[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

 Grew up in Boise. Been all over the country in the last seven years, on different
assignments.
 Where do you get your mail?
 Why? You wanna read through it? He reached over and chucked me under the chin.  I
have a P.O. Box in D.C. right now.
 How come you re afraid of helicopters?
 How come you re afraid of snakes?
 I asked first.
 I m not afraid of helicopters. He took a big step up a rock ledge and turned to give me
a hand.  I hate being in high places where I can t get down. Like a certain tree at my grandpa s,
when I was seven.
 Ah. The childhood scar. You got stuck? Poor kid. Did they call the fire department?
 It was on the farm. Grandpa drove an old stock truck under the tree for me to climb down on.
I remember being so scared he d whip me, like my dad said he used to whip him. But he must ve
mellowed with age. Just took me into town for ice cream.
 Did you ever climb another tree?
 Not for a long time, he muttered,  and then only if I knew I could get down. And your
fear of snakes comes from where?
 Oh, look! There are the Indian ruins! Do you want to stop there first, or catch them on the
way back from meditating at the twisted tree?
 Let s keep going while it s still cool. You were saying?
 Arg. No getting out of this one.  We spent a week at a ranch when I was fourteen. The
rancher was a friend of my step-dad s. One day a bunch of us kids were coming back from a
horseback ride across this plateau, so we were riding beside each other instead of following. All of
a sudden, my horse shied at something. Slid out from under me like I wasn t even there. I landed
flat on my back. Right when I sat up, I heard the rattlesnake. My God, the sound still freaks me out
when I hear it on nature shows. Then I saw it, right in front of me, ready to strike. I froze. If you
ever thought the phrase  paralyzed with fear was an exaggeration, you re wrong.
The memory of it, combined with the steep hill we were climbing, had my heart pumping
like crazy. I stopped next to a tree.
Beside me, Mitch waited patiently for me to go on.
Autumn Piper 43
 This& older& boy, Billy, threw a rock on the other side of the snake to distract it. It turned
away, then Billy pulled me up to my feet. My heart had nearly stopped when faced with the snake.
After Billy saved me, it d raced so fast, I thought it would explode.
 Are you afraid of horses, too? It was the horse that left you in that position.
 No! Falling off a horse is seldom fatal, you know. Besides, she d never have dumped me
if the snake wasn t there. And since the mare I d been riding had already run home, David let
me ride back with him. Riding behind his saddle wasn t comfortable, but by then I had adrenaline
pumping through my veins. With the fear gone, all that was left was a natural high. When David
helped me down from his horse, he gave me a little hug and asked me to meet him behind the
barn later. Thus, from my most fearful moment was born a positive connection with the adrenaline
high. And my first love.
 So the horse gets off scot-free and the snake ends up the villain, when it was just trying
to defend itself. He looked at me and shook his head.  And judging by that moony look in your
eyes, the kid got to be your hero.
 Sure, I answered,  he might have saved my life.
 When you get down to the brass tacks, all he really did was throw a rock.
 Geez, Goodman. Ever hear the term  everyday heroes ? You can be heroic without being
Superman. Not everybody can be James Bond. I mean. I clapped my hand over my mouth. Bond
was probably exactly who Mitch wanted to be. And judging by his poor disguise on this mission,
he d never become a super-spy.  What I mean is, um, not everybody is fantastic at what they do.
I m sure with some experience, you ll get better at your job. Wow, I d really stuck my foot in it
this time. Not only had I made Mitch out to be less than a hero, but I d let him know I thought he
was lousy at his job.  I m sorry. That came out all wrong. What I mean is 
Expecting him to be offended, I braced myself. Instead, his dimple appeared. He threw back
his head and laughed.  So you think I m new at this but I ll improve with experience, huh? Still
chuckling, he started up the trail ahead of me.
I was right; hiking was much more enjoyable with Mitch s rear end in my view.
Chapter 8
Around me, birds chirped and a plane flew overhead. Somewhere to my right, Mitch shifted
and sent a rock bouncing away. The sounds didn t matter, because inside me was quiet.
I d been here before, this place in my mind where silence was a thick, palpable sound, where
nothingness was all. Upon reaching this place inside, my body relaxed still more,  til even the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]