Chapter 2Three weeks before Dario’s parents packed them up in the back of the Ford, the church burnt down. By the time the volunteer fire department put out the flames, there really wasn’t anything left to burn. The ancient wood had gone up like dry flint, and the resulting orange glow could be seen from miles and miles around. When Dario spotted the brown smoke, he had known it was the church. There hadn’t been a doubt in his mind. And he ran. He was four miles from Crows Landing, and he ran without pausing to catch his breath. When he reached the churchyard, he had nearly collapsed in Billy Ray’s arms.
He hadn’t thought about that day in years, but as he stepped into the new church, those memories overwhelmed him. His nose tickled and his eyes watered, as if irritated by thirty-year-old
