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he was panting and focused so intently on Finn, I figured a greeting could wait.
    Tom reclaimed the front passenger seat. He sounded almost giddy with elation when he said, “This is my good friend I always talk about, Finn. Jillian Hart. Jillian, this is Finn and his best friend, Yoshi.”
    Tom had gone from angry to anxious to exuberant in the span of a couple hours. He may have hidden his emotions from me in the past, but they were out in force now. He cared about this kid. A lot. His excitement was contagious and I found myself grinning.
    I turned on the back overhead light so Finn could get his dog and his belongings settled. “Rough journey?” I asked. His young face looked road weary, that was for sure.
    “Not too tough,” he answered in a low, soft voice. His gaze wandered from the floor to the dog and then to Tom.
    After all he’d probably been through lately, he had to be tired. But I saw what looked like a bump topped by a small cut on the right side of his forehead. The injury might be another reason he seemed foggy.
    “Are you okay?” I asked.
    Tom laughed, but it was a nervous laugh. “Sure he’s okay. He’s with me now. Isn’t that right, Finn?”
    “Sure,” he said. But his sure came out slurred and slow.
    “Tom,” I said quietly. “Look at his head.” Yoshi yipped several times as if he agreed with my suggestion.
    Then I noticed something else and my heart skipped. “And his hands.”
    In the dim overhead light, Finn’s knuckles appeared to be rusted by what looked like dried blood. Or maybe it was just mud. Finn could have fallen in the dirt and hit his head.
    Yoshi barked a few more times and bounced up and down on the seat. Indeed, it seemed as if he’d been waiting for someone to notice the kid had a problem. He was a darling little dog, white with brown patches and darker brown spots circling both eyes. His ears were erect and I guessed he was some kind of terrier.
    “Uh-oh,” Tom said under his breath as he took in Finn more carefully. “What happened, son? How did you get hurt?”
    “I’m not hurt,” he said. “Just looking for a ride to Tom’s house. I think it’s up ahead.”
    On closer inspection, the bump seemed even bigger than I’d first thought.
    “To my house, right?” Tom’s concern came through in his tone.
    “Yeah, that’s right,” Finn said with a laugh. “To your house.”
    “Let’s give the kid his wish, Jilly.” Tom then mouthed the word Hurry to me.
    Five minutes later, I pulled in behind brother Bob’s Ford. I pushed the button for the van’s automatic side door to open and Tom scrambled out his side of the vehicle to help Finn. I came around and took Yoshi’s leash from Finn’s grip. I’d had my fill of escaping pets for one day. Now I had something else to worry about—this young man.
    Tom said, “Glad you knew how to find me, kid.”
    Finn’s brown eyes searched Tom’s face. “Yeah, this is where I was headed.” He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his jeans pocket. “Got these directions from… somewhere. Maybe at the last truck stop.” He began smoothing out the paper.
    “Did a trucker give you a ride?” I asked.
    “I can’t quite… remember. Probably ’cause I got this headache that won’t quit.” Finn squinted even though the sun had gone down thirty minutes ago. “Kinda clouding my brain.”
    “We need to get you inside. Then we’ll figure out the next step.” Tom hoisted the backpack over one shoulder and said, “What you got in here? Rocks?”
    “I was thinkin’ it’s kinda heavy. Not sure what all I brought with me,” Finn said.
    The front porch light came on and Bob opened the door. “About time you showed up, bro.”
    “Don’t use bro with me,” Tom called. He draped an arm around Finn’s shoulders and they walked into the house.
    Bob raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, almost half of the word brother is bro . Seems about right.” He laughed.
    As I followed behind Tom and Finn, hanging