She stared down at the hide. The band of sunlight made a bright path across it, showing streaks and pools of blood on the pale skin. Except for the sunlit area, the rest was in deep shadow.
"What'd He say?" Merle asked.
"Get me matches."
He dug a book of matches out of his jeans and gave it to Ettie. She plucked a match free, struck it, and bent low over the hide. By the light of the wavering flame, she studied the pattern of her spilled blood: its trails of shiny droplets, its loops, the way its shiny threads connected larger blotches, the shapes of the small puddles. A cold, sick feeling spread through her as the meaning became clear. She moaned.
"What's wrong?"
"Shh." She shook out the match, lit another, and once again studied the map of blood. No, she hadn't been mistaken. She dropped the match. A spatter of blood killed its flame in a hiss.
"Is it bad, Ettie?"
She stared at her son. He was on his knees, looking down at the pelt. His face was a dim blur in the shadows. Reaching out, she patted his cheek. "Nothing's gonna come of it, honey. It's nothing to fret over. We're just gonna stay hidden here till they go away."
As Merle reached for the pelt, Ettie swept a hand across it, smearing the blood.
"Shit!" he cried.
"It's not for your eyes."
"Wouldn't of hurt nothing," he said in a pouty voice.
Ettie folded the pelt over. She pressed down on the fur with both hands, and rubbed it hard.
" 'Least you can do is tell me what it said," Merle complained. "Must've said more than just stay in the cave."
"It didn't say to stay in the cave, I did."
"Well, what'd the blood say?"
"Said we better not mess with the folks down there. They brought death."
Merle was silent. He stared down at the pelt for a while, then picked it up and peeled it open and moved it through the path of sunlight, squinting at the red smears. "Is that what it really said?" he asked, sounding doubtful.
"You calling me a liar, son?"
"Well, no. But maybe you didn't read it right."
"I read it right. Now, you got any notions about the women down there, put them out of your head, or you'll get us both killed. Do you understand?"
"I guess."
"That's not much of an answer, Merle." She crawled along her sleeping bag to the dimly lit gap of the cave's entrance. There, she sat down and crossed her legs, blocking the only way out.
"You don't gotta do that," Merle whined.
"I'll do it, just the same."
Chapter Seventeen
With a sooty rock in each hand, Julie stepped over to the fireplace. "Here's a couple more for you," she told Benny, and dropped them to the ground beside him.
"Thanks," he muttered. He didn't look up. He lifted one of the rocks and added it to the low, circular wall he was building.
"Don't look so pitiful," Julie said.
"It's all my fault."
"That's right, Bonzo. Look on the bright side. At least you didn't break her foot."
"Thanks. You're real nice."
"Ain't I, though?" Trying to brush the black from her hands, she walked toward the lakeshore. Nick was there, sitting on a rock beside his sister while she soaked her left foot. "How's it going?" Julie asked.
"Fine," Heather said.
"Haven't seen any water snakes," Nick said.
"Well, that's a relief. Any crazy old women?"
"Not a one."
"Terrific." She stepped out onto a low flat rock, squatted down, and washed her hands. The water felt cold, but not numbing. "Still interested in a swim?" she asked.
"Sure."
"Can I swim, too?" Heather asked.
"Better check with Mom."
Julie shook the water from her hands and leaped ashore.
"See you in a couple of minutes," she called over her shoulder.
Benny, still crouched by the fireplace, raised his head as Julie approached. His nose was wrinkled, upper teeth bared, like a snarling dog. Just his way to keep his glasses from slipping off. He shoved them up with a forefinger and stopped snarling.
"We're going for a swim," Julie said. "Wanta come?"
His head tilted sideways. He looked confounded. "Are you going in?"
"That's the picture."
"What about the water moccasins?"
"If you're scared, stay here." In front of the tent, she dug into her backpack and dragged out her towel. It was still slightly damp from that morning's washing up. She hung it over a shoulder, and continued to search until she found her bikini at the very bottom.
Dropping to her knees, she crawled inside the tent. The tent had only been up for a few minutes, but already the trapped air felt stifling. Karen's sleeping bag was laid out. It looked thick and soft. Had it belonged to anyone but Karen, Julie would've sat on it while she changed. Instead, she sat on the tent floor, the ground hard under her as she stripped off her clothes.
She was on her back, naked, legs in the air, pulling the small white bottom of her bathing suit over her feet when the tent flap opened. Sunlight spilled onto her.
"Sorry," Karen blurted. The flap dropped, shutting out the light.
Julie muttered, "Shit." Raising her rump, she pulled the pants into place. She sat up. Her heart was thudding. With shaky fingers, she knotted the strings of the top behind her neck, stretched the flimsy fabric of the triangles down over her breasts, and reached behind her to tie the back. "Okay," she called. "You can come in."
Karen ducked inside. She had a one-piece black swim-suit in her hand. "Sorry about that," she said. "I didn't realize you were in here."
"You could've asked," Julie muttered, still fumbling with the strings at her back.
Karen sat down on the bag, and started to unlace her boots. "Hot in here," she said.
"You going in the lake?"
"Yeah. Benny and your dad are getting into their trunks." She tugged her boots off, and sighed with pleasure. "That water's gonna feel awfully good."
Julie got the strings tied, but didn't move. She watched the woman peel off a sock and inspect her foot in the murky blue light. "Well, no blisters on this one. How're your feet holding out?"
"That's my business," she said.
Karen stared at her. In the gloomy light, Julie couldn't tell whether she looked angry or just hurt. "Sorry," Karen finally said. "I was just trying to be friendly."
"Don't bother."
In a quiet voice, she asked, "What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of you, that's for sure."
"You're afraid of liking me, I think."
"What, you're so irresistibly charming I've gotta be a nut case if I'm not kissing the goddamn ground you walk on? Forget it. I just don't like you, that's all. I wish Dad had never met you."
"Your father and I… we love each other."
"Ain't that just dandy," Julie said through a tightness in her throat.
"You knew that, didn't you?"
"I'm not blind."
"We love each other, Julie, but don't think for one instant that he loves you or Benny any less because of that. You're his daughter. He's been with you all your life, and he'll love you as long as he lives, no matter what. You'll always be part of him in a way I can never be. I'm not taking him away from you. I couldn't, even if I wanted to."