Page 157 of Run
Before I know it, my legs are pumping and pushing me through the yard, away from the house, and into the field.
“Wanna go for a ride tonight, Red?”
“I’ll come to the window after I see the light out.”
“Totally worth it!”
My arms stretch out as I feel the tall grass caress my legs and I weave through it. My head is tipped back, the sun hitting my face—and my smile.
I get to the edge where I can access the creek and slow to a walk as I find the big rock where the three of us used to perch. I slink down, pulling my knees up and hugging them to my chest. Tears fall down my face but they’re not out of sadness. They are cleansing. They are renewal. They are rebirth. And they beg to bring me home.
Which gives me an idea … I just wonder if Ethan will go for it.
ETHAN
I swear to the universe this will be the last time I keep somethingfrom Ari, but I had to come alone and see where this leads before pushing her any further. I just can’t stand the thought of setting her up to be disappointed one more time.
When she said she was going to visit Sophie, I had my opening.
The drive was a little over an hour, and pulling into the residential neighborhood, I admire the neat little rows of houses. There are a few beautiful, big Victorian houses with intricate molding and trim in bright colors, and then there are more modest homes, like the one I park in front of. It’s the address I got from Lena.
I don’t exactly know what I was expecting to find, but the white house looks like your typical two-story home with a porch and small yard surrounded by a fence.
Wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans, I exit the Jeep. I’m dying to ride the Ducati, but I don’t have all my core strength back.
My Army boots feel heavy as I climb the few steps to the front door and knock. I wait a minute, then knock again, but no one answers. Walking down the stairs, jamming my hands into my pockets and hanging my head, a voice catches my attention. “They’re probably out back.”
I turn toward the direction the voice came from and see a middle-aged guy standing on the porch at the house next-door, a toddler on his hip. “You looking for Shirley? Or Bonnie?”
“Uh, either, I guess.”
He nods toward the back yard. “I think they’re out back gardening.”
I turn and look around the side of the house. “Thanks.”
Crossing over the grass, I make it to the fence gate. “Hello?” Not hearing a reply, I look around and see a small yard that is exploding with flowers and bushes and plants just towering everywhere. It looks almost tropical. “Hello?”
“Is someone there?” I hear a feminine, older voice.
“Yes. Uh, sorry. I’m at the gate.”
A woman with thick, shoulder-length silver hair comes into view from under an arbor that has roses and some kind of vine-like plant weaving through it. Long black pants flow around her legs, and she’s wearing a blouse covered in, ironically, flowers. “Can I help you?” Her eyes roam over my still-black eye, and nose covered in a splint.
“Y—yes,” I stutter. “Are you Shirley?”
“The one and only.” She smiles. “And you are?”
“Ethan.” I offer my hand, and she takes it. “So, this is going to sound crazy, but my girlfriend has been looking for her birth mother for, well, her whole life, I guess, and I’m just wondering …” I take a deep breath. “Do you have any knowledge of a granddaughter that may have been adopted …”
I trail off when Shirley brings her hand to her chest and her complexion pales. “Say it isn’t so,” she whispers.
Before I can say anything else, another woman comes into view. Her head is down as she lugs a bucket with gardening tools in it. But I can’t miss the full head of fiery red hair. And then she looks up, and as she makes her way toward us, it’s like Earth’s tectonic plates snap into place.
CHAPTER 51
ARI
My leg bounces up and down, nearly rocking the Jeep as we get closer. “Maybe we should wait until we both look a little less, you know, beaten up,” I say, trying another stall tactic.
