by Lisa Ladew
Almost immediately she was rewarded by a noise above her. Hardly daring to hope, Cerise shot forward, up the hill slightly to get past the overhang of the second floor, then turned and looked at the windows up there. Kaci’s face, small and impossibly sad, was there.
Cerise felt a cry of relief bubble up within her and she tamped it into submission. Not the place or time. “Kaci! Down here!”
Kaci’s eyes went wide when she saw Cerise. She leaned forward against the screen of the window. “How’d you get out of jail?”
“Never mind. You have to get down here, right now.” Cerise already had a plan, but she would almost certainly have to push Kaci again to get her to do it, which felt wrong somehow, to push someone she loved. But they didn’t have time for anything else.
Kaci surprised her, by punching out the screen and starting to climb out the window without a second thought, making Cerise wonder if she had pushed her without realizing it.
Someone spoke from behind Kaci, making Kaci glance over her shoulder. She didn’t say a word when she faced forward again, but her face was tight and she moved quicker.
“To the tree, Kaci, see it?” Cerise called in a whisper that seemed as loud as a shout.
Dismayed to see Kaci was in bare feet and pajamas that looked like single-color long underwear, Cerise briefly considered telling her to go back and get her clothes, but scrapped the idea when someone stuck their head out the window. Another girl, younger than Kaci was. She only watched Kaci scramble across the slanted overhang, though, didn’t raise an alarm.
When Kaci reached the tree that Cerise had indicated, the one that was a good ten feet taller than the building, and was completely trimmed on the side facing the building, she looked behind her once, then leaned forward and put both hands on its trunk.
Cerise shook her head in wonderment, then ran to get underneath her. Kaci had never been what Cerise would call brave in most situations, but her actions tonight were courageous as hell. Cerise hoped the interim home hadn’t been as awful as her experiences in foster care had been.
Cerise danced below Kaci with her arms out, wondering if she could catch her if the girl fell. She needn’t have worried. Kaci stretched her body, found footing on a branch just beneath her, and scrambled quickly down the tree. Kaci had always been good at tree climbing. In the summer, they sometimes spent hours surveying the forest from the boughs so high up, no one could hear them or see them.
Kaci reached the ground and Cerise gathered her into a bear hug.
“Are we on the run?” Kaci whispered into her neck, her voice small.
Cerise grabbed her hand. “We are. Can you make it through the snow? We only have a block to go.” As she spoke, she began to run, pulling Kaci with her. Cerise would carry her if she had to, Kaci was small for her age, but Kaci had been through worse than walking on the frozen ground in her bare feet.
Within moments, they made it up the hill and down the block, never sparing even a second to look back at the interim home.
***
Beckett cast another glance over his shoulder and frowned. Cerise was coming, but she did have a young girl with her. The girl he had scented at their home, he was sure. They were coming fast and the girl looked to be barefoot. Another escape. Shit.
But when Cerise ripped the passenger door open and tried to push the girl up into the seat, his mind smoothed out slightly. It was worth it, although he briefly lamented the fact that the little sister would be coming with them. He’d rather be alone with Cerise, if he were going to risk everything he had for her. He twisted in his seat to face them, trying to hide his sudden irritation. He didn’t like kids. Didn’t understand them. Thought they were irritating and annoying. And huge liabilities.
This one looked at him with eyes as big as dinner plates, freckles covering her cheeks, forehead, and chin, then put her hands out, pushing against the seat and resisting Cerise with all her might. The girl was painfully thin and small, all knees and elbows and terrified eyes, but she fought like Cerise was pushing her into hell, succeeding in staying out of the truck.
“Lemon, he’s going to help us,” Cerise grunted, lifting Lemon and trying to push her up onto the seat. The girl would have none of it, and Beckett could smell the fear coming off of her in waves, even though he normally wasn’t great at scenting emotions in his human form. Her fear was of him, making him do a double take. He wasn’t scary. What had her so spooked? Oh. He remembered exactly what she’d been through that day. The day before and the day before, too, probably. He wiped the irritation out of his mind and tried to look welcoming.
