`` well , '' brooks breathes , kissing the top of my head , `` better not let anything happen to you , then . '' i found a halfway decent house stick and broke the balls . somehow , she ended up curled on her side . and , of course , one inviting kids to join the summer reading program . right at that moment it 's game on . she asked , chuckling at the memory now that it was in the past . at full strength , i could dismantle it with my bare hands . 