“Yeah, that’s how it works.” Kara frowned. “Callie’s one of the strongest Nolanders out there. If she didn’t see anything, I guess there was nothing to see.”

She didn’t sound convinced, though.

“Well, I’m sure there’s nothing weird about her. She’s the most conventional person you could imagine. She’s a housewife. She never misses church. She goes to the gym four times a week and gets her hair highlighted once a month. She makes the nastiest-ass tuna casserole —”

Suddenly the van lurched and started shuddering.

Williams said, “Blow-out,” and pulled over onto the shoulder. For a few seconds, everyone sat stiffly in their seats, as though afraid. I didn’t get it. These country highways did cause flat tires occasionally — sharp stuff sometimes fell off farmers’ trucks.

We all got out and stood around while Williams changed the tire. Then we got back in. There was still a tension in the air that I didn’t quite understand.

We started up again but hadn’t gone more than twenty feet when another tire blew with a bang. This time Williams didn’t pull over. Instead, he put the van in reverse and hit the gas, even though we were obviously riding on the rim. He only paused once, putting on the hazards to let another vehicle go around us. The other three were clearly worried, so I kept my mouth shut. After about a quarter mile, Williams did a U-turn and continued back the way we’d come. We went another mile before he finally pulled over.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“That was Graham,” Kara said. “He must’ve gone to the mill.”

“Graham can blow out tires?” I said, incredulous. I figured he had one of those so-called quirks, but the ability to cause flat tires was even quirkier than I’d imagined.

“Not exactly. Graham’s gift is luck. He’s the luckiest sonovabitch who ever lived. We just drove into his range, which is about a mile. He doesn’t want you at the mill, and his luck is going to keep you from getting there. Goddamn it.”

“You must be joking. Come on — that was a coincidence. Or not even: a box of nails probably fell out of someone’s truck back there and scattered all over the road.”

“Yeah, that’s probably exactly what happened. But it happened because of Graham.”

I shook my head. “Callie, are you on board with this?”

“Oh yes, Beth. What they’re saying about Graham is absolutely true. I used to think it was a sign of his godliness, but I have my doubts, now. Perhaps he bargained with the enemy.”

She shuddered.

“I’m sorry, but this sounds really paranoid.”

“Didn’t you have any weird experiences when you were with him? Like pocket-dialing your boss just when you’re going behind his back?” Kara asked. “Cock-cankers, that sucked.”

“Kara, don’t be disgusting,” Callie said.