Triple Beat-nook(6)

“It’s going to be okay, Dani. The police will be here soon…”

***

Dani dug into her purse for a tissue. For a moment, she considered pulling over. Driving and crying didn’t mix.

“Get it together, girl,” she muttered to herself as she fought back the tears. She blinked several times and then took a steadying breath. She was doing herself no favors with this damn trip down memory lane.

She’d spent her entire adult life recreating herself, working hard to overcome a childhood spent living in fear. She had been helpless and fearful when she was a girl and apparently some of those traits had carried over, despite her best efforts to shed them.

It had to end here. She refused to carry the label of victim for one second longer. She’d go back to New Orleans, face the bastard who’d tried to destroy her and show him he held no more power over her. Then she’d return to Nashville and embrace a very bright future with no regrets or fears, and without the shadow of Russell Patton casting her in never-ending darkness.

Dani Patton had died the night her father crawled into her bed. And Dani Lewis had emerged from the ashes. It was time to dump the baggage.

She made the exit that took her to the next interstate, the last stretch of her trip before she hit Louisiana.

She recalled the last time she’d been on this road so late and grinned. Mercifully, not all of her memories were bad.

Dani had snuck out of the Lewises’ house after learning her father had been released from prison. He’d cut his two-year sentence down by a month due to good behavior. Dani had been counting on that extra month because it put her that much closer to her eighteenth birthday.

Mama Lewis had cried when she’d told Dani the court was sending her back to him, but legally, her beloved foster mother’s hands had been tied. She had to abide by the rules of the system.

Despite that, Dani had suspected Mama Lewis was preparing to fight the ruling. Dani couldn’t let her do it. After all, Mama had taken in two other foster kids, the sweetest little boys on the planet, Zac and Noah. She wouldn’t allow Mama Lewis to do anything that might get her in trouble and impact their placement. They’d only been there a few months and had only just begun to feel safe. How could Dani take that security away from them?

So…she ran. Somehow she’d managed to survive on her own for three weeks. When Dani looked back on that time, it all seemed like one giant blur. She had been a homeless runaway with less than a hundred dollars in her pocket and no idea where she was going.

During those few weeks, she had succeeded in putting some serious distance between her and her father. She didn’t have a clue how far she’d walked when she had stumbled into an all-night diner just off the highway one night.

***

Dani was running on empty, sleeping sporadically and for short periods at a time. She’d eaten the last of the peanut butter and crackers and other food she’d taken from Mama Lewis’ house two days earlier. Since then, she’d only had some fruit she had stolen from an orchard. Her stomach ached with emptiness.

She was dirty and tired and she needed somewhere warm to sit down for a little while. She’d only been in the diner a few minutes before she found herself regretting the decision to stop. The waitress was eyeing her suspiciously.

The last thing Dani needed was for the woman to call the cops, so she painted on a friendly smile as she sat down and perused the menu. She quickly scanned the list, looking for the cheapest thing. She didn’t dare dip too deeply into her money. There was hardly any in her pocket as it was. As she ordered an egg and toast, her stomach growled loudly.

An older woman turned around in the booth next to hers. Dani was actually surprised when she saw the face. She’d thought it had been a man sitting there at first.

“Is that your stomach making that god-awful racket?” the woman asked, her voice gravelly and deep. Dani pegged her for a two-pack-a-day gal.

Dani nodded and glanced toward the door. She’d been stupid to come out in public. For three weeks, she had avoided main roads and public places, staying hidden as much as possible.

“Egg and toast ain’t gonna help that.”

To Dani’s surprise, the woman rose from her seat, picked up her cup of coffee and shifted over to Dani’s booth.

“You alone?” she asked, even as she plopped down across from Dani.

Again, Dani nodded, not sure what to do. She was too tired and hungry and her voice was rusty from lack of use.

The woman chuckled, the sound morphing into a light cough at the end. “Don’t talk much, do you? I’m Stella.”