Where the red fern grows / Wilson Rawls --Lob's girl / Joan Aiken --Luke Baldwin's vow / Morley Callaghan --Old dog / William Stafford --Grip / Brendan Kennelly --Friends of the hunted Ryland Loos --Why they quit: thoughts from ex-hunters / Dena Jones Jolma --Two dreamers / Gary Soto.

    This short story was originally published in Joe Hill's collection 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS.

    Can she give up searching for the one and reclaim the other? Or is she fated to repeat the mistakes her mother made?Jaynie Highsmith grows up in Cub Creek on Hope Road acutely aware of the irony of its name, Hope, because she wants nothing more than to escape from it and the chaos of her childhood.Desperate to leave her past behind and make a new life, she is determined to become the best version of herself she can create. But when she does take off, she also leaves ~ and forgets ~ important parts of her past and herself.The new life is everything she wants, or so she thinks until she finds herself repeating the same mistakes her mother made. Is Jaynie destined for unhappiness? Is it like mother, like daughter? Did running away only delay the unhappiness she fears she is destined for?Seventeen years after leaving home, Jaynie needs a new fresh start and returning to Cub Creek is critical, but she is determined that the visit will be as short as possible and then she'll be out and free again. However, a longer stay may be vital to her future because if she has any hope of changing her destiny, Jaynie must reconcile the past she turned her back on with her present.