“No tricks.” She held her hands out in front of her. “Just the chance to wash that dirt away. And all you have to do is agree to come inside where it’s warm and comfortable.
Nick looked down at his filthy clothes, then back up at her. “Fine, if you can come through with your side of the deal then I’ll come inside.”
She smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
Slipping through the fence, she went to the neighbor’s front door and knocked loudly. When no one answered, she tried again with the same results. Just to be safe she peered into the windows. No lights and no movement assured her temporary safety.
Lareina turned a handle where the hose connected to the house and let out a relieved breath when water spilled onto the grass. She pulled the hose across the lawn, over the fence, and through the bushes. Nick looked doubtfully at the thick stream of water swerving over patio stones.
“It’s going to be ice cold,” she warned, “but it’s the best I can do unless you want to break into another house.”
He forced a smile. “No, this will be fine. I’ll be quick.”
On one side of the natural screen of bushes, she held the hose so water spurted up and over onto the patio.
“Do you have water?” she asked through last summer’s whispering leaves.
“Yeah, perfect.”
“Great,” she said sarcastically. “Hurry up and shower, then tell me when you’re wrapped in the blanket.”
With every passing minute her arm tingled in protest then eventually went numb from holding the hose in position. “Are you almost done?”
“Almost,” Nick stuttered through chattering teeth. It felt like hours before he finally shouted, “Done.”
She let the hose drop and made her way back around the bushes. The blanket covered Nick from head to toe, so she could barely see his eyes but couldn’t miss how the loose material trembled.
After walking him inside and handing him a pile of clothes, Lareina opened the bathroom window and used the neighbor’s hose to fill the bathtub and every container in the kitchen before returning it to its original position and turning the water off.
Back in the house, she found Nick dressed and shivering in the living room. After a search of the hall closet, she discovered a heavy blanket folded in the back and draped it around his shoulders then gathered some pillows from the bedroom and brought them to the love seat.
He didn’t waste a second sinking into his new bed and a deep sleep. She covered him with several more blankets then settled herself on the floor and rested her head on the cushion next to Nick’s pillow. Every muscle in her body ached from a combination of her earlier illness and arduous escape from Oak Creek. Fighting to keep her heavy eyelids open, she listened to Nick’s raspy breathing.
When she opened her eyes, gray light illuminated the room. She lifted her head from the love seat, shrugging her shoulders to relieve some of the stiffness. Nick slept with his face turned toward the love seat’s upholstery and blankets tangled around his ankles. Lareina pushed herself to her feet, stretched twisted blankets back up to Nick’s chin, and brushed her hand across his warm forehead. In the kitchen she poured herself a bowl of cereal, sprinkled some raisins on top, and ate as she looked through the patio doors at an overgrown garden. Closing her eyes, she drifted back in time to flowers bordering the fence and vegetables growing in neat rows.
Returning to the living room, she noticed Aaron’s absence from the couch where he had been sleeping the night before. She padded down the hall and peeked into the first bedroom where he slept soundly on the bed. Even in the muted light, she could see dark bruising along his jaw line and swelling near his eye. She covered him with a blanket folded over a rocking chair. Satisfied that both of her friends were safe, she continued to the next room, stepped over piles of clutter left on the floor by looters, and curled up on the bed’s soft, green comforter.
A low rumble reverberated through her sleep. Clank, pop, clank, pop. The ghost of a giant hailstone smacked her in the face and she sat up in bed. Light flashed outside the window, followed by booming thunder that shook the house. She shivered and felt a tightening clench in her throat and her chest. As much as she wanted winter to pass, she dreaded the inevitable spring storms. Pushing the curtains aside, she peered out the window but couldn’t see a thing through sheets of rain that slammed against the glass.
Shaken and knowing she would never fall back to sleep, she paced the room for a while, waiting for the storm to subside. Unfortunately, it only grew louder and continued to pelt the house from all sides. Too anxious to remain still, she crept down the hall to the kitchen. She stepped up to the patio door just as a small branch slapped against the glass. Jumping back, she let out a stifled yelp.
