Running On Empty

by Colette Ballard

  Reaching for my locket just as he had reached for my neck, I realized it was never the family heirloom that my mother had claimed it to be. I didn’t need to look at the initials on the front and back of my locket to know they didn’t match after all. I had always thought they were both E.M. for Eve Mullins, my mother’s maiden name. Now I knew the truth: the faded initials were C.M. on the back, the side closest to my heart.

  C.M. for Carl MaKade—my father’s name.

  19

  RETURN

  After narrowly escaping arrest, an impromptu reunion with my real father, and two extreme flight delays due to severe storms, we finally landed in Dallas. Making sure to avoid contact with my friends, I exited the plane and lost myself in the thick crowd. I allowed the flow of people to move me along to the parking lot. Thanks to Charlie’s instructions and a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror as promised, the car was easy to find. The door was unlocked, and the key under the seat just where he said it would be. Sliding into the driver’s seat, I held my breath until one by one my friends emerged from the glass double doors.

  Kat’s eyes gleamed when she saw our getaway car. She said it was a Chevy, some letters and numbers, blah, blah, blah. All I saw was a two-door beater with chipped black paint and some rust. And all I cared about was that it had four wheels, a motor that ran, and tinted windows.

  I turned to climb over the back of the seat and take my usual spot. “It’s all yours, car freak.”

  She practically sat on me when she took over my position. Holding onto the steering wheel like it was her last cigarette, we roared out of the lot.

  “We made it.” Kat breathed a sigh of relief.

  Barely. Thank God they were way behind me at the airport in Vegas and had missed the commotion, otherwise I know they’d have been right in the middle of it. No need to fill them in about my narrow escape now. They had enough to worry about without adding the news that I’d possibly found my real dad—or rather, he’d found me.

  After passing the first sign to Dahlia, I spoke up. “Billi Jo, you really think we should pay another visit to your old pal, Ace?”

  “If anyone could give us the latest update or hook us up with a place to stay, it would be Ace—he’ll do anything for a price.”

  “Exactly the problem,” Kat said. “The Westfields have more money than we do, and I’m sure Ace is well aware of the bounty on our heads.”

  My stomach turned when I thought of our last visit to Ace’s pawn shop, when Billi Jo traded a bag of weed for her necklace and some cash. The memory of his bony fingers trailing down Billi Jo’s arm made me shiver.

  “Kat’s right. But we didn’t get a chance to talk to Jamie before we left Vegas, so it’s too risky to stop by the trailer. That’s the first place the law would check.” I straightened the replacement ball cap Billi Jo had given me and cleared my throat. “I know who we can trust.”

  “I thought you didn’t want to see Justice.” Kat glanced at me.

  More like he wouldn’t want to see me. The look of disgust on his face when I walked away from the field party with Logan haunted me, and to be honest, the thought of facing him made me sick. But the image of Ace cashing a reward check on my behalf was real, and my friends deserved a better ending. “I don’t know if Justice will know anything, but I don’t trust Ace. And it seems those are our only choices.”

  The closer we got to Justice’s property, the faster my heart pounded, thinking of all that could go wrong. Maybe my visit would be quick and painless. I would ask him for the latest news and he would tell me. Maybe he wouldn’t even ask questions or demand answers. Maybe he would tell me to get the hell out and never come back.

  When we turned into his driveway, the view of the fuchsia-red sunset behind the old white farmhouse took my breath away like never before. This place had always been like home to me, and I crossed my fingers that I would still be welcome. Kat stopped the car behind a cluster of trees near the end of the driveway so I could survey the situation. Justice’s truck was parked in the driveway, right beside his mom’s car. Knocking on the door was out, but I could wait until dark and sneak in his bedroom window like I’d done a zillion times when we were kids. The thought of it sent a tingle up my spine.

