Regretting Redemption
Page 14
The Salish believed back then that the Caracus gang wouldn’t be able to cause terror on the reservation, only in the white community. Why would they have worried about any consequences involved with taking Jenny in? A child?
No one had.
Jenny shook off a shiver. Thoughts about her past always brought goosebumps to her arms.
Driving through the Clearwater County borders, only a mile from the Salish territory, she couldn’t escape the past. All of Montana and bits of Wyoming became her home for almost twenty years, and yet this was where her mom was buried. This was where she avoided returning, because Clearwater County was a guaranteed place she’d be caught.
Every time she got wind someone was searching for her she ran like hell. Especially when that someone was Devlyn Caracus or Joaquin Mendez. Hell, any of the Caracus gang.
Anyone.
But they were arrested and she thought she could breathe easy. Until she found out her uncle was still on the loose.
Jenny raised her shoulders, pushing them back. She leaned her head back, then stretched her neck to the sides. Her butt might have become a part of that dang seat since she sat in it for hours now, crossing the expansive plains and into the foothills of the purple mountains.
Her last sweet tea was getting to her, making her bladder hurt.
A green reflective ‘rest stop’ sign flashed back at her from the side of the road. Saved from having to squat in the bushes. Finally, a little luck on her side would do the trick.
Glancing in the mirror, Jenny groaned, turning the wheel with the exit’s approach. Yeah, she needed to wash her face and rebraid her hair. Bathing in the river yesterday to conserve any money she had, she didn’t feel safe anywhere. Trying to sleep in the car while on the side of the road down by Missoula the night before, Jenny couldn’t relax.
Not truly relax.
The rest stop matched every other one of its kind along the major highways in the state. Well maintained parking surrounded by landscaped grassy areas, multiple picnic benches and sporadic informational boards dotted the clearing surrounded by thick forest.
Jenny parked, slumping into her seat. She closed her eyes for a moment, resting them after driving all day and most of the night.
Clouds covered the stars and the moon’s glow barely broke through to light the lonesome highway as she drove, but now dawn tinged the edges of the sky with pinks, oranges, and purples.
Sporadic cars had passed, but Jenny refused to be rushed. She didn’t need to break any records. Besides speeding brought the unwanted attention of police. She didn’t want them to find her either.
She chuckled, the sound hollow inside the lonely car.
Who wasn’t looking for her? Police joined that list a long time before, too. First, because she was termed a runaway. But it quickly changed when she followed in her father’s footsteps.
She stole money when she couldn’t find odd jobs to get her cash.
Devlyn used to say she and her mom were his everything.
Of course, he lied. The bastard. Before she ran away, her father had changed toward her and said horribly mean things, said that if she left him he would find her – someone would find her.
She ran.
And because of him, she had to keep on running.
Her dad told everyone she was the key to finding his treasure.
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