“Rochelle, is that you?” Nick called from the living room.
Taking a deep breath, she followed his voice and found him sitting on the love seat.
“Nice storm, right? What a soothing sound to wake up to.”
She listened for sarcasm in his voice, but couldn’t detect any. “I don’t know if I’d put it that way exactly.”
Nick leaned forward and Lareina felt him studying her in the dark. Thunder echoed above and she shuddered.
“You’re afraid of the storm, aren’t you?” He didn’t ask in a cruel way, but as an observation.
“Ever since I was a little kid,” she confessed. It took effort to control her shaky legs as she walked over and sat down next to Nick. “I . . . I know all the scientific stuff that thunder is the sound from the lightning traveling so fast . . . but . . .”
He leaned back and raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you about angel’s bowling and water fights in heaven?”
She looked at Nick and his expression told her he could see the confusion playing over her face.
“Those are the stories my mom used to tell me when I would wake up during a thunderstorm.”
“And they made you feel better?” She cringed with the next crack of thunder followed by a gust of wind.
Nick laughed. “Yeah, when I was six. Then I learned all the scientific stuff and I guess I just wasn’t scared anymore.”
Scrunching herself against the back of the couch, she pulled her knees up to her chin. “When I was six, I was in a Home for Children in Oklahoma. They kept us locked on the second floor and I thought a tornado would carry me away one night.” Lightning illuminated the room like a strobe light, prompting her to cover her head with her hands.
“No wonder you’re afraid.” Nick gently pried her hands away from her head so he could see her face. His skin didn’t feel hot.
She pulled one of her hands free and held it to his forehead. “Your fever broke.” Sheets of rain bombarded the front door. “Do you think it’ll flood here? What if there is a tornado?” She hated that her voice shook, but she couldn’t control it.
“We’ll be fine,” he said in a calm, soothing voice. “Jumping off trains and stealing from Oak Creek are far more dangerous than this storm.”
Lareina moved closer to him. “You’re probably right.”
Nick laughed. “Probably?”
Another roar of thunder shook the house.
“How can it just keep going?” she grumbled. “It’s like the endless storm.”
His hand held hers. “Just listen to the rain. It’s not so scary. Think of it this way—we’re safe from everyone out there. I mean, who would want to go out in this weather?”
Leaning her head against the couch, she listened as rain pattered loudly against the roof. Galloway wouldn’t look for her, she was free from Oak Creek, and she had shelter from the violent storm. Thankful for her temporary fortune, she closed her eyes.
In the morning she woke up with her head resting against Nick’s shoulder. Slowly she moved away and stood without waking him. The storm had ended, leaving a foggy mist in its place.
Lareina scooped a cup of water out of the bathtub and washed her face, arms, and feet, still dirty from crossing Oak Creek
barefoot. She noticed the chain from her pendant showing against her neck and slid it back under her t-shirt. It only served as a reminder of guilt, a reminder of a girl she couldn’t help and a promise she couldn’t keep. The time to tell Nick about Ava and the pendant had come, but she worried. Would he give up hope? Would he blame her? Would he believe her? None of it affected her survival, but the answers to those questions mattered more to her than survival.
By the time she hobbled to the kitchen, Aaron and Nick already sat at the counter eating granola bars and crackers. She took a seat next to Aaron and pulled the blue-and-white wrapper off a granola bar.
“I don’t know if the rain will let up today.” Aaron nodded toward the patio doors streaked with raindrops. “We’re hoping tomorrow morning we can be on our way to Dallas.”
Nick traced over something written on a pad of paper with the pencil in his hand. “I lost that original notecard, but I have Ava’s address memorized. You were right, Rochelle, I’m actually going to find her.”
