The Finder (Wolves of the Northwoods Book 1)

by A J Manney

  All she had was less than three hundred dollars in her pocket and the clothes on her back. She needed to get as far away from Atlanta as possible. She would just keep moving, changing buses until she ran out of money. After that, she would work on finding food, a place to stay, and some necessities like clothes. She took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts aside. She couldn’t allow herself to get comfortable, not yet. Right now, she needed to stay focused on the task at hand—survival.

  Finally, early in the morning on the third day, Emersyn found herself in some town in the middle of nowhere in Minnesota with only enough money for one last fare. She stood in front of a map, trying to get her exhausted mind to focus. She was so tired and hungry she was on the verge of collapsing. She had bought herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a water bottle sometime yesterday from a rest stop, but it hadn’t been nearly enough. At some point, her stomach had stopped growling. She wondered if that was a bad sign.

  Now as she stared at the large map on the wall, a feeling of helplessness swept over her. She didn’t have a clue where to go. Where did you settle when you were on the run? She was just about to turn away in frustration when she noticed a flyer hanging off the board at the bottom of the map. She looked at it and saw it was an advertisement for Hopewell, WI. Any place that had the word hope in it had to be a good place. She could use some hope about now. She saw pictures of the Chequamegon National Forest and the beauty of the surrounding area. Something called to her and before she knew it, she was on a bus headed towards Hopewell.

  Emersyn sat with just nine dollars and sixty-two cents in her pocket, but a feeling of rightness settled over her. Something was drawing her to this place. She had never felt that way before. She couldn’t wait to get there and experience this new place. When the bus finally pulled into Hopewell, Emersyn made herself wait patiently until everyone got off ahead of her before making her way to the front of the bus. She stepped down the steps. When her feet hit the pavement, she couldn’t hold back the tear that escaped as a feeling she never thought she would feel again washed over her—freedom.

  Chapter 3

  Emersyn started walking. She shivered as she felt the chill in the air. Back in Georgia, it was still warm; but not here. It was only October, but apparently it got cold early in Wisconsin. She looked around cautiously, taking everything in. Even though she had gotten away, she couldn’t shake the fear that surrounded her. She kept waiting for her step-brother to pop out somewhere and grab her.

  It was around ten in the morning. She hadn’t had a shower in three days, hadn’t changed her clothes in just as long, and she was starving. She knew she needed to rectify that soon. She passed a few restaurants and the aromas wafting from them were enough to make her subconsciously move in their direction. She caught herself and refocused.

  With less than ten dollars left, she needed to figure out a way to make money quickly before she spent any more. She walked along, enjoying the sights. A sign in one of the windows caught her attention. Help Wanted. She looked up and saw it was a coffee shop. She checked to see that it was open; then pushed open the door and walked inside.

  A bell jingled on the door on her way in. The smell of coffee hit her hard, and her stomach rumbled. She pushed aside thoughts of her stomach and moved towards the counter.

  “Hi, welcome to Sip and Drip, I’ll be with you in a moment,” a woman wiping a small table down near the back of the store called out. When she finished, she threw the towel over her shoulder and went behind the serving counter. “Now then, what can I get for you this morning?” she asked kindly.

  “Oh, um, I..” Emersyn looked behind her at the window. “I saw the sign in the window...” she said as her voice trailed off.

  “Oh, yes, the help wanted sign. Are you here to apply, dear?” the kind woman asked. Emersyn nodded. “Well, that just made my day. Why don’t we sit and chat for a minute before anybody else comes in?” She came around the corner and motioned to a table. Emersyn pulled out a chair and sat down across from her, painfully aware of her state of upkeep.

  “All right,” the woman said. She put a piece of paper and a pen down in front of her and folded her hands. “Tell me about yourself,” she said with a smile.

  Emersyn looked at her in surprise. She wasn’t sure what the lady was going to ask her, but it wasn’t that. Her mind scrambled for a moment trying to come up with what was safe to say. “Um, I’m eighteen.” She paused for a moment. “I’m looking for a job to support myself.” She faltered after that, not knowing what else to say.

