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back as so many others had. His dad turned to the bottle after the accident so there wasn’t a whole lot of support at home.
    I had come downstairs in response to the doorbell, and invited him in for coffee. When he came into the kitchen, Sonny stared him down as if sharing my suspicions about the pot theft.
    “ Drink this, Jake,” I said as I poured a glass of O.J. “We were just going to kill a skunk that’s been hanging around here. Want to join us?”
    “ Can I just stick around here?”
    “ Sure, I’ll hang back with you.” Although too ashamed to admit it, I worried that he might steal something to feed his habit, so I waved the rest of them off to hunt the elusive skunk.
    When Sonny, Earl, and Connor walked out the back door with loaded rifles, I poured Jake a coffee and asked, “Want something to eat?”
    He nodded, so I started cracking eggs into a bowl. Scrambled was my specialty.
    “ They won’t be good like Connor’s, but I’ll do my best.” I forced a smile- why did I feel like I was babysitting a three year old?
    While I was stirring the eggs, Kevin came through the door, struggling with a massive board. “I’m taking it upstairs for a painting,” he explained.
    “ That’s cool. Come back down for breakfast.”
    “ Will do!” He ascended the stairs carefully, the board wobbling in his grasp. “I brought my dog- she’s just outside.”
    Hearing that, I ran out to the balcony and warned Earl and the guys that Kevin’s dog was loose. She wasn’t black and white, but she could rattle a bush or two, and accidents happen. They gave me the thumbs up before disappearing into the woods.
    Jake ate only a few bites of breakfast, and spent the rest of his visit smoking weed. I was relieved when he wandered off at around 3 o’clock, leaving me alone with Sara and Julia, who dropped by for a swim and a beer. The hunting party returned to home base soon after 4:00 p.m. Earl was pissed off that they couldn’t find old Stinky, but I just hoped that Dali, Kevin’s dog, wasn’t more successful in that department. We were debating whether or not we should risk a barbecue under the darkening skies, when rain suddenly came pelting down.
    “ Again with the rain!” Julia complained. “Damn it, history had better not be repeating itself.” Last summer had been a complete washout, literally, with over 28 days of rain. The ducks had been happy, but we humans had to deal with flooded roads and backed-up sewers. Still swearing, she took Connor’s arm, and hurried inside with him.
    Sonny pulled his van keys out of his pocket. “Alright, I’m hitting the road. I have a lot of crap I gotta take care of at home. See you guys in a bit.” He pulled the magazine he had been reading over his head and jogged around the corner of the house.
    “ I’m out of here too.” Earl ran after him. “Call you later, Joel.”
    I waved goodbye, then turned to Sara, who had just climbed out of the pool. “Coming in?”
    “ Joel, I thought you said you loved staying out in a rain storm. Let’s stick it out for a while. Could be killer, didn’t you think?”
    Man, was this girl for me. I wished that we weren’t going separate ways come the fall. God, I was pathetic, already experiencing separation anxiety.
    We walked down to where the freshly mowed lawn met the wild, rollicking field and laid down on the grass. The rain intensified, and then thunder boomed, driving Sara to wrap herself around me. We remained open to the elements until the cold became too much and we started shivering. Springing to our feet, we raced each other into the house, where we towel-dried our hair and threw bathrobes over our swimming gear.
    Connor and Julia were lounging on the living room sofa, munching sandwiches. The news was on, and as usual it was ominous. Sara shifted uncomfortably next to me as the Grimm Reaper took center stage yet again. Before I could reassure her, the phone rang. It was my mom, calling from Australia.
    Apparently