All eyes turned to her.

  “If Erin has a problem, we will find out what it is. We will find a way to make it right. Lisa and Erin, please come to the house with me where we can talk. Mary, would you make a pot of tea and bring it to the house? And, Greta, would you please stay with Jaden? Make sure she is okay.”

  Jaden waited until they were gone to raise her head. “I never knew why she hated me so much,” she said softly.

  “Did she tell you?” Greta asked.

  Jaden nodded.

  “Do you want to share?”

  “She said she hated me because when my mom died everyone ignored her and paid attention to me. She was supposed to sing in the Miss Princeton pageant and get crowned Little Miss Princeton but they canceled the celebration so she didn’t get to. Now she hates me.”

  Greta sat on the bale of hay. She held her hand out to Jaden. “Come here, honey.”

  Jaden sat. “I thought she was going to break my bow,” she said.

  “That oak bow is a lot stronger than you think,” Greta said. “It’ll take a lot more than a weak little angry girl to hurt it.”

  She put her arm around Jaden’s shoulders. They sat quietly, Greta’s cheek on Jaden’s head. Both watched the goats in the pasture north of the barn. Two young goats took turns jumping onto a hut, then leaping off to chase each other.

  “Got any ideas what to do about Erin?” Greta asked softly.

  “There’s nothing I can do. It wasn’t my fault that my mom got killed. If I’d been Erin and I was supposed to be Little Miss Princeton, I would have been upset that it was taken away from me. But I wouldn’t be upset at the person who got hurt the most. It wasn’t my mom’s fault that guy was drunk and crashed into them.”

  She leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees. “I guess at least I know why she hates me. Even if I can’t do anything about it.”

  Greta rubbed her back. “We’ll think of something. You are such a caring, compassionate person that I know we will come up with a plan to help her get past this.”

  Jaden snorted. “She said that she’d been practicing her song and everyone had told her that she was going to be famous someday. One minute she was dreaming of being a star and then next minute people were ignoring her and everyone was paying attention to me. I don’t blame her for hating me.”

  “You can put yourself in her place?” Greta asked.

  “Yeah. If something like that happened to me, it would be terrible. But I still don’t think that I’d blame the person who got hurt.”

  “Well,” Greta said leaning forward. “Can you think of a way to help her get past the feeling that you took away something that she really wanted?”

  “No.” Jaden scratched her nose. “But maybe it would help if I paid her more attention. Maybe it would help if everyone paid her more attention.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t mean to be fake. I wouldn’t want people to treat her special just because she needs special treatment. I mean for everyone to recognize some of the things she does and make her feel special for them. Like, she is really good helping out with the younger kids. Maybe if people told her how good she is, it would help.”

  Greta smiled. “Jaden, you have so much empathy. You are one special girl.”

  She picked up the bow and unstrung the string. “Let’s put this away.”

  Allison walked back into the arena followed by Lisa and Erin.

  Erin approached Jaden. Her eyes were rimmed with red.

  “I’m sorry I was mean to you.” She stared at her shoes.

  Jaden waited for her to lift her eyes. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to sing in the celebration,” she said. “I’ve always loved your singing. You have a beautiful voice.”

  Erin’s lips curved into a small smile. “Thank you.” She looked at her mother, who nodded, and turned to walk to the bunkhouse, shoulder drooping, head down.

  Allison looked at the bow. “Did she damage it?”

  “No,” Greta replied. “It would take more than an angry child to hurt this.” She slid the bow into the case that Mary had made.

  Allison turned to Jaden. “I’m sorry, honey. If we’d known there was a problem, we would have helped.”

  “That’s okay,” Jaden said. “At least I know why she hated me. I never knew why before.”

  “We will help her understand that it wasn’t your fault.” She put her arm around Jaden and hugged her.

  “When Jean dropped milk off this morning, she asked if anyone would be interested in learning to forage. Tomorrow morning, she is going to forage for cat tails. Are you interested?”

  “I don’t know what foraging is, but if she needs help, I’ll be glad to help.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The sun was just peeking over the tree line when Jaden slid open the east door to the arena. The light filled the arena with a warm glow.

  Breakfast had been a treat: pancakes and bacon with store-bought syrup, the buttery flavored kind that was Jaden’s favorite. The only thing that Jaden didn’t like about the store-bought syrup was the mess. It was much harder to clean the dishes with the sticky syrup. She’d been surprised when Erin had volunteered to do the dishes. Now, she opened the arena door to wait for Jean to take her foraging - whatever that was.

  The sound of the neighbor’s ATV coming across the back field signaled the arrival of Jean bringing the day’s fresh milk. Jaden leaned out to watch her approach. This morning, Jean wore jeans tucked into tall boots. Her t-shirt was covered by a long-sleeved shirt.

  Jaden lifted her hand in a wave as Jean puttered past the arena. Jean grinned and wiggled her fingers.

