The dog gave a short yip.

“Miz Lucy’s grandkids have come back.” He stretched his long legs out from the top step to the bottom one and leaned back on his elbows. “Rayford Jones came by this evening to pick up the hope chest he’d ordered for his granddaughter’s sixteenth-birthday present. He said all three of them had met with the lawyer in Weezy’s this afternoon, so we have neighbors again.”

The dog lay down and rolled over on his back.

“You don’t care if anyone lives in Miz Lucy’s house or not. You’re just interested in getting your tummy scratched, aren’t you?” Jackson used both hands to give the dog a good working over. “We’ll pay them a visit tomorrow and take Waylon home. You should be happy about that much, at least.”

The dog jumped up, made a lap around the yard, and then came back to flop down at the bottom of the steps.

“That idea makes you happy, does it? I guess getting rid of Waylon will clear the way for you to get to come back inside the house.” Jackson swatted a mosquito away from his arm. “It would have been nice if you and Waylon could have been friends, but maybe it was for the best. If you’d been friends, you would have missed him, like I do Uncle D. J. and Miz Lucy. But you’ll be glad to see your archenemy leave.” He stood up, crossed the wide porch, and went into the house.

The Devereaux place was only a quarter mile from Miz Lucy’s place as the crow flew or on the old, rutted pathway where Jackson and Lucy had often walked back and forth from one place to the other. If he had to go by vehicle, it was a mile trip. The drive down to the fork in the road was half a mile, and then a sharp turn to the left and another half mile before Hope Creek Road ended at Lucy’s place.

Waylon, the big black-and-white cat, was a blur as he ran down the hallway and went straight for his food dish. He reared up with his paws on the cabinet and meowed loudly while Jackson opened a can of food.

“Starving, are you?” Jackson asked.

Waylon changed positions, and with all four feet on the floor, he began to purr and weave around Jackson’s legs.