Page 9 of Rescuer
Her luck continued to sink. She hit every red light in town. When she was finally free of Main Street and the speed limit increased by fifteen miles, she hit the gas and floored it. She wouldn’t break any records, but she’d get home as soon as was humanly possible.
“Shannon would tell me to pray,” she muttered to herself, then grimaced. Jackson had taken her to church with him and his grandfather a couple of times. She’d been so hungry for love, and the idea of a loving God had appealed to her. Until they went too far and it all fell apart.
Yeah, she’d seen what faith looked like. Get someone pregnant, then abandon them. No thanks.
I should try Anne Marie one last time.
When no one answered, her hands curled around the steering wheel and tightened until her knuckles whitened. Her street loomed before her. She braked at the stop sign, looked both ways, then rolled through the intersection and turned onto her street. Blood pounded through her veins, sounding like thunder in her ears.
A group of boys was playing catch in the middle of the street. She rolled down her window when they didn’t move to let her through. Heat poured through the opening. Instantly, sweat slicked her skin, catching the dust floating in the air and holding it captive. Yuck.
“Hey, boys, I need to get through.”
The oldest boy grabbed the ball. “Sorry, Miss Turner.”
The four boys, ages ten through twelve, ran to the curb and waved as she drove by. Normally, Mia would have taken the time to stop and chat. Today, she had to get to Gus and make sure everything was all right.
Why hadn’t her cousin called her?
Mia pulled into her driveway. She shoved the gear shift to Park. Turned off the ignition, then grabbed the bag with the medication and hopped from the vehicle. She slammed the door and tore up the driveway toward the five steps leading to the front door. She was halfway up the stairs when it hit her.
Anne Marie’s little four-door sedan wasn’t parked on the street.
Where was her cousin?
Images of Gus holding her heart ripped through her mind. Had they gone to the hospital? She ran up the rest of the steps and burst into the house.
“Gus?” she called out, eyes frantically searching for the familiar face.
The place was a wreck. Dirty dishes were on the table, a basket of clothes had tipped over on the floor, and a pizza box and several soda cans littered the floor in front of the sofa.
The house had been immaculate when Mia had left that morning.
“I’m here.” Gus’s voice wobbled in the next room.
She followed the weak voice into the kitchen. Her eighty-two-year-old aunt leaned against the countertop as if her legs wouldn’t support her weight. She had an apron tied around her waist and was washing dishes. Her puff of steel-gray hair had been pulled away from her face by the reading glasses she wore like a headband for when she needed them.
Her lips were gray, and she gasped in each breath.
“Gus! You shouldn’t be doing this. Where is Anne Marie?” She hurried to Gus’s side and tucked her hand inside her aunt’s elbow, then guided the elderly woman to the table and settled her in a chair.
“Oh, she had some friends over, then they went out to catch a movie.” Gus waved an airy hand.
Mia stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Gus would do anything for her family. In the past, it had led to people taking advantage of her. Mia pursed her lips, suspicious. She went over to the tea canister where Gus kept her weekly grocery money and pulled on the lid. It came away with a soft pop.
Peering inside, she sighed. It was gone. “Gus! They took your money.”
“It’s all right, sweetie. She needed it. You can’t take it with you.” Gus sighed. “I’m tired, Mia. Be a dear. Help me to my chair.”
Biting down the acidic response that burned in her chest, Mia gently took Gus’s arm, wincing at how frail it felt, and walked her to the living room. She helped her lower herself into her favorite recliner. It would do no good to scold Gus and tell her not to let Anne Marie take her money. That was who she was.
It was up to Mia to protect her and look out for her.
“You stay here. I’ll get you dinner and your pills.”
Mia found some leftovers in the kitchen and heated them up. Then she gathered Gus’s medication and brought it to her. “Here you go. Careful. I think I put this lasagna in the microwave too long.”
“I’ll let it sit a bit.” Gus took her pills with the water Mia handed her. “Say, Mia, did you get to go on your run this morning?”