  The woman smiled graciously at her. “What’s your name, dear?”

  “Em-Emma,” she said quickly, correcting herself. It was the first thing that came to mind. She didn’t want to use her own name. She needed to do everything she could to stay off people’s radar, so if Alec or his friends ever came looking for her, nobody would think of her. The woman wrote her name down on the form and paused, waiting. “Harris,” Emma blurted out. She cringed inwardly. She should have thought this through ahead of time. She’d had long enough on her trip here. At least Harris was a little better than Smith. Now she just had to remember it. Emma Harris.

  “My name is Helen,” the woman said, putting out her hand to Emersyn. Emersyn shook it. “I’m the owner of this coffee shop. Why do you want to work here?” Helen asked kindly.

  Emersyn sat taller in her chair. “I love coffee, and I love early mornings. I’m a hard worker and know how to follow directions.”

  Helen smiled at her. “Well, if you love coffee and early mornings, you’re hired.”

  Emersyn stared at her. “Really?”

  Helen laughed. “Emma, do you know how hard it is to get young people to be at the shop at five am every morning?”

  Emersyn smiled, feeling herself relaxing a little. That is, until Helen continued.

  “I just need a few things from you like your social security, address, contacts for reference, and a few other things.” She slid the paperwork in front of Emersyn and stood up.

  Emersyn panicked. She stared at the form in front of her. Emma Harris. She stared at the name. It was now her name. From now on, she was Emma, not Emersyn. It was time to start thinking that way. Now she just had to figure out how to land this job without giving out any of her personal information. She took a deep breath and stood up.

  “Uh, Helen?” she called.

  Helen turned away from cleaning the counter holding several coffee machines. “Yes, dear.”

  “I-I can’t fill this out. I really want this job, but I just can’t. If you can’t hire me because of that, I totally understand,” Emma said in a soft voice.

  Helen eyed her. Emma saw the wisdom in her gaze. She felt herself getting assessed and knew Helen saw more than Emma wanted her to see. “Are you in trouble, Emma?” Helen asked not unkindly. Emma paused. She wasn’t sure how to answer that.

  “I haven’t done anything illegal,” Emma said quietly. Emma didn’t count the money she had stolen. It was a down payment of all the money she was owed from her father’s passing that she had never seen a penny of.

  Helen stared at her a moment longer. “Okay,” she said. Emma wasn’t sure what that meant. Helen didn’t leave her wondering. “Be here tomorrow at five. We open at five thirty and close at five. My daughter comes in at two each day, so you can finish at two. You will get a one-hour break when it’s not busy. I can’t afford to pay you much. It’s just minimum wage,” Helen apologized.

  Emma found her voice and recovered from her surprise. “That’s perfect. Thank you so much.” The door opened and a couple came inside.

  “Welcome to Sip and Drip,” Helen called out cheerily. Turning to Emma, she said, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at five sharp.”

  Emma nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” She turned away with a smile and made her way to the front door. Stepping back out into the chill, she crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. A feeling of lightness came over her. I got a job, she thought to herself and smiled. It f
elt good, really good. Now she just needed to find a place to sleep, some clothes, and some food... and maybe a toothbrush, soap, shampoo, a pillow... Emma sighed. She pushed away those overwhelming thoughts before they became debilitating. She just had to deal with one problem at a time. She wondered for a moment if she should go back inside and ask Helen if she knew of a homeless shelter nearby, but she didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize her new position. She wasn’t sure if Helen would want to employ her if she knew she was homeless. No, she would just have to figure it out on her own.

  She walked down the street a little way, admiring the shops. Her steps started to slow, weariness dragging her down. She was starting to feel every minute of the last three days of traveling. She needed to find a place to crash. Becoming desperate, she approached two ladies who were walking towards her on the sidewalk. “Uh, excuse me,” Emma said quietly. Her face grew warm as she asked, “Do you know if there is a homeless shelter somewhere nearby?” she rushed through her question.

