“Slow down, you two, or you’re going to choke,” I warned them. I glanced back at Emmitt. “We haven’t been eating right, so it’s good that you woke me. They needed this.”
“And you need more sleep.”
The soft concern in his voice made my stomach do a very large, very crazy spiral, and I decided to change the subject.
“I’m rested enough for you to tell me who you are and why you’re helping me.”
He nodded. “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 looked like you could use someone on your side.” He paused a long moment. “As long as it wasn’t anything illegal, I had no reason not to help.”
I sipped the coffee in quiet thought, very aware the boys listened as they ate.
“I appreciate what you did. I wasn’t doing anything illegal.” In the parking lot, anyway. “They had no right to take us back with them.”
He studied me and nodded. “I figured as much from what David was saying. I’m guessing you’re running. Going anywhere particular?” His gaze flicked to the boys briefly. “I’d be happy to tag along to make sure you safely get to where you need to be.”
His question brought a pang of guilt, and I waged another silent war with myself. The boys were counting on me. Could I really keep them safe on my own? Blake had changed before my eyes. He wasn’t normal. Didn’t appear human. My hand holding the coffee shook slightly. I wrapped my other hand around the cup, too, trying to steady it and my thoughts. How could I hide from what I didn’t know, from what I didn’t understand? I needed help. But, could I trust a stranger? Even if I did, was it fair to put him in danger, too?
“Emmitt, we could use help, but I don’t think it’d be right to accept it.” I looked at the boys. “There’s a lot going on that I can’t explain.”
He didn’t say anything as he studied me.
I took another sip of coffee then answered his original question. “I didn’t have a place in mind when I left.”
“Can I make a suggestion?”
I nodded. Never hurt to listen.
“Keep moving. As long as you’re awake, get further from the last place they found you. He 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.”
I realized then that Emmitt had booked and paid for our room. I’d been too tired before to notice. He’d known what he was doing.
“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,” he said slowly, meeting my eyes. “Unless you can disappear.”
My heart stuttered in fear at his words, and I looked down at my coffee to hide my frown. I’d disappeared four years ago and didn’t want to disappear like that again. I just needed a place to hide. A place where I’d be in control.
“What exactly do you mean?”
“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.”
His words, echoing what I had just thought, continued to pluck a familiar cord of fear. I looked up, met his eyes, and searched for a hint of an ulterior motive.
“What’s in it for you?”
He shook his head slowly and frowned slightly. “Haven’t you ever had anyone help you just to help?”
I sighed. If someone had, it happened in a past I barely remembered. Should I trust again? And a stranger?
“May I see your wallet?” I asked cautiously.
I doubted he had anything to do with Blake, but I still needed to assure myself that he was whom he said and wasn’t trying to hide something.
He didn’t hesitate. A complete stranger reached into his front pocket to hand me his slim bi-fold wallet.
Liam, no longer pretending to eat, watched me closely. Fear had crept into his eyes. I gave him a weak smile, and feeling slightly embarrassed, I opened the wallet.
The name he had given me showed in print on his license, military ID, and library card. I looked at the library card for a long moment. I didn’t own one. I studied the driver’s license. Emmitt Alexander Cole, twenty-six years old and, surprisingly, not an organ donor. He would help a random stranger by fighting off two guys at a diner, but wouldn’t donate? I stared at it for a second before looking at the rest. I pulled out a credit card and eyed the same name. Everything matched.
I found three pictures tucked into the main pocket, along with several large bills. The first picture showed a very attractive woman with blonde hair and eyes that matched his. When I looked at her, I had a vague sense of recognition, but couldn’t place it. The other two photos were of men who bore an obvious resemblance to Emmitt.
“Family?” I asked, indicating the pictures.
“My mom, brother, and dad.” He pushed away from the door and moved closer to look at the pictures with me.
The picture of his mom couldn’t be recent. She looked amazing. I would have guessed sister because of the resemblance. I looked through the rest of his wallet and found a piece of paper with phone numbers, but no names.
“What are these?” I held up the piece of paper, and tilted my head to meet his eyes. The focus I found there made my stomach dip and heat suddenly. I looked back down at the paper.
“The first one is the compliments of my mom,” he said in an affectionate tone that made me miss my own mother. “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 US military?”
“My mom’s from the US 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 the border.” A genuine smile split his face, and I could see his family meant a lot to him.
I looked away and noted we also had Aden’s undivided attention. I smiled at Liam and nodded toward the bathroom. It was a nod Liam knew. He had seen it many times before. Liam seemed more relaxed as he grabbed his brother’s hand. Emmitt’s answers must have passed his muster, too, so far.
They moved into the bathroom to clean up, and I turned back to Emmitt.
“The last number?”
“My parents. I figured if something ever happened to me, those three numbers would be good emergency information.”
It seemed like a normal wallet. I looked at the floor, debating. I hated driving. If we went with him, we were far more likely to arrive at our destination safely just because of that. But I didn’t know him. I thought of Richard and scowled. Did you ever really know someone?
“Is it so hard to trust?” His quiet and curious question penetrated my thoughts.
“You have no idea,” I whispered more to myself than to him. “Tell me more about this big spread.”
He smiled wide. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been there. It’s an old three story with wrap-around porches. Before I left, my brother and I talked about dividing it into six apartments. From what he’s told me, he’s done the dividing and now just needs to complete the finishing work in three more apartments. It also has a huge backyard that’s a pain to mow, according to him,” he said with a slight laugh.