Page 21 of Runaway Road (Runaway 1)

“Ah.” I nodded, then took one of the chairs.

“So you did some explorin’ today?”

“I did. This is a beautiful town.” I relaxed deeper into the seat. “Have you lived here long?”

“Going on thirty-five years. Me and Sally moved here together in our twenties.”

Meggie took my question and ran with it, recounting story after story about life in Summers. I hardly spoke a word, happy to listen to her tales with a smile on my face.

I hated small talk, mostly because it felt forced. When I’d worked for Thomas, it had been. But this felt different, like things had this morning on my walk. Maybe it was the way her hands flew in the air as she spoke. Maybe because she didn’t expect me to utter a word. But this small talk felt more like friendship.

She was in the middle of a story about how she and Sally had sunk a boat in the middle of a nearby lake when her eyes lit up and the door opened.

A teenage boy strode inside with two plastic sacks in his grip. “Hi, Miss Meggie.”

“Yes, yes. Set ’em down and give me a squeeze.” Meggie was off her stool, rounding the counter. She pulled the boy in for a hug, then looked him up and down. “Wyatt, you’ve grown an inch in a week.”

The boy shrugged. “I’ve been hungry lately.”

He was tall, standing at least six inches above Meggie’s head. She was about my height, at five five, so I was guessing this kid was close to six feet tall and still growing. He was long and lean but would likely fill out that broad frame.

In a way, he reminded me of Karson at that age. He’d grown fast and long too, so much so that the Cadillac had gotten too small for him to sleep inside. He’d traded the backseat for the outdoors during the warmer months. On the few chilly nights of California winter, he would cram himself in by my side, bitching about how his legs didn’t fit.

I smiled, thinking of how I’d curl into his side and fall asleep laughing.

“How’s football practice going?” Meggie asked.

Wyatt shrugged again. “Hot.”

“Only gonna get hotter.” She pinched his cheek—he let her without a wince or fuss—then she dove into the bags he’d brought along. “Say hi to Miss Londyn.”

The boy turned and gave me a nod. “Ma’am.”

Oof. These West Virginians and their ma’ams.

I stood from my chair and fished out a five-dollar bill from my pocket. I hadn’t carried my Louis Vuitton purse anywhere in Summers because it was snobby. I was already planning to donate it somewhere. Besides that, what the hell did I have to cart around? All I needed was some cash and the motel key on the little plastic key chain that read Room 5.

“Thanks for the delivery.” I held out the money for Wyatt.

His eyes widened. “Oh, that’s okay.”

“I tipped him,” Meggie said.

“Consider it a bonus.” I pushed the money into his hand.

I’d survived once on tips. My hourly wage had been shit at the pizza place where I’d worked as a kid. My tips meant I got a new pair of shoes once a year and that I could afford the necessities like toothpaste and tampons.

Since I’d been able to afford it, my tips had become overly generous.

This boy didn’t seem to be hurting for money. His Nikes were new and his jeans hadn’t come from Goodwill—I could recognize secondhand clothes from a mile away. Wyatt probably didn’t need the extra five like I had at his age, but he seemed like the type who’d appreciate it.

He stared at the bill in his hand, then carefully tucked it into his pocket. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Wyatt turned and walked to the door, giving Meggie and me another wave and shy grin as he left.

“That boy.” She shook her head.