Finishing off the last sip of milk as she carried the mug to the sink, she made a decision. It might be rash and quite possibly wouldn’t produce a thing, but she had to try, or else she’d toss and turn all night. She couldn’t just go marching down to his house and ring the doorbell at that time of night, she told herself. But if she didn’t she wasn’t going to sleep a wink. She made a deal with herself that if the house was totally dark, she’d come back home, but if there was a light on anywhere in the house, she’d ring the doorbell.

Before she lost her nerve, she took a deep breath and headed for the front door. She froze when it squeaked as she opened it. For a few seconds she couldn’t move. The cool air from the house rushed out past her, while the hot night air almost seemed to push her back into the house. She started to close the door but couldn’t make herself do it.

“Now or never,” she whispered as she stepped out onto the porch. She didn’t have keys, so she eased the door shut and didn’t lock it. She’d be less than a block away, and most likely she’d be back in five minutes. The grass was cool and slightly wet on her bare feet as she crossed a couple of lawns on her way to Graham’s house. Thank goodness no dogs set up a howl or folks appeared on their porches with loaded shotguns. That had to be a good sign, didn’t it?

When she reached her destination, she found no lights pouring out from the downstairs windows. Looking up at the second floor, nothing shone there, either. But from the tour of the house the girls had given her, she remembered that his bedroom looked out over the back of the place. An unlocked gate would be her sign to continue this crazy venture. She pushed and it swung wide open, without even the tiniest squeak.

She was looking up at the dark windows when Graham’s deep voice startled her. She jerked around to see where it came from, stepped in a gopher hole, and had to grab the porch post to keep from falling.

“I haven’t been drinkin’,” she said and wished she could grab the words and cram them back into her mouth. “That sounded kind of crazy, didn’t it?”

“Not so much,” Graham said. “I’m having a beer. Want one?”

“Yes,” she answered, but she was glued to the post. She hadn’t thought ahead to plan what she would say, and now no words were coming from her brain to her mouth.