Sweat ran down Ethan’s back, dripped into his eyes, as he patiently walked, and waited. He was well aware that Seth was evading him, keeping a few yards ahead. Finally he sat on a fallen log, deciding it would be easier to let the boy come to him.

It took ten long minutes, with gnats swarming in clouds and mosquitoes sniffing for blood, but finally Seth emerged from a thicket and faced him.

‘‘I’m not going back with you.’’ He all but spat it out. ‘‘If you try to make me, I’ll just run again.’’

‘‘I’m not going to make you do anything.’’ From his seat on the log, Ethan studied him. Seth’s face was filthy, streaked with dirt and sweat, flushed with heat and fury. His legs and arms were thoroughly scratched from pushing through briars.

They were going to sting like fury, Ethan knew, when Seth cooled off enough to notice.

‘‘You want to sit down and talk this out?’’ he asked mildly.

‘‘I don’t believe anything you say. You’re a liar. You’re both fucking liars. You gonna try to tell me you weren’t screwing each other?’’

‘‘No, that’s not what we were doing.’’

Seth flew at him so fast, Ethan was thrown off guard enough to take the first fist solidly in the jaw. He would think later, much later, that the kid threw a fine punch. But at the moment it took all his concentration to wrestle Seth to the ground.

‘‘I’ll kill you! You bastard, I’ll kill you as soon as I get a chance.’’ He wiggled and struggled and fought and waited for the rain of blows.

‘‘Just hold on.’’ Frustrated as the slick, sweaty arms kept sliding out of his grip, Ethan gave Seth a quick shake. ‘‘You’re not getting anywhere this way. I’m bigger than you are, and I’ll just pin you down till you run out of steam.’’

‘‘Take your hands off me.’’ Seth set his teeth and snarled. ‘‘Son of a whore.’’

It was a blow harder, and more sharply aimed, than the fist had been. Ethan caught his breath and nodded slowly. ‘‘Yeah, that’s what I am. That’s why you and I know each other. You can run when I let you up, Seth. You can spill filth all over me. That’s what people expect from sons of whores. I’m going to figure you want better for yourself than that.’’

Ethan eased back, sat on his heels and wiped the blood off his mouth. ‘‘That’s the second damn time you’ve punched me in the face. You try it again, and I’m going to wallop your ass so you don’t sit for a month.’’

‘‘I hate your fucking guts.’’

‘‘Fine. But you’re going to have to hate them for the right reasons.’’