"A mother's love endures."

Ally stared at the words. She didn't move until Trish yanked the card out of her hands.

"Love note?" Trish asked. She studied the front of the card. Ally's thumb had left a smudge on the plastic cover that stuck to the white paperboard. Cursive letters in golden ink were printed from top to bottom, spelling out cliché phrases about a mother's love.

"Mother's Day card," Ally mumbled. She stood from the wicker seat in the sunroom and smoothed down the sides of her sundress. "I didn't send it."

Trish gave a small nod and handed the card back to Ally, who tucked it back into her copy of Les Miserables.

"Some of our talk about my non-wedding made me feel like reading. I guess it was a coincidence that I chose the one book I stashed an old card into." Ally ran her fingers over the old binding. "Reading usually cheers me up."

"It tends to have to opposite effect on me," Trish joked, offering Ally a weak smile. But Ally didn't look up at her.

"I don't want to send it to her, but I sort of don't want to throw it away, either. I'm not sure what that says about me." Ally took a step back and dropped back down into her seat. "I'm just so angry."

There was a silence before Trish spoke.

"This year for Mother's Day, I got ticked off at my mom for not buying me a pair of expensive sunglasses. I refused to speak to her for most of the day and then I went to the movies with my friends." Trish stared out the window. The early morning sun still had a sleepy orange tint. "I didn't even know it was Mother's Day. I didn't say anything to her about loving her. But then again, I didn't know I'd wake up and she wouldn't be home a month later, with our lives in danger."

She felt Ally's stare on her. Trish clenched her jaw and shrugged.

"I'm not that great of a person," Trish said.

She tapped on the back of the chair with her fist then headed toward the door.

"Hey, Trish," Ally called from inside the room.

Trish turned in the doorway.

"You're kicking butt with the business," Ally said. "I don't expect any less from you."

Trish smiled and gave her a two-finger salute before walking down the hall.

In the kitchen, Ally poured herself another glass of milk and tried for the tenth time to rip her eyes away from the closed book across from her. She felt the cold liquid spill over the lip of the glass onto her hand at the base. She put the jug down before chugging the milk. She smacked her lips and then looked down her nose at the half empty glass.

"There you are!"

Austin threw his arms around her shoulders, squeezing her from behind. He pressed his lips to the knot near her temple and she felt new breath rush into her lungs.

"You totally ditched me this morning," he said, pulling one arm away to reach for her glass. "I had to prune the garden all by myself." He took a long drink then sighed. He gave her a loving look under his long lashes and said, "We match. We both have milk mustaches."

He kissed her, the thin lines of milk above their lips meshing together. Ally folded her lips and leaned far away enough to only barely feel his breath.

"You okay?" His arm still around her but looser than before.

Ally nodded. She freed herself from his embrace and stood from the kitchen table. He didn't question her but gave her a small smile before she picked her book up from the table and left him alone.

Chuck sat in one of the guest rooms he had Ally prepare for him the night after he arrived. All of the furniture had been removed except for a squishy pillow in the center of the room. That pillow was now wedged beneath his yoga-pants clad bottom. His feet were tucked beneath him and his elbows rested on his knees as he hummed, deep in meditation. The room was dark and the heavy curtains he had hung blocked out the light and warmth of the sun.

"Hey, Chuck!"

Chuck hissed as the light from the hallway pierced the darkness of the room and assaulted his eyes.

"Oh, sorry," Dez whispered. He tiptoed into the room and quietly shut the door behind him. He lowered himself across from Chuck and awkwardly mimicked the trainer's posture. "What are doing?"

"Preparing my body for battle," Chuck practically growled.

"Cool," Dez grinned.

In front of Chuck, there was a silk cloth rolled out onto the floor. Knives of different sizes and blades were carefully placed parallel to each other.

"Can I use one of these?" Dez picked up a small knife and waved it around like an excited child picking up a crayon for the first time.

Chuck smacked Dez hard on the wrist and Dez flung the knife high in the air. Chuck blew out a breath then caught the knife between his thumb and pointer finger by the sides of the blade.

"Whoa! That was awesome," Dez said in awe. "I can hardly see in here and you caught that. Can you catch another one?"

Dez reached for another knife but Chuck swat his hand away.

"Red, you're really testing my patience."

"Oh." Dez's shoulders dropped. "Sorry. I just thought, you'd want to hang out. I've made friends here, Ally and Austin. So, I kind of felt like I was on a roll."

