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Birds were pecking at several feeders spread across the front lawn, and I was about to sit down and watch them when I heard hoof beats approaching from the back field. I walked down the steps and looked toward the barn where Iggy and Kim rode up on horseback. I watched as Iggy took her feet out of the stirrups, swung a leg over, and slid to the ground. She took both horses’ reigns and led them into the barn while Kim headed for the house.
    I walked toward them, carefully balancing my coffee. As we passed each other, Kim asked, “Where are you off to so early in the morning?”
    “I’m going to see the…um…horses.”
    Kim grinned. “Right. Iggy told me how much you like Black Jack.” She patted my shoulder. “Maybe you can help her muck out the stalls.”
    We continued in opposite directions down the same path, and I entered the barn to find Iggy pulling the saddle off Black Jack. I gulped down some coffee and said, “Good morning, Iggy.”
    She turned and smiled. Her hair was parted down the middle and tied into two pigtails on either side of her neck. The cool air made her skin look paler but her cheeks and nose pinker. This was the first time I’d seen her in jeans, and her legs looked long and slender. The rest of her was covered in an over-sized Florida Gators sweatshirt. I walked over to Black Jack, determined not to let the horse keep me away.
    After Iggy deposited her saddle and blanket onto a triangular wooden rack, she walked up to me and took the mug out of my hands, drank half of my coffee, and handed it back to me. “Thanks.”
    “Sure. My coffee is your coffee.” I finished it off and set the mug out of the way.
    “Wanna to try brushing Black Jack?”
    I looked at the horse. He was tied to a post and appeared worn out. “Sure.” I picked up a brush and curry comb and went to work, paying careful attention to Black Jack’s every movement. Iggy unsaddled Kim’s gray mare and started brushing her down. I said, “You guys deal with a lot of drama here, don’t you? The CDC one day. This Granger guy the next. Makes me wonder who will show up today.”
    “You can’t say it’s dull around here.”
    “Did Uncle Chris come home yet?”
    “No, not yet. He called Kim to tell her they’d given up on assigning shifts. Too much is happening to say exactly when he will or won’t work. Any news from Aunt Ava or Uncle Daniel?”
    I brushed short, brisk strokes down Black Jack’s flank. “No. Nothing.” The horse’s tail flicked and swatted me. I jumped back, but he seemed oblivious to me so I resumed brushing. “I was thinking about what you said yesterday. If your dad can help in any way — maybe find out if my parents even got out of Bethesda, what direction they went, general location — I want to go and search for them.”
    “I’ll text him. I’m sure he can find out something.”
    I moved to Black Jack’s other side. “Iggy. What does the CDC want with you? Do you have some kind of contagious disease or something?”
    She chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna contaminate you. Me and Wes received a vaccine when we were younger, and they want to follow up on some bad side effects. That’s all.”
    “What, like tetanus? Hepatitis? Flu?” I started working on Black Jack’s neck.
    “It was a new vaccine. I don’t remember what it was for.”
    “Are you sick?”
    “No. I was when I was younger, but I’m perfectly fine now.”
    “Last night, I thought Granger seemed familiar.”
    “I’m not surprised. We played with his son Austin several times when you came down for vacation. He used to come over a lot when we were in elementary school. But you and I both steered clear of his dad when he came over to pick him up.”
    “What happened between your two families?”
    “My dad arrested him for possession with intent to distribute.”
    “Weed?”
    “No. Cocaine.”
    “Well, I suppose that would destroy any friendships.”
    Iggy tossed her brush into a bucket and tugged the