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like the way you put that.”
    “He’s a great dad. If Michael needs something, he won’t back down for anybody.”
    “They won’t mind you visiting?”
    She debated, then decided to tell the truth. “They suggested I come on Sunday, after I had a chance to rest up. In fact, they asked me to move in with them.”
    “I didn’t know that. You don’t want to?”
    “I’m sorry, I guess I should, but I’m not ready.”
    Samantha nodded, as if she understood, but Cristy wanted to be sure she really did.
    “Not ready to be Michael’s mother,” she finished.
    Samantha didn’t question that, either, although it must have sounded strange. “You’ve been through a lot. You’ll be close enough here to visit him whenever you want to. This’ll be a good place for you.”
    “You haven’t asked about the baby’s father.”
    “You’re right.”
    “Don’t you want to know?”
    “Not unless you want to tell me.”
    Cristy stopped walking. “My baby’s father is a man named Jackson Ford, and he’s the one who put me in prison.”
    Samantha didn’t respond, so Cristy continued.
    “I don’t want Jackson to see or hold or speak to Michael. Not ever. Because a man who could do what he did to me is a man who wouldn’t hesitate to hurt a child.”
    “Does he know where Michael is?”
    “I’m sure he does. Jackson can get anything he wants.”
    Samantha didn’t try to soothe her fears. Cristy was surprised that she seemed to believe her. Instead Samantha asked, “You’re not worried about the baby’s safety?”
    “Wayne will be sure Michael stays safe. He’s not a violent man, but he does believe in country justice.”
    “Country justice?”
    “You live outside town, the law’s not there to take care of you or make sure things are fair or right. Out in the country people take care of themselves, and they don’t put up with a lot.”
    “Then Wayne’s watching for trouble?”
    Cristy told Samantha one of the few things in life she was still convinced was true. “Wayne Bates will never let trouble sneak up on him. And because he won’t, he and Berdine have my son.”
    * * *
    Georgia knew that her daughter disapproved of fast food and didn’t feed it to Edna, at least not very often. Samantha knew her mother would respect that decision, so on the rare occasions when she didn’t, neither of them made a big deal out of it.
    Which was why a happy Edna was just finishing a chocolate shake and a small order of fries as they finished the climb up Doggett Mountain to the Goddess House.
    Between sips Edna was delving into philosophy. “How can something that makes me feel so good be bad for me?”
    “That’s a question you’ll ask yourself a million times in the next ten years, kiddo. Just remember that something that makes you feel good in the short-term might be a problem in the long-term. That’s why you have to think things through.”
    “Like I could gain too much weight or my cholesterol could go up, only worse.”
    “Exactly.”
    “I wonder if taking the diamond ring made Cristy feel good until they put her in jail.”
    Georgia and Edna had already talked about Cristy Haviland. Samantha had told her daughter the facts—that Cristy had been caught shoplifting a very valuable ring. She had served time in prison for it, and now that she was out, she needed a place to stay.
    “I think, in that case, justice was pretty swift. I think your mom said she was caught outside in the parking lot. So I doubt she had any time to enjoy what she’d done. In fact, I imagine the moment she did it, she was terrified somebody would catch her.”
    “But why didn’t she figure out ahead of time that she was going to get caught? It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?”
    “I don’t know. Does it?”
    “A ring’s not like a pack of gum or a candy bar. If something is valuable, it’s sure to be missed immediately.”
    “Then it sounds like something she did on impulse, don’t you think? Without thinking or