The truck roared, the engine straining. Ryder leaned forward, his eyes scanning the gray chaos of the road.
Ten miles.
Ten miles between a six-year-old boy in red boots and a river that was currently turning into a monster.
"Run fast, Leo," Ryder whispered, his voice shaking. "Run fast, little man. But don't you dare go near that water."
II. The Empty Room
Thirty minutes earlier, Elena had woken to the sound of thunder that shook the foundation of the bungalow.
She sat up, her heart racing. The room was dark, lit only by the strobe-light flashes of lightning. Rain was hammering the roof like buckshot.
Leo.
Her first thought, always.
She threw off the covers and ran down the hall. The floorboards were cold.
She pushed open the door to Leo’s room.
"Leo, honey, it's just a storm," she whispered, reaching for the light switch.
The light flickered on.
The bed was made. But the lump under the quilt was too small. Too still.
Elena ripped the covers back.
Pillows. Three pillows arranged in a line.
"Leo?"
She spun around. The closet door was open. His red raincoat was gone. His red boots were gone.
She ran to the window. It was unlatched. The screen was pushed out. A puddle of water had formed on the sill.
"No," she breathed. "No, no, no."
She saw the paper taped to the glass.
A drawing. In crayon.
A big red truck. A stick figure with a cast. And a smaller stick figure holding a rope.
Underneath, in wobbly block letters:
I CAN BE BRAVE TO.
Elena stared at the note.I can be brave too.
He had heard them. He had heard the fight in the barn. He had heard Ryder say he was leaving because he needed money. He had heard Elena say Ryder was selfish.
Leo had interpreted it with the logic of a child:Ryder is leaving because I was scared of the dog. If I show him I'm brave, he'll stay.
Elena grabbed her keys. She grabbed her coat. She ran out into the storm, screaming his name into the wind that swallowed it whole.
She drove toward the ranch, but the world fought her. The dirt road had turned into a slurry of mud that sucked at her tires. Her sedan bogged down two miles from the house.
