The Soldier And The Single Mom

“Give it back? When I’m here and they’re in California?”

“Yep, and I’ve figured out how. You use one of those driving services. They load your vehicle on a truck and drive it across the country. It’s done all the time.”

Gina was still wrapping her mind around the facts: that her car wasn’t her car, and that she was a wanted criminal. “It’s got to be expensive,” she said finally. “I’m almost out of money.”

“Didn’t you say you had a debit card?”

She did. “But it’s not safe to use it.” It wasn’t as if there was a lot of money in the old joint account—Hank had drained most of it away in the months before his death—but there was something. Something for Bobby’s future, if they could make it through the first couple of months.

Haley sighed audibly. “No. No, it’s not safe, especially now that you’re a wanted person. The police could track you to where you are.”

Gina felt a sharp rush of shame that she had no savings of her own. If only she hadn’t acquiesced to staying home with Bobby... She glanced up toward her room. No, she couldn’t regret that decision. They’d both agreed that since they had the means, it would be best for her to spend Bobby’s early years at home with him.

She shoved open the window, letting the rain-soaked breeze soothe her hot face.

“We’ve got to hire you a transportation service, have you send back the car. The way I see it, you don’t have a choice.” Haley cleared her throat. “I talked to Josh. We...we can pay for it.”

“No.” Gina couldn’t let her friend do that. She and her husband had tons of student debt and no family money. Although they both worked, the high cost of living in their part of the state made it so that they barely scraped by every month.

And yet Haley was right. Staying out of trouble with the law was a bigger priority even than a financial safety net.

“Look, what if I mail you my ATM card? That way you can take the money out of my account, and if it’s traced, it’ll be local, not here.” Gina couldn’t believe how quickly she was able to flip into criminal mode when it was Bobby’s safety in question. “If I do that, can you set it up for me? Do we just send the SUV to them? I’m afraid they’ll find out where it came from and track us down.”

“Nope. Overnight the card to me, and I’ll get it all set up right away. As soon as the SUV arrives, I’ll drive it over to your in-laws’ place and leave it.”

“How? In the middle of the night?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll figure out some explanation.” She paused. “I really want this to work for you, Gina. I miss you, but you did the right thing. Bobby comes first.”

“Thank you so much. You’re an amazing friend.” Her throat tight, she chatted for a couple more minutes and then ended the call.

How was she going to manage without a vehicle? And yet, what choice did she have?

She looked out the window at the streetlights of Rescue River. The main street glistened with today’s rain. She could see the market, the diner, the library.

She could see them, which meant she could walk to them. She looked up at the stars. “You knew what You were doing when You put me here, Father,” she murmured in a low voice.

She let out a sigh and slid her feet down to the floor...only to shriek at the sight of a large figure standing a couple of steps down from the landing. When she recognized Buck, her heart rate settled a little.

He flicked on the hall light. “Sorry to startle you. I was talking to Lacey about your situation. Coming upstairs to my room.” Unnecessarily, he gestured toward the upper floor. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

She remembered the raised voices she’d heard. “Let me guess,” she said. “Your talk with Lacey didn’t go well.”

“I’m afraid not.” He sat on the other end of the curved window seat, his face barely visible in the glow of a streetlight. “She’s just not comfortable having you here. She said you could stay for a couple more days, through Monday, Tuesday if you really need to, but that’s all.”

The weight of her responsibilities pressed down on Gina. She couldn’t stay, then, not unless she found another job. But she couldn’t go, not with her transportation being taken out from under her.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” He reached out a hand and patted her shoulder.

Surely he meant it as a friendly touch, but to Gina, the warmth of his large hand made her want to hurl herself into his arms. He seemed so strong and competent and kind.

And she couldn’t give in to that desire to be rescued. “Thanks for trying. With God’s help, I’ll figure out something.”

Rather than nodding and moving away, he gave her shoulder another pat and looked into her eyes. “When I met you, I thought you were one of those ladies who lunch, someone who never had a problem. But that’s far from the truth, isn’t it?”

“Miles away.” She couldn’t handle the compassion in his eyes, but she couldn’t look away, either.

“If I wasn’t knee-deep in problems of my own, problems of my own creation, I’d try to help you more.” He squeezed her shoulder once and then pulled his hand away.

“Thanks.” She actually believed him.

“One thing I can offer,” he said, “is an invitation to church tomorrow. Nine o’clock. It’s a great community church, the one we stopped by before, and who knows, maybe someone is hiring or can put you up.” He sounded doubtful. And she couldn’t tell whether he wanted her to stay or not. Probably not.

He was offering her solace, and shamefully, church didn’t seem like a lot of help right now. But it was what she had, and she knew, intellectually at least, that God was big enough to handle any problem.

And she also knew that staying here in the dim moonlight, talking to a very handsome and compassionate man, wasn’t the solution to anything. She stood and turned toward the stairs. “I’d love to go. Thanks for asking.”

* * *

Minutes after Gina went into her room and closed the door, Buck trotted downstairs. He was putting on his coat when Lacey came out of the kitchen, holding her orange cat in her arms.

“Where are you going?” she asked. “It’s late.”

“Need some air.” The conversation with Gina had thrown him off balance in more ways than one, and he knew he wouldn’t sleep anytime soon.

Not to mention he was worried about the baby. Earlier tonight, when Gina had gone inside to fetch his binky, Buck had snapped a photo of Bobby’s bruise to show Dion.

His sister cuddled the cat closer and studied him, her forehead wrinkled.

“It’s just a walk, Lace.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes!” Then, ashamed of his sharp tone, he put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. He shouldn’t be mad at her when she’d bailed him out of so many problems. Between her own tragedies and his bad behavior, his waiflike younger sister had been forced to grow stronger than any woman should have to be. “I won’t be out long and I won’t do...what I used to do.”

“I know.” She leaned into his side. “I just got in the habit of worrying about you, know what I mean?”

“I know. But I’m fine.”

At least, he hoped he was fine, he thought as he stepped out the door. In the past, he’d have for sure gone on a bender just because he felt mixed up about that encounter with Gina.

He was worried about what he’d overheard, but that wasn’t all of it.

Turned out God had a sense of humor. He was attracted to the pretty, maternal stranger.

Buck blew out a sigh and strode through Rescue River’s small business district. A farming community to the core, the town shut down early. The diner and the shops all had doors closed and lights off.