Page 82 of Runaway Road (Runaway 1)

After a lot of thought, I’d decided to investigate my parents in the hopes it would mend those dark, open wounds. They’d died days after I’d run away—a dual heroin overdose. My parents had been found together in their bed. Maybe if they had survived, they would have come looking for me.

Maybe not.

For now, I took comfort i

n knowing their tortured souls were at rest. And that running away had put me on a path that ultimately led home.

I felt it. Deep.

The trip to the grocery store was uneventful. Ellie stayed asleep even as the cashier fawned over her precious face. And she slept until we were home, unloading groceries into the kitchen.

“Hi, baby,” I cooed as she woke with a yawn. I hauled her out of the car seat just as the doorbell rang. “Should we go see who’s here?”

Ellie tooted.

I laughed, walking to the door. I opened it up, expecting Meggie or a neighbor, but my jaw dropped at the woman on my porch. “Gemma?”

“Hi.” She tugged off her sunglasses. “Surprise.”

“Yes, it sure is.” I smiled, waving her inside. “What are you doing here?”

Her eyes flooded. “I ran away.”

“She’s beautiful. Truly.” Gemma touched her finger to the top of Ellie’s nose.

“I think so.” I smiled, watching my friend cuddle my daughter as we sat on the back deck.

Last night after Gemma had arrived, she’d given me the quick and dirty details of leaving Boston, but we hadn’t had time to talk. Brooks had shown up twenty minutes after Gemma and we’d all rushed to the football game.

When we’d gotten home, I’d nursed Ellie, then Brooks had put her to bed while Gemma and I had spent a solid three hours on the couch, talking. We’d picked right back up again this morning.

“You’re right. This is amazing iced coffee.”

I took a sip of my own. “Told you so.”

“If Meggie had a spa, I might just stay in Summers forever.” Gemma had opted for the motel instead of our guest bedroom, wanting to give us privacy. Meggie had put her in my old room, number five.

It was good to see her in a pair of faded jeans and a loose green sweater. Her feet were in flimsy sandals. I hadn’t seen her relaxed like this in years.

Since I’d moved to Summers, Gemma and I had spoken on the phone every few weeks. She’d traveled to West Virginia for my wedding but hadn’t been back since Ellie was born.

“You found it,” Gemma said, staring out at the lake.

“Found what?”

“A real life.”

I followed her gaze to the water. “Yes, I did.”

Brooks and Wyatt were on the dock, tinkering with something on the boat. Brooks must have felt my stare because he looked up and waved. The smile tugging at his lips was likely the same one that had gotten me pregnant.

“I want a real life, Lonny.”

I put my hand on her forearm. “You’re sure leaving Boston is the right call?”

“I’m sure.” She tipped her head to the sky. “But I still can’t believe I did it. That I left it all behind.”

Last night, she’d told me that she’d sold her company, her house and her car. She’d kept her investments in other ventures that required little to no work, but as of yesterday, she was unemployed and homeless.