As the two were leaving, Carter called out, “What’s her name?”
Danny uttered it but it caught in his throat, escaping in pieces, and he was forced to repeat it. “Maggie.”
Carter figured it would take John and Danny ten minutes to be away, but he gave them twenty.
He rested a hand on her neck, played with her hair. He felt compelled to kiss her—in that deep place between her girl-lashes—and she exhaled with a voice nearly human. He pulled away and she nodded just once, her eyes locked on the sky over Carter’s shoulder, above the field, across the road. Blue would be the last color she registered.
