Scotty flinched and stepped out of reach once Rodeo was satisfied with patting him. He hated being touched but it was hardly worth telling Rodeo that since he was leaving anyway. It would just raise suspicion anyhow, and suspicion always meant a more careful watch. No way was Scotty going to incur that. He would be fine as long as he stayed out of reach, that was all.
"They're mean," Scotty replied, wrinkling his nose down at the ground. "What is it?"
If anything, Scotty could hunt down a necklace. Ladies liked necklaces. His foster mom had, anyway. And his mom too hadn't she? Suddenly he realized he couldn't remember, and he swallowed thickly. Why couldn't he remember? This was his mom, he was supposed to remember everything about her.
He spent the rest of the walk thinking as much as he could about his family and trying to convince himself that he still remembered everything about them. By the time he arrived, Scotty was back to feeling miserable and tired. He didn't even wait for his roll to be finished before he sat down on Rodeo's bedroll.
"I dunno what Hormel is," Scotty told him, laying down and wrapping himself around the pillow. God, he hadn't slept with an actual pillow in so long. He missed it.