Roxie and Leo had been down at the water for only a short time when she spotted the girl.

She was short, couldn’t have been more than twelve years old, Roxie guessed, and she was tearing down toward the water, wearing yellow pajamas, a crazed look on her face.

Roxie held Leo by the collar so he would stay at her side. He wouldn’t hurt a flea, but Roxie was afraid he would run at the girl, thinking this was play, and leap at her in some fearsome way. She held the dog and stood still, her heart vibrating in her eye sockets, waiting to see what the girl would do. She wondered if the girl had just been attacked. She wondered if the girl was suicidal. Roxie took a few steps forward with a friendly arm half raised, hoping she wouldn’t startle the girl.

Whatever was going on, Roxie was already formulating a plan, figuring out how she could help the girl. Comfort her. If the girl was in some sort of trouble, she could wait in Roxie and Keats’s home until help arrived. The girl could have the coffee and toast Roxie had prepared for herself if she was hungry or wanted a hot drink. The girl could borrow a pair of pants and a sweater if she felt exposed in her pajamas, she could take a shower or a warm bath. The girl could sleep on their couch. It crossed Roxie’s mind that perhaps the girl’s parents were fighting, as Roxie’s parents had fought when Roxie was a girl and they had vacationed on Fripp Island. Sometimes Roxie’s parents’ fighting was enough to make Roxie want to flee the house at three o’clock in the morning. Whatever was going on with the girl, Roxie could help.

21

Before I reached the water’s edge, an instinct alerted me to the presence of someone else on the beach. I stopped at the water and raised both hands to my chest, where my sternum felt tight and angry and sharp, like it might be trying to escape my body.

She was staring at me. She had a long blond braid that glittered silver in the moonlight. White T-shirt and blue running shorts. She was very pretty.

Leo was at her side, wet like he’d just been in the water, and he was staring at me too. She held his collar. As soon as I stopped running, she made a gesture indicating that it was safe for me to approach. When I didn’t, she said, “I didn’t know if you were gonna stop before you got to the water! You had me scared, kid. Are you OK?” Her eyes were bright and wide with concern.

I said, “Is that your dog?”

She nodded. She wore a wedding ring and held a tennis ball. She patted Leo’s head and said, “He’s very friendly,” and she looked at me warmly, expectantly, like it might make everything better if I could pet this friendly dog.