She smiled. “Yeah, I could if you didn't keep so much crap back there.”
“I could move some stuff around to make room for you.” I acted like I was offering to do her a huge favor, knowing it would make her keep smiling.
She did one better and actually laughed. “Gee, thanks. But I think I’d better stay. You never know, they might need someone to keep them calm or something while you’re gone. Plus I should charge up and activate our new phones.”
Everyone had looked pretty tense, though the supplies had at least given them something to do and a way to get some decent food in their stomachs. And Tarah was right. Maybe with her here to keep everyone calm, we wouldn’t have a repeat of the gas station incident in Oklahoma.
Wishing I hadn’t remembered that, I hesitated, staring at the khaki colored trucks. Would Steve be able to keep cool for an hour or two? If he didn’t, would Tarah be able to stop him from doing something else stupid?
“Quit worrying,” she murmured. “We’ll be fine.”
“Who said I was worried?” I’d forgotten how easily she used to be able to read me. Apparently she hadn’t lost the ability despite the long break in our friendship.
“Hey, did I hear you’re going to rent a bus now?”
Steve had gotten out of the cab of one of the trucks and was headed our way. At the sound of his voice, the healer Pamela poked her head through the truck’s flap. Below her, a miniature version of her also looked out past the flap, the little girl’s matching blonde hair a tangled mess of curls. Her dad reached up to ruffle her hair, making the girl’s solemn face break into the briefest of smiles.
“Yeah,” I answered Steve, cautious now. “Tarah found a rental place one town over. I should be back in about an hour with a charter bus.”
Steve frowned. “Not without a legal driver, you won’t. You’re what…seventeen?”
My shoulders stiffened. “Eighteen.”
“Yeah? Well, you’ve gotta be at least twenty-five to rent even a regular car. I’m sure the same applies for renting a bus.”
Tarah and I shared a look. Great. I wasn’t old enough, and everyone else was on the run from the law. The whole group probably was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list by now. If the bus owner ran any of their IDs, we would all be toast.
“Anyone any good at making fake IDs and a good disguise to age me up some?” I was only half joking.
Pamela nodded. “Steve could pull off some spells like that.”
After a long pause, he nodded. “Not for long, though. And I’d have to go with you or else they would wear off.”
“Let’s try it,” Tarah said.
I didn’t like any plan that involved Steve and his anger management issues. But what else could we do? I nodded.
Pamela reached down to squeeze Steve’s shoulder. He climbed up on the end of the truck to give her a quick kiss. Then he turned to his daughter. “Daddy’s gotta go rent us a bus, sugarplum. I’ll be back in a little bit, though. Okay?”
The girl’s lower lip and chin trembled.
Jumping back down from the truck’s bumper, Steve peeled off the badly fitting military shirt and matching stolen pants from over his regular t-shirt and jeans.
“I’ve got a spare jacket in my truck,” I offered. I would have already given it to Tarah instead, but she still had her thick, quilted coat that she’d been wearing during the meeting in the woods.
“Thanks,” Steve said, his tone clipped.
I turned back to Tarah. “See you in a few. If police show up, or anybody else who’s acting suspicious of you…”
“I’ll get us out of here,” she said.
I found myself wishing I'd gotten the courage to kiss her goodbye as Steve and I got into my truck. When I looked back, I caught one last glimpse of Tarah as she climbed into the back end of one of the military trucks.
Too late now.
I punched in the bus rental place’s address into the GPS, ready to get this over with as fast as we could. We were so close to reaching South Dakota. If we could just get there, Grandma Letty could probably help these people find somewhere more long term to hide out. And Tarah and I…well, we’d figure it all out then too. Maybe she and I could go to the west coast. I’d always wanted to see California’s beaches, maybe learn to do a little surfing in the sun. And Tarah in a bikini would be a sight worth seeing several times over.
As I drove, my right hand began to ache. I switched hands on the wheel, flexing my cramped fingers.
“Nervous?” Steve suddenly asked.
I started to shake my head then shrugged instead. “Yeah, I guess so. A lot of people need this to work.”
“I’m glad you realize that. Leading a big group of families like this would be a tough responsibility even for an adult under normal circumstances.” He leaned back in the corner against the door and stared at me.
What was with the “even for an adult” crap? I was eighteen, not eight.
“Yeah, well, I’m not really leading anybody here. Y’all are just following me to my grandma’s.”
“That’s not the impression everyone else has. They all seem to think you’re some big shot master wizard here to save the day.”
How was I supposed to control what others thought? “I never made anyone any promises.”
“Your girlfriend did, though.”
“Tarah’s—” I started to say she wasn’t my girlfriend then gave up explaining. “I don’t know exactly what she told you. All I know is Tarah and I are headed to South Dakota, you guys are following us, and we need a rental bus to get everyone there safely without getting caught. You know, I don’t want to go to prison any more than you do.”
“You mean back to prison,” he said.
“Right.”
“Except you’ve never actually been in prison. You would never end up in a place like that, ‘cause your daddy wouldn’t allow it, would he?”
What was with this guy? Was he determined to tick me off or what? Just because it was along the same lines as what I'd told Tarah didn't mean I liked how it sounded coming out of this guy's mouth.
My silence only seemed to goad him on. “I guess this all seems like a big adventure to you, don’t it, rich boy?”
I worked on breathing deep through my nose and resisting the urge to lean across the seat to punch him.