by Tony Birch
‘You two want a lift home?’
I tried to answer but couldn’t get my frostbitten jaw unlocked. I nodded my head as best I could, opened the back door, helped Jim and the cat into a seat, followed by Ella. I jumped in the front seat. The car reeked of marijuana smoke. Ethan turned to Jim and Ella and then me, glassy-eyed.
‘What have you four been doing?’ he drawled.
I still couldn’t open my mouth. I was glad in a way, as I didn’t know what to say.
‘Ice-cream,’ Jim explained. ‘We have been out getting some ice-cream. I think we’ve got it here somewhere.’
‘Cool,’ the kid nodded. ‘I love my ice-cream.’
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank John Hunter for his unwavering support of my writing. I also want to thank everyone at UQP associated with the delivery of this book – a dedicated team effort.
I am fortunate to have a wonderfully supportive family and a group of loyal friends. This is for you. For Sara – ‘We’re riding out tonight to case the Promised Land’. And finally, Tully (1999–2013) – we miss your mighty big heart.
First published 2014 by University of Queensland Press
PO Box 6042, St Lucia, Queensland 4067 Australia
www.uqp.com.au
[email protected]
© Tony Birch
This book is copyright. Except for private study, research,
criticism or reviews, as permitted under the Copyright Act,
no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior
written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.
Cover design and photograph by Josh Durham (Design by Committee)
Typeset in 12/16 pt Bembo by Post Pre-press Group, Brisbane
Printed in China by 1010 Printing International Ltd
National Library of Australia cataloguing-in-publication data is available
at http://catalogue.nla.gov.au
ISBN 978 0 7022 4999 0 (pbk)
ISBN 978 0 7022 5210 5 (epdf)
ISBN 978 0 7022 5211 2 (ePub)
ISBN 978 0 7022 5212 9 (Kindle)
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