Rebel (Renegades 2)

“Who are you lookin’ for?” Her accent was thick, and the twang reminded Rubi of the soft lilt she’d heard in Wes’s voice on the video the night before. “I know everyone round these parts. ”

“Um…the Lawson family? Wes Lawson?”

“Wesley?” Her face brightened instantly. “Yes, of course, my little rebel, Wesley. Come, come. ” She waved for Rubi to follow and started down the gravel road.

“What…?” Rubi stared after her in confusion. Should she get out and walk? One look around and the answer was a big, fat no. She called after the woman, “Do you want me to drive you?”

“No, no,” she said, still hurrying down the road. “Come, come. ”

Rubi let her foot off the brake and eased the car in the old woman’s wake, sure she was going to end up in some crazy man’s basement, never to be heard from again. And… “Wesley?” she murmured, trying to remember if that was his full name or if this woman was just plain-ass crazy.

But Rubi turned a bend in the road, and the trees parted like the red sea, exposing a beautiful two-story, farm-style home surrounded by expanses of grass. “Oh…”

The woman rushed up the porch and wrung her hands as she waited for Rubi. She parked the car and got out but hesitated, not sure if she should follow.

“Birdie?” someone called from inside the house. “Birdie, where are you?”

“Oh my…” The old woman turned toward the voice and opened the front door. “I’m right here, Claudia. Missy is here to take some of my Special K bars to Wesley. ”

Whoa. Rubi’s reality warped, like she’d been dragged into a parallel universe. She was prying her hands from the driver’s doorframe to get back in the car when a middle-aged black woman appeared on the porch. She gripped the older woman’s

arms, bending to look directly in the shorter woman’s face.

“Birdie, Lord. Where were you? You can’t just go walking around the property alone. You know that. ”

“I wasn’t alone. Missy’s here. ” Birdie gestured toward Rubi, and the other woman, Claudia, Rubi supposed, glanced that direction, then did a double-take on Rubi. “Now let me be. I have to wrap up some of Wesley’s favorite treat. ”

Birdie squirmed from Claudia’s grip, calling to Rubi, “I’ll just be a minute. ” Then to Claudia, “Bring the girl in for some pop, Claudia. Where are your manners?”

Claudia came to the edge of the front steps and leaned on the banister. “You’re a friend of Wes’s?”

Relief sagged Rubi’s shoulders. “Wes Lawson. Is he here?”

Please, please, please be here.

“No,” Claudia said. “He’s at the hospital with his brother. ”

She was in the right place. But, God, she didn’t want to get back in that car. “Oh. Okay. Is that…um…nearby?”

“No, I’m sorry. It’s in St. Louis. ”

Holy. Shit.

Her shoulders sagged again, but this time not in relief. “Do you know when he’ll be back?”

“No. Sorry again. I’m just not much help at all, am I?” Her head tilted. “Is your name…Missy?”

“No, it’s Rubi. I’m not sure why she’s calling me—”

“Claudia,” Birdie appeared behind the other woman and squeezed past. “Don’t talk Missy’s ear off. She’s got to get back to Wesley and Wyatt. ” Birdie hustled forward with a brown paper bag and a smile that lit up her face but which struck Rubi as…a little odd. She patted Rubi’s shoulder and offered the bag. “All right, there’s enough in there for all of you. You’d better get back to Wesley now, dear. You know how he worries. Oh…” She lowered her voice into a conspiratorial tone. “I love the color you dyed your hair. Very pretty. Wesley’s always preferred blondes, but you look so beautiful as a brunette, I’m sure he won’t mind. ”

“Come on, now, Birdie. ” Claudia ushered Birdie into the house and closed the door after her, remaining on the porch. She turned to Rubi again with a smile. “I’m sorry about that. Birdie is…sometimes in a different place and time. ”

Rubi nodded, not sure what to say. Completely disoriented.

“Would you like me to call Wes for you? See when he’ll be back?”

“Uh…” Panic bloomed deep in her body. “No. No, thank you. I’ll go see him. Which hospital did you say?”