“He said he was comin’ back here right after goin’ to meditate,” Wolf said, winking at Anthony as a nod to their inside joke about how ridiculous Luke was. Though Wolf knew the value of both vision quests and sage, both he and Anthony hated that meditation and sage seemed to be the only tools Luke had at his disposal for dealing with things. Because of his mannerisms and life choices, they couldn’t see Luke as a man and often teased him about his various new-age habits.

“What about Mike?” Aria asked, worried about what the response would be. The area where his camp had been was picked clean. There was nothing left to indicate that he had ever been there.

Robert was the one to answer her question. “Oh, he came back here yesterday, said he was goin’ down to Hemet to stay with a relative and see about a job.” He looked suddenly somber. It was obvious that he considered Mike a friend. The telltale signs of missing him were carved deep into his demeanor.

“I think for a father, seein’ your daughter that way just kinda does suhum to ya. Plus I think he’s feelin’ kinda responsible for it all. I told ’im you can’t do nothin’ about the way some kids turn out, but it doesn’t matter what I tell ’im.” Robert quickly changed the subject, hoping to put their focus on something less doleful. “You been stayin’ outta trouble?” he asked Aria.

“Yeah, I’ve been OK. Actually, I met a boy and his parents have been letting me stay with them.”

A smile crept across all of their faces. “He ain’t that fellow who came sneakin’ in here before, is he?” Robert asked. He was already certain of the answer. In his mind, the only reason that a young man would bring gifts for a girl, especially in secret, was if he was in love with her.

“Um, yeah,” Aria said, her cheeks flushing.

“Well, you can’t just drop somethin’ like that and not say nothin’ else about it, in’it?” Wolf said.

Robert explained. “Aria here had a secret admirer. But it looks like he ain’t so secret anymore.”

“His name is Omkar. I met him in a shop he works in, actually,” Aria said, hoping her lightweight answer would satisfy their curiosity.

“Omkar ain’t sound like a normal name, in’it?” Wolf asked.

“No. Actually, he’s from India,” Aria said.

Wolf’s white teeth shone when he smiled at the idea of her being with someone who wasn’t white. Even though he felt a duty, if he ever settled down, to preserve his dying race by marrying another Native, knowing that Aria had fallen for a boy who wasn’t white made him feel one step closer to love. He let the conversation rest at that.