  Thankfully, the ladies didn’t turn away in disgust. “I’m sure there is, sweetie, but I just don’t know,” the one lady said as she looked apologetically at Emma and then at her friend. Her friend shook her head. Emma thanked them both and moved away from them. She walked a little further, trying to figure out what to do when she spied a library. She breathed out a breath of thanks and walked that way. Somebody there would surely point her in the right direction.

  Ten minutes later, Emma exited the library with a sense of hope. She looked down at the flier in her hand. Housing for women and children. Showers, meals, and clothing provided. She looked up to make sure she was heading in the right direction before stopping to look down again. We understand that all of us come on hard times. Hope House exists to be a soft place to land until you can get your feet under you again. All services are free. Emma looked up from the paper. She only hoped this place was as good as it sounded. She'd never been to a homeless shelter before. She had no idea what to expect.

  Twenty minutes later, she stood in front of a large brick building. She saw the sign—Hope House. Suddenly, she was terrified. She wasn’t sure if she could go in there. Then she remembered she had a job to be at tomorrow morning at five am. She knew Helen was taking a chance on hiring her. She wasn’t going to let her down. Come on, Emersy—Emma, she corrected herself. You can do this. Pushing her shoulders back and standing tall, she made her way to the front door. Her smile faded when she tried the door and found it was locked. Fighting tears, she pulled back out the flier and scanned. On the back, there was a number to call. She dropped her shoulders in frustration. She had no phone. She had no idea what she was supposed to do now.

  She turned away from the shelter and just stood there for a moment. She was so tired and hungry and frustrated. What was she supposed to do now?

  “Oh, I’m so glad Renee sent some help. I was wondering how I was going to carry all this.” Emma turned towards the voice and blinked. In front of her stood one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. Emma calculated her to be just a few years older than herself. She was tall and lean with gorgeous long, dark black hair and tan skin. She was probably a model, Emma decided. She was still talking. Emma looked behind her and didn’t see anybody. She was just about to walk away when the woman turned to her and shoved a large box into her arms. Emma grunted and nearly dropped the box. The woman had swung it around like it was super light, but it was anything but. She couldn’t see anything now. The lady was still talking a mile a minute. Emma just stayed quiet, completely overwhelmed. “All right. Let’s take the first trip, shall we?” the lady prattled on. She turned and walked towards the building. Emma was just about to call out to her that she wasn’t who the woman thought she was when it dawned on her that this was her way to get into the building and hopefully get help.

  She followed the woman to the door. Miraculously, it opened. She heard voices and followed the woman into the building. Emma struggled to maneuver the box so she could see around it to walk. She followed the women in front of her down a long hall and into a large kitchen area. With a huff, the woman set down her load. Emma followed her and put the box on the counter. “Thank you so much for sending help. I couldn’t do it all on my own,” the woman gushed.

  “I didn’t get a chance to send anybody,” she heard a new voice say. Emma turned around and saw two sets of eyes pinned on her.

  “She’s not from Hope House?” the beautiful woman asked, still looking at Emma. The other woman shook her head, looking surprised.

  Emma was just about ready to speak up and explain what happened when the woman laughed. “I’m so sorry. I thought you were from Hope House. I just wrangled you into carrying stuff. I’m so sorry.”

  Emma offered a small smile. “It’s okay.”

  “Well, I’m so sorry I took you away from whatever you were doing,” the beautiful woman said.

  Emma shook her head. “It’s fine. I was just standing outside trying to figure out what to do next,” Emma said without really thinking about it. It got quiet for a moment and Emma wanted to kick herself.

  The other woman stepped around the model and approached Emma. “Do you need a place to stay?” she asked kindly.

