The following day, Selena questions Grandma Billy about the need to plant a garden if she does not intend to remain in Quartz Creek. Grandma Billy replies that Selena may stay long enough to harvest greens and that, if she leaves, others can take whatever produce grows. Selena reflects that she enjoys gardening and recalls her unsuccessful attempts in the city, where Walter mocked the misshapen carrots she grew. She offers to pay for seeds—greens, squash, and peppers—but Grandma Billy refuses, explaining that seeds are inexpensive and that sharing them repays Amelia for seeds she gave Grandma. Selena acknowledges that she has little money to offer in return.

As they talk, Grandma Billy explains the town’s seasonal economy, noting that the tourist season attracts “mostly rich white folks who don’t want to live like this” (63). She describes how residents supplement their income by selling specialty goods such as corn smut or handmade items. Selena then asks about the disturbing scream she heard last night. Grandma Billy dismisses it as the cry of a fox.

After tea, Grandma Billy leaves. Selena reuses the old tea bags to make another cup and settles in to read more of Amelia’s journals. While reading, she becomes aware of an unsettling sensation of being watched. She checks the doors and windows, recalling how Walter used to ridicule her fear of looking outside at night. Returning to her seat, Selena notices the statue of Snake-Eater and turns it around so that it isn’t facing her. Despite this, the feeling of being observed persists. She turns on the radio to distract herself while continuing to read.

On her fifth morning in the house, Selena wakes to find a man in her bed. Disoriented, she looks down at him and sees only “mottled gray” before he screeches, shoves her, and vanishes. Selena convinces herself that the encounter must have been a dream and takes Copper outside.

After preparing coffee and eggs, Selena sits on the porch and notices a figure dressed in green, wearing a strange mask, kneeling beside her squash plants. When she looks away briefly at Copper and then looks back, the figure has vanished. Disturbed, Selena reflects that she may be “crazy,” an idea reinforced by Walter’s repeated assertions. The possibility that she is developing a mental illness oddly comforts her, as it would free her from expectations of behaving “normally.”

Grandma Billy soon arrives, bringing a large bag of blue and yellow cornmeal. When Selena confesses that she believes she is hallucinating and describes the masked figure in the garden, Grandma Billy responds without alarm, suggesting that Selena likely saw a squash god. She explains that such a being might have originated from Hopi or Zuni traditions and notes that it may return if Selena continues tending the garden. Grandma Billy describes these beings as generally benevolent and explains that some people think of them as spirits rather than gods. She further claims that there is a “thin spot” in the garden, which she says accounts for Amelia’s many friends—“people, but not human people” (75). Grandma Billy advises Selena to discuss the matter with Father Aguirre and suggests leaving offerings of cornmeal or tobacco as a gesture of goodwill. She then asks whether Selena would like to go into town.

In town, Selena visits the post office and privately expresses concern to Jenny about Grandma Billy’s mental state. Jenny is unconcerned, noting that eccentric beliefs are common in the area, but she does express worry about Grandma Billy’s age and asks Selena to look out for her. Selena agrees. As she leaves, Selena notices that she did not mention any plans to depart Quartz Creek.

That evening, Selena attends the Saturday church dinner. She is startled when Father Aguirre asks whether she would like to visit Amelia’s burial site the following day, and they make plans to go together. Grandma Billy requests high-quality cornmeal from Father Aguirre for Selena’s squash god. Selena anxiously anticipates disapproval, but Father Aguirre responds calmly, providing cornmeal and asking about Selena’s experience. He later returns with a carving of a Squash Kachina, explaining that while he is not qualified to teach Pueblo traditions, the Pueblo people were “skilled observers” who understood what spirits looked like. When Selena expresses confusion about his apparent acceptance of multiple spiritual beings, Father Aguirre explains that the commandment forbids placing other gods above the Christian god, not believing in spirits. Grandma Billy later remarks privately that Father Aguirre’s mother was a god.

After returning home, Selena finds a scorpion in her sink and carries it outside. When she comes back in, she notices that Snake-Eater is facing forward again; she assumes that Grandma Billy turned it. She turns on the radio but grows irritated when the program discusses a horse spirit, Caballo, and shuts it off. Unable to sleep, Selena lies awake studying a map of the surrounding area. She reflects on the possibility that she has stumbled into a cult, though the people she has met do not seem cult-like. She finds it absurd that her mind would invent something as arbitrary as a squash god. As she lies awake, Selena replays recent conversations, evaluating whether she behaved appropriately. She recalls organizing her mother’s funeral and how manageable it felt because everyone followed established social scripts. Finally, she rehearses what she will say the following day when she accompanies Father Aguirre to Amelia’s grave.

