Page 98 of The Cattleman's Unforgettable Love

Rootless2: Because you're a good person with a good life. And we didn't have a good life.

She covered her eyes with her hand. "Oh, my God, Ford."

"Just breathe," he murmured, rubbing her back. "It's okay."

She pulled herself together.

Subroutine: Where are you now? Who do you live with since she died?

Rootless2: They put us in a group home after she died. I got moved here to a foster home a couple weeks ago.

Subroutine: What about Natalie?

Rootless2: She was still in group. But she ran away. She's coming to get me. But she doesn't have a plan. We need a plan.

Amelia's heart was pounding. If this was some kind of setup, it was working. She was fully prepared to walk out the door right now and book herself onto the first flight she could find to Orlando.

She took a breath to steady herself and checked the traces she'd been running. They'd pulled up a residential address. She pointed at it, and Ford started tapping at his phone.

Subroutine: Where's Natalie now?

Rootless2: I don't know. She calls me when she can. She's coming to get me, and I need to be ready to go.

Subroutine: Go where?

Rootless2: I don't know. Just away from here. They're not good people.

Subroutine: What kind of not good?

Amelia wanted to throw up even as she typed the question. She glanced at Ford, and she could see a muscle ticking in his temple, and his jaw clenched tight as he worked on his phone. When he felt her gaze on him, he looked up and held up the phone, pointing to a map. She took it from him and zoomed in as far as she could, then zoomed back out again to get a feel for the neighborhood. What she saw didn't give her a good feeling – it certainly didn't look like somewhere she'd want to live.

When she turned back to her screen, she saw:

Rootless2: It doesn't matter. I'm not going to be here for long. Nat says we'll figure it out. But I don't know how. So I came to see if you hated us.

Amelia covered her mouth with her hand as tears pricked behind her eyes.

Subroutine: I don't hate you, sweetheart. If you really are Danny's son, I love you and your sister.

She forced her fingers to stop typing. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, how guilty she felt, how … but none of that mattered. Not yet, anyway.

Rootless2: So if we can get to you, can we stay with you for a while?

Subroutine: I'm coming to you.

Rootless2: Really? Awesome! Do you want the address here?

Subroutine: I have it now.

Rootless2: I knew you'd be able to trace me if you were really Amelia.

She stared at the screen for a moment. It hadn't occurred to her that Hunter was taking a risk, too. Reaching out to a stranger on a forum. He could be giving his address away to anyone.

Subroutine: What's the name of the people you're staying with? Are they a foster family?

Rootless2: Their last name? Yeah, their last name is Smith.

She made a face at Ford, and he said, "Ask for the name of his caseworker."

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