—Tristan—  

     As promised, I picked Ellie up at seven so she could run with me. Usually I preferred to do my morning run alone, but I couldn’t resist her presence. Ellie had put on shorts, a T-shirt, and sneakers. She followed me quietly through the house but stopped when I led her toward the driveway. 

    “Where are we going?”

    “We’re going running, like I said. Did you think I do my laps in the garden?” 

   I opened the door to my ...