Lareina looked at her granola bar then dropped it on the counter. “Nick.” She paused to swallow, to find the right words. “I have to tell you something. Can we talk in the living room?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
Aaron turned to her. “You look a little pale. Are you feeling all right?”
She nodded and followed Nick into the other room where she sat down next to him on the couch.
He looked over at her with the most sympathetic expression she’d ever seen on his face. “Rochelle, what’s . . . what’s wrong? You look . . . like you’re going to cry.”
“Nick, I wish I didn’t have to tell you this.” She reached her hands back to unclasp the chain around her neck. “I knew Ava.” Her shaking hands slipped off the clasp and she tried again. “I didn’t know it until you told me about . . .” She unhooked the chain and held the pendant out to Nick.
For a while he just stared at it, then finally took it and held it in his shaking hand. “This is it. This is hers.” He looked at Lareina’s face then back down at the pendant. “I don’t understand. If you have it . . . That means . . .”
She knew he understood all too well what she didn’t want to say. Holding back tears, she told him the highlights of the story leading up to Ava’s death. They wouldn’t allow Nick to visualize what she had experienced, but she didn’t want him to see those images. He listened and nodded with the pendant clutched in his hand. Sometimes he shook his head and sometimes he remained uncomfortably still.
“She told me to protect the pendant. She told me to find the other one and warn him . . . you . . . but I believed her name was Susan and then you told me your story . . .”
Feeling a warm spot on her cheek, she reached a hand up and wiped away a tear as others pushed at the back of her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Nick.”
“At Oak Creek you promised I would find her . . . but you already knew . . .” His voice trailed off and he turned away. “Ava is dead, and you knew and you said . . .” He shook his head, stood, and left the room.
Lareina stayed where she was, face bent forward, tears trickling along her nose. A hand settled lightly on her shoulder and Aaron sat down next to her.
“Please tell me you heard all of that,” she sniffled. “I don’t want . . . to explain it again.”
“I heard it.” He wrapped an arm around her. “It’s uncanny the way you two kept finding each other. It’s like you were meant to tell him.”
She looked up at Aaron. “It’s a terrible, sad coincidence.” The force in her voice surprised her. “I could have kept it to myself and Nick would still be happy right now. We would all just be chatting over breakfast.”
“You did the right thing.” Aaron’s voice was soft and soothing. “Telling Nick that story took a tremendous amount of courage, but he deserves to know. Otherwise he would have found out when he went to that address, or he would have spent his entire life searching for Ava. It was better that you could break it to him gently.”
She rubbed tears away with her hand but new ones replaced any she had removed. “And now Nick is never going to talk to me again.”
“Of course he will.” Aaron hugged her tighter. “You just have to give him some time.”
Chapter 31
When the rain stopped later that afternoon, Lareina stepped out into the cool fresh air. She couldn’t stand the stuffy house where Nick remained closed in one of the bedrooms and Aaron tried to convince her she had done the right thing. She hadn’t saved Susan. If she could have only kept her hidden from Galloway for another week, Nick would have been there . . . Did that mean he would have found her? She tried to align the details. If Susan had lived, Lareina wouldn’t have crossed the flooded bridge and Nick would have never been freed from his trap.
Glancing around the patio for a distraction, she noted six chairs tipped over and scattered throughout the yard, the table rested on its side nearby, tree branches covered the brick surface, and strewn flowerpots cluttered a walking path. Deciding to clear the branches, she collected a few at a time and piled them near the broken fence. She became so focused on her task that she didn’t even notice Nick until she looked up and he stood right in front of her.
Startled, she jumped back, dropping the branches she held.
Nick bent down and quickly gathered them up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just needed to get out of that house.”
“It’s okay. I’m just a little jumpy.” She pushed her hair away from her face. “I’ve been worrying about you.”
Nodding, he dropped his branches on the pile. “Yeah, that’s what Aaron told me.”
“You don’t have to help if you don’t feel up to it.”
