“He knew you were capable,” I said.

Nate thought of the words on the bluebird card, and his mouth settled into a hard, thin line.

“He didn’t leave us out by accident,” Nate said.

“No,” I said.

He picked up the coffee cups, walked over to the metal trash can by the door, and dropped them both in without taking a sip.

“Let’s go see our house,” he said.

The gravel lane to the Miller place was overgrown with wild mustard and dandelions.