Father Aguirre escorts Selena to Amelia’s grave, located on a hillside near a large saguaro. He explains that she could not be placed directly beneath the cactus due to its delicate root system. The burial site was one Amelia herself selected, as she often sat on a nearby boulder. Father Aguirre recalls that Amelia once claimed to have named the saguaro but refused to share its name. When Selena asks about the town’s practice of naming houses, Father Aguirre explains that names serve as protective anchors. He adds that Amelia’s house was once called Sunflower House and that no one understood why she later renamed it Jackrabbit Hole House, particularly since jackrabbits live in scrapes rather than holes.

Selena notices that the wooden cross marking Amelia’s grave has been carved with the words “WHERE IS SHE?” (86). Father Aguirre says he has not seen the inscription before and speculates that it may have been left by one of Amelia’s many friends. He then expresses relief that someone is once again living near Grandma Billy, a sentiment Selena silently acknowledges without correcting his assumption that she intends to stay. When Selena asks how her aunt died, Father Aguirre explains that Amelia experienced a slow decline. Selena expresses guilt for not coming sooner, but Father Aguirre counters that Amelia could have asked for her presence but likely would not have wanted Selena to see her in that condition. He shares a personal anecdote about learning to relinquish excessive self-blame after being warned that such thinking “border[s] on personal idolatry” (89).

As they prepare to leave, Father Aguirre warns Selena about the spine-covered cholla cactus, noting that nearly everyone encounters it eventually. He offers to help remove spines if either Selena or Copper is injured.

Shortly after Selena returns home, Grandma Billy arrives with a pitcher of “desert mojitos,” made with sage instead of mint. They discuss Amelia’s burial and the small ceremony held for her. Selena reflects on her mother’s burial in a church and reveals that her mother was a religious extremist and emotionally abusive. She recalls admiring how Amelia once stood up to her mother and describes her own estrangement after leaving for college. Selena recounts how introducing Walter to her mother initially made her feel validated because he recognized her mother’s behavior as harmful. She trails off, uncomfortable continuing the story.

During their conversation, the squash god reappears in the garden. When Selena attempts to approach him, he vanishes. Selena feels guilty for frightening him and struggles to understand why a god would be afraid of her. Grandma Billy explains simply that he is “shy,” a description Selena immediately relates to. Selena then notices that several squash plants have grown. Grandma Billy explains that the entity is a minor spirit. As they talk, a scream echoes across the desert. Grandma Billy reacts with surprise, insisting that it is not a fox and suggesting that it may be an owl, which she admits she distrusts.

After Grandma Billy leaves, Selena places a handful of cornmeal beside the squash plants. She apologizes aloud and thanks the squash god for tending the garden. The following day, the cornmeal is gone.

Selena continues living in Quartz Creek, subsisting largely on eggs from Grandma Billy and leftovers from Lupe. Over time, she becomes more integrated into the town’s informal economy. Grandma Billy teaches her how to make small sachets from foraged desert materials; her extensive plant knowledge impresses Selena, but she dismisses this as simple familiarity gained through exposure. Selena sells the sachets to Connor, earning enough money to purchase additional rice, beans, and dog food.

When Grandma Billy becomes ill one day, she calls Selena on the landline to ask her to water the chickens. Selena then contacts Father Aguirre to inform him that Grandma Billy is sick, though not seriously so. He thanks her for the update. By the following day, Grandma Billy has recovered.

As Selena settles further into daily life, she notices the garden continuing to thrive and occasionally glimpses the squash god among the plants. At the same time, she begins experiencing recurring, unsettling dreams that frequently wake her abruptly during the night. One day, noticing movement outside, Selena assumes that one of Grandma Billy’s chickens has escaped and goes to investigate. Instead, she encounters a roadrunner. Recognizing it as Snake-Eater, she is struck by its resemblance to a dinosaur. The bird advances rapidly, “more like a lizard than a bird” (99), as Copper bristles in alarm. Selena grabs Copper’s collar and drags her inside, barely closing the door before the roadrunner reaches it.

Through the door, Selena and the roadrunner stare at one another before the bird begins striking the wood. Selena clings to Copper and turns on the radio. DJ Raven makes several community announcements and takes a call from a woman named Galadriel, who reports unusual energy coming from the northeast. After some time passes, Selena checks outside and finds that the roadrunner has gone, though it has left visible claw marks on the door.

At the next church potluck, Selena recounts the incident. Lupe shares a story about a wildlife rehabilitator who was attacked by a roadrunner, and others offer speculative explanations. Neither Grandma Billy nor Father Aguirre comments on the event.