He returned a chair to an upright position. “It’s okay. I think I’ll feel better if I have something to do.”
Lareina didn’t reply but joined Nick in righting the grimy patio furniture and stacking terra cotta pots near the shed.
“I understand why you lied to me at Oak Creek.” He rolled a twig back and forth under his shoe. “I needed hope then and you knew that.”
“That was the hardest lie I’ve ever told in my life. I never imagined . . .”
Nick sat down to watch the sun sinking behind the garden fence. “I know what you mean. All this time we’ve known each other and we had no idea . . .”
She pulled a chair up next to Nick and sat down.
He leaned forward. “That’s really why the detective is after you? He’s wanted Ava’s pendant the entire time?”
“Yes . . .” She brushed her hair together over her shoulder and dropped it behind her back. “It’s such a relief to tell you the truth about it. I was just trying to protect you and Aaron . . .”
Nick watched her with wide eyes. “How worried do I have to be about the detective wanting my pendant?”
“You’ll have to be careful, but I don’t think he knows about it. If I had never met Susan . . . I mean Ava . . . I would have never known someone else in the world had one too.”
“I’m glad you met her though, so she didn’t have to be alone at the end. Without you, I might have never known the truth.”
Lareina watched clouds on the horizon burn bright pink against the hazy blue sky. How ironic that she, the one Nick constantly accused of lying, had been the one to reveal the truth. “I wish it could have been different.”
He nodded. “After everything we’ve been through to get to Dallas, I guess I never needed to go there in the first place.” Minutes passed in silence. “Are you still on your way to Nebraska?”
Closing her eyes, she pictured Maibe as it had been when she was eight. A vibrant Main Street with a grocery store and bakery and playgrounds with green, freshly cut lawns. Those places didn’t interest her so much anymore, but the images offered warm comfort and security. Then doubt swept in to wipe the image away and she was back on the patio next to Nick.
“Yes, but I’m a little afraid.” A cool breeze made her shiver and draw her knees up under her
chin. “When things are bad, I think I’d be happy if I just had the basics: warm meals, a warm shower, and a warm bed. But I had all of that at Oak Creek and it wasn’t enough. I want a family, Nick, a real one with people who genuinely care about me.”
“And that’s what Maibe represents, right?”
She nodded. “But what if it’s gone? What if I get there and it’s abandoned? What if no one remembers me and they don’t want me there? Why would they want me there?”
Nick held his hand out to her. She took it and felt any remaining uncertainty between them melt away.
“What if it’s all of the things you remember?” He squeezed her hand. “You have to find out.”
“I’ll be alone in the middle of nowhere again . . . if it’s not.” A loose board on the fence squeaked with each gust of wind.
“I could come with you. I mean, Nebraska is my home too. Only if you want me along though.” He spoke quickly and kept his attention on the sunset.
“Of course you can come.” A smile spread over her face. “We’ll leave for Dallas tomorrow and Nebraska after that.”
For a long time they sat together watching the sunset. Lareina leaned back in her chair and for the first time she could remember, her thoughts didn’t race through a montage of worst-case scenarios. She had been afraid to travel a thousand miles just to find out no one wanted her around, but now all of her fears melted away. She would have Nick. Even if they arrived in a crumbling, abandoned town, she wouldn’t be alone. Bright pink clouds faded to sparkling stars and the chilly breeze became uncomfortably cold. Nick stood and helped her to her feet.
“We should probably get some rest if we’re going to walk to Dallas tomorrow.” He laughed. “That is, if it doesn’t rain.”
She slid the glass door open. “Maybe, just this one time, it won’t rain. You know, maybe luck will be on our side.”
“Luck has never been on our side,” he reminded her.
“That’s not exactly true. We are still alive.”
Nick smiled. “Rochelle Aumont, ever the optimist.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pendant she had been wearing since August. “You should keep this one and protect it like she asked. You’ve done a good job so far.”
Hope for the Best Page 25