Page 53 of Run to Ground
Sincemaking out with your sisterseemed age-inappropriate, Theo just said, “Viggy decided to visit you.”
“On his own? He ran off?” Her arms squeezed tightly around Viggy. The dog didn’t seem to mind. On the contrary, he leaned into the girl with a low groan. Dee’s expression was guarded as she asked, “Did something happen?”
“To make Viggy want to leave?” When she nodded, Theo continued. “No. I think he just wanted to see you.”
Dee’s face lit up, and she turned her attention back to Viggy, talking inaudibly to him.
“That was kind,” Jules murmured, standing and leaning into his back. Her breath warmed his skin through his T-shirt. Theo got goose bumps. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he didn’t—out loud, at least. Turning, he looped an arm around her waist and tugged her in front of him, pulling her close. She leaned back against him, and he couldn’t resist wrapping his arms around her.
The wind had quieted to a light breeze, and Theo just reveled in the moment, in the warm body pressed to his front, the cool night, the stars that were so bright they almost didn’t look real. The constant grief and rage churning in him had quieted for now, and Viggy looked happy.
It wouldn’t last. For this minute, though, it was enough.
Chapter 15
As she bussed the table, picking up the few coins wedged between two plates and trying not to think about all the things her family needed and how quickly that seventy-one cents would be spent, her stomach buzzed with excitement.
He’d actually kissed her. No,theyhad kissed. There’d definitely been some mutual lip action. Her cheeks grew warm as she rewound—for the hundredth time that morning—every second of their time together on the porch.
Her eyes darted to the clock on the wall, and she held back a grimace when she realized the three cops wouldn’t be there for another forty-five minutes. Jules wanted to see him, wanted to know if they were going to sneak each other secret looks and touches, or if the kiss was something Theo wanted to forget. If his gaze would slide right past her, as if it were a normal day, and they were normal people, and something miraculous hadn’t happened earlier that morning.
Wiping down the table, she snorted.Miraculous?It had been a kiss. A good kiss—an amazing kiss—but that was all. It hadn’t cured cancer or turned water into wine or stopped a plague of locusts. It was a kiss. A toe-curling, brain-erasing, life-altering kiss, sure, but still just a kiss.
A flash of blue uniform had her turning even as the sensor on the door beeped, announcing a customer. Disappointment made her shoulders sag when she realized it was Hugh, not Theo. Guilt quickly followed, and she gave Hugh an extra-bright smile to make up for her mental lack of enthusiasm. She liked Hugh—quite a bit, actually. He just wasn’t the cop who made her heart quicken.
By the way Hugh was charging toward her, though, it looked like she was exactly the person he wanted to see. The crutches didn’t seem to slow him down, even when he was forced to maneuver through the tables. His obvious intent made her nervous, and she tried to take a step back, but her calves bumped one of the wooden chairs. She bobbled, hurrying to put her bussing tub down before she dropped it and all its contents. By the time she’d recovered her balance, he was right in front of her.
Although he was smiling, there was a determined look on his face that ramped up her nerves. Jules tried to appear like his speedy approach hadn’t bothered her, as if she wasn’t seconds from tossing the contents of the bus tub at him and vaulting over the table to freedom.
“Jules,” he said, his sharp gaze taking in everything. Somehow, she just knew thatheknew that she was ready to run. “Just the person I wanted to see. Do you have a minute?”
“Actually,” she rushed out, her voice too high-pitched, “we’re really busy this morning. Could this wait until later?”
“’Fraid not.” His smile turned apologetic, but his tone was firm. Whatever this was, Jules was not getting out of it. All the horrible possibilities—he knew who they were, what she’d done—rushed into her mind, weakening her knees, and she sank into the chair behind her.
“Sorry. Mind if I sit?” she asked belatedly.
“Of course not.” Leaning on his right crutch, he used his left to push another chair away from the table so he could drop into it. “Good idea.”
There was a short silence, although it felt very long to Jules. Her gaze darted around again, wishing for a tour bus of seniors to stop by before heading farther into the mountains, or maybe a preschool crowd of teenagers, or even for Megan to come out of the kitchen and yell at Jules to get back to work. Any of those would be acceptable options, all better than waiting to hear what was making Hugh’s smile look like he’d duct-taped it on.
“So…what’s your story, Jules?”
The question made her throat seize. Even if she’d known how to answer that question, even if she’dwantedto answer that question, it would’ve been impossible to speak. Instead, she settled for giving him a quizzical look—at least she hoped it was a quizzical look. Jules was pretty sure it leaned closer toward deer-in-the-headlights.
“Come on, now.” Hugh leaned back, making the chair squeak in protest, and laced his fingers behind his head. The pose brought all the muscles in his arms and chest into stark relief, but Jules didn’t really find it sexy. Shedidfind it intimidating. Even with a bullet hole in his leg, Hugh would have no problem restraining her. “You randomly show up in town, jump at every sudden movement, and get a job I’m guessing you’re a college degree or two overqualified for. What’d you do?” He was watching her closely, and she struggled to keep the panic off her face. “Or what was donetoyou?”
She fumbled for words, trying to think of the best way to prove him wrong, to turn him off the track he was on before it led him inevitably to a kidnapping in Florida. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
A judge might disagree, but she felt it, deep in her gut. The kids had needed saving. She’d saved them. In the weeks since they’d arrived in Monroe—even when facing a school shooting and a falling-down house and a new town—none of her siblings had ever even hinted at wanting to go back to Courtney, to their old life. Jules knew she’d done the right thing.
Not that her certainty helped now, faced with Hugh’s coolly assessing gaze.
“Good,” he said. “That makes it easier. Just tell me why you ran, why you’re hiding, and I’ll be able to help you.”
“I…” For a single, insane moment, Jules was tempted. Hugh was a good guy. He could understand why she had to take the kids, right?
The door sensor beeped, and she whipped her head around to see Norman coming in. He started to head to his usual booth, but then he noticed Jules and Hugh, and his footsteps slowed. Just for a second, his bland countenance focused and sharpened, making him look like a completely different person.
