“Walker saved Cindy.He deserves a steak.”Mac smiled at the dog.
Maggie held Walker’s head between her hands.“You’re right.He’s a hero.”
Chapter41
After the police hauled Tony away, handcuffed in the back of the car, the campsite grew silent except for the crackling fire.
Cindy, wrapped in a blanket, sat beside Maggie, both of them staring blankly into the fire.Walker lay at their feet, exhausted from the night’s events.
Mac and Joy were standing at the back of the rental car, giving the girls some privacy.
“Maggie, I want to thank you.”Cindy’s voice was small but steady.
Maggie frowned.“It was Walker who led us to you.”
Cindy slowly shook her head.“I’m not talking about that.Thank you for giving me a place to stay.Thank you for taking me to Colorado.Thank you for contacting my parents.I don’t know how I’m going to repay you.”
Maggie smiled.“You don’t have to repay me.That’s what friends are for.”
Cindy studied Maggie for a second.“Most of all, thank you for being my friend.Sometimes friends tell us things we don’t want to hear.You were a friend to me for telling me the truth about Tony I might not have wanted to hear, but it was the truth.”
Maggie nodded.
Cindy glanced back at the fire.“We are going to a hotel tonight.You should come with us.I’m sure the hotel will allow Walker.”
Maggie shook her head.“No, you need time with your parents.To mend fences and stuff.”
Cindy nodded and lifted her chin.“You’re right.Which is why I called your mom when you were having your statement taken by the police.”
Maggie jerked her head in Cindy’s direction.“Youwhat?”
Cindy smiled.“I called your parents, well your mom.I told her where you are.If this experience has taught me anything, it’s that time is precious.If you don’t want to go back to law school, then tell them.Despite what you decide, you owe them a conversation.”
Maggie blinked.“You calledher?”
Cindy nodded.“I did.I did it because I’m your friend.”She stood up and took the blanket off.She gently wrapped the blanket around Maggie’s shoulders and gave her a hug.She reached down and put her head on Walker’s head.
“I put my mom’s number in your phone so we can stay in touch.”Cindy smiled as she walked over to her parents.
Maggie stared until their headlights disappeared into the night.
Chapter42
The next morning, Maggie stepped out of the van into a quiet campground.After the disturbance last night, the campers had slept in.A gentle mist hung between the trees, and birdsong filled the empty space between the leaves of the trees.
She took Walker on a short walk for him to do his business before heading back to the campsite.
She wiped down the dew on the seat of the picnic table before she sat down.
Walker made two circles before sitting under the picnic table.He rested his head on her sneaker.Pulling out her notebook, she flipped through the pages, rereading lines she’d written the day before.
“Magaret Elise Sullivan, what in God’s name are you thinking?”
Maggie’s head jerked up at her mother’s voice.Julia Sullivan stood at the edge of the campsite, arms crossed, usually perfect hair slightly windblown, and anger in her eyes.
Maggie stood slowly.“Mom?—”
Julia marched toward her.“You disappear.You cut off contact.You won’t tell me where you are.I finally got it out of Daniel that you were on a road trip in his van.”Julia narrowed her eyes.“Do you know how worried I’ve been, thinking you have been kidnapped or crashed.What if the van broke down?You have no idea how to fix a vehicle.We live in a dangerous world, Maggie.”Her voice trembled.