  Jaden turned and hurried through the arena to the bunkhouse.

  “Grab a long-sleeved shirt,” Jean called. “We’ll be walking in tall weeds to get to our cat tails.”

  Jaden grabbed her Luci light off the windowsill and bounced up the steps to the room she shared with her dad. When she returned, she wore a white flannel shirt over her t-shirt.

  “White is a good choice,” Jean said. “It will be cooler plus it makes it easier to spot any ticks that decide to hitchhike on you. Also, make sure you have shoes that you don’t care about getting wet. Because you probably will get them wet.”

  “Who is going?” Jaden asked.

  “It’ll be you, Allison, and Karen,” Jean said.

  “I don’t know what foraging is, but I’m happy to help,” Jaden looked toward the front bench where Erin was drying plates and putting them away on the shelf.

  “Foraging is simply obtaining food or medicine from local wild-growing plants. We can forage for many kinds of food and medicine. Today I am only going to collect cat tail pollen. It’s very nutritional and we will use it as a flavor booster in pancakes and biscuits. I’m sure that Allison forages for medicines.” She looked at Allison with a question in her eyes.

  “I have taken several foraging classes from a friend who lives in Rockford,” Allison said with a nod. “I have done a little here, but I mostly rely on my herb garden. I’m looking forward to learning more.”

  “Well, today will be quick and simple. You all know what cat tails are, right?” She looked at each of them. They all nodded.

  “Every bit of the cat tail is edible. We collect different parts of the plant at different times of the year. In the spring, the first shoots are delicious either raw or cooked. As they grow, you peel them and use them just like asparagus. Later in the season, the part that sticks up and looks like a hot dog on a stick can be boiled. I’ve never tasted it, but Don says that when they were kids, they would go camping down by the river and he loved the boiled flowers. He says they taste just like corn on the cob. The roots can be collected in late fall or winter. I’ve also never done that, but Don says it is sweet. You just collect it and boil it like potatoes. He says that if you season it like potatoes, it tastes just like them. Don says that his grandmother used to dig the rhizome in the winter. She would peel them and pull the cores apart and wash them to separate the fibers from the starch. Then just let the water sit. The starch would settle to the bottom. Then she would dry it and use it for flour.”

  “Wow!” Jaden’s eyes grew huge. “Are you talking about the cat tails I see in ditches by the highway?”

  Jean nodded. “We are talking about the same plant, but we won’t gather ones near a road. Cat tails are bioaccumulators - which means that they will absorb toxic chemicals. We will only use cat tails that are down by the river. We are going to harvest the pollen. A quarter cup of dried pollen added to a recipe offers Manganese, Vitamin K, Iron, Vitamin B6, sodium and fiber.” She grinned. “And, added to our regular flour, it tastes amazing.”

  “So, what will we be doing?” Jaden asked.

  “I have some clean gallon milk jugs in the ATV. They have holes cut in the side,” Jean said. “We’ll each take our jug, bend the stalk into the hole and shake it. The jugs will collect and hold the pollen. It’s kind of messy. We will all be covered in yellow dust by the time we are done, but it’s worth it.

  “When we get back to the house, we’ll use a metal sieve to remove waste. Then we’ll sift it again through a tea strainer. That will get rid of any bugs and bits of flower. At that point, we will spread it out in pans and just let it dry. When it’s dry, I’ll store it in glass jars in my freezer. I’ll share with you.”

  “How do you have a freezer?” Jaden asked.

  Jean cleared her throat. “We just do, sweetie. We were prepared for something like this.”

  “Someday will you show us how to have a freezer? We have a tiny fridge, but we can’t put hardly anything in there. If we had a freezer, we could have ice cream.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Ice cream would be heaven.” Allison put her hand over her heart and rolled her eyes.

  “Well, let’s get to work,” Jean said. “We can take the ATV part way down the hill, but we’ll have to walk the rest of the way. If everyone has their sturdy shoes, we can get this done.”

  “Did anyone ask Erin if she wanted to help?” Jaden looked over at the front bench where Erin was hanging the towel she’d used to dry the breakfast dishes.

  “I don’t want to,” Erin said. “I’m going to stay here and help my mom with the classroom. But thanks for thinking of me.” She looked at Jaden and then looked away.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Jean proved to be an expert ATV driver. She buzzed across the pasture toward her farm. When they reached the tree line, she slowed to a crawl before slipping between two large sycamores. The ground sloped away at the tree line. Jean navigated between huge sycamores and scrub, carefully avoiding the thorny locusts that dotted the hillside.

  Halfway down, the ground leveled off in a clearing for a short way. Jean maneuvered the ATV tight against the hillside before turning the steering wheel sharply and made a three-point turn to face the vehicle back up the hill. She set the parking brake.

  “We will walk from here. It’s not too far, but watch out for the thorns on those locust trees.”

