Page 29 of Escape
“I’ve done this for years, Huck. One more night isn’t going to kill me,” I said.
“Do you have a phone?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you have it with you?”
“Yes.”
“I want you to save my number in there,” he said. “Save it in your phone as anything you want that won’t tip him off. But I want you to be able to call me if something happens between now and the time you get out of there.”
I pulled out my phone and held it out to him. Huck tapped his number in and handed it back to me. I saved him under the contact ‘H’ and dropped my phone back into my bag as I said, “You seem concerned.”
“Because I’m worried about you.”
“Would it help if I reached out to you between now and then?” I asked.
“Could you do that?”
I nodded. “As long as you don’t respond, I could send you a text tonight before I go to bed to let you know I’m okay, and I could send another in the morning. I’ll just delete them from my phone as soon as they are sent.”
“Okay. Okay, yeah. If you do that, it would help tremendously. But don’t do it if it’s not safe for you to do.”
I smiled at him, feeling such an appreciation for the man he was. “I’ll be okay, Huck.’’
He reached down into his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and dropped some cash on the table for Lori. Then, he grabbed the bill she’d dropped off to us somewhere near the end of our pie consumption and slid out of the seat. He stood beside the table and held his hand out to me.
I took it and eased myself out.
“Careful,” he urged quietly.
Once I got myself upright again, we moved to the front of the diner, where Huck paid the bill.
As soon as we stepped outside, I said, “Thank you for inviting me to join you for pie and for treating.”
“You’re welcome, Josie. Thanks for joining me. Where are you parked?”
I swallowed hard. “I walked.”
“You walked?”
I nodded. “We sold my car. So, I usually walk or take the bus. I’ve been walking, so I don’t have to spend the money on the bus.”
He let out a frustrated sigh and jerked his head to the side. “I’ll give you a ride home. And tomorrow, I’ll pick you up when you’re ready.”
“You don’t mind?”
“I think you already know the answer to that question. Come on, I’m parked across the street.”
Huck and I stepped out into the street and crossed. We hadn’t completely gotten to the sidewalk on the other side when my keys fell. “Oh, shoot.”
“I’ve got it,” Huck said, bending down and picking them up before I could figure out how I was going to manage the same with the pain in my ribs.
When he held them out to me, I smiled at him and said, “Thanks.”
He returned the smile, making me feel the best I had about this time I’d had with him. I was so relieved we no longer had that tension surrounding us.
In a flash, everything changed.