but she wouldn’t snub her mom in front of guests. She stepped into her mother’s arms. A little awkward, but bearable. Tela jumped on the two women, giving Jessica the chance she needed to back out of the embrace.

 

​“No.” She addressed the dog, then turned to her mom. “I’m sorry, but this little monster needs to go on a walk and burn off some of this energy. I’ll be right back. The place looks great, by the way.”

​

It looked better than great. Her mother had adorned the cream stucco walls with her colorful desert paintings. Thick rugs sat atop a burnished terracotta floor. A wreath of chiles hung over the mantle where a fire crackled. Plates of tamales and sweets almost hid the green and red patterned tablecloth thrown over the bar that separated the living area from the kitchen. Jessica inhaled the aroma of her mother’s famous chili as she spied the large pot on the stove. It smelled especially good tonight, overlaid with the scent of piñon wood burning in the fire.

​

“Just a quick walk,” she said to the dog. “I want to get back here for the food and company.”

​

“I’ll go with you,” Sarah said. “I miss both of you.”

​

​They headed outside. Jessica hadn’t thought to bring a leash. Who knew Tela would be on fire tonight?​

 

“Hey, let’s walk along the irrigation ditch instead of the road since I don’t have her leash." A dirt track ran beside the dry ditch. A whole network of ditches connected the Rio Grande to the many agricultural fields between El Paso’s mountains and New Mexico’s mesa. Jessica had seen the pecans completely flooded in the past, the water hued silver under broad branches and dark trunks.

 

​The dry dirt beneath their feet meant the grove hadn’t been irrigated in some time. Still, the dirt remained soft, and she hoped Tela wouldn’t stray too far off the track, find a puddle, and come back muddy.​

 

The dog ran ahead of them into the darkness and occasionally tore back to make sure they hadn’t left. Jessica appreciated the quiet of the night and crossed her arms to keep warm.​

​

“How’s the new job?” Sarah asked.

 

​“I really like my boss. I’ve already learned a lot from her, and she’s an unbelievably slick negotiator.” Jessica had only worked as a paralegal with Linda, a local attorney, for a couple of months, since she’d left Alma’s firm after an altercation with a client.​

 

“Are you keeping out of trouble?” Sarah asked.​

 

“Well, our clients are all alive, although I’m only sixty days in.” She wished she could see Sarah’s face in the night to make sure she’d caught the joke. Sarah worried more than most people, and frankly, Jessica had done plenty to earn her concern over the years, what with dangerous jobs and her penchant for hard liquor and other vices. Fortunately, these days she wanted only enough excitement to stave off boredom.​

 

“Tela. What have you got? Did you find a stick?” Sarah asked as the dog danced around them, something white and muddy protruding from her jaw.​

 

“Oh, no. You’re filthy. You’re not going back into mom’s house.” Jessica lunged for the dog. “Drop it,” she said, her hand firmly on the stick. Only it wasn’t a stick. The dog opened her jaws, and Jessica examined the dirty treasure. She noticed the knobs at each end.​

 

Jessica dropped it. “No, Tela.” She placed her boot atop it to keep the dog from picking it back up.​

 

“What’s wrong?” Sara asked.​“I think that’s a bone.”