The Land of the Shadow by Lissa Bryan Page B

wondered if she’d given Kaden any reproving looks, but that really wasn’t her style. She knew as well as he did Kaden would take this hard without any chastisement on their part.
    “I say go between the shoulders,” he said.
    “Have you ever had occasion to skin an alligator?” Carly turned and gave him a quick kiss.
    “Can’t say that I have, but we can’t use this ridged area for leather.”
    “Belly would be easier,” Miz Marson said.
    “Yes, but I want to have an intact hide, and as Justin said, we can’t use the back. We’d have to cut it into two strips.”
    Miz Marson shrugged. “You could try two methods, then.”
    Justin approved of Carly’s decision to try to revive the old-fashioned skills of leatherworking. They had discussed it before, but this was the first time they’d caught a creature large enough to attempt it. After all, the leather they had today wouldn’t last forever, and it would be best to learn it now, while they still had the luxury of time for trial and error. But he wasn’t sure if an alligator hide was ideal for the first try.
    Carly chose a spot between the first and second row of scales and cut down into the skin.
    “Ugh!” She grimaced at the milky-white lining below. “God, it’s like dissecting the alien in Independence Day. ”
    Justin grinned and kissed her before heading back toward the barn. Sam got up from where he’d been resting beneath the shade of a bush. There was a subtle shift in his posture as he fell in beside Justin. He wasn’t in the “happy, harmless doggy” demeanor he displayed while following Carly around town. He was in lupine-hunter mode, his head dropped low, slinking along with minimal noise, his amber eyes intense. He sniffed at the grass, but if he discovered anything interesting, he didn’t indicate it to the man at his side.
    “Hold up, Justin!”
    Justin looked back over his shoulder and saw Stan jog across the yard to catch up to him. Sam’s tail smacked into Justin’s leg as he wagged it, slipping back into “happy doggy” stance. His tongue even lolled out the side of his mouth. Justin smothered a grin. The wolf’s intelligence was eerie sometimes. Stan had always been a little afraid of Sam, and it seemed Sam was trying to make himself appear as harmless as possible. Stan gave Sam a timid pat, and Sam licked his hand before going back to his search, intent on sniffing the grass.
    “Can I walk with you? I need to talk to you about something.” Stan glanced around, as though to make sure no one else was within earshot.
    Great , Justin thought. Those words never preceded happy news. “What is it?” he asked, heading down over the lawn toward the lower-lying land edging the swamp.
    Stan followed, picking his path with care, but his foot managed to find the only root sticking up out of the ground and he pinwheeled his arms to keep his balance. Justin stepped over to help, but Stan recovered on his own.
    “I’ve been doing the math,” he said. “I’m an accountant, after all, and that’s what we do best.” Stan gave a humorless laugh.
    Justin didn’t reply.
    “We’re not going to make it.”
    Justin nodded. “I know.”
    “When I looked at the caloric output of our fields divided per person, and then at the necessary calories required given the increased physical activ—what do you mean, you know ?”
    “I’ve done the math, too, Stan.”
    They reached the fence line. The swamp lay still in the heat of the late afternoon, except for the dragonflies darting over the water. A few birds trilled in the cypress trees, accompanied by the occasional croak of a frog. Justin scanned the muddy banks, looking for tracks.
    “Three years,” Stan said. “That’s how long I calculate we have at our current output before the diminishing returns catch up to us. And that’s assuming we can find seed for next year’s crop.”
    “I have a few more towns to check.” But they both knew the odds of that paying off in any