Page 27 of Haze of Obedience

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"Me too."

"So, you're a snake hunter?"

"If you want to label it, but I would broaden it to just hunter."

"What do you hunt?"

His eyes darken. "Anything that needs to be."

Silence.

"Are you ready to go back?" he asks.

"Sure."

He puts his other clothes and boots on. After he slings his backpack over his shoulder, he holds my shoes by the back straps. "Hang on to these for a minute."

I do as he asks.

He scoops me up in his arms. "Let's not give the leeches anymore of you today."

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