  I hadn’t made a decision yet when Justice’s big bloodhound, Hank, came bounding toward our car. Before he started barking, I swung the door open and got out to greet him. He nearly tackled me with enthusiasm, and I bent down on my knees to give him a good rub behind the ears. “Hey boy, I missed you, too.” I hugged him and glanced toward the house. “If your master would be half this happy to see me…”

  When I caught a glimpse of Justice walking from the riding ring to the barn, my heart stalled in my chest and butterflies took over my stomach. Unsure if anyone else was home, I stealthily moved into the barn and followed the noise coming from the tack stall. My stealthiness ended when I tripped over a bucket in the aisle and Justice stepped into view. Holding my breath for what seemed like an eternity, I stood frozen, waiting for his reaction.

  When that familiar light in his eyes flickered on and he opened his arms, I forgot all my fears and barreled toward him. Closing his strong arms around me, he lifted me off the ground, and I swear a small corner of my heart began to open up—a heart I had been sure would never feel anything again.

  “Hey, stranger,” I whispered into his dark hair.

  He set me down, held my shoulders back to take a better look at me, then cupped my face, his eyes searching, “Darlin’, are you okay? I’ve been worried sick about you.” Then he embraced me again.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Now. It was the safest I’d felt in a long time. Holding on to Justice like he was my lifeline, I allowed myself to forget everything and get lost in the moment. With my face pressed into his soft flannel shirt, I closed my eyes and inhaled the wonderfully familiar scent of him—a mixture of Irish Spring, leather, and horses.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” Justice breathed into my ear, and I gripped his shirt tighter, holding on to a reality I thought I’d never experience again.

  The pounding of horse hooves caused me to open my eyes, and movement coming from the riding ring pulled me out of my dreamy state. Looking through the wooden barn planks, it took me a couple seconds to register that someone was riding Justice’s horse. My stomach dropped as if I’d plummeted to the bottom of a roller coaster. I was the only other person besides Justice that had ever ridden Daisy. I had been replaced.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, still clutching my rigid body.

  His life had gone on as always after I left. Feeling like my heart was stuck in my throat, I pushed away from him. “I…I just didn’t realize…we weren’t alone.”

  He let go of me slowly and turned sideways to see for himself—apparently he had forgotten she was out there. “Oh, yeah.”

  “I, uh…forgot you were dating someone before I left,” I said, suddenly feeling awkward. I remembered seeing her at Barney’s diner after the graduation ceremony with her arm around him and her thumb hooked in his belt loop. I remembered that same weird, punched-by-a-gorilla feeling in my stomach, too.

  Glancing away, he brought his hand up to the back of his neck and began to rub. “Yeah, same girl.”

  I tugged at a stray chunk of hair that had escaped my ball cap. “So…I guess you’ve been doin’ pretty good, then?”

  “Sure, when I wasn’t worryin’ about you. I kept hearing all these rumors, but I knew there was more to the story, because you’d never k…you’d never hurt Logan on purpose. I knew something terrible must’ve happened.” He shook his head as if trying to erase the scenarios he’d imagined. “Eventually, Jamie let me know you were okay, but at first I didn’t know anything; if you were hurt, if I’d ever see you again…I haven’t slept well since you disappeared.” The light in his eyes clouded over, and the hint of dark circles underneath them sent needle pricks through my chest.

  I hated the way he said ‘disappeared.’ It made me
feel even guiltier about keeping him in the dark. “I’m sorry, Justice. I didn’t get in contact with Jamie right away and I made her promise she wouldn’t give you details about where I was or…anything else.”

  His forehead creased. “You didn’t trust me?”

  “Of course I trusted you, but I also know you. You wouldn’t sit still and wait around for answers. If you had a clue where I was, you would’ve been trying to find me.”

  “You’re damn right, I would’ve.” He scowled, then stared past me out at the darkening sky.

  “I couldn’t risk that. We had to stay off the radar for awhile and figure things—”

  “I could’ve helped you,” he broke in, his eyes pleading.

  “I know, but I didn’t want to make it hard for you. If the cops came hounding you…” I wiped my palms on my jeans and took a step back. “I don’t wanna make it hard for you now, either, so I’d better hurry and get out of here.”