Chuck blinked, breaking up the bored expression on his face.

Dez pressed his palms on the floor and lifted himself to leave, saying, "I'll go see what Trish is up to."

Chuck sprang to his feet, up before Dez finishing standing. He offered his hand to Dez and pulled him then patted him on the back.

"Why in such a rush, pal? We're going to be friends," Chuck said. He led Dez to the door and opened it.

"We are?" Dez asked, excitement in his voice.

"You bet your finest filly we are. You know what. Why don't you go get yourself cleaned up and we'll spend the whole morning together. I'll even bring my knives."

Dez raised his hand for a high-five and bounced on his toes. "I'll meet you outside in like fifteen minutes." He rushed off to his room to change out of his pajamas.

Ally threw another punch at the bag, the new one she ordered online and had delivered that wasn't filled with blood and beaks. She shuddered at the memory of clearing the mess her trainer had caused. Blowing out a breath, she shuffled her feet and swung her arms up to a ready stance. The sound of her pounding fist echoed in the old barn, slipping through the cracks in the wall and ringing in Austin's ears.

He stepped onto the streaks in the dust left behind by a straw broom in the doorway. He leaned against a stack of haybales piled high in the corner and watched Ally punch and grunt.

"You've been out here a lot," he said, his tone level and calm.

The beam the bag hung from creaked as the bag absorbed another blow.

"Do you want to talk about it? About whatever's bothering you?" Austin asked.

He waited for her to respond, and when she didn't, he walked over and held the opposite side of the bag steady for her.

Dez ran out onto the porch at the front of the house. He waved his hand in the air at Chuck, who stood in the front lawn with Trish.

"Good morning, Trish," Dez greeted her with a smile. He bent down slightly and swung his arm around Chuck's shoulder. "Are you hanging out with me and Chuck? It's going to be sweet! He's got knives."

"He does?" Trish asked, raising an eyebrow and holding a chuckle in the back of her throat at Dez's enthusiasm. She coughed a little and reeled in the smile she hadn't realized she'd freely cast at him.

Chuck cleared his throat then roughly shrugged off Dez's arm. He had to look up to meet Dez's eye because of the height difference.

"Like the wind, my plans have changed, Red. I'm going to the library with Trish-ca-bob." Chuck gave her a flirty look and swaggered closer to her. "We're going to check some things out."

"Oh. I thought we were going to hang out," Dez said, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels.

Trish laid her hand gently on Chuck's shoulder and batted her eyelashes. "Silly, I can't go. I'm in hiding remember? But you'll be a dear and get these books for me won't you?"

Chuck nodded obediently, taking the slip of paper Trish had pressed against his chest into his hand.

"Thanks," Trish said sweetly. She stepped around him and Dez saw her roll her eyes with her back to Chuck.

He glanced at Chuck, who was making googly eyes at Trish as she climbed the steps to the porch.

"Come on, Dez," Trish shouted without turning around.

Chuck snapped out of his stupor and frowned.

"What do you need him for," Chuck called out.

Trish swung open the door and said over her shoulder, "He's my partner. We work together, duh." She rolled her eyes, this time for Chuck to see, before turning and walking into the house.

The joy that blossomed in Dez when Trish called him her partner was short lived. Dez felt the heat of Chuck's glare on him and he instinctively stepped away from the combat trainer. He reached his hand behind him and tried to smooth down the hairs standing on the back of his own neck. His mouth felt dry and he wasn't sure what had just happened, but he could feel a shift in the country air between he and Chuck that made him uneasy.

"I guess we'll hang out next time," Dez said shakily.

"Oh, you bet we will. Partner."

Chuck spit on the ground, and Dez was sure he could hear the sound of metal pail ringing like in an old cowboy movie. He gave Chuck a weak smile then ran into the farmhouse.

Dez finished a lovely arrangement of lilies and lace in the bright, fresh colors of springtime and went over to show his work to Trish. She was huddled over with her laptop in her lap instead of on her desk.

"Look at my latest creation. I call it 'Moon River.' See!" He held it out in front of him with a big grin on his face like a tall, dopey child. His face fell when she didn't turn around.

"See," he said again, stressing the vowels.

Startled out of her thoughts, Trish jumped slightly. She snapped her laptop shut and twisted around to face him.

"Hmm? Yes, yeah, that's nice. Uh huh."

