7
None of us knew quite what to say to that, and Sarah looked like she could use a rest. So we said good night, told her we’d be back tomorrow, and headed to our homes. I rode with Mom back over the mountain to our house because I didn’t know what to say, and as good as Javier was to me, I knew he’d need quiet to think about all this. I am not a person who does “quiet” when things upset me. Mom says I’m a verbal processor. I just know I need to talk it out to figure it out.
The whole ride home, I repeated what had happened that day, and when it came to talk about Old Man Tucker, I worked my way around him in words. “Hard to imagine him as a little boy.”
Mom nodded.
“But little kids do lie, I guess. Maybe he thought it was funny?”
I looked over at Mom, who was still silent, but her mou
