Samuel Norton did precisely what she predicted he would, only he waited about ten minutes before making his way to his back yard, just in case she doubled back. When he figured the coast was clear, he shuffled outside and retrieved the pack and the lighter he’d stashed. He sat down and lit up, pausing only to take off the slender oxygen tube off his face.
He closed his eyes and puffed in contentment even though it was a chilly night. But hell, still in the high forties, he told himself comfortingly. Bet my brother is up to his a*s in snow right now back home in Chicago. The thought made him laugh, and the laugh brought on another coughing fit. “Christ, I’m tired of this,” he wheezed once the worst had passed again. He didn’t miss Illinois winters, that was for damn sure.
He’d been in Tex
