.”

“Sounds boring.”

I shot Cody a warning look and told Iggy, “We're happy to help out.”

He frowned. But then Iggy offered, “What if I promise to make a big deal about your muscles and act really impressed while you’re swinging the axe?”

Cody grinned. “Then I’m all over it. Let’s chop down some trees.”

I gave Iggy a doubtful look. “Just so you know, neither of us has ever swung an axe before. So if you’re going to stand around and admire Cody’s muscles, you’d better stand pretty far away.”

She chuckled, gulped down the last of her coffee, and went to put her mug in the dish washer. “You northern boys are so helpless.” After propping her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes at us, she said, “It’s time for the tour.”

Cody jumped up. “Cool. I just have to go to the bathroom real quick.”

“Meet you out front,” Iggy told him.

I followed her through the front door to find Wesley pulling up on a silver and black Honda. He cut the engine but didn’t get off the bike. Instead, he motioned for Iggy to come over. I watched the two of them talk quietly, heads so close together that I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Wesley’s posture relaxed when he spoke with her, and she rested her hand on his shoulder. When he reached up and touched Iggy’s arm, I wasn’t sure I believed what Cody said about them being just friends.

Iggy was wearing a black boots and a black skirt that swished around her legs. It was warm enough that she didn’t need a jacket, and her sweater hugged her body. She was perfectly built – not like the curvy girls Cody preferred, but toned and slim-hipped like an athlete. Her hair was gold, caramel, or ivory, depending on which way she tilted her head as the sunlight reflected off it. And when she walked back to me, I realized that her eyes were a lighter shade of brown than I’d thought — like whiskey, with flecks of green near the pupils. She laughed, and her cheeks rounded, bringing my attention to the light dusting of freckles across them. It suddenly hit me that I was a little nervous. Iggy made me feel like I was back in high school wanting to impress the hot girl. The feeling took me by surprise, and it must have shown on my face because she asked if I was okay.

“Yeah. I’m just ready to see how the place has changed.”

Fortunately, Cody distracted me by bounding out of the house and slapping a hand over my shoulders. “We ready, Iggy? I’m ready to ride a motorcycle.” Cody looked at Wesley and said, “Don’t suppose you’d let me ride the Honda.”

Wesley didn’t respond. He started the bike, gunned the engine, and took off toward the woods on the other side of the house.

“What the hell is that guy’s problem?” Cody barked.

Iggy grimaced. “Sorry. Wes is a little moody.”

“Moody? That must be the new word for ‘asshole’.”

“Relax, Cody,” I said. My friend didn’t usually get so riled up by small things, and I wondered if his reaction had something to do with Iggy’s presence.

“That guy should smoke some weed. Loosen up a little.”

Iggy smiled. “Hate to burst your bubble, Cody, but Flint took my bike out to check the back fences, so we’re left with horses to tour the property. You can ride the bike this afternoon.”

Cody looked as if she’d just slapped him. “Horses?” Iggy nodded. “I don’t do horses.”

“Come on,” she prodded. “Just come and look at them. They’re sweet.” When Cody hesitated, she looked at me. “Come on, Cael. Let’s show him.”

I took a step back. “I’m with Cody on this one. I’m not a big horse fan.”

She sighed, lifted her eyes skyward as if in prayer, and mumbled, “I’m working with a couple of city slickers.” She hooked one arm around my right one and another arm around Cody’s left one, and then she pulled us toward the barn. “Let’s just have a peek. We’ll go slow with the riding lessons.”

The barn floor was covered in sawdust, and an aisle ran between eight stalls with closed half-doors, four on either side. I heard snorting and stomping. Iggy let us go and sailed past two stalls to stop at the third one on the right. She reached her arm in and Cody held his breath. A big, black horse head appeared with Iggy’s fingers gripping a red nylon strap that I remembered was called a halter. She asked, “Which one of you is gonna be the first one to come over and say ‘hi’ to Black Jack?”

Cody shoved me and I stumbled forward. Iggy waved me over. “Thanks for volunteering, Cael.”

I flipped Cody the bird before edging forward, keeping my eye on her horse.

“Well aren’t you off like a herd of turtles,” she laughed. “At this rate, it’ll be afternoon before you get over here.”

I took a deep breath and quickened my pace, deciding to just get it over with. Something shot out at me from the right and touched me — a monstrous, gray head.

“Oh, shit!” I jumped back, slapping at air.

Iggy broke out in hysterical laughter. Cody laughed so hard that he clutched his stomach and doubled over.

“The damn thing tried to take a bite out of me!” I accused, trying to get my breathing under control.

The horse in the first stall shook its head and bumped against the door. I backed down the aisle. Iggy assured, “She nudged you. No teeth were even involved.”

“That thing is huge!” I walked back to stand beside Cody. To hell with proving myself.

Iggy pulled the latch on her horse’s stall door and led him into the aisle. Cody and I scattered to opposite sides of the barn, and I almost tripped over a four wheeler parked in front of the tack area. The horse towered over her, but she led it around like it was a large puppy. She paused to say, “At least come a little closer to him. Black Jack is an angel. One thousand pounds of equine perfection.” She rubbed his nose, pulled his head down, and put her face right in his, talking to it like one would a baby. “Come on, Cody.”

“Oh hell no!” He inched even further away.

“For Pete’s sake, he’s a gelding!”

“What the hell is a ‘gelding’?”

I used my first two fingers to imitate scissors cutting. “Means he’s been castrated.”

Cody winced and cupped a hand over his crotch. “Aw man! That’s evil!”

“It makes him calmer,” Iggy explained. “Gentler than a stallion.”

“He still looks like a stallion. A big, black, badass stallion! I am
not
getting near that thing!”