Ash saw me and nodded. For him, that was a friendly greeting, far better than the snarl or cold shoulder that most people got.

“You need to pack,” Maya said. “We’re leaving ASAP. Sean’s coming in Monday.”

“Not going.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “Changed my mind.”

“But—You… The plan… It was for you. Rent ATVs, do some rock climbing, camp overnight on the escarpment, work on your shifting… It was for you, Ash.”

“Changed my mind,” he repeated.

No one is more patient with Ash than Maya. He hasn’t had an easy life. He spent three years on the streets. He has a reason to be prickly. But as she stared at him, I could feel her patience fraying. When she finally said, “All right then,” the words came out brittle.

She turned to walk out. He caught her arm, leaned over and murmured, “Next time, okay? I just…I have stuff to do.”

“What could you—?” She cut herself short and shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll talk to Antone.”

“Nah, I’ll do it. You go and get ready. Have a good weekend.”

“I’d have a better weekend if—” Again, she stopped herself. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

We got about ten feet from the shed when I said, “Oh, I forgot to check on the owl.” The injured young eastern screech owl was my first solo patient. Maya nodded, distracted, and headed for the house.

Ash was still in the shed, now crouched and checking the hinges on the rabbit hutch. He handled construction for Maya’s shed, and he was forever fussing with it, worrying it wasn’t quite good enough.

“She’s pissed, isn’t she?” he said as I walked in.

“She put a lot of work into planning this weekend. You agreed to come, and she didn’t want you feeling like a fifth wheel, so she and Daniel dreamed up this whole aganda to suit you.”

“Fuck.” He exhaled and straightened to face me. “I didn’t know…” He shook his head and shoved back his hair. “Fuck.”

“Can you just come? Please. It would mean a lot to her.”

“I know, but I can’t. I’ve…got stuff.” He lifted his hands. “And, no, I’m not just saying that to skip out. I’m working on something. For Maya. For next week.”

“Her birthday. Well, your birthday, I mean. Both of you.”

“I want to get it done while she’s gone. I figured you guys would be okay with me staying back, maybe even be happy not to have me tagging along.”

I gave him a look.

“Yeah, I know. You’d be okay with me coming. I just thought it wouldn’t be a big deal if I bailed. Now it is, and I really want to do this, and Maya’s pissed.”

“I’ll talk to her.”

“Thanks.”

Four

Four