Lena's Happily Ever After (The Town of Pearl 3)

“Wait! It’s okay.”

* * * *

“What’s going on, Dad?” Deputy Kenny Jones asked as he walked over toward the side parking lot where his dad stood calling into the darkness.

“Did you see her?”

“See who?”

His dad looked around then back at his son.

“Forget about it.”

“What the hell happened here?” Kenny asked as he eyed the mess of garbage on the ground along with a blanket.

“Damn raccoons,” his father stated.

“What’s this?” Kenny asked his dad as he held up the blanket.

“Oh, I’ll take that. What are you doing here?”

He raised his eyes at his dad’s question. He was acting funny, and it didn’t seem like he was calling after raccoons, but rather, a person.

“You sure that nothing is going on?” Kenny asked.

“Yeah, I’m sure, Deputy. Let me lock up so we can head on home.”

“I’m working until midnight.” He told his dad as he watched his father grab his things from inside then lock up the door. Once again, his dad glanced into the darkness at the same area he was looking into before when Kenny first arrived.

“Are you coming, too?” his dad asked as they walked toward the truck.

“No, I’m working until midnight. Wyatt’s working the night shift.”

“Oh, okay, then. Good night.” His father got into his truck and left.

Kenny stood there watching. The town was so quiet at night. He could hear the sounds of the crickets and the slow trickle of water dripping from the gutters on the side of the building, and it was peaceful. He took a deep breath then walked back to his patrol car.

* * * *

Lena continued to hide out around the corner of the building between two large, thick bushes. Perhaps this was a better place to hide tonight than the small garbage shelter by the doctor’s office. The man seemed very nice, but she knew that people couldn’t be trusted. Trust was something earned, and she wasn’t willing to take any unnecessary chances. She wondered how the hell she wound up in this town called Pearl? That little old lady with the three men with her seemed awfully nice. She claimed that they had lived in Pearl for many years and were taking a trip together. The men watched the woman closely, and they seemed to really care for her. It gave Lena a weird feeling inside. The lady told her about the town and made it sound so magical. Before she knew what she was doing, she paid the extra fifty bucks for the bus to bring her to Turbank. From there she walked to Pearl. It had been a hell of a trip. She had hoped that Pearl had a public restroom or somewhere she could get cleaned up. Maybe a pond would be okay, but she knew nothing about the outdoors, never mind living and surviving in Texas. Were there wild animals, snakes, and poisonous spiders? The thought gave her the heebie jeebies. Yikes.

She shook then closed her eyes. A bath would have to wait. Then she wondered why the doctor hadn’t told that deputy about seeing her. Would the older man want something in return? She felt funny thinking that the man had done that to help himself not Lena. Her gut told her that he was a nice man. She didn’t have much of a choice now. She was down to her last twenty bucks. She needed work and a place to stay. She snuggled deeper against the wall between the bushes and hoped to get some rest. It had been days since she slept more than a few minutes. It was peaceful here, and all she could hear were the sounds of what living in the country in Texas was like. She thought about poor Sage and hoped that she was okay. She actually felt guilty for leaving her. Even though Sage was Ariel’s sister, it had been Lena who kept Sage out of trouble and got her the job in the restaurant. They would have been fine if Ariel hadn’t gotten involved with Triumph and his gang.

She got the chills as she thought about him.

Please don’t let him go after Sage.

* * * *

“So, you think she’s on the run or perhaps in some kind of trouble? You didn’t recognize her?” Pete’s wife Abigail asked him as he sat on the bed along with Frank and Will.

“I’m not sure, Abby. She was really scared but also polite.”

“Polite?” Frank asked, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, she was concerned over cleaning up the mess, and she apologized for it and cleaned it up.”

“That doesn’t sound like a troubled teenager. You didn’t recognize her at all or tell Kenny about her?” Will asked.