The girl didn’t say a word, she just twisted in Cerise’s arms and tried to climb over her shoulder. Cerise looked down the street, her expression frightened, then lowered the girl to the ground gently and took her by the hand to the back of Beckett’s truck. Beckett didn’t watch them. He could hear their frantic, whispered conversation easily, although they probably thought he couldn’t.
“He’s not going to hurt us, I promise. He’s a nice guy,” Cerise said.
The girl’s voice was almost a whimper. “How do you know?”
“He saved me. Got me out of handcuffs and took me out of the hospital.”
The girl didn’t say anything for a minute, and Beckett could almost hear Cerise looking up and down the road again. All dark still, no cars, no sound of sirens.
The girl’s voice was softer still. “You were in the hospital?”
“I can’t explain it now, Kaci, but I promise you, I know this guy won’t hurt us. His name is Beckett. He’s a doctor, sworn to help people, not hurt them.” She stopped for a minute as if grasping for something else to say, then told Kaci, “His name means beehive.”
Kaci’s voice raised only slightly, and her words shook, whether with cold or fear, he didn’t know. “Let’s try the train, Cerise. I can walk there. I’m not cold at all. Just me and you.”
“Kaci, no, we-” Cerise broke off and ran the five feet up to the open passenger door. “Beckett, do we need I.D. to ride on a train?”
Beckett nodded. “Since 9/11, you need a passport and a Social Security card just to take out a library book.”
Cerise frowned at him like she hadn’t understood anything he’d just said, then she turned slowly back to Kaci and disappeared from his sight.
“We can’t go on the train, Kaci. It’s go with Beckett to California, or hitchhike. Do you want to risk being caught by the cops again?”
Beckett’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. No way was he letting these two out of his sight. He’d never met anyone who needed a friend more than they did. He glanced back at them once, wondering what kind of run-ins they’d had with police that would make Cerise’s voice twist the way it had when she’d said cops. Not good ones. Damn, that complicated his position a little, unless he continued to let them believe he was a doctor.
Even in the dim light of a nearby streetlight, Beckett could tell Kaci’s lips were trembling, her eyes tearing. This little girl might turn out to be an annoying mystery, but for now, Beckett’s heart broke at how terrified she was. Of him. Of everything.
He didn’t know what most kids needed, didn’t care, but something about this one plucked at his heartstrings and he thought he might know what she needed. He’d had a dog as a pet once when he’d been young, before his father and brother had died, a tiny little thing that had been abused. He’d found her in the alley behind their house, fur matted, blood on one flank. She’d been a nervous thing, always running from him, until he’d started to share his lunch with her. His father had taken one look at her and declared her old and said she wouldn’t live more than a year, and he’d been right, but during that year Beckett had spoiled her rotten. She’d slept on his bed, always got at least a quarter of anything he was eating, and he wouldn’t let anyone say a harsh word to her, or she would run away and not come back for days, until he lured her with food again. She had never completely been at ease with the world, never been able to handle anyone i
n the house raising their voice, and Beckett had been the only one who could pet her. That’s what this little bitty slip of a girl would respond to, he knew it, suddenly. Being spoiled rotten.
He rooted fiercely for her to get in the truck, already trying to think of ways to ease her mind, prove he could be trusted, spoil her.
He listened hard, waiting for her decision, wondering what Cerise would do if she still balked.
But when Kaci spoke, her voice had changed slightly. Some of the fear had leaked out, and a bit of wonder had replaced it. “Cerise, he sounds like Luke and Bo Duke.”
Beckett grinned, knowing he’d found his ace. She liked country boys? That was a role he could play to perfection.
Chapter 17
Cerise’s eyes shot open and she sat bolt upright in the truck, the towel she’d been using as a pillow against the window falling to the floor. Kaci whimpered and put her arm over her face, still sleeping, her head in Cerise’s lap.
