I sit down at a picnic table with Eloise, feeling more confused than ever. Is Braden a good guy, or is he trying to kidnap me and sell me to human traffickers?
Yeah, I add that last possibility in to keep my weak will from succumbing to my desires.
“How long have you known Braden?” I ask Eloise when my heart is somewhat steady.
She’s noisily slurping up her scrambled eggs and inhaling the oatmeal. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and licks it. “Oh, I run into him time and again. Met him when he was a runaway.”
“He was a runaway?” I gasp. “How old was he?”
“He was a string bean back then.” She glances over at the big, muscular man who now stands well over six feet tall. “Hungry and lost. Look at him now.”
“What happened? Do you know why he ran away?” I lean forward, eager to catch any scraps of information and square it with the family he never sees.
“Kid was closemouthed—never talked much about himself. I’m thinking someone died and he took it hard.” She doesn’t get to finish because Braden is done serving, and he walks toward our table with the easy grace of a prowling panther.
“You ladies enjoying your chat?” He straddles the bench next to me and smirks as if he knows I’m pumping Eloise for information.
“We’re making friends,” Eloise says. “Sammie seems like a nice girl. How old are you?”
Braden’s eyebrows hook up, and he’s staring at me intently. Does he want me to lie? I haven’t one hundred percent agreed to his charade.
I turn away from him and look Eloise square in the eye. “I’m twenty-six, and I spent the last three and a half years in prison. White-collar crime, so I’m not dangerous.”
She nods and puts her shaky hand over mine. “Most of us have been on the inside at some point, and most of us wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
She eyes Braden a little too long, and something passes between them, maybe a warning or a threat? Or just an acknowledgment that I’m okay as far as Eloise is concerned.
“Thanks.” Her graciousness takes the wind out of my sails. I wish my own mother would accept my jail sentence with a simple nod.
“Ready to leave?” Braden seems uncomfortable with the moment Eloise and I had, and he gets up, stretching to his full height.
“Which way are you heading?” Eloise asks. “Any chance of running by Reno?”
“As a matter of fact, we’re going that way.” Braden picks up my backpack as if we’re still traveling together. “I need to take Sammie Christmas shopping, and then we’re headed to Wyoming.”
“You’re finally going home?” Eloise clasps her hands together. “Oh, Braden, may the Lord bless you and your family.”
He gives her a sheepish grin, and for a moment, he looks like a naughty schoolboy caught doing something good. “Let me help clear everyone out, and then we’ll meet at the car.”
Eloise and I bus our trays and clean up our table. Braden herds everyone out in a friendly way, and when it’s time to close the barn doors, he spots Lowlife One and Lowlife Two huddled near the abandoned pigpen looking miserable.
He walks toward them, and I can sense trouble brewing. He’s going to pay them back for harassing me. Excitement floods my pulse. I can’t say it wasn’t satisfying to hear Mitch’s arm crack. Those guys better learn not to mess with me when Braden’s around.
His hand goes to his pocket, and my heart freezes. He’s not going to shoot them, is he? All for a few insults. This is carrying it too far.
“Stop!” I shout and rush toward the men, wedging myself between them. “You can’t.”
Braden flicks his wallet open and twists his upper lip. “I can’t give them a few bucks to buy some food?”
The thunderous drumbeats and cymbals in my heart crash to the floor in silence. “I thought you were going to shoot them.”
Braden extracts a couple of twenty-dollar bills and waves them in my face. “Is that what you would have done?”
My face heats red-hot, and shame engulfs me, leaving me stuttering. “No, I mean, too many action movies, sorry.”
I’m such a bad person, no one deserves to be associated with me. While he hands the money to the two appreciative homeless guys, I dislodge my backpack from his shoulder and walk away.
Eloise chases after me. “Honey, you tried to save their lives.”
“No, I thought badly of Braden,” I mutter. “You go ahead and ride with him. I’ll find my own way home.”
