We all have our own school system with about a thousand kids in each high school, except that Grand Havenitself has two high schools-North and South-and they have at least two thousand kids in each. The rest of Grand Havenisn't so grand, though, and most of us kinda thumb our noses at it. Willow Mill is a step down from Poplar Hollow, and Jupiter is a step up, but you'd need a ladder to get into Parkwick. Mostly, the villages circle Grand Haven like planets in a solar system, and the distinctions between the villages are measured more by the sizes of the houses than anything else. Poplar Hollow, Jupiter, Willow Mill, and Parkwick are all villages technically within the city of Grand Haven, New York. I couldn't leave Ma, because who'd get to her quickly if something bad happened?ĭonny sighed and started the car, heading west. We were an hour and forty minutes by car outside of New York City, two and a half hours by train. I couldn't imagine going there to live again. But it was hard for me to go into the city to visit Donny for even a day without the shakes and shortness of breath coming back. The minute we moved out of Brooklyn, leaving behind all the noise and people, I'd settled down. Other times I couldn't seem to catch my breath, and I'd nearly pass out. Some days in class Iwould shake so hard I couldn't hold a pencil. I'd startedhaving panic attacks and couldn't seem to concentrate at school. In fact, it'd been one of the reasons Ma had moved us all the way out here. I loved Donny, but ever since my dad died, I'd had trouble with the city. 'You can always come live with me, you know,' he said in a serious tone. Instead he glanced toward the house, then back at me. Can we please go?'īut Donny didn't start the car. 'No, really,' he pressed, his brow all furrowed and concerned.

Once we were in the car, Donny turned to me and said, 'How you doin', kiddo?' Uncle Donny told her she'd better stay home. He walked me to the car after taking one look at Ma, who'd hit the bottle kind of hard the day before even though it was nearly noon, she was still pretty groggy. The sight of him looking so sharp and confident made me feel better. Donny always looks good, but today I could tell he'd put a little bit extra into his appearance. He arrived in his shiny BMW, wearing a black suit and gold tie. UNCLE DONNY DROVE UP TO POPLAR HOLLOW the next day, right after the FBI called him to say that they wanted to talk to me again.

When by victoria laurie