Still, Jane had been my only ally when Sally had the entire school convinced that I'd cheated on her with her mother. More recently, since Sally had s...lit up with Gary and Glenn, I was being accepted as an upstanding citizen.Later that evening, I was surprised when my mom said I was wanted on the phone. "It's her," she whispered, when she handed the receiver to me."Hello?" I said, having no idea who was calling."Mickey, it's me, do you have a date for the dance yet?" Sally? Ah, I'm not sure.". ”And so, that evening, I scarpered – alone. Just me and the horse and the boots and the bloody hatchet, which dad never wanted to see, ever again. Eliza had given me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I had kept away from ma, and pa had just given me a nod before he’d turned and returned to comfort her. Johnathon and the twins had kept away from me, too, scared and not understanding, with no idea what had really happened that fateful afternoon.I turned and went to get the horse that I’d hidden from. I loved the pink grapefruit as it seemed they were sweeter. Our groves covered about three hundred acres.Up near the house and out buildings was the close in pasture for a few cows, and some beef stock that was being fattened up to butcher. We also had about six hundred acres where beef stock ranged and were sent off to market annually. Our herd was big enough to reproduce a lot of Hereford and Angus in two separate areas that kept us busy counting head continuously. We had trouble with coyotes. ‘I’m Mrs Robertson, whom you met by accident yesterday. I have admitted full liability — my insurance company will sort everything out and my lawyer will negotiate fair settlement to cover your loss of property, loss of income and payment as a contribution towards pain and suffering.’ ‘But I reversed out in front of you.’ ‘That is true, but apparently not unduly fast according to one of your neighbors, the only independent witness. I was distracted as I had turned to look at my six-month-old.