Page 3 of Born a Hero
She heard the door behind open and knew Bryce had joined them in time to hear Justin call for his mom.
When Bryce asked the question in both their minds, she waited to hear the boy’s answer.
“Why were you alone in the car, Justin?”
“I wasn’t.”
Chapter Four
Bryce moved closer so he could sit on the side of the bed next to the boy. He picked up his hand and held it gently. “There was no one in the car with you, buddy. I checked.”
“Mommy was. She got out for gas just before the water came. So I wasn’t alone, wight?”
Bryce looked at Sonja nodding her head, and he quickly followed her example. “Right. So Mommy must still be at the gas station.”
“She had to go inside to pay the man.”
“Was the water there then?”
“Sort of. Not so high up. She was scared ‘cause we couldn’t get home unless she got gas… so she stopped.”
“Is that when the water began to rise?”
“I guess so. There was lots of noise and everything happened fast. Mom came after the car; I saw her wunning until she fell. But then we went too fast, and more water came. I don’t know what happened to her.” Justin’s chin wobbled and his voice went low from the fear they saw in his face.
“Not to worry, baby. Can you tell us her name?”
“Mommy.”
Bryce chuckled as did Sonja. Then the wise woman asked, “What do other people call her?”
“Oh, that name. Dena.”
“And your last name?”
“Low.”
Chapter Five
Dena Lore watched her car begin to move, carried along with the rush of water that seemed to appear from nowhere. One minute she was walking through an ankle-deep river and the next, her small SUV began sailing off, pushed by another from behind that had lost control.
She watched in horror as yet another vehicle began swerving and crashed into a sign. The weight from that truck pushed over the pole like a domino and the end of it smashed into the window on the very seat where Justin sat. She heard the crack of the glass as it broke.
She’d begun running, her heart in her throat making breathing almost impossible, yet it felt like she wasn’t moving at all. The weight of the rushing water flowing against her body had stopped her forward momentum.
Heart pounding, she fell face first and struggled to gain her feet.Justin!Her boy, her son, her reason for getting up every morning would be facing this danger alone. Only six-years-old, the child of her heart who made life bearable and the sun shine every day would be crying for his mommy. Giving up any semblance of self-control, she screamed her frustration and fought like hell. But the SUV floated away like some riverboat in full throttle.
Now fighting for her own life, she finally fought her way over to the nearest lamppost and wrapped her arms around it, clinging for dear life. Her thoughts fled with her boy as she gripped the metal base with all her might.
If anyone would have told her that at eighteen, she would give birth to a baby boy, end up a single mom, and love every minute of having this child to care for, she would have told them to stop hallucinating.
After all, wasn’t she good-time Dena? The black-haired bombshell, always looking for a party? Drugs, drinking, hooking up with anyone who had a condom and a good line had been her MO.
Then along came the one hero who’d accidently knocked into her in the only bar where they’d stopped asking for ID, and she knew instantly why God had put her on the earth.
“Oops, sorry Princess.” His manners were impeccable.
This guy, not a boy her age, but a real man, found her funny and smart and hung around after the rest took off to go to the latest party. She stayed with him, and they talked for hours.