were pretty much clear since the floor didn’t squeak as badly on the main
level. Taylor opened the door, let Christina out, and shut it softly behind her.
She put her finger to her lips and didn’t drop it until they were in the middle
of the yard. She was walking fast, and she forced herself to slow down.
“Are you going to tell me why we’re sneaking out of the house?”
Christina whispered.
“Yes. In just a few minutes. As soon as we reach that shed over there.”
Taylor pointed to a falling down wood structure off in the distance.
Christina paused mid-step. “Don’t worry. We’re not going inside. We’re just
going to go behind it.”
“Okay.”
Taylor led the way. The grass was freshly mown around the yard, until
they reached the perimeter. The barn was off to the left, huge and shadowy
in the night. The pasture lay beyond, the dim outline of the fence visible.
The other buildings on the farm were all outlined in contrast with the black
night. The moon was out, and so were the stars, and so the buildings looked
like shadowy sentinels watching over the farm.
The grass got tall around the shed. Taylor brushed through it until they
rounded the corner. She spread out the old quilt that she could remember
using for picnics and such when she was a kid. She kept the other, heavier
one, to crawl under. She did, scooting over and patting the space beside her.
Christina hustled under the blanket and Taylor tucked the edges around
them both. They moved closer to each other, but not because it was cold out
and they craved each other’s body heat. It was just nice to be close. To
touch. Taylor took Christina’s hand and threaded their fingers together.
“Okay, are you going to tell me now?”
“Yeah. Look up.” Taylor turned her head and Christina followed.
“Oh wow.”
“I know. The stars are crazy nice out here.”
“You might find this hard to believe, but I’ve never really looked at