Bass tried to stop it by grabbing a crate halfway up the pile, but the top’s momentum was already too much. He froze as it toppled and turned his little face up at Sanna for reassurance that it would be okay, but she had no reassurance to give him today.
A part of her brain knew it wasn’t a big deal—that most of the bottles would survive. Even if they all smashed, bottles were easy to replace, not even that expensive. But today that part of her brain had no hope of winning. It was a Little League team against the New York Yankees, or a baby seal swimming in shark-infested waters, or a kite in a tornado. Today, logic and levelheadedness had no place, so even as the words left her mouth and her face scrunched into an angry expression, that corner of her mind regretted it. The rest of her wanted to light the world on fire.
“Out,” Sanna said. She didn’t shout. It was barely a whisper. But it was hard and cold, and Bass’s eyes widened with something too close to fear and he ran.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Bass knew that look. It was the look his mom had given him a few times when he’d dropped a cup of milk or spilled his goldfish crackers or left his Legos lying on the ground. Mom would give him the look and he’d run to his room until Dad came home from work. His dad would come to his room, bring him dinner on his special Cars tray, and read him stories until bed.
Bass didn’t know where to find his dad in the orchard, so he ran in the direction he and Mr. Lund had headed and found himself in the Looms. He ducked under the branches. This tree was older and shaggy looking. The long, arching branches looked like enormous spider legs, drooping toward the ground under the weight of the growing fruit. Hiding in a giant tree-spider seemed safe, until he could find his dad.
He hadn’t meant to knock over the bottles. It was an accident. And he would have helped clean it up and even work it off, but that look was scary and he didn’t want to know what would happen next.
Under the arching branches, the tree made a tent, cutting him off from the world like a safe cocoon. He leaned his back against the tree trunk, pulling his knees to his chin, and he finally let his tears fall. Miss Lund had become his friend, and he really liked her. He wished he had Snarf with him right now. When he was alone, he liked to read the notes hidden in the secret pockets. They reminded him of when he was in a family.
He scrubbed the tears off his face with the palm of his hand and listened for sounds of the ATV or Elliot, expecting Miss Lund would follow him. That’s what most adults did when kids were upset, they followed you to make sure you were safe. But he only heard the insects buzzing. The air was getting stuffy because the breeze couldn’t reach him.
Bass didn’t know when he’d leave, or if someone would find him first. His mouth got dry from thirst, and his stomach rumbled. He’d left his bag of snacks in the barn with his water bottle and hat. After watching a spider scurry up the tree bark and spin a web, he worried no one would ever come look for him. Maybe he’d have to spend the night out here.
He heard footsteps approaching along with the voice of a man and a woman. The only woman he knew was Sanna, so he stayed hidden. The voices stopped outside the tree and he could see their legs between the bottom of the branches and the ground. He stayed still in the dark shadows of the branches. The man wore brown pants and work boots, and the woman wore a dark skirt with tan, black, and red plaid rain boots.
“These are the trees?” the woman said.
“Yeah. They call them the Looms. Losing them would devastate her.”
“How do I tell them apart from the non-Looms?”
Bass heard a clicking sound, like a camera, and the boots turned in a circle.
“They’re bigger and more spread out.”
“Excellent. Thank you, that’s exactly the information I needed.”
They walked to the next tree.
“When will we get our payment?” the man asked.
“We’ve been over this. There . . .”
The two walked out of earshot the way they came, and Bass breathed deeply. Why were they in the orchard? He’d have to tell Miss Lund—then he remembered he didn’t like her anymore. He wrapped his arms around his knees and set his head down. He tried counting seconds, but lost count at 578. From the distance he heard the thrum of the ATV, and it stopped not far from Bass.
“Bass? You out here?” It was his dad. He did come to find him. “Bass.” His voice trailed out the vowels like he was calling a pig and the sound needed to carry a long distance. It wrapped around Bass almost better than a hug. He gave his face one more swipe to make sure there were no more tears on it and duck-walked out from under the branches.
“Here, Dad.”
Isaac ran in his direction and pulled him in tight while Bass wrapped his arms around his neck, letting his dad pick him up and hold him tight. He didn’t normally like being picked up like a little kid—unless they were wrestling—but Bass wanted to be as close to his dad as possible.
Isaac carried him to the vehicle, then set him in the passenger seat, bending so he could look him straight in the eyes. His dad’s forehead looked like the dunes they played on in California before heading east, all deep, curvy lines.
“You okay?”
Bass nodded.
“When you weren’t with Sanna and she didn’t know where you had gone and what had happened . . . I was so worried. You are too young to go running off by yourself without telling anyone where you are. You can’t run away, Minnow.”
“I didn’t. I was trying to find you, but then I couldn’t so I hid until you found me. Like I always did when Mom would get angry.”
Isaac kissed his forehead.
“Yeah, that’s what you did. You want to tell me what happened?”
Bass looked down. Up until today, he had liked Miss Lund, especially since she didn’t treat him like a kid. He didn’t want to tattle.
“I already know what happened. I just want to know from your side. You won’t get in trouble, and Miss Lund and Einars have left for the doctor.”
“I was playing with my baseball inside and I was being careful but I knocked over a stack of crates on accident. I was going to clean it up. But . . .”
His dad’s lips pressed together, almost disappearing into his beard, and his eyes pinched at the corners.
“But what?” he said.
Bass swallowed and finished.
“Then she looked at me like Mom used to and told me ‘Out,’ so I ran. I know I should have stayed anyway and helped, but I just couldn’t.”
His dad pulled him in tight again and being close eased some of his worry. Dad couldn’t be that mad if he was hugging him so much.
“You did the right thing. You don’t ever have to let a grown-up make you feel afraid. I wish you would have found me or gone back to the trailer, but if you liked it here, then that’s okay, too.”
“Do I have to keep working with Miss Lund?”