Cougar goes still and frozen when Jake uses that word for him about the dog, which is possibly the last straw for him. He gives up on the dog and heads over to the wood pile to start grabbing split logs and hauling them inside, ridding his cap along the way so his hair starts to curl and frizz in the humidity.

When he's taken away every last one of them, the dog has managed to get close enough to stare at them with his head cocked, like a child about to see its parents fight. And maybe that isn't so far off what is about to happen. "Why are you always so willing to let me step in and take over?"