11
Only after the sheriff pulled out with Dillard and Forsham in his car did I notice that most of my friends were there. Mom and Dad, Lu, Stephen and Walter, Henri and Bear, Pickle, Cate and Lucas, Woody, Mart, Elle, even Ariel and Cynthia. It looked like even Pickle had canceled his weekly date with his wife to come help Ariel. I felt a little embarrassed that everyone had needed to come help me, too. They’d all come to my rescue, and just the sight of them set loose my tears again.
Daniel walked me to the bed of his truck and helped me up so I could sit there while Woody, who apparently was also a part-time paramedic, could look me over. “How did you all find me?” I asked the semi-circle of people I loved who had formed around me.
“Good thing Taco likes to eat,” Pickle said as a tiny
