Alamo County, NM
Late November
Cold, so damn cold. Isaiah “Ike” Hernandez stumped along the side of the winding, two-lane highway, half blinded by the stinging mixture of windblown snow and sand that slashed at him. He’d long passed teeth chattering and shivering. Now he was just numb. He only knew when each foot hit the ground by the jolt that ran up his leg. The thin shoes they had given him provided little protection and no bounce.
With a near-frozen hand, he pressed the flimsy jacket closer to his chest and supported the dog curled against his body, the one spot almost warm. He’d found the half-starved mutt two days ago, on the third day of his journey northwest from a horrible prison in south Texas where he’d spent the past several years. Leaving the pen, his one thought had been t
