i got out and walked around the front of my car , stepped onto the curb , and warmly greeted jill , totally content with my first impression of her . hugging felt too forward , and our height difference made it a tad too awkward for this first meeting . instead , i threw out an upbeat , '' hi , you must be jill

axel opened his mouth to say something vicious in reply to the officer 's nasty remarks , but he did n't have time to make matters worse . he needed to get to nate . the constable took another look at him . '' you 're pretty bruised up , but you 'll be all right if you get home and take care of yourself . '' he glanced over his shoulder , then back at axel

i took a little sip of my white wine when the phone rang beside me , startling me as it shattered through my moment of peace and momentarily silencing the soundscapes playing through my phone . '' hello ? '' '' erica , it 's max . '' '' oh , hi . '' i pushed myself up in the tub and glanced around for anything i could write on if i needed to . '' is this a good time ? '' '' sure , '' i lied , embarrassed that i was about to have a business conversation in the tub

he then walked to the gap in the caravan and stood looking at the dune . a figure appeared on the top of the dune . black robes wrapped around his body and legs , and he had a black hood , though his face was not hidden . it was a narrow and long face , with eyes closer together than most . his cheek bones were prominent and could be seen clearly from the bottom of the
dune