she leaned forward and hugged her mother . beth , struck dumb by the question , by the catastrophe , could not answer . she shoved her bangs back and studied me more intently than she had at first . `` my instinct is n't wrong , and i wo n't change my mind . the doctor cut a stare in his direction . why this bothered anybody was beyond lincolns ability to ken . jack stood , traced the stream to where it disappeared into rock . the soft leather bit into her back . 