Chapter 1
I had only been away for a week, but when Mr. Trevor turned onto Summit Avenue, I found it completely transformed from when I had seen it last. September had turned over into October, the rain had dried up, and the air had acquired a distinct chill. When I had left the leaves had still been clinging wetly to all the trees, their green faded like the colors on a newspaper left out in the sun.
Now, everything was a riot of reds and oranges not yet succumbing to the inevitable browns. They rustled and crinkled dryly together as the chill breeze swirled through them, and their crumbling edges filled the air with that autumn smell.
Back home in cow country, we had a few trees, so I knew that smell. But here trees were all around me. That smell permeated absolutely everything.
I lo
