Page 64 of 15 Summers Later

Ava chewed her bottom lip. “Cullen said the dig site is only accessible by an all-terrain vehicle.”

After a long, uncomfortable pause, her sister spoke again. “When did you want to go?”

Was she actually considering it? Ava was afraid to hope. “As soon as possible. Today, if we can do it. This afternoon.”

“Today?”

“If we leave before four, we should be able to make it there and back before dark.”

“You’ve thought this out.”

She had done very little but think since taking all those tests earlier that day.

“Yes. This is very important to me.”

“So important you would really be willing to go up there by yourself? Even though I doubt you’ve driven an ATV since we lived in Oregon?”

“It’s not that tough. I’m sure I’ll remember how. And yes. It’s that important.”

After another long pause, Madi sighed. “We have an older utility vehicle side-by-side that was donated to us for getting around the acreage here. I can load it onto the trailer and pull it with Grandpa’s truck to the trailhead. I need to finish a few things here but might be able to leave in a couple of hours.”

Madi looked at her watch. “Should we say three? You owe me, though.”

Ava was fully aware of how much she owed her sister. This was only one more thing to add to the pile.

She forced a smile. “Thanks. Perfect. Three works. I should be done with orientation by then.”

With a vast relief, Ava returned to the tablet Madi had given her for filling out her volunteer information.

She was nearly done completing the forms when an older man she didn’t know approached her.

“Are you Ava?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Hal Smith. I’m the ECAR official tour guide, here to show you around.”

Ava was aware of Madi inside the office, trying to appear as if she wasn’t paying attention to them. She suspected her sister was aware of everything that went on here.

“Thank you. I would appreciate that,” she said.

He smiled. “Great. While you finish up, I’ll grab one of the dogs. We always try to exercise somebody while we’re showing around the new recruits.”

“Perfect.”

She filled in the final line on the form as Hal returned with a huge German shepherd wearing a harness and leash.

“Okay. We’re all set. This here is Helga.”

Ava stood frozen, unable to breathe or think, thrust instantly back to that summer, to the time when she had been attacked by guard dogs who looked exactly like her.

She still had nightmares about feeling their hot breath on her as they bit her legs, her back.

When Cullen had asked her once how she obtained the scars, she had told him she had been bitten by a dog while they were at the camp. She hadn’t told him it had been three dogs, two German shepherds and a bull terrier who had been stirred up into a frenzy.

Her stomach lurched and she felt dizzy enough that she sank back into the chair. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or mortified when Madi spoke from the doorway.

“Actually, Hal, I’m at a good place for a break right now. Why don’t you take Helga for her walk and I can show Ava around?”

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