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Back Come Again No More Save as PDF
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover
  3. Title Page
  4. Contents
  5. PART I 
  6. 1.
  7. 2.
  8. 3.
  9. 4.
  10. 5.
  11. 6.
  12. 7.
  13. 8.
  14. 9.
  15. 10.
  16. 11.
  17. 12.
  18. PART II 
  19. 13.
  20. 14.
  21. 15.
  22. 16.
  23. 17.
  24. 18.
  25. 19.
  26. 20.
  27. 21.
  28. 22.
  29. 23.
  30. 24.
  31. 25.
  32. 26.
  33. 27.
  34. 28.
  35. 29.
  36. 30.
  37. PART III 
  38. 31.
  39. 32.
  40. 33.
  41. 34.
  42. 35.
  43. 36.
  44. 37.
  45. 38.
  46. 39.
  47. PART IV 
  48. 40.
  49. 41.
  50. 42.
  51. 43.
  52. 44.
  53. 45.
  54. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  55. Touchstone Reading Group Guide

They never paused or ate, slept or rested, yet she never grew tired. Her legs felt light, her lungs clear, the trail easy even when they were climbing the steepest mountain slopes. Now and then her dream veered to panic, when she glanced away for a moment, distracted by some small animal in the snow or the flight of an owl, and lost sight of the Burning Man. Then she would see where the trail dipped down to the left or rose to the right. There he would be, turned slightly toward her, his hair in coils of flame, waiting. She would hurry to catch up. He would be close enough that she could almost touch his hand. Then he would take a single step and be far beyond her reach. No matter how hard she tried, she could never quite get close enough to touch him.

She heard a wolf howl and then another and saw the great head of the Burning Man nod to his brother the wolf. The hand holding the lance went up and pumped three times. He was pointing to the east, into the rising sun.

8.

JUANITA SUPERVISED ELI’S MEALS AT THE HOSPITAL, listened when he complained about the itching inside his cast, checked two or three times a day for signs of infection around the incision where his spleen had been removed, changed his bedpan, tried to prepare him for the ordeal ahead. A man as strong and fit as Eli would be able to navigate on crutches, but the separated shoulder and the broken collarbone meant that he couldn’t put the weight on a crutch, so he’d be bound to a wheelchair for at least a month, edgy as a coyote in a cage.

Mercifully, he slept most of the first week. When he was awake, he tried to tend to ranch business, making notes for Ezra about things that needed to be done, worrying about the snow cover, how thin the cattle were, the spread of foot rot, whether any of the cows that should be giving birth in the spring had dropped their calves prematurely. Juanita checked out books from the library and sat reading while Eli slept. Sometimes he’d wake from a nap and reach out for her, take her hand and hold it without saying a word.