  She leaned in to the back of the ATV and brought out two milk jugs for each of them. Each jug had a hole cut in the side. The group made their way down to the river. When the ground leveled out, the soft spongy earth squished under their feet.

  Jean led them to a large patch of cat tail.

  “Just slide the hot dog looking thing into the hole in your jug and start shaking.” She demonstrated the technique.

  Jaden waded into the ankle-deep water. The process was easy and she was surprised at how quickly her first jug filled. She carried it to the edge of the cat tail stand and picked up an empty jug. Making her way back through the cat tails, she could hear the women chatting about the coming winter and plans for the spring.

  Her jug was half full when she heard a low growl. She felt ice run down her spine. She froze.

  Escape and evade, she thought. Does that apply to animals as well?

  She took a step back. Nothing followed her. She slowly took two more steps back. Through a break in the cat tails, she glimpsed a small animal. Dog? Coyote?

  She took another step back. The animal stared, it’s eyes red. It’s mouth was half open, red saliva dripped down to the water. There was something else there. White with blue stripes. It was half submerged in the water. The coyote – or dog- standing over it.

  Jaden opened her mouth to scream but her throat was so dry she couldn’t make a sound.

  The animal dropped its head and snarled.

  Jaden felt the water around her ankles ripple. She moved her eyes and saw Jean out of the corner of her eye.

  Jean held a pistol in her hand. It looked enormous. It was pointing directly at the animal.

  Jean used her free hand to reach out to Jaden. Jaden suddenly felt a weight lift from her chest and she was able to move again. She stepped back one step at a time until she was behind Jean. She felt rather than saw Allison and Karen. She turned her head. Both held pistols pointing down at the water.

  Allison held her hand out. Jaden lifted hers and grasped Allison’s.

  “I think it’s a coyote,” she whispered.

  The last word was drowned out by an explosion that threatened to puncture her eardrums. Allison pulled her tight and hugged her.

  A moment later Jean waded through the water to them. Her face was white, her eyes wide.

  “Coyote,” she said. “Are you all right, Jaden?”

  Jaden nodded.

  “Did you see what the coyote was eating?”

  Jaden shook her head. “I saw it’s bloody mouth.”

  “Well, it can’t hurt you now. Let’s get these jugs to the house. I’ll take care of drying. I have to find Don.”

  She smiled. “Everything is good. You did great, Jaden.”

  “Thanks,” Jaden said. “That’s a pretty big gun you have there. I’m sure glad you had it.”

  Jean tried to chuckle, but it came out in a weak cough. “Us old ladies must have our toys. I’m glad I had it too.”

  “Come on, I’ll take you guys back to the bunkhouse and find Don.”

  They had reached the ATV when they heard loud crackling coming from above. One of Jean’s son’s tumbled out into the clearing where the ATV was parked.

  He looked around wildly. “Is everything okay? Are you guys all right?”

  Jean nodded. “Thank you, Paul. We are fine. I shot a coyote. I’m going to take these ladies home and then find your dad.”

  “Where is it?” Paul moved toward the river.

  “No, Paul. Let me find your dad. We’ll all go back together.”

  He took another step toward the river. “I can take care of this.”

  “Paul,” Jean said causing him to stop.

  Jaden sucked in her breath. The white and blue striped thing - it was a shirt. Her eyes grew wide. “There’s a dead person there, isn’t there?”

  Jean blinked. “Yes, Jaden. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  That night, Jaden dreamed of an old, grey-haired man who stared at her accusingly. She turned her Luci light on and sat huddled in the corner of the bed, her back against the wall waiting for morning.

  Chapter Thirty

  “No one goes anywhere alone.” Will addressed the entire group - minus the security team that was on duty - after breakfast the following morning.

  “I know that is a rule that we’ve maintained from the beginning,” he continued. “But now it is a hard and fast rule.”

  “Is this about that dead guy they found by the river?” Sam Smith looked over at Jaden. She dropped her head.

  “It is in a way,” Will said. “We’ve been lucky here that we haven’t had a lot of trouble. But we’ve gotten lax. That man appeared to have been healthy. We don’t know what happened, but he hadn’t been in the water long. Maybe he fell and broke a leg and that made him easy prey for the coyote. Maybe he was taking a nap. We will never know, but we need to be more aware of our surroundings.”

  He looked up at Riley. “Is there anything you want to add?”

  “I think we need to consider adding more guards when the kids are harvesting corn. The way we do it right now, we’ve got adults harvesting nearest to the highway and the kids are harvesting nearest to the farm, but we’ve only got one adult with the kids. So much can be hiding inside the corn field. I’d feel a lot better if we had at least one more adult with the kids.”

  Allison raised her hand. “How much longer do you think it’s going to take to finish the harvest?”

  “At least a week,” Will replied. “After we get the corn harvested, we still need to go back and clear out the stalks. We are going to be leaving fifty feet or so of standing stalks along the highway to screen the farms from the highway. The rest we will gather and burn.”