Page 18 of Ultimate Freedom

Stunned, Demi spoke louder than she intended. “Excuse me? Whit is your family?”

“No.” He grumbled the next words so low she had to strain to hear them. “There’s no one else I know.” He shrank back but then thought best of running. Instead, he faced Demi.

“Mom…” here he swallowed hard before continuing. “I mean Beth ran away from her folks. I don’t know anything about them. She never told me her real name… just Welch. Said she chose it from a can of grape drink.”

“Okay. So where else did you live?”

“We moved around a lot. But only in Alaska.”

“Did she tell you anything else about herself?”

“Nope. I stopped asking. She’d get mad.”

Lexie stepped in. “Charlie, we want to help you. Can you think of anyone we might be able to call so they can look after you?”

Stubbornness appeared, and Charlie caught Demi’s eye, his green shockers drowning, yet glazed with a strange kind of pride. In a voice growing louder, he reiterated. “I told you. Whit. He’s my friend.”

Before they could continue, Sheriff Dawson drove up to the store and joined them inside. “Hey, Charlie. I just came from your room over the bar. Where’s the rest of your belongings?”

Charlie looked blank. “They’re all in the room. We brought everything with us.”

“Jesus.” With his head turned aside, Dawson muttered his disgust.

Norrie gestured to Charlie, “Why don’t you go and grab a package of whatever you like to eat and a drink… let us talk?”

“Okay. Then I can shovel the snow from this morning.” He strode off to do as requested, and Norrie waved the others to follow her. Once away from the boy’s hearing, she opened her hands in a gesture of frustration. “Now what do we do?”

As Demi followed behind them, her phone rang. Glad to hear from Whit and be able to share their dilemma, she answered. In a very few words, she explained about Beth and Charlie.

“Whit, when we asked him if he had any family, he could only name you… said you were his friend.”

“He’s right. I am his friend. Put me on speaker.”

Doing as requested, Demi held the phone out so they could all hear. “Dawson, what did you find so far?”

“That’s just it. There’s nothing. The gear I found in the room they shared is pitiful. A few changes of dirty clothes, mostly hers, and toiletries. She didn’t have any identification other than a fake driver’s license. And Charlie’s no help. Says his mom told him she changed her name, and he doesn’t even know what the real one is. Far as I can tell, the boy’s an orphan.”

Whit groaned. “Son of a bitch. That’s a shame. He’s a good kid.” There was a pause, and they all watched him look to the distance before turning his eyes back to them and answering. “I want to help him. Can you keep him there until I get back. Then we can decide what to do?”

“Sure. We’ll figure it out. Want to talk to him? So far he’s shut down to everyone but Demi.”

Whit grinned. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

Demi added, “I think it’s because Norrie told him I’m with you, and that seemed to make a difference. Look, you want me to take him to the cabin with me until you get back? Glen’s been spending most of his time with Rudy and the boys, so there’s room.”

“Good idea, thanks. Let me talk to him.”

Demi took the phone over to where Charlie sat nibbling on some crackers and cheese while immersed in a paperback that looked well-read. She handed him the phone. “It’s Whit. He wants to talk to you.”

Face lighting up, Charlie took the cell in his shaking hand and let his eyes lift to see Whit. “Hi.” His voice wobbled with emotion the youngster couldn’t hide.

“Hey, brat. Demi told me about your mom. I’m so damn sorry, Charlie. But don’t worry. If it’s okay with you, Demi wants you to go and stay with her at the cabin. The one I told you about. She’ll keep you with her until I get back. Then we’ll talk.”

“You mean the one where the wolf lives?”

“Yep. Nito’s around a lot. No doubt you’ll get to meet him. You gonna do as I ask?”

“Sure. Okay, Whit. I won’t do nuthin’ bad. I promise.”

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