Dez narrowed his eyes at her and smirked. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she said too quickly. She stood with the laptop clutched to her chest and stepped around him. "I've got to go."

Taking advantage of his long limbs, he took three strides to cut her off at the door and block her only means of escape. He held out the flowers to her again.

"Let us go with you."

Trish winced and her grip on the laptop loosened.

"I know you're up to something, and I bet it's cool and top secret because you never hold out on anything juicy," he said. He held the flowers to his cheeks and pulled his lips back to show all of his teeth.

She leaned her weight to one hip and raised an eyebrow at him. "And how would you know what I 'never' can do?"

"Uh duh, we've only been at the same school forever. Even those of us in smaller social circles know you were the one who told everybody about Miles' mom hooking up with the wrestling coach at the glee club tournament thing."

A spasm of guilt rippled through Trish's muscles and she had to fumble with the laptop to keep it from falling. She clutched it tighter to her chest like a shield and stared at the dirt floor of the greenhouse.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way, Trish. I was just giving an example of how you can't keep secrets." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Wait, that still doesn't sound like what I'm trying to say. I'm…"

"I got it, Dez. I'm not that great. Don't think you've got to watch your words with me. I'm a big girl."

"That's not what I…"

She stepped around him, shoving him slightly to the side, and briskly walked out into the late afternoon heat.

An equestrian beauty kicked up small blades of grass as her hooves tapped the earth and lifted into the air. Her contracting muscles were tight and powerful beneath her smooth, brown hide. Her speed created a breeze that combed through her mane and cooled the heated face of her rider. Austin kept his body in tune with the horses so that they moved as one creature through the meadow.

At a distance, Dez held up his camera, recording the scene. Austin had invited him along for the ride but Dez insisted on running back to the house to grab his camera. Dez knew most people didn't understand the gains of experiencing the world through a lens from time to time and certainly enough people at his high school called him a freak for caring a camcorder everywhere, but he understood it. Austin had seemed kind of down when he suggested horseback riding, but out there on his horse he looked free to Dez. And now he has that scene forever.

As they walked back to the stables, Dez played the video for Austin.

"Your hair looks so good in the wind," Dez said.

Austin laughed and pet the horse. "I try." He tipped his chin at the camera. "So, do you want to make movies or something? Like a film guy?"

Dez's eyes lit up. "More than Santa wants deliver presents."

Austin laughed again and pushed open the stable gate. "You'll be an awesome one, man."

"Thanks." He looked down at the camera in his hands. "I don't think anyone outside of my parents or sister has ever said that to me."

Austin got the horse settled and then walked back to Dez.

"Really? What about all your friends at school or whatever?"

"Uh, nope." He cleared his throat. "No. But that wouldn't stop me anyway."

"And that's why you'll be an awesome one," Austin said, giving Dez a friendly shoulder pat. "Hey, can I ask you a favor?"

Dez looked around the stable and scrunched his nose. "Is it shoving horse poo?"

Austin smiled. "Not this time. I was wondering if you and Trish and Chuck could eat dinner a little earlier tonight. Like I'll make something for you guys to eat in the living room or sunroom or something but I just need the kitchen free tonight."

"Sure," Dez shrugged. He thought about his failed hangout with Chuck earlier that day and he got a tiny, weird feeling in his gut. He dug the toe of his sneaker into the ground, pushing it down along with the weird feeling. "But what about Ally?"

Austin waved for Dez to follow him out of the stable. They started down the path back to the farmhouse.

"That's why I need the kitchen. I'm going to make her a special dinner, something romantic."

"That's so cute," Dez practically squealed as he clasped his hands under his chin.

"Ally's been kind of intense with this training thing. I think some other stuff is bothering her. I just don't want her to bottle that stuff up. So, I was thinking I make the dinner and she and I can spend some time together, just the two of us. Like we used to."

Dez nodded. "You know what? I can help you clear some of those boxes out of the formal dining room. I've seen that long, fancy table in there. You can put some candles in the middle. Oh! And Moon River!"

"The song?"

"No, the flower bouquet that I made. It's lovely and everything romantic. I'm a genius."

Austin squinted at the sun high in the blue sky. "You're becoming more and more modest," he joked. He smiled down at Dez. "But that idea's genius."

Dez pumped his fist in the air then gave Austin a high five.

