Page 20 of Hearts Don't Lie
Even though Mac had been meticulous with her planning, she was gobsmacked. She fell back onto the bench and mulled over the situation. In her anger and astonishment, she hadn’t heard her mother drive off. Had Alicia actually just said goodbye forever? Without so much as a hug?
Actually, Mac couldn’t remember a time Alicia had hugged her, nor could she recall her ever saying “I love you.” She peered out the tiny window that faced the patch of dirt where her mother parked. The space, as well as the county road in front of the trailer park, was empty. Alicia was gone.
Mac locked the door before going to the cabinet where her mother had hidden the stash of money, the same stash she had carefully borrowed from over the past few months. Alicia had never noticed. Luckily, she had taken a little more each week as her trip to Colorado grew closer, because now the money was gone. Every single bill.
Mac spent the Christmas season in emotional hell, dealing with the abandonment, alternately hating her mother and the Ambroses. Hardin failed to show, and she didn’t hear from Alicia. There were times she felt she would suffocate under the weight of all of it. All alone, Mac gave in to the fear and grief battering her. Sometimes she screamed. Sometimes she wailed. And when she was spent, Mac sobbed until she was numb and then fell into a dreamless sleep.
Feeling the baby move for the first time pulled Mac out of her prolonged pity party, reminding her she had someone else to think about. Someone who, no matter what, she wouldn’t abandon.
“I’ve got you, little one,” she said, then silently vowed to be a better mother to her child than Alicia had been to her. She patted her stomach tenderly, again experiencing awe and a fierce need to protect her child. The first glimmerings of fortitude asserted themselves. She would find a way.
Alicia had left her stranded. No transportation since her bike was useless in the ravaging winter and no phone. But she had a paid roof over her head, and staying until the end of the month would be the financially prudent thing to do. Before heading over to her neighbors to ask for a ride into town, she showered and made herself presentable. Mrs. Rasmussen took her into town for supplies. Mac used some of her borrowed money to buy healthy food, extra water, and a prepaid cell phone in addition to a new winter coat, hat, scarf, gloves, and boots. Mrs. Rasmussen didn’t blink when Mac explained that the rugged duffel bag she bought was a more malleable storage option in the trailer.
Mac bided her time until she left—she ate when hungry, showered when the unreliable water in the trailer park was working, and slept when tired. When awake, Mac went over the plan for her and the baby’s future, refining it until she believed she had all scenarios covered as much as she could, given the unknowns.
The contact in Colorado—Issa Fleming, who was a good friend of Carol, the compassionate woman at the pregnancy clinic who had given her safe harbor—offered her a place to stay temporarily until they were able to figure something else out. Mac gratefully took Issa up on her offer.
A few days before leaving, Mac again asked Mrs. Rasmussen to take her into town. This time she bought for her trip—healthy snacks, a water bottle, a filter straw, and more prenatal vitamins. After hemming and hawing over it for days, she decided to buy a tablet. The justifications for the expense were many. Now that she had graduated high school, access to the internet was no longer possible since she had to return her rented device to her school. Without transportation or others to depend on, it would be far easier if she could access information directly. Mac also added a large gift card to her purchase and applied it to the account she opened while in the store. She could draw off it for additional e-books during her bus trip and for future necessary items once she got to Colorado. All she had downloaded was a maternity book and two thrillers.
That night Mac counted her money, checked the bus schedule once more, packed carefully, and set the alarm on her cell. When she rose the next morning, she was able to take a quick shower because the water was working, then called a cab to take her to the train station. She had just finished getting ready when it pulled into the trailer park. Mac stepped outside and waved it closer. As the driver loaded her duffel and backpack into the trunk, she said a silent goodbye to the only home she had ever known. Tears pricked her eyes even though images of her mother’s physical and emotional abuse flashed through her mind. Her tears came harder when the cab pulled out of the trailer park, passing the spot Hardin used to wait for her with his red Jeep. Mac took a deep breath and reminded herself it was just her and her baby now.
Taurus Range, Colorado Rockies…
An eerie sense of calm pervaded her soul. Mac had long stopped crying, but she gently palpated around her eyes to reduce any telltale swelling. Not too bad, just gritty feeling. She grabbed the saline out of the first aid kit and put a few drops in each eye. That certainly felt better.
Now it was time for some answers.
Mac slipped on her fleece, picked up the lantern and exited the tent. Outside, she righted her boots and slipped into them, then quietly walked the short distance to the neighboring shelter. “Hardin?”
