Kessie kicked the boy who still lay on the ground shaking his head as if dazed. “Get up and help.”
As the three kids forced Raven out of the backyard, Kessie faced the bush Scout hid behind and smiled. Scout stopped breathing until she left after the others. Then he swore and jumped the fence to follow.
THIRTY-TWO
There was some kind of lump in the middle of the couch, or at least that was Molly’s excuse for rolling on her side again. The back of the couch smelled funny, so she turned once more, staring up at the ceiling for the sixty-fifth time that night. Not that she was counting.
Her mind raced with worry about Scout. She’d given Vanessa her word that she would watch over him, but some promises were impossible to keep. Especially when dealing with a teenage boy used to doing whatever he wanted.
Jimmy and Molly tried to keep Scout and Raven from their night wanderings, but Scout played on Jimmy’s fear to find Catherine before he contracted the plague. It was manipulative and low. Molly thought Scout wasn’t being hurtful intentionally.
Raven knew the city, and Scout knew about being sneaky. Maybe that was a function of the Boy Scouts, but Molly wasn’t sure. She just hoped his survival skills were in perfect working order out there in the night.
Molly left Hunter to sleep alone so he could get a good night’s rest, since these thoughts kept her rolling at night. During the daytime, she allowed Jimmy the bulk of the worry waiting at the window for Hunter and Ginger, while Molly rolled restless and awake in the back bedroom.
After another revolution, she was back on the lumpy side of the couch. Ginger sat in the worry chair facing the window. Her arms were crossed as she stared out into the dark hours of early morning.
Molly swung her feet to the floor and stretched. “You can’t sleep either, huh?”
Ginger’s head turned around and her tired eyes glanced Molly’s way. She didn’t smile like usual. Instead, Ginger sighed and pulled at the large sweater she wore. Her hair showed no signs of mangled sleep the way Molly knew hers did after all her spinning on the couch. Molly reached up and tried to smooth the rat’s nest into place.
“I gave up,” Ginger said, “I keep tossing. I didn’t want to worry Jimmy anymore tonight, so I thought I’d sit out here and wait for Scout and Raven to come back.”
“Job’s taken,” Molly said, bringing the hoped for result; a tiny smile cracked through Ginger’s restlessness. Molly could appreciate those tender smiles a lot more now.
She walked over to the window for a look. The stars were much closer here and filled the sky. Jimmy said it was because of Denver’s high elevation.
A series of loud noises rumbled from one of the bedrooms and reverberated through the house. Molly smiled, and shook her head.
“Does Hunter always snore that loud?” Ginger asked.
“Always.”
“How do you sleep at night?”
Molly shrugged. “You get used to it. Luis said he might be able to remove Hunter’s tonsils and adenoids in a couple of years.”
“What’s an adenoid?”
“You got me, but it sure sounds loud.”
“I bet Catherine could fix him.”
Molly flinched at the word “fix.” She experienced one of those “miracle fixes” that Catherine performed in her short time with them. Fixing Hunter’s broken arm and stopping Vanessa from bleeding to death were medical fixes, physical healings. But Molly’s so-called healing still left a bad taste in her mouth. She knew now that she’d been screwed up. At least she thought she did. Her memories were fuzzy around the edges, like a dream that quickly fades when your head leaves the pillow. She remembered being angry all the time. And normal people usually don’t burn down houses. But since Catherine did whatever she did, Molly just wanted what was best for everyone else. Was that her cure? She didn’t know. All she knew was she was happy now, people included her in things and she counted a lot of them as her friends. The best part was Hunter being there for her after everything she had put him through.
Besides all that, she’d patched up things with Ginger. Ginger was easy and that wasn’t an insult. She was truly easy because she was so open and friendly and accepting of others. Molly was lucky. She almost made a real mess of things before the “fix.”
She thought about this stuff a lot now, especially therapy and how she might be able to help others. She had found her true calling without realizing she needed one.
“Are you okay?” Ginger asked.
Molly looked at Ginger huddled in her sweater and smiled. “I’m good. You?”
“I don’t know. I can’t quit thinking about that boy last night. Maybe you were right when you said I wasn’t tough enough for the real world.”
Molly struggled to remember saying something like that to Ginger and then waved a hand at her. “I must have said that when I was evil Molly. I didn’t really believe you weren’t tough enough. You’ve made it this far, haven’t you? That counts for something. You made it this far on your own.”
Ginger nodded. “I did go through a lot on my own. But now I have others to help me.”
“You got more than that.” Molly spread her arms wide and Ginger smiled as she stood and walked over for a hug.
Ginger laid her head on Molly’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
Molly sighed. “Thank you, for never giving up on me.”
They were startled by a sudden crash on the porch. Scout burst through the front door, his breathing hard and ragged. The cold followed him before he slammed the door shut by leaning back against it. His face washed with grief, he slid to the floor, his muddy boots splaying out in front of him.
“They got her!” he cried, pounding the floor. “They got Raven and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it!”
Molly knelt beside him, gripping his arm. “Who got her? What happened?”
Rapidly, Scout relayed the details about Raven’s capture. “I followed them,” he added, “and I know where Chase is. I know where they all are and they have Raven. She looked so scared, but I couldn’t get to her—not alone.”
“Did you see Catherine?” Ginger asked.
“No. But if they have her, she’s there.”
Hunter wandered into the room half-asleep, rubbing the stubble on his head with one hand and carrying his boots in the other. He blinked as he spotted Scout on the floor. “What’s with all the noise?”
Before Molly could respond, Scout pushed himself up. “They got her, man. We got to rescue her now. I need your help.”
“Slow down,” Hunter said. “What happened?”
As Scout retold his story, Molly looked at Ginger. “Go get Jimmy.”
Jimmy was out in under a minute, pulling his sweater down and throwing his hat on. Ginger followed him with water and flatbread for Scout. Scout ate and talked at the same time, eyes wide, describing everything with big gestures.
“They took her to this mansion on a hill by a golf course. I peeked in the windows and saw Chase and Patrick with two other kids just as Kessie led Raven into the room. Chase sent the two kids outside and I had to move because they started looking all over the place. They never saw me.”
“Are you sure?” Jimmy asked.
“I swear they didn’t.” Scout looked from face to face and Molly felt a pang of sorrow when his pleading eyes found hers. She gave him an encouraging nod, and he looked back to Jimmy. “We have to help her.”
Jimmy frowned. “Why did she have to talk to Kessie?”
“Kessie was her best friend. I don’t think she believed Kessie would ever betray her. But Kessie told Raven something bad about Chase that I didn’t hear. She said Chase told everyone if Raven returned she couldn’t be trusted. That’s when they jumped her.”