Page 2 of The Map Home
“I can’t keep staying here. Your parents or someone else will figure it out. I’ll just walk into town and catch a bus somewhere.”
Thunder grumbled, far away now, and a bolt of lightning illuminated distant hills. Again Dakota thought he saw something but couldn’t make out what it might be. Probably a tree.
“Stay here,” Tad said fiercely. “I’ll figure out a way to ask my parents if you can stay with us.”
Suddenly tired, Dakota slumped against a rickety wall. “They’re not going to say yes. You know that.”
“No, I don’t. I know you think they’re like—like other people, but they’re not. Move out of my way and let me get inside.”
Reluctantly, Dakota moved aside, realizing he’d been the one blocking the door, not Tad. He was tired and scared and hungry. It was literally the dark of the night and Dakota had nowhere to go. If it hadn’t been for Tad, he would probably have been on a bus to Cheyenne by now or somewhere else far from the ranch. But Tad had made him promise he wouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye, and as scared as he was, Dakota wouldn’t go back on his word.
The shadows moved. He knew he hadn’t imagined anything. There was someone or someones out there, and they were approaching the decrepit shepherd’s hut.
“Tad, what did you do?” Dakota demanded, his nostrils flaring. “Did you tell your parents?”
Panic rose quickly, overwhelming him. He had to get out of there now. He should have known better than to trust a rich ranch kid who had everything and never worried where he was going to sleep at night or if his mother was coming home.
Shoving Tad out of his way, Dakota stumbled out into the night, his only thought to get far away from the hut and the Gillespie family. However, before he made it ten feet, a strong hand gripped his arm, forcing him to a stop.
“Son,” Mr. Gillespie said, keeping a tight hold on Dakota.
He thrashed but couldn’t break free. Waylon Gillespie was a big, strong man used to holding down livestock and splitting cords of wood. Dakota was a too-skinny kid, hungry and tired from hiding out in the rover’s hut.
“Let me go!” His face was wet, and not just from the rain. He tasted salt from his tears as they dripped into his mouth. “No! I won’t go to a home, I won’t,” he shouted. “I’ll run away!”
“Dakota”—another voice, this one Penny Gillespie’s—“we’re not calling anyone. We promise.”
“Promise is just a stupid word, doesn’t mean shit. Everyone makes promises,” Dakota cried, struggling even harder. The stupid tears streaming down his face mixed with the snot running from his nose as he fought to drag in big panting gulps of air. “Let go, get away from me!”
Mr. Gillespie released his arm and in a swift movement wrapped his strong arms around Dakota instead, making it even more impossible for him to escape. He tried anyway, thrashing back and forth as hard as he could, yelling at the top of his lungs. A roaring in Dakota’s ears blocked out all sound. He’d become pure reaction, a shooting star falling to the earth.
He needed to get away, to escape, to explode.
“Dakota, Dakota, stop.” Tad’s panicked agitation broke through the roaring. “They’re saying they won’t tell anyone. They mean it, right, Dad?” Tad had so much hope in his voice. “You can stay. Mom says she can figure it out.”
It had to be a trick.
“It doesn’t work like that!” Dakota shouted, trying again to break free from Mr. Gillespie’s bear hug. He was soaked to the skin—they all were. The freezing rain poured down in relentless sheets. Somewhere in the valley, a river was reaching maximum capacity. Just like Dakota.
“Son,” Mr. Gillespie repeated, his tone gentle but firm in Dakota’s ear, “please calm down. Tad didn’t tell us anything. You’re not going anywhere. We’ve got your back.”
Dakota automatically kept struggling for a moment before the words made their way into his brain and reassembled into something that made sense. Not going anywhere?
“What?” He stopped trying to pull away. He was breathing heavily and his heart was pounding against his ribs. “How did you figure out that I was here, then?”
When Ana had left, she’d told Dakota to make himself scarce until she got back as she wasn’t supposed to leave him behind. But she also hadn’t made arrangements for him to be anywhere else. He and Tad thought his parents assumed he’d gone with her.
“We noticed food was missing—not a problem.” Mr. Gillespie released him. “If you’re hungry, you need to eat. But Penny assumed it was Boone and when she asked him about it, he told us he’d seen Tad sneaking off. We put two and two together.”
Mr. Gillespie glanced over at his anxious-looking son. “You should have come to us in the beginning, Tad. There was no need to hide this from us. But we understand why you did. Come on, Dakota, let’s get you back home, somewhere warm.” Mr. Gillespie wrinkled his nose. “And maybe showered and cleaned up a bit. Then we’ll all sit down together and find out what’s going on from your perspective.”
Dakota was doing his best to believe what he was hearing, but at the same time, he was pissed off that it had been Boone who’d given him away.
Fucking Boone.
“A hot meal first,” added Mrs. Gillespie, interrupting Dakota’s thoughts.
“A hot meal first,” Mr. Gillespie agreed. “And a shower. Then we’ll can talk about how we might solve this little problem.”