Trish looked up at the bowl being held out in front of her. She lifted her eyes from the book she was skimming to see Dez smiling down at her. She raised an eyebrow at the soggy marshmallows and grainy letters sinking in an abundance of milk.

"It's apology cereal. For earlier," Dez said, cupping the bottom of the porcelain with both hands. "Cause, you know, who doesn't like cereal? Perfect apology gift."

Trish took the blue bowl. "I guess," she murmured. She sat it down on the end table beside her armchair. "Thanks."

Dez used his knees to push an ottoman over to the armchair. He settled it in the small space between the end table and armchair then plopped down on it, sitting beside Trish. He folded his hands in his lap and leaned over to see the pages of the book in her hands.

"What ya reading?" He asked.

It wasn't until he spoke that Trish realized she was staring at him. It wasn't a mean stare, just a little confused and slightly annoyed, a look she had reserved for most of what she considered her close friends. She blinked then flipped the crisp pages of the recently published book.

"Success Steps for Small Business," she said, her eyes already on the first paragraph of a new chapter.

"You're so serious about this," Dez said, laughter in his voice.

Trish's head shot up and she narrowed her eyes at him.

He held up his hands at her look but didn't lose his smile. "It's a good thing. I like it."

"I don't care what you like," Trish huffed, holding the book up to her nose and blocking out Dez's face.

He waited a moment then scooted to the edge of the ottoman and leaned forward. He rested his nose on top of the book so that Trish could only see his shining eyes. She snorted and dropped the book down to her lap, closing it with one hand. She tossed her head back and rolled her eyes.

"Fine! Yes, I'm serious about this," she said, chuckling a little. "It's not that big a deal. I just happen to be good at this stuff or whatever, so shut up." She tilted her head to the side as he grinned at her. "Stop that."

"Stop what?" He said, still grinning. He pointed both pointer fingers at his face and tilted his head to the side. "This? Stop this? I can't! Your happiness is making me happy! And I like it!"

They both broke out in laughter, each gripping the arm of the chair with their hands centimeters away from touching.

"You're so weird, Dez," Trish said. She leaned back into the cushions of the chair. Her laughing subsided. She flicked a piece of fuzz from the arm of the chair. Her eyes followed its path to the living room floor. "How do you know I'm happy?"

She looked him in the eye and waited for him to answer.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I can just tell." He folded his long legs beneath him. "Remember when you were all fake and a jerk at school?" He held out his hand and shook his head. "No offense!"

She deadpanned. "Shut up, Dez." She scooted forward to leave but he put his hand on her arm.

"But you're different here. Like, you're not busy trying to be fake and trying to be a jerk. It must be hard being the best at being the worst. But here you're relaxed." He gestured to the book. "Even though you're working hard on something good. And it's awesome. You're kind of awesome."

Her muscles relaxed underneath his loose grip and she settled back into the armchair.

"You're on thin ice, Dez," she grumbled. She tucked some curls behind her ear and added, "And I'm always awesome."

She smirked up at him and he blew out a breath he had been holding since she made a move to leave. He smiled back at her, which led to a genuine smile from her.

"I like your real smile, too. The one you give me when I've done something right," he said.

"You certainly like a lot about me," Trish teased, not pulling her arm away from him or opening back up her book.

"Now say what you like about me," Dez prodded cheekily.

"I like when you shut up so I can read my book," she said. Her voice was light, unoffending.

"I like that we're partners," he said.

"You should. I'm awesome, remember."

"Well, well, well. What do we have here."

Trish and Dez looked up to see Chuck step into the room. He held a bundle of carrots by their leafy tops.

"Chuck, hey. I'm glad you're here," Dez said as he jerked his hand away from Trish's arm like a kid being caught touching something that doesn't belong to him. He stood and gave an exaggerated wave at the young man in the doorway.

Chuck ignored him and waltzed up to Trish, leaving a small trail of dirt from the hall to the armchair. He presented her the vegetables and tipped his cowboy hat to her.

"For the lady," he said.

Trish held the carrots away from her in an attempt to keep dirt from speckling her clean shirt.

"Thanks?" She dropped them on the end table beside her bowl of mushy cereal. "You two know we run a flower business, right?"

Chuck snorted. "Flowers are a waste of time. You can't eat flowers. Nourishment," he winked at Trish, "are the true way to a woman's heart."

Dez nodded and said to Trish, "See. Cereal was a great gift for me…" His voice trailed off as his eyes shifted to Chuck. He swallowed and shifted his gaze to the ceiling. "…to give you."

