looked like you could use someone on your side.” I paused, trying to think of what else I should say to help her believe my motives. “As long as it wasn’t anything illegal, I had no reason not to help.”
“I appreciate what you did. I wasn’t doing anything illegal. Those men had no right to take us back with them.”
“I figured as much from what David was saying.” The need to ask questions about the names I’d heard was there, but the distrust in her eyes stopped me. “I’m guessing you’re running. Going anywhere particular? I’d be happy to tag along to make sure you safely get to where you need to be.”
She didn’t answer right away. The hand holding her coffee started to shake enough that she had to use her other hand to steady it, and her scent changed, light traces of guilt lacing it. Something I’d just said had caused it, but what?
“Emmitt, we could use help, but I don’t think it’d be right to accept it.” She looked at the boys. “There’s a lot going on that I can’t explain. And, I didn’t have a place in mind when I left.”
“Can I make a suggestion?”
She nodded.
“Keep moving. As long as you’re awake, get further from the last place they found you. That David guy knows you’re exhausted. He’s going to count on you needing to stop. If I were him, judging from how rundown you looked, I’d bet you would crash hard, too. He’s going to start checking likely places where you might have stopped, calling and asking for you by name.”
“If he can’t find you still sleeping, he’ll at least look for a trail to follow. Switching vehicles was a good start, but they’ll have found the dealer by now and gotten a description of the new one. It’s only a matter of time...unless you can disappear.”
Her heart stuttered, and the scent of her fear grew stronger. I’d known suggesting she come home with me would scare her. Yet, it was the safest place for her. I struggled with the words to smooth away her concern.
“What exactly do you mean?” she asked.
“I live on a big spread. No neighbors close by. Plenty of room for you to lay low without feeling like you’re being locked away.”
She looked up and studied me.
“What’s in it for you?”
She was killing me with her mistrust.
“Haven’t you ever had anyone help you just to help?”
She sighed and set her coffee to the side.
“May I see your wallet?”
Though the question surprised me, I immediately took out my wallet. She could have anything in it. I’d give her anything and everything if it helped her feel safe with me.
She studied the contents, staring at my library card then the empty donor circle on my driver’s license. After that, she pulled out the only three pictures I had.
“Family?” she asked.
“My mom, brother, and dad.” I moved away from the door and looked at the pictures in her hand. They were several years old and well-worn. Being away from my family had been hard in the beginning. I’d gotten used to it, but I still missed them.
Michelle set the pictures aside and continued searching my wallet. There wasn’t much else, just a piece of paper with phone numbers but no names.
“What are these?” She held up the paper.
When she looked up at me, something happened. Her scent changed ever so subtly. A wisp of something sweet and fragile, there and gone again, had me wondering if I’d imagined it. The way she immediately dropped her gaze had me wondering what she’d just felt. What had caused her scent to change like that? I knew better than to ask, and focused on the paper.
“The first one is compliments of my mom. It’s the number for a friend of the family close to where I was stationed, in case I ran into trouble. The next one is my brother’s number. I left just after he and I moved down here from Canada. I wasn’t sure I’d remember the number.”
“How can you be from Canada but in the U.S. military?”
Her immediate suspicion and accusing tone warned me to answer carefully. Her brothers had finished eating and were watching us warily.
“My mom’s from the U.S. and insisted both Jim and I be born here. It drove my dad crazy because she didn’t want to leave home until the last minute. He swore it was her sheer determination that kept us from being born on the ‘wrong’ side of