Kate’s fever didn’t break for three more days. The painful, burning microwave feels ebbed and flowed. A few times, Kate thought for sure her spine was going to break…or melt. It usually got bad at night, when her husband was fast asleep. Even though he didn’t have work in the morning, she still didn’t want to wake him up. There was nothing he could do about it anyway. Dr. K had said there’d be miserable days ahead for her.

Andrew never left the cabin, other than to walk Buttons. He’d mentioned going back home more than a few times. At first, Kate was game, but she was far too sick to travel.

Then, as the nights went back to normal, they both began to relax.

Andrew was up to reading a pulp paperback a day, sitting on the porch with his beer, always looking in to make sure she was okay. She wanted him to use the kayak, go explore, but she also loved the comfort of having him close by.

“At the rate you’re reading, you’re going to have to get another bag of books,” she said when he came in to make them lunch.

He tapped his temple. “I’m feeling smarter every day.”

He’d been very quiet the past few days. She knew something was on his mind, but expressing his feelings had never been one of his strong points. After the relief of knowing he hadn’t accidentally shot anyone, Kate had called 3-1-1. She and Andrew agreed there was no need to tell anyone that he’d fired his rifle. A very nice, middle-aged sheriff’s deputy had come by and taken their statements. Kate had watched them from the window as Andrew showed him the rocks on the roof and porch.

When they came back inside, Kate said, “Do you think it’s just kids messing around?”

The deputy, by the name of Jerry Miles, smiled, as if this kind of thing happened every day. “I’m sure of it. You may have realized that there isn’t all that much to do out here. Kids, they get restless, do stupid things. You’re the new people, and trust me, news travels fast in town. I have a couple of locals in mind that are capable of doing this. They’re harmless potheads who watch too many horror movies. On Halloween, they like to dress up as Jason or Freddy and scare the little kids. Morons of the highest order. I think I’ll pay them a visit after this. They usually hang around the woods behind the park. I guarantee, they won’t be back.”