The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope - By Rhonda Riley Page 0,124

while.” The conviction in my voice surprised me. The truth of what I’d said calmed me.

They frowned, nodding. I didn’t have them yet, but I was uncertain how much I needed to say. I didn’t want to tell them where we were going, but I had to say more if I wanted their cooperation. “The doctors who saw your daddy want me to take him back to the hospital. They’ve come here twice already, looking for him. I don’t know if they can take him away and do things to him without his consent. But we can’t afford to wait here to find out.” Both of them stared in alarm. Rosie shook her head. I drew them closer. “I know he doesn’t need to be in a hospital, girls. He just needs a little rest and a little time away from all of this. This isn’t going to be just a vacation. It’s something we must do. Now. You shouldn’t tell anyone what I just told you—even Lil and Sarah. I don’t want to upset them. You understand? Can I count on you?”

They both nodded. They were with me.

“We’re on the lam,” Rosie announced.

Gracie laughed nervously and tried to blink her tears away.

“Yes, that’s one way to look at it,” I admitted. Then I lightened my voice. “But we’re not criminals and your daddy will be fine. We’re helping him. We’re on the lam from everything that’s happened to all of us in the last year. We all could use a little vacation, don’t you think? I know I need one. I’ll take you to a beautiful little lake where your daddy and I went swimming a long time ago when I was pregnant with you.” I pointed to Gracie.

She nodded again, solemnly, and wiped at her cheek.

“Okay then, girls, let’s get the food ready for the road.”

Rosie gave me a sharp, salutary nod.

Sarah opened the back door and popped her head out. “Y’all stop talking! Let’s go! Let’s get Daddy and go on vacation!” Behind her, Lil twirled through the kitchen. Then the two of them bolted away and down the hall.

Within an hour, we were ready. Gracie, Lil, and Sarah settled into the front seat while Rosie and I walked Adam out to the car. Groggy but cooperative, he carried most of his own weight and leaned on us for balance.

We waved to Wallace, then pulled away, I and three girls squeezed into the front seat to give Adam and Rosie as much room as possible in the back. With his head in her lap, he fell asleep again before we passed the city limits sign.

Clarion was its normal self, unchanged as it receded behind us. No one would miss us until tomorrow, when the girls didn’t show at school and I failed to bring Adam back to the hospital. Still, I expected to see the police behind us, or the shiny black car. I resisted the urge to speed.

We would be taking the old highways, not the new interstate. Florida was at least a twelve-hour drive away. Every nerve in my body seemed to vibrate. I didn’t know if I could last that long. We had been on the road for only a couple of hours when darkness fell. We passed around the sandwiches and jars of tea and kept going. Eating seemed to break the quiet. Even Adam woke up. I saw only part of his face in the rearview mirror. He looked okay, just sleepy.

“Where’re we going?” he asked.

“A little recuperation getaway. A second honeymoon.”

“Second honeymoon? Pauline’s?”

I nodded. “We’ll lie low for at least a few days first. See how things go, then visit her?”

“Good idea.” He tipped his head forward so the girls could reach it. They giggled as they ran their hands over the brown stubble. He drank some water and ate half of Rosie’s sandwich—his first food since the accident. Then he lay back down.

Gracie turned and asked, “Is he going back to sleep?”

“Uh-huh,” Rosie replied and began to sing “Hush Little Baby.” Sarah sang to him next. Then Lil took her turn singing her favorite song to him. We were silent a moment, then Gracie began her lullaby, “Amazing Grace,” and I joined her. I pushed on past the first verse on my own. By the time I came to the final verse, Sarah, Lil, and Rosie were asleep.

In the darkness beyond the yellow pool of our headlights, the ghostly shape of that X-ray kept appearing, unchanged by the miles we