Coconut Grove nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy.

Penn had paused in his wandering to sniff at the sand. His brow furrowed thoughtfully as he recognized an unexpected scent—coyote. He lifted his head and looked around. What would a coyote be doing here, he wondered. It was only a moment before decided he was mistaken. The scent had only barely registered, so he figured it was just his wishful mind playing tricks on him. There were no coyotes around. Just a girl watching him silently further along the beach.

Wait, what?

Penn did a double take. He hasn’t expected to actually see anyone, though he had to admit, it was happening more and more lately. Must be the weather, or so he concluded. His first instinct was to bolt, but he stayed for the usual reason. She was young. She could be his.

”Have you seen a coyote around here?” Penn called over to her, internally admonishing himself for being such a moron over and over again. For as much as he told himself to drop it, it didn’t matter, he just couldn’t keep the thought from re-entering his brain every time.