Page 37 of Suncatcher

“No,” Pearl lied, looking right back into her eyes.

Sheriff Oak glanced away. “It’s here,” she murmured, staring out the window at the sky. “It came here. On our land.”

“And saved most our fields.”

Sheriff Oak met her eyes again, and they glittered. “And the question is, why? None of the possible answers sit well with me.”

“Rave thinks she’s showing goodwill.”

“To what end? To lower our guard? To get our attention? It must want something.”

Pearl almost told her. But what could she say? Pearl admitted to herself that she didn’t know Driz’s true motives. She thought she knew, but she didn’t, really. And what if her mother didn’t believe her? Didn’t agree? The thought of opening her mouth and saying, “Her name is Driz and she’s actually kind of sweet in a terrifying way and she just seems really lonely and wants some company,” made Pearl shudder. She kept her mouth shut.

“Why won’t you tell me the truth of what happened that night?” Sheriff Oak asked, a deep torment in her eyes. Pearl didn’t need to clarify that she was talking about the night they recovered the caravan.

“There’s nothing more to tell.”

“What color was it?”

Pearl responded the same way she had last time. “It was night. Hard to say.”

“Pearl…”

Pearl stood. “I’m gonna try to get some sleep. You should too.”

“Wait.”

Pearl paused, her foot on the lowest step.

“The rail commissioner’s coming in a few days. I meant to tell you earlier, but you keep vanishing. I may need help. Can I rely on you?”

More guilt twisted in Pearl. “Of course, Sheriff.”

The sun peeked over the horizon as Pearl slumped back onto her bed. Driz would be in the ravine, waiting for her, made of stone now. Was she disappointed Pearl hadn’t come?

Her mother eventually followed Pearl up, announced by the sound of her mismatched feet on the stairs and the click of her door. An uncontrollable affection choked Pearl for a moment.

Pearl didn’t love anyone else. She’d learned long ago that feckless feeling only caused pain in the end. Everyone eventually left. Some did it quickly and some took their time, but they all left. That was just the way the world worked. It took.

Her first baby brother had died so young she’d hardly gotten the chance to know him. The two who followed were gone even faster. Then her father abandoned them too, cursing the sheriff for caring more about her town than him before eating his own bullet. His bones were six feet deep in the salty earth, out behind the mayor’s home in the graveyard. Alongside his sons’ tiny ones. But Pearl's mother was still here, and Pearl couldn’t stop loving her even if she tried.

Pearl didn’t want to hurt her. Telling her the truth would hurt her. Keeping the secret would also hurt her. Either way, Driz would be in danger.

What was Pearl supposed to do? She buried her face in her pillow and slept.

13

A Job to Do

Driz woke to find Pearl waiting for her.

Pearl sat on the rock they’d shared when she’d brought the second pie, watching. Driz’s heart leapt with happiness. She had come.

“Hey,” Pearl said.

“Hello.” Driz shook the sleep from her limbs, stepping out of the nook where she’d tucked herself at dawn.

“You got shot last night,” Pearl stated, her eyes scanning Driz’s body.