“We can’t wake her unless it’s an emergency,” Liam said sleepily. “Do you want to watch TV or draw?”
Good kids. I moved away from the door to look up and down the street as my stomach empathized with Aden. We hadn’t stopped for anything until we’d reached the motel, and lunch was long gone. A block away, I saw a fast food place.
Giving the motel door one last glance, I took off at a run. It was dark and the traffic light. As long as I stuck to the shadows, no one would notice a man running way too fast. I’d be a blur out of the corner of an observer’s eye and back before the kids’ stomachs could growl twice.
A twenty-four-hour drugstore had me stopping before I reached my destination. I hesitated on the sidewalk. I didn’t want to be absent any longer than necessary. But, I’d emptied their car. They had nothing with them. No clothes, no toiletries, nothing. It would only take me a few minutes, I told myself as I walked inside. Still, as I hunted down supplies for them, I worried they would look for me and find me missing.
After the drugstore, I went straight to the restaurant. I ordered two coffees and a mess of breakfast sandwiches. I used a burst of speed to get back to the motel in less than a minute.
Aden and Liam were still quietly entertaining themselves inside the room when I knocked. A second later, Liam’s little face peeked out the curtained window beside the door.
I winked at him and lifted the food bag. He glanced at the bag then behind him and let the curtain fall back into place. I listened to him try to wake Michelle. He called her Mimi, so close to “Mommy.” She’d mentioned their father, her stepfather, dying. But where were her Mom and Dad?
After his third attempt, I heard her move. Their conversation was equally easy to hear in the still of the night.
“I’m up,” she said. “What’s wrong?”
“Emmitt’s knocking on the door,” Liam said. “I looked out the window and saw it was him.”
The rustle of covers told me she was getting out of bed. I watched the peephole as she leaned against the door. A second later, she pulled the door open and motioned for me to enter. The dark circles under her eyes looked even more pronounced despite her increased alertness. She needed more sleep.
I stepped in, taking my time to pass by her so I could inhale her scent. The fear was lighter now. Not gone, as I would have liked.
Liam and Aden watched me closely as I set the food on the table.
“There’s a fast food place nearby. Since everything’s been quiet, I made a quick run.” I held out the plastic shopping bag. “I noticed you didn’t have much, so I also picked up a few things.”
She took the bag and stared at the contents. It wasn’t much. Toothbrushes, paste. Some clean socks.
“Thank you,” she said softly, not looking up.
Her gratitude was real, but not strong enough to wipe out her doubt and suspicion.
The boys watched us, waiting to see what Michelle would do. She closed the bag and waved them toward the bathroom. Aden looked back at the food, but dutifully listened to his sister. He reminded me of Jim, and I couldn’t wait to get home with them.
While they brushed their teeth, I ate three sandwiches and set the rest of the food out for them.
As soon as the boys were done in the bathroom, they came to sit at the table while Michelle sat on the bed.
She studied her hands for a minute before finally looking up at me.
“Sorry for waking you up so soon. I could hear the boys saying they were hungry,” I said, glancing at Liam and Aden. They were watching us closely as they ate hungrily.
“Slow down, you two, or you’re going to choke,” she said. She met my gaze again. “We haven’t been eating right, so it’s good that you woke me. They needed this.”
“And you need more sleep,” I said before I could stop myself.
“I’m rested enough for you to tell me who you are and why you’re helping me.”
“My name’s Emmitt Cole. I was recently discharged from the military. Now, I’m just taking my time seeing the country as I make my way home to Montana. And I’m helping you because, back at the restaurant, you