  “Just like that?” He shook his head, confused. “You’re gonna take off again?”

  I swallowed the thickness building in my throat. Stopping here was a bad idea. “I only stopped in to see if you’d heard anything lately—if you knew anything about the search?”

  His lips twitched into an empty smile, then he drew in a long breath and took his time releasing it. “When I stopped at the gas station this afternoon, I heard a few of Sheriff Roscoe’s groupies rambling on about some new lead he’d heard. One of them said ya’ll were supposedly in Reno and the big guns were going up there to haul you back. I didn’t pay much attention because you know how gossip is in this town. But I wouldn’t risk going near your house or Jamie or to the Quick Pick, if that’s what you’re askin’.”

  This was good news. Either the postal service kicked serious ass and my first postcard had arrived, or Charlie conjured up some new lead to throw them off.

  “Does Jamie know you’re here?”

  “No, we can’t risk going near her, and this was all last minute, anyway. We found out the police were headed to Vegas, so we had to get out immediately. We came back to look for…” I trailed off, hoping he wasn’t paying attention.

  He raised his eyebrows. “For?”

  “Long story, I’ll explain later.”

  “Yeah, you have a lot of explaining to do.” He reached for my hand, like he’d done hundreds of times, but pulled back when the sound of horse hooves got closer.

  “On that note,” I forced a smile, “I’d better get out of here. I just stopped by to see if you knew anything.”

  “That the only reason you stopped by?” A hint of his dimple made my insides warm.

  “Yeah, pretty much.” I shrugged and turned to walk away. Maybe it wasn’t the only reason, but it was the only reason he needed to know about.

  “River,” Justice stepped sideways, blocking my path, “where do you think you’re goin’?”

  “Well, I kinda have a lot to do.”

  “I mean, where are you going to go, stay, shack up?”

  Since we ditched our original plan to go to Ace’s, we hadn’t come up with a plan B yet, but I didn’t want to cause him any more worry. “Uh…I don’t exactly know yet, we just got back in town.”

  “It’s almost dark, you must have some idea.” He studied my face, his eyes darker, serious.

  “Well…we do know a few other criminals in the area that might be able to hook us up with a place to crash.” I tried to look strong and mysterious. I couldn’t let him know that I really had no idea and was scared out of my mind. “And if that doesn’t work out, we’ll just sleep in the car, find a back road, or an abandoned barn, and lay low…”

  “Not funny.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Just so you know, you’re not leaving here until you give me your plan. There’s no way I’m letting you out of my sight again unless I know you’re gonna be safe.”

  Dammit. What was I thinking coming here? The last thing I needed was to get one more person tangled in my mess. “I’ve managed just fine on my own in Vegas for the last couple months.” I glanced to my friends and corrected myself. “We’ve managed.”

  “Vegas. Interesting. Well, guess what? You’re not in Vegas anymore.” He held his palms up toward the Texas landscape. “You’re home, so let me help you. Stay at our old fishing cabin back at the lake. It’s not much, but—”

  “No way. I’m not bringing you into this mess.”

  His eyes darkened like storm clouds. “What options do you have? When it gets to be daybreak, then what?”

  “I shouldn’t have come here.” I took a step to leave.

  “I’m glad you did.” He grabbed my hand to stop me. “But don’t be your usual hard-headed self. Just take me up on my offer.”

  “No way.”

  “Please…do this for me. You’ve already put me through enough worry.” He played the guilt card. “Please?” He took my other hand in his and turned up the intensity of his deep green eyes. Dammit, I could feel myself wavering.

  I bit my lip as I glanced at my friends, who were still waiting in the car, then back at him. “What about your parents?”

  “Dad is gone to Alabama for a big roofing job, so he’ll be gone for at least another month, and Mom is in Kentucky again.”

  I fidgeted with my ball cap. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  He let go of one of my hands and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Doesn’t sound like you have a better one.”