Cerise blinked hard at the highway flying past them, trying to figure out where they were. The sun was coming up behind them, which meant it was close to 7:00 in the morning and she’d been asleep for almost four hours.
But she’d forgotten to push Beckett the night before when he’d asked where they were headed to and she’d tentatively said Las Vegas, Nevada, not knowing why she’d lied. His reaction had been so normal, so accepting, she’d never even thought of doing it. Plus she’d put Kaci in the middle of the bench seat, meaning she’d have to reach around Kaci to touch Beckett. Stupid!
What had he said? He’d grinned and told her, “I’m owed time off at work and I’ve got a full tank of gas. A road trip sounds like just what I’ve been hankering for.”
She’d frowned at him, noticing at once that his Southern accent had deepened considerably. But when she saw Kaci watching him carefully, measuring his words in that quiet way of hers, she’d gone with it, wondering if he’d somehow heard what Kaci had said about him sounding like the boys from the Dukes of Hazzard TV show.
Now suspicion crept in. What exactly did he want from them? Or was it as simple as the fact that her push had some sort of residual? Once she told him to do something once with a push, could she give him more commands and he’d follow even without one? That didn’t seem right, somehow.
She spoke quietly, not wanting to wake Kaci. “Where are we?”
He responded just as quietly, his tone soft. “Should be seeing signs for Des Moine exits any minute here.”
She gaped at him. “Des Moine, Iowa?”
He grinned, quickening her heartbeat. God, he was handsome, and the stubble on his cheeks and chin made him even more so in this early morning light. “’Course, darlin’. Gotta go through Iowa to get to Nevada.”
She didn’t speak for a long time, her hands twirling in Kaci’s rusty red hair. They’d made it out of Illinois. They were on their way to California. Could be there by tomorrow if they didn’t stop. She might possibly be able to pull this off, to find Kaci’s real family, to get her to someone who would love her and care for her and give her the life she deserved.
Cerise knew someone had to answer for the laws she’d broken and Myles’s death, but it would not be Kaci.
She snuck a glance at Beckett. He’d driven all night, not even stopping to go to the bathroom, she didn’t think, unless she’d missed it. For them. Because she’d asked him to. Maybe she hadn’t been just trying to convince Kaci that he was a good guy last night. Maybe she’d been right and he actually was.
She faced forward again, warning herself not to get too comfortable. Because maybe he wanted something from them, or was just under her influence.
He yawned, causing her to turn to him again.
“You tired?” she asked, wondering if she could push him not to need sleep. She wouldn’t do such a thing, but couldn’t help but consider the limits of this strange power she had. And the repercussions.
He cast her a sideways smile, then nodded at Kaci’s sleeping form. “Tired and hungry. What do you say we get some breakfast when li’l bit wakes up.”
“Her name is Kaci.”
He nodded. “Kaci. Got it.”
Kaci stirred, then pushed herself into a sitting position, blinking owlishly at the highway they were on and pushing her hair out of her face.
“Mornin’, Kaci,” Beckett said in a normal voice, his Southern accent thicker than it had been a second ago. “Fancy some chow?”
Kaci didn’t answer, but she did look at him. Cerise wished she could see Kaci’s expression instead of just the back of her head.
Cerise spoke to Beckett. “We, ah, we don’t have any money. Ours was-” What could she say? Stolen? In fact, it was at the police station, inventoried in a tan envelope.
“I’ll spot you both,” Beckett said simply.
Cerise frowned. “What do you get out of this?”
Beckett looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. “Nothing. I’ll get to sleep at night, I guess. I never met nobody who could use help like you two could and I’m not gonna let you starve.”
Cerise pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to be pitied, but in reality, she couldn’t afford not to accept his help. Couldn’t afford not to be extremely grateful for it. They wouldn’t make it to California without him.
She pulled Kaci into her arms and spoke fiercely, getting it out of the way. “I’m not going to, you know, do anything for your help. Kaci neither.”