  Emma didn’t know what to do but simply nod. The woman smiled. “It just so happens we have a bed open. One of the women just left this morning. If you head to my office, we can work through the paperwork and get you settled.” She motioned for Emma to follow her, and Emma nearly cried. She would have a place to spend the night. She just needed to fill out paperwork. Just as quickly, her happiness deflated. She couldn’t put down any personal information that would lead her step-brother or step-father to her.

  “Well, I am going to take off,” the beautiful woman said. Turning to Emma, she put her hand out. “I’m Madison.”

  Emma put her own hand out. “Emma,” she said.

  “Emma, thank you so much for helping me. I’ll look forward to seeing you around,” she said before saying goodbye to the other woman and leaving.

  Emma followed the woman to her office, hoping against hope that she could figure out a way to stay here.

  Chapter 4

  An hour later, Emma thanked Renee and closed the door behind her. She looked around the small room. She walked over to the bed that was empty and placed everything she had been given on the bed. The bed already had clean sheets, a pillow, and a blanket. Renee had given her a bag of toiletries and had taken her to the free room where she looked through used clothes. She had been able to find a few things to wear. Renee had found a brand-new pack of underwear in her size. It was pretty basic, but Emma was incredibly thankful. She sat down and a small sigh escaped her. She couldn’t believe it. It was all surreal. She couldn’t believe she had finally escaped, and now she had a job and a place to stay. Things were definitely looking up.

  Renee, the head of Hope House, told her how fortunate she was. She said usually there was a waiting list to get in, but she had come at just the right time. They had several girls leave the home last week. They were successfully working jobs and able to find housing. So, Emma was able to get in. Apparently, a wealthy donor kept this place running. Emma glanced down at the paper in her hand. She read through the rules. It was a pretty strict place but nothing she couldn’t handle. She was just happy to have a place to sleep tonight and food to eat. Speaking of food, Emma stood up. Renee told her to ask the ladies working in the kitchen if there were any sack lunches left from this morning.

  Emma walked out of her room and down the hallway to where Renee had pointed out the large kitchen and dining area. She walked in a saw a few ladies working. One of them looked up as Emma approached. “Uh, hi, Renee said I could maybe get a sack lunch,” Emma said, uncertain.

  The woman smiled at her. “Sure, honey.” She disappeared for a moment and came back with a brown bag and a water bottle.

  “Thank you,” Emma said. She took the bag and found a table to sit at. She would have rather eaten in her room, but the rules said
no food in the rooms. She sat with her back to the rest of the room and opened the bag. Hunger pains hit her hard at the sight of the food. She pulled out a sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, and a wrapped cookie. Her hands shook as she opened the sandwich. She bit into it and nearly moaned out loud. It was so good. She tried to slow her bites, but she was too hungry. She quickly finished everything in the bag. She swallowed the last of her water and stood up. After throwing her trash away, she walked over to the women in the kitchen. “Thank you so much,” she called out. They smiled at her.

  Emma made her way back to her room. After hearing how much traveling Emma had done over the last few days, Renee gave her permission to take a nap. Normally, the women were supposed to be out of the house during the day. Emma would be after today. She was so thankful that Renee, just like Helen, seemed to understand she had been through something traumatic and didn’t push her for more information than she was willing to give. Renee said it was fine for now, but if it was anything illegal or if she caused problems, she would be out in a moment’s notice. Emma hoped to be back on her feet before too long, long before Alec would be able to track her down. Emma made it back to her room and made the bed, looking longingly at it. She was ready to crash, but she knew she needed to shower first. She felt so grimy and disgusting from traveling.

  Emma looked through the pile of things Renee had given her. She pulled out clean underwear, a t-shirt, and leggings. Next, she picked up the toiletries bag before leaving the room and heading to the showers. She entered the room and was grateful to see she was the only occupant for now. She snagged a towel from the shelf along one wall and moved to a shower.

  Nearly twenty minutes later, Emma emerged feeling better than she had in three days. After getting dressed and brushing her teeth, she made her way back to her room. She opened the drawers Renee said she could use and carefully put away the few belongings she had been given.