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to his armpits and tickled.
    You have to tell me, Jonah.
    I don’t know what you’re talking about.
    Bullshit, she said and she tickled and he rolled back and forth and pressed his elbows to his side to pinch her hands in his armpits.
    I got nothing, he said.
    Charlotte sat up. She flung her hair over her shoulder. A gust of wind hit and shook the trailer and shot over the roof. Charlotte ran a single fingertip up each side of his torso. Then two fingertips. She tickled. Jonah reached with both hands behind his back to stop her but he couldn’t catch her fingers so he rolled quickly over and grabbed her by the wrists and held them tight. She smiled. A faint light crossed her body. He sat up and shifted her weight from his abdomen to his hips and pinned her hands behind her back so he could hold them both with one hand and with the other hand he traced his fingertips over her ribs. She laughed and twisted free and they stared at each other for a quick moment.
    Tell me. You have to tell me.
    He lay back down and landed his hands on her thighs. She wiggled but kept her spine straight. She looked down at him and her hair was a mess now.
    Sounds like you already know, he said.
    Know what?
    Whatever it is you’re asking me to tell you.
    I don’t know any such thing, she said and laughed. I don’t know anything you haven’t told me, Jonah Graves.
    Who told you?
    Told me what?
    He lifted her up then lowered her down and she started to sigh but lifted herself and said, Nope. I don’t know anything yet.
    So you want to trade? Is that it?
    Yup.
    That’s prostitution.
    No it’s not. It’s espionage.
    Espionage? Jesus.
    He lifted her again and shifted. He saw her close her eyes and watched her neck bend and her chin lift. He sat up and ran his arms beneath hers and pulled her body tight to his.
    â€¢ • •
    Later. Jonah lay on his back with Charlotte’s cheek on his breast and her fingers in his chest hair and one leg over his legs.
    Are you going to tell me now? she said.
    Christ, you know as well as I do that he knocked her up.
    Who knocked who up?
    How do you think it worked? Erma Lee didn’t knock Bill up.
    I just wanted to hear it from the source.
    Jonah laughed. I guess I ain’t the source, Charlotte.
    Dad says she took serious the thing he poked at her in fun.
    Virgil said that? What’s he doing spreading that around for?
    Charlotte lifted her head and rested her chin on his chest with her face to his. Just to me and Mom. He’s excited about kids around here again. He says it’s all old people now. He keeps talking about the old days when the school bus came down here and kids rode bicycles and jumped off the wharf and stuff like that.
    And you go telling everyone what he tells you.
    She pulled his chest hair. Shut up, Jonah. I do not.
    Bill ain’t going to be happy when he finds out Virgil’s been telling everyone.
    Everyone knows anyhow. You think Erma Lee isn’t proud?
    Jonah’s fingertips traced her spine. I imagine she’s just walking on water all over America.
    She is, Charlotte said and laughed and put her cheek back to his chest and her hand on his hip. She’s telling folks that he’s buying her a sports car.
    A sports car?
    Yeah.
    What in hell kind of sports car, Charlotte?
    You know. A Nissan or something foreign.
    Jonah shook his head back and forth. Well, he said. Your old man knows about us now, so might be that we’re public knowledge too.
    Charlotte rose and propped herself up with her elbow. Did he say something?
    Gave me four hundred new traps is what he done.
    So?
    So that’s why he gave ’em to me, I figure. Those traps are a hundred fifty bucks a piece.
    Charlotte laughed and kissed him then slid her mouth over his nose and gently bit down. Good job figuring, Jonah. You think he’s paying you because you’re screwing his eighteen-year-old daughter? Charlotte smiled and pulled more chest