Jailbird Read Free Page A

child,” she admonished as
she handed me the desserts. I accepted the gift and the hug that
went with it, still a little wary of the human contact and unsure
what do with the affection this family was pouring out on me.
    “If I can catch enough fish, I’ll make my
special fish fry for dinner and see if I can fatten us all up,” I
promised.
    “Don’t let me keep you, then,” she smiled at
me and then Charlie. “You kids have fun.”
    “Gracias, Mamá,” Charlie kissed her cheek
even as Cara darted back out the door.
    “Tell Manny I owe him four lengths of fishing
line,” I remembered. “And some hooks and sinkers.”
    “You just bring back dinner and we’ll call it
even,” she shooed me out the door.
    “Do you need me to stay and clean?” I was
suddenly nervous about the pending expedition.
    “Go.”
    It was hard to argue with a woman like Mamá
Torres when she was so firmly set on something. She probably had
misguided visions of me and Charlie falling madly in love, although
that was totally ridiculous. If she knew who I really was, she’d be
chasing me from her house with a broom. That knowledge shamed me
into a brooding silence for most of the ride. I was only vaguely
aware of the lush greenery passing my window as the car traveled
deeper into the woods.
    I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed Charlie
wanted to ask me something. He didn’t, though. Other than the
occasional sideways glance, he kept his focus centered on Cara and
their conversation about the types of trees that surrounded
them.
    He parked the car on the shoulder of the road
and helped Cara out. The two waited expectantly for me at a nearby
trailhead while I sat rooted to my spot, trying to convince myself
to get out of the car. I hadn’t thought about the possibility of
his fishing hole being deep in the woods.
    Panic clawed at my throat as I watched him
kneel to tell Cara something, then walk carefully back to the car.
He approached me as if I were a wild animal who’d been cornered.
Maybe that was really smart of him.
    I reluctantly let go of the death-grip I had
on the door when he opened it for me. I stared fiercely at the
ground, willing myself to just get out of the car. He had his
daughter with him. He was a gentle man. He wouldn’t hurt me. Just get out of the car , I mentally ordered my feet.
    “Are you okay?” he knelt beside me.
    I nodded, meeting his eyes at last. I
expected to see confusion or maybe impatience for my strange
behavior. Instead, his steady gaze seemed to assure me that he and
his daughter would wait as long as needed. His patience stood in
stark contrast to the cajoling I’d received the last time I balked
at a walk in the woods.
    He held his hand out and I found myself
placing my hand in his. His grip was warm and firm and calming and
it got me out of that car. Cara eyed me curiously as we approached
and I felt a little silly for my hesitation. I crossed my eyes and
stuck out my tongue. She giggled and the uncomfortable moment
passed. I didn’t even mind that Charlie still held my hand in his.
In fact, I kind of liked it.
     
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    Ten years ago, the woods had brought me
terror. Forty-five days ago, freedom. Today, they brought me
peace.
    “Find me branch about yeah big,” I held my
hand out flat in front of me to demonstrate. “Make sure it’s still
green and the straightest one you see.”
    “Right,” Cara scurried off with Charlie in
tow to do as told. I grabbed a couple of sticks at my feet and
began constructing our stringer. I’d just about finished my own
fishing pole when Charlie and Cara returned triumphant.
    “No fair,” Charlie’s proud smile faded when I
set my finished pole to the side. “How’d you find yours so
fast?”
    “Practice. Lots and lots of practice.”
    “Make mine first,” Cara shoved her stick at
me.
    “This is a fine-looking branch,” I praised.
“Now hold it steady like this and we’ll get it fixed up.”
    I used my small pocket knife to