Miss Pauline stared at Darla, wearing a frown that looked exactly like Eggie’s when he was annoyed. Only Darla found Miss Pauline’s frown a little more terrifying.

Darla cleared her throat. “Not that you, personally, are obligated to do anything, of course. I just meant . . . me. My personal belief system.”

Miss Pauline grunted and walked around Darla, heading back into her house.

What was that? she mouthed to her sisters.

I don’t know! they all mouthed back.

Someone touched Darla’s shoulder and she jumped, spinning around to find Eggie standing behind her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to—”

Darla didn’t even let him finish, just threw herself into his arms. “Thank God you’re here!”

“Uh . . . okay.”

“What did you say to her?”

Eggie’s mother turned away from the sink full of dirty pots and pans and faced her son. “Just chattin’.”

“Momma—”

“I didn’t know I couldn’t talk to her.”

“Not if you’re going to interrogate her.”

“Is that what I was doing?”

“I’m guessing it was.”

“Did she say that?”

“She didn’t have to. I know the signs.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you accusing your momma of something, boy?”

“I’m just asking you not to be hard on her.”

“I haven’t been. In fact, I’ve been extremely nice.”

Eggie didn’t like the sound of that either. “Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

Taking his mother’s hand, Eggie pulled her out of the busy kitchen, down the hall, and into the living room.

“What’s going on?” he asked her plain.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Momma. ”

“Look, you don’t think I see? That I don’t know my own son?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I see how you look at her, Eggie. You love her.”

“What if I do?”

“Then I had to check her out.”

“Why? Darla is—”

“Very pretty and very smart and very well bred. So’s a purebred German Shepherd.”

“Momma. ”

“But is she also strong enough to be the mate of my boy?”

“She’s not my mate.”

“Not yet.”

“But she’s not now, so don’t do what you always feel you need to do.”

“And what’s that?”

“Put her through the gauntlet.”

“Now, darlin’boy—”

“No, Momma. Whatever you’re thinking, whatever you’ve got planned . . . you leave Darla Mae out of it.” He headed back to the hallway.

“But we both know,” his mother said behind him, “that if she’s going to stay here, be with you, she needs to be more than just a smooth-talking polygamist.”

Eggie stopped, sighed. “It’s pacifist, Momma.” He looked back at her. “And who says she’s staying here?”

“You’ll let her go?”

“Who says I have to stay either?” He shrugged when he saw his mother frown. “A wolf needs his mate, Momma.”

“There’s not even a slice left,” Roberta whispered to Darla. “All those pies we brought and not even one slice left.”

“There were some leftovers,” Darla whispered back. “But they’re like coyotes. They scavenged everything! Took a bunch of stuff home.”

“I got ten bucks from Frankie’s Aunt Jen.”

“For what?”

“She wants me to make her some pies.”

“Which ones?”

“Pecan and apple.”

Darla reached into the back pocket of her cutoffs and handed her sister a twenty dollar bill. “From Eggie’s Aunt Beulah for the blueberry, cream cheese, and lemon meringue.”

“Shee-et. Thirty bucks just for some pies?”

“Thirty bucks for our pies, darlin’. You need to keep that in mind.”

“You want to meet tomorrow and make them together?”

“Yeah. Sure.” She saw Eggie come down the back porch stairs. He looked at her, his eyes reflecting the lights put up around the yard, and jerked his head toward his truck.

“I gotta go. Tomorrow at noon?”

“Okay. I’ll see if the others are up for it.”

“See if the others got money, too, but don’t let Janie try and hold out any money on us. You know how she is.”

Darla quickly walked through the backyard and around the house. As she stepped into the front yard, she met up with Eggie’s father. He stood by a tree, smoking a cigarette and drinking from a Mason jar she assumed was filled with ’shine.

She waved and he asked, “You have a good time tonight, darlin’?”

“I did. Thank you, Mr. Smith.”

“Thank you for coming. I know you’re the only reason my boy came here tonight.”

“Oh, no. I’m sure—”

He waved that jar around, dismissing what she was about to say. “Let’s not play with each other, pretty girl. You’re here, so my boy’s here. And that’s all right. It’s good to see him happy.”