Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 1 Read Free Page B

was a child, she’d rushed out
of the car, leaving the door hanging open behind her.
    Seeing his wife cradle
the baby so comfortably and naturally in her arms, Ross chuckled at
his wife's maternal instinct.
    "But… how? Why?" Liza
sputtered, not taking her gaze off the girl.
    "Yeah, that’s the
really weird part," Ross said. "I found her alone in a
cave."
    "Excuse me?" Liza
replied, tearing her eyes from the girl only long enough to cast
him a brief look of disbelief.
    "I'm not kidding," Ross
said, throwing up his hands to illustrate his seriousness. "She was
just lying there all alone. I called out to see if anyone else was
around but nobody answered."
    "Do you think they
might have left for just a little while? To get food or water or…”
she trailed off. Considering the baby’s odd attire, she finished
the question, “or clothes?"
    "That thought did occur
to me,” Ross replied. “I don’t think so though. I searched the
surrounding area and didn’t find anything suggesting anybody had
been there recently. There was no tent, no campfire,
nothing.”
    “Ross, still,” she
said.
    “I know, I know. I
agree. I left my wallet in there with a business card and a note in
it.”
    “Your wallet?” she
asked, raising an eyebrow.
    Flashing a handful of
cash and cards from inside his jacket pocket, he replied, “No, I
did not leave my credit cards or ID or Golden Spoon punch
card."
    Liza closed her mouth
and smiled. The girl’s eyes were wide open, and the two females
gazed at one another.
    "What do you suppose
happened to her?" Liza asked Ross distractedly.
    "You got me," Ross
replied as he made funny faces at the baby over his wife’s
shoulder.
    "Hm-mm..." said Liza.
"We should take her home with us."
    "Pardon?" Ross
replied.
    "Well, she is all alone
and we were just talking about adopting."
    "I’m no expert, but I
think that might technically be considered kidnapping rather than
adoption," Ross replied, not nearly as surprised at his wife’s
suggestion as most men would have been. "Actually, no, I am an
expert."
    Liza scowled and said,
"But we can't just leave her out here.”
    “Not the only two
options, Liza.”
    “But she's just
so...special."
    "Well, yeah," said
Ross. "She’s adorable, but so will be the kid we adopt
legally."
    "Look,” she said,
flustered, “there is something about her that tells me she's more
than that. She’s just too special to give up. We should take her
in."
    As if in confirmation,
the little girl cooed at her.
    "Sure, what’s the harm
in the idea," Ross said as he stretched out his arms over his head
and paced in a tight circle. “I’m sure that wouldn’t affect my
legal career, or your job working with kids.”
    “Oh c'mon Ross,” she
replied. “Somebody is bound to adopt her. Why not us?”
    He paused to stare at
his wife.
    "I’m going to check out
the car,” Ross said. “For damage."
    Liza chuckled. She let
Ross off the hook without complaint.
    He leaned in through
Liza’s still-open door and popped the hood release. After securing
the hood open and fiddling for a minute, he seemed satisfied
enough. Then he turned his inspection to the vehicle’s
undercarriage. After uncomfortably crawling under the car, he
released a clearly audible groan.
    "Bad, huh?" Liza called
from across their little clearing while swaying the young girl
side-to-side.
    Ross poked his head out
from under the car and nodded solemnly. Liza bemusedly wondered
how, in hardly more than two minutes, he’d managed to smear himself
with so much dirt and oil. “The engine’s fine,” he replied. “But we
snapped our rear axle. At least we have time to make up our mind
about the kid. We’re not going anywhere for a while.”
    Liza made baby noises
at the little girl who promptly giggled.
    “Hmph,” he replied. He
climbed back out from under the car, checked his Motorola StarTAC,
and groaned again. “No bars.”
    “I keep telling you to
switch phone providers,” Liza replied, smiling.
    “Ha