"The one time I try to read," Trish muttered to herself.

Dez dropped his head back down and said to Chuck, "Not that I'm after Trish's heart. It was friend cereal, apology cereal!"

Chuck ignored Dez and said to Trish, "Want to watch me chop those carrots up and make you the most delicious stew you've had in your life?"

Trish flashed Chuck a forced smile then turned her head to Dez, looking up at him expectantly. "Isn't there some work we could be doing?"

"Um…" Dez shifted his eyes to Chuck, who glared at him and raised his upper lip in a snarl. Dez gulped and his eyes darted back to Trish. "Nope. No." He smacked his hand against his forehead and twisted in place. "Wait, I totally forgot. Austin's planning a special dinner for Ally and he wants us to do our own thing for dinner tonight." He lowered his hand and stuffed it in his pocket before turning to Chuck. He gave him a nervous smile. "So, I was thinking we could…"

Chuck cut Dez off, saying to Trish, "Woo hoo, Trish-a-licious. That works out greater than a barbecue sauce factory poppin' up beside a slaughter house."

Trish twirled the spoon in the cereal bowl and said in a bored tone, "Say it in English or Spanish or don't speak at all."

"I'm saying you and I could have another date," Chuck said, tucking his thumbs behind his big, round belt buckle. "Our three-week anniversary's coming up."

"We don't have an anniversary, and sure to the date," Trish shrugged. She stood up and shoved past the guys with the bowl in her hands. "As long as I can read in piece before that."

Dez watched her leave. "That's not what I was going to say," he murmured. He cleared his throat and swung his arm around Chuck's shoulders. "Too bad. I was hoping the three of us could hang out. But that's cool. I'll eat dinner with Bill. Bill's one of the roosters I named."

"That right," Chuck muttered, glancing at the carrots Trish left behind.

"But you and I could hang out until your date! Did you bring you knives? Ooo, do you have like ninja stars or a lasso?"

Chuck grinned to himself then looked up at Dez. "That's a great idea, Red." He slapped him on the back then moved toward the door. "Let's go to my office."

Dez gulped. The bandanna over his eyes was thick and tied tight. No light was getting through. He could feel the heat of the day draining into the cool earth beneath his toes. He wished he hadn't opted out of wearing shoes, but at the time it seemed more ninja like to be barefoot in the woods.

The throwing star whistled past his ear and he flinched. Its sharp point thudded when it embedded itself in the solid trunk of the tree his back was pressed against.

"Isn't this fun!" Chuck called out. His voice echoed among the trees.

Dez thought for a moment then clapped his hands together.

"Strangely, it is! Do another one, buddy!"

Chuck smoothed his thumb over the chilly, silver metal. He traced the outline of its sharp points.

"Marino High, huh? That's the school you and Trish go to, according to your files. You've known each other a long time."

Dez scratched his cheek, where the bandana didn't cover his skin. "Yeah. We've really known each other most of our lives. We're neighbors. Or, we were neighbors. My house exploded."

Chuck aimed the weapon above Dez's head then threw it, hitting his mark. A thin red hair was now tacked to the tree, but Dez didn't feel it.

"Whoa, I think I felt the tree vibrate on that one! Have you been cowboy-ninja spy your whole life?"

"Huh? No. Sort of. You were saying you and Trish have history?" Chuck adjusted the black frames of his glasses.

Dez shrugged. "You can call it that. We were friends when we were kids but then she got popular and blew me off. But then we were almost murdered and sent to a secret farm and now we run a flower business together and I wash her bras."

Chuck dropped the throwing star he was fidgeting with. "What was that last part?"

Dez stuck his pinky in his ear and dug around its waxy center. "Do you know karate? I've always wanted to do that jump kick thing." He high kicks his long, lanky leg, almost falling over from his lack of balance.

Chuck grimaced at Dez. He made a wringing motion with his hands, squinting at Dez and pretending to actually choke him. He stopped and lifted his hands in the air, silently counting to ten before exhaling.

"You said she was popular in school. Was she Regina George popular or Cher popular?"

Dez squealed. He lifted one side of the bandanna and peaked out. "You know Mean Girls?"

"Blindfold back on!" Chuck wagged his finger at him. "And focus. Weapons training is all about focus. And answering personal questions."

Dez covered his eye with the cloth and gave a quick nod. "Got it."