Sovereign Ground (Breaking Bonds) Read Online Free PDF Page B

giant
hamburger.”
    I just smile. I don’t usually find it this easy to
talk to people. The seat is bouncy and he seems to hit every pothole on purpose.
I like him.
    “I’m not going to make you go to church.” He
watches me. I think he does want me to go.
    My breath catches as I remember the warning. I
turn and look at Lorna, still waving. “Actually, I want to go.”

Chapter 6
    We crest a hill covered with sagebrush into an area
where leafless trees guard lawns and homes. On the right is a huge church. Men
and women in orange vests direct traffic in and out of the parking lot.
    This is perfect. I never thought about it before,
but now I’m curious—what would a place this packed have to say that would draw
so many people?
    We slow, and a man with a suit under his neon vest
points to his left. Hayden smiles, waves and shakes his head no. We pass the
church.
    “That’s not where we’re going?”
    “Un-uh.” He looks straight ahead and drives with
his left hand. His right hand is in a hang loose symbol. He alternates tapping
his thumb then pinky against his thigh. “Too big.” The description sounds more
like a disease than an indication of size.
    Hayden continues detailing his plans for his
truck. How hard it was to find a bumper, how rare parts are. Eventually I stop
listening. I can’t help but remember the look on Lorna’s face. She was truly
scared and I’ve never seen her afraid of anything. Even that time Thom stumbled
over a baby rattler in the side yard—she was the one hacking away with a shovel,
while the two of us just stood there.
    It feels like a lead blanket drapes over my head
and shoulders. Each breath falters in my chest. If Lorna’s afraid, then I should—what?
What should I do?
     “You got allergies or something?”
    “Yeah, I think.”
    Hayden unzips an insulated vinyl bag and pulls out
an unopened water bottle. “There’s allergy pills in the glove box.” A regular
boy scout.
    He hands me the water bottle. As I reach, the car
jolts and our hands touch. The tightness in my chest changes.
    “I’ll be good with the water, thanks.” Who needs
to breathe?
    We pull into the parking lot of an older brick
building. The trees are enormous, and in the flower beds are a bunch of those
pointy green spears that appear in the spring. I’ll have to remember this spot
during summer when the trees leaf out.
    He parks and I slip off the seat. I watch him lock
his door with a key, so I hold down the lock and close my door. I know he sees
me do this, but he still walks around and lifts the handle, checking to see if I
locked it properly.
    The freshly painted, dark, black parking lot pavement
contrasts with its bright yellow lines. It smells like Nevada desert in the
winter: sage and Manzanita scents brought by wind so cold and dry I’m afraid I’ll
get a nosebleed.
    Everyone seems to know Hayden. He introduces me
again and again. I follow him into a large room with a high ceiling. There’s a
stage area with a piano and three microphones. Behind the stage, hangs that
huge “T,” the cross religious people everywhere use as an icon. We sit in these
padded chairs organized in straight rows. There’s a book waiting, where Hayden
writes his name. He writes in all caps, and it takes up the whole line. Such a
masculine thing to do, as if saying, “I am Hayden.”
    He erases and rewrites it. HAYDEN AND GU... There
isn’t room to finish, so he erases again. He sees me watching and we giggle. His
head leans forward and almost touches mine. Finally, he fits HAYDEN & GUEST
in the slot.
    This is the first real date I have ever been on. I
was asked to go somewhere, then he returned to pick me up and next he will
drive me home. That’s a date. Remembering the way his skin felt, I want to hold
his hand for real. Before I get the courage to grab it, a beautiful girl waves
at us from across the room.
    She has a side ponytail clasped in a barrette. She
wears a sleeveless, white, mock-turtle neck top and