  His touch was soft and warm, and it gave me comfort. My insides begged me to say yes, while my head argued that staying here could get him in trouble. “But—”

  “There’s a few bunk beds, electricity, running water—just an old fishing cabin that’s been there for, like, a hundred years. You know what it’s like; you’ve been there plenty of times. It’s secluded, and nobody would know you were back there except for me.” He rubbed his thumbs over my knuckles. “Better than sleeping in a car, isn’t it?”

  I groaned and allowed myself a small smile. “You had me at bunk beds.”

  “Good.” He put his arm around my neck in an easy headlock and grinned down at me as he walked me toward the barn door. “Saves me the trouble of having to hog-tie you and take you down there myself.”

  I poked my elbow into his side and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “You were never really asking me to stay, were you?”

  “Nope,” he said and leaned down to kiss the top of my head.

  When we reached the doorway of the barn, I turned back to him, wringing my hands. “Are you sure about this?” I asked. “You could get in trouble, you know.”

  He slid his index finger down the bridge of my nose. “Not if you stay put and don’t go parading through town or anything.”

  We both laughed easily, and it felt good and strange at the same time.

  “Let me take Trina home. Why don’t ya’ll drive down the road? Pull into the drive where that old barn used to be, and then when you see me pull out, go on back to the cabin. I’ll be there in about an hour.”

  “You sure you’re okay with this?” I wiped my palms on my jeans. “You know I’m, like, a wanted fugitive and all, right?”

  He wrinkled his forehead. “Yeah, but I’m really not scared of you.”

  “Well, maybe you should be,” I warned him and gave him an easy punch in the arm as an example of how scared he should be.

  “I’ll take my chances.” He swatted my baseball cap down into my eyes, then hugged me tight again. “It’s good to have you home.”

  I liked the way he said home. I inhaled his familiar scent again, this time adding sugar to the list. I couldn’t remember if sugar really had a smell, but if it did, it would smell like Justice Braden. The sweet smell of home—maybe that’s why they called it home sweet home.

  An intruder’s screechy voice ripped me out of sugar cookies and sunshine. “Justice, baby, where’d you go?” Nails-on-a-chalkboard screechy, to be exact.

  I stiffened, and he let go of me.

  �
�Uh, about that,” he motioned his head toward the barn and stuffed his hands deep into his front pockets, “I was saddling Blue for Trina when she hopped on Daisy before I…I didn’t know how to…”

  I forced a smile and nodded like it was okay. But it wasn’t.

  Justice and I had raised Daisy and Ranger together. Not only did we break them as a team, we grew up alongside them. When we went trail riding it was the four of us against the world. Not anymore. Ranger was gone, Justice had a girlfriend; everything had changed. But no matter how hurt I was, I couldn’t blame him for moving on.

  “Justice?” whined Trixie. “Are you talking to somebody?”

  “Be right there,” he shouted back, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “It’s just a neighbor lookin’ for her dog.”

  “Not bad. I’m your ex-neighbor and Hank is technically my dog.” Same as Ranger, his family took Hank in when we lost our farm.

  “Like you’d ever let me forget.”

  “Whoa, girl. Whoa,” Trixie squeaked.

  “Sounds like you better get back to your riding lesson.” I peeked my head around him to watch his girlfriend bobble in the saddle as Daisy fast-trotted toward the opposite end of the riding ring. “Looks like she could use all the practice she can get.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He pushed my hat down in my eyes again. “Hey, good disguise, Daniels—real sneaky.”

  He ran to rescue his girlfriend from herself while I remained standing there, staring shamelessly at the two of them through the space between the planks. A dull ache seized my heart as I squatted to give Hank a good-bye rub. “Petite and cute, I’ll give her that—but not his type at all.”

  Hank shook his head in agreement and gave me a big, slurpy lick on the cheek.

  By the time we got to the old cabin, the moonlight glowed on the lake, giving us enough light to see. The weathered cedar siding gave the cabin character, even though it was in desperate need of a fresh coat of stain. Log steps led to a small porch that sheltered a couple of rickety chairs and a painted checker game table. Billi Jo made it up the steps first and turned the doorknob. “It’s locked.” Her shoulders slumped.