Opening
In these chapters, Tiger Tolliver finds a fragile sanctuary—first in a school grief group and then at a horse ranch—only to feel it ripped away by her sister’s secret plans. A deep, wordless bond with an injured horse steadies her, but a reckless ride and a fierce confrontation with a friend force Tiger to face how grief can tip into self-destruction and how love pulls her back.
What Happens
Chapter 36: 24 days, 10 hours
Two days after catching Shayna Lee Franklin drunk, Tiger moves through the house quietly, haunted by a manila envelope on the table—the death certificates. Online, she searches Grief and Loss resources and stumbles on “My mom died now what,” which feels like her whole life. At the grief group, Tiger confides to Mae-Lynn Carpenter that she drank the vodka after the certificates arrived because their finality crushes her. The group opens up about keeping loved ones’ clothes for the smell and memory. When asked about her floral dress, Tiger explains that June Tolliver bought it for the Memorial Days dance; they fought about it, and then June died, so she’s “never taking it off.” No one judges her. They understand.
Mr. Jackson announces a free week at Caballo Dorado, a local ranch where Thaddeus Roach works. The promise of horses—and distance from home—lights Tiger up. That night, she and Mae-Lynn watch their classmates head into the dance from the car. Tiger texts Cake Rishworth, urging her to attend a prestigious music camp. Mae-Lynn, trembling, comes out about liking boys and girls, naming a piece of her Identity and Coming of Age her father will never know. Tiger’s immediate acceptance deepens their Friendship, and they sit together in quiet solidarity.
Chapter 37: 27 days
Tiger asks Shayna about the ranch. Distracted, Shayna agrees. Emboldened, Tiger asks to contact her dad, Dustin "Dusty" Franklin, after she returns. Shayna cracks: her own mother calls her a traitor for helping Tiger and has cut her off. She’ll make the call, Shayna says, but Tiger shouldn’t expect too much.
When Shayna leaves for a walk, Tiger opens her laptop and finds job and relocation searches for cities across the country—everywhere but Mesa Luna. The move feels real. She texts Cake, “I think she wants to move,” but Cake is away in New York, and silence answers her.
Chapter 38: 27 days, 16 hours
The grief group arrives at Caballo Dorado and inhales a new kind of air—hay, sweat, horse. Thaddeus greets them. Marco, the stable manager, sets strict expectations: respect the horses, do the work. Nervous laughs turn to real ones when a horse sneezes all over Mae-Lynn.
Tiger drifts to a small mare with a splint: Opal. Marco calls her a “tough girl” with “a lot of heart.” Tiger strokes her nose and feels something like calm for the first time in weeks. That night, she sneaks to the stall and whispers the truest thing she has: “My mom died.” Opal’s quiet breathing makes space for the rest.
Chapter 39: 29 days, 18 hours, 39 minutes
Riding lessons begin. Marco pairs Tiger with Opal, sensing their fit. In the ring, Tiger settles into the rhythm—awkward, bouncy, focused—and something inside her steadies. Thaddeus gives her a thumbs-up. Tiger considers, for the first time without guilt, the possibility that horses live in her blood too, a way to connect with her mother without drowning in the past.
Chapter 40: 30 days, 16 hours
A call shatters the ranch’s peace. Shayna, bright and rushed, says she’s picking Tiger up tomorrow for a “sister trip,” brushing off Tiger’s protests. The tone tells Tiger everything: this trip equals a move.
Panicking, Tiger rides out with Taran and Alif and shoves Opal into a full gallop, wanting to go “so fast I can’t see, can’t hear, can’t be.” Opal refuses the push—her injured leg won’t allow it—and she throws Tiger hard. Taran and Alif rush in.
Back at the guesthouse, Mae-Lynn confronts Tiger—furious and crying. “I know what you were trying to do,” she says, naming the self-harm in Tiger’s recklessness. “What kind of friend would leave me that way? What kind of friend would do that to me after I’ve had the worst kind of leaving?” The words break Tiger open. They hold each other, the bond cemented by love that refuses to look away.
Character Development
These chapters reset the emotional chessboard: grief stops being a private storm and becomes relational—shaping choices, testing boundaries, and forging family.
- Tiger: Finds grounding in Opal and the ranch’s routines, revealing strength that looks like Resilience and Survival but can flip to self-harm when threatened. Mae-Lynn’s intervention pulls her back into accountability—to herself and to the people who love her.
- Shayna: Emerges as complicated and overwhelmed. Disowned by her mother for helping Tiger, she clings to control by planning a move and disguising it as a “vacation,” acting out of fear rather than malice.
- Mae-Lynn: Steps into the role of closest confidante. She risks vulnerability about her sexuality and then risks the friendship by calling out Tiger’s dangerous behavior—embodying the fierce loyalty of Family and Found Family.
- The Grief Group: Moves from acquaintances to a net that catches one another—by listening, mucking stalls, and showing up at the fence when someone falls.
Themes & Symbols
Opal symbolizes wounded strength. Her splint, stubborn limits, and “lot of heart” mirror Tiger’s recovery: both can carry weight, but not at a dead run. When Tiger forces speed, Opal’s refusal becomes a lesson in the body’s wisdom—healing demands pace, patience, and boundary.
The ranch functions as a sanctuary where labor organizes grief. Grooming, mucking, and circling the ring translate pain into motion and care, turning chaos into routine. Within this space, [Grief and Loss] stops isolating Tiger and begins connecting her to others. That connection sharpens the meaning of [Friendship]: not just comfort, but intervention—the kind that says “live” when someone veers toward harm.
Key Quotes
“My mom died.”
- Tiger speaks the core truth aloud to Opal, turning private agony into shared space. Naming loss becomes the first step toward integrating it rather than outrunning it.
“I’m never taking it off.”
- The dress, bought by June and soaked with memory, becomes a wearable shrine. The line captures how grief clings to objects—and how those objects can both comfort and trap.
“so fast I can’t see, can’t hear, can’t be.”
- Tiger’s urge for speed is a bid for obliteration, not freedom. The cadence of the line mimics breathless panic, revealing how quickly coping can slide into self-destruction.
“What kind of friend would leave me that way? What kind of friend would do that to me after I’ve had the worst kind of leaving?”
- Mae-Lynn reframes friendship as a life-preserving pact. Her plea anchors the section’s moral center: love doesn’t just empathize; it intervenes.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
This sequence marks Tiger’s first sustained movement toward healing: the grief group validates her rituals, and the ranch gives her structure, mastery, and a living mirror in Opal. Shayna’s looming move raises the stakes, threatening Tiger’s new footholds and exposing how adult fear can destabilize a child’s hard-won progress.
The climax—Tiger’s reckless ride and Mae-Lynn’s confrontation—reorients the novel. Grief is no longer just something happening to Tiger; it’s something she can choose to navigate with others. The section plants the story’s urgent question: with sanctuary uncertain and family in flux, will Tiger honor the bonds that insist she keep herself alive?