Beckett’s face tightened with anger that terrified her until she realized it wasn’t directed at them. “Good. I’d destroy anyone who tried to make you do something in exchange for a simple kindness. You don’t owe me nothing.”
Cerise felt tears float to her eyes unbidden and she forced them back. She’d never had anyone be kind to her before.
From this new perspective, with Kaci pulled into her arms, she could see much of Kaci’s face, see that she was now staring at Beckett with something like awe.
That makes two of us, Lemon.
***
Beckett swallowed the rage that coursed through him when he thought about what kind of a life these girls must have lived. He didn’t want to scare either of them. If Myles Pekin, or anyone who had ever hurt them, had been in front of him right then, he would have taught them a life-lesson, though, one that left them unable to ever hurt females again.
He calmed himself so he could speak, then nodded at the rest stop sign that flashed by them and turned his country roots up to full blast. “What do ya say, li’l bit? Breakfast time? Fast food? Fancy food? What ya got a hankerin’ for?”
He could feel the weight of Kaci’s stare on him, but she didn’t say a word.
“She doesn’t talk,” Cerise said.
Beckett flashed her a look. He’d clearly heard her talking at the back of his truck while they debated going with him. Cerise shook her head sharply. Oh, maybe she didn’t talk to strangers? Or men? Anger coursed through him again and he cut it short.
Cerise chose her words carefully. “She doesn’t…”
Beckett raised a hand. “You don’t have to explain it to me. No one in this truck has to do anything they don’t want to, including talk.” He winked at Kaci, but she didn’t respond. A desire to see her smile bloomed in his chest, surprising him with its ferocity. He wanted to tease a bit of happiness out of her, almost as much as he wanted to convince her big sister to trust him. Something told him doing the former might help the latter, but that didn’t matter as much to him as doing it for its own sake. Little girls should smile, should laugh, should be happy. He might not know shit about kids, but he knew that much.
He looked at Cerise. “Any ideas? We can stop anywhere. McDonalds, Subway, a sit-down restaurant. Anything you want.”
Kaci twisted in her seat and moved her mouth to Cerise’s ear. Whispering.
“McDonalds,” Cerise said.
“Perfect.” Beckett hit his blinker and edged to the right to take the next exit.
Within a few moments, he found a McDon
alds to pull into, sneaking glances at Kaci. Her eyes ate up her face, like everything was brand new to her. Cerise wore a similar expression and Beckett noticed her knuckles were white, clasped tightly in her lap. How much of this was a fresh experience? They couldn’t possibly have never been to a McDonalds before, could they?
He parked close to the building, making a note to get gas before they started driving again, then turned off the truck, then looked at Kaci and Cerise. “Maybe we should buy Kaci some shoes first.”
Cerise swung her face towards him, indecision and panic on her face. “Oh no, you don’t have to do that. We-ah, she’ll be fine.”
Beckett thought she was probably right, except… “They might not let her in.” He nodded to the No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service sign on the door.
Cerise looked for only a second. “Really?” She nibbled on her lower lip, and Beckett thought she couldn’t look more adorable. He also couldn’t decide what was bothering her more. Taking more of his money? He didn’t care. He had very little to spend it on, except his one hobby, and the only baby he was interested in, his truck.
He opened his mouth to tell her that, then closed it again. Maybe it would be better to ease her in to letting him spend money on them. It would take a while to get to Las Vegas, and if they weren’t on a time crunch, he would stretch it out as long as possible. He was in no hurry to get rid of them. “Maybe if you carry her, it will be ok.” She was small enough.
Cerise nodded eagerly, then exited the truck, turning back for Kaci, who seemed to float into her arms, her eyes glued onto the fast food restaurant. Once inside, Beckett pointed out the bathrooms. “Don’t let her stand on the floor in there. It can get downright grimy.”
Cerise nodded quickly, and within a few moments, they were all back at the front. Beckett led them to a table in the back where they wouldn’t get too much attention. “Anything you want,” he said. “Just tell me and I’ll get it for you.”
