Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
NOAH BARRETT
I t’s Friday at three o’clock in the morning and I’m on patrol. I’ve spent time with Savannah each day before heading into work, helping Tobias plan his proposal to Kiki. It’s funny to see my older brother so nervous. He’s always been the rock of the family.
It’s also fun to see Savannah get so excited over the proposal plans. She’s been extremely helpful. I never would have thought to order flowers and decorate the yacht, or to create a video montage about Kiki and Tobias. She even came up with the idea to ask Micah to sing a song for Kiki, which is perfect.
My radio crackles and dispatch comes on, telling me about a vagrant in Centennial Park.
“Ten four. I’ll check it out.” I click on my turn signal and head in that direction.
Sometimes kids hang out under the bridge and cause trouble, so I park my squad car and start walking toward it. Before I get there, a teen girl dashes out from under the bridge. She’s carrying a backpack, and she runs toward the lighthouse replica.
I shine my flashlight on her and call out for her to stop, which she doesn’t. I watch her sprint around the side of the lighthouse. Anticipating her moves, I take off toward the other side. As I dash around it, she runs smack into me, and I grab her around the waist.
“Oh!” she cries out. She tries to squirm away from me, but I have a good hold on her.
“Hold on,” I say. “I’m not here to arrest you. I just want to talk to you.”
She settles down, and I grab her wrist, pulling her back to take a good look at her. She’s young, probably fifteen or sixteen. Her brown hair hasn’t seen a good washing in at least two weeks, and her cheeks are smudged with dirt. I fear she hasn’t seen a good meal for a while. I’m sure she’s the one who broke into the church last week and left that stuffed Eeyore. She trembles, and I know if I let go, she’ll bolt.
“This park closes at midnight. What are you doing here?”
She avoids my gaze and doesn’t answer my question. Maybe because it was a stupid question. We both know why she’s here, sleeping under a bridge.
“What’s your name?”
She purses her lips. I wait for her, but she stays silent.
I try a different tactic. “Are you hungry?”
Her eyes dart toward me, and I know I’m getting through, but she still refuses to speak.
“If I get you a burger and fries, will you tell me your name?”
She blinks back tears and finally gives in with a nod.
“All right. Let’s go.” I tug her toward my squad car, keeping a firm hold on her wrist but making sure I’m not hurting her.
Shake it Up is the only place open at this hour, but they have decent food for a burger dive. I get her in the back of the squad car, then I climb into the driver’s seat and update dispatch, telling them where I’m heading.
Ten minutes later, we’re standing at the register. I’m pretty sure her hunger is stronger than her fear, so I let go of her arm. “What do you want?”
“I’ll take a double cheeseburger, a side of fries, and an Oreo shake.” She blushes. “Please.”
I nod to the kid behind the register. “What she said. But make that two Oreo shakes.”
The kid rings us up, and I hand him a few bills. He gives me my change, a number for our table, and I motion to a nearby booth. “Let’s sit.”
The girl slides into the booth, and I sit across from her. “Let’s start with your name.”
“Kiera.”
“Last name?”
“Emerson.” Her last name rings a bell, but I can’t place it. She picks at her fingernails, which could use a good scrubbing.
“Why are you sleeping on the streets, Kiera?”
She frowns. “I have nowhere else to go.”
My heart breaks for her. But I’m so glad I found her before something terrible happened to her. She has no idea what’s out there. “Where are your parents?”
She presses her lips together and doesn’t answer.
“Do they live on Willow Shade Island?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Where are you from?”
She doesn’t answer, and the kid from behind the register comes over to our booth with a tray carrying our food. He places it down and takes away the number on our table.
Kiera picks up her burger and takes an enormous bite. She chews and swallows so fast I’m afraid she’s going to choke. “Woah, slow down,” I say.
I let her eat and save my questions for after she gets some food in her. I pick up my shake and take a sip while she continues to make short work of her burger and fries.
After she finishes her meal, I sit back in the booth. “Why did you come to Willow Shade?”
She picks up her shake. “My sister lives here.”
“Who’s your sister?”
Kiera meets my gaze, and I notice how brilliant blue her eyes are. “Her name’s Kiki Emmerson.”
I swallow back my shock. This is Kiki’s younger sister? I see the resemblance now that I’m looking for it. I don’t know much about Kiki’s parents, except that they disowned her and kicked her out of her house. Is that what happened to Kiera?
I grip my shake, letting the cold seep into my hands. I feel like I need to be careful with this situation. “I take it your sister doesn’t know you’re sleeping on the streets?”
She shakes her head. “I was going to ask if I could live with her, but she’s living with some guy. She’s got a family now. I don’t fit.”
The sadness in her voice rips at my heart. “You didn’t even tell her you’re here?”
Kiera shakes her head. “I was going to leave, but I’m out of money. I just need to get back on my feet.”
I take another sip of my shake as I try to think of the best way to handle this. “Have you had that Eeyore a long time?”
“Since I was little.” The words are out before she realizes her mistake, and she presses her lips together.
“I’m not going to give you a ticket for trespassing. But you can’t be living on the streets. It’s not safe. We need to contact your sister.”
Kiera flushes. “No. Don’t do that. I don’t want to mess up her family. She’s got it good now. They wouldn’t want me showing up.”
“I happen to be part of that family, and I know for a fact they would take you in. They wouldn’t want you on the streets.”
Kiera’s eyes grow wide. “You know my sister?”
I lower my voice, even though there’s no one else in the burger joint. “She’s about to marry my brother.”
Kiera blinks back tears. “Then she really has found a family.”
“Let me call your sister. I’m sure she will be so glad to see you.”
Kiera bites her lip. “She’s going to be so mad.”
I shake my head, unsure of what to say to convince her. “I don’t think so, but even if she is, she’ll get over it. I can’t let you go back to sleep under the bridge. I have to call her.”
She grips her shake and stares at the table. “So, you’re saying I have no choice.”
“I’m not arresting you. You have choices. But I’m asking you to let me take you to your sister. Don’t you want to see her?”
Kiera finally nods, and I clean up the table. We leave the restaurant, and she gets into the back of my squad car. I phone Kiki, hoping she will pick up. She answers on the fourth ring, her voice groggy. “Hello?”
“Sorry to wake you. I picked up a teen girl off the streets, and it turns out she’s your sister.”
“What?” Kiki’s voice squeaks.
“Can I bring her to you?”
“Of course.”
I hang up with Kiki and drive over to my brother’s house. I get Kiera out of the back of the squad car and bring her to the door. Kiki opens it, her face white.
Kiera bursts into tears and Kiki steps out and envelops her in a hug. “Are you okay? What are you doing here?”
“Mom and Dad kicked me out.”
Kiki gasps and fawns over her sister. “Oh, honey.”
After she convinces Kiera that she can stay, she loans her some clothes and shoos her to the bathroom to take a good shower. Kiki comes back and pulls me aside. “Where did you find her?” she asks, her voice low.
“She was sleeping under the bridge. She’s been here at least a week. I found evidence of her sleeping in the church basement a week ago, but she ran, and I couldn’t catch her.”
Kiki slowly shakes her head, her face draining of color. “Dear heavens. Is she in trouble with the law?”
“I’m not going to write her a ticket. I just wanted her off the streets.”
Kiki grabs my arm. “Thank you for bringing her here. Do you think Tobias will mind her staying with me in my room for a while? He’s out of town at one of his investments this weekend and told me he’s unreachable.”
I hold back a smile. He’s not out of town. He and Savannah are decorating the yacht later today for the big surprise tonight and finishing up with all the last-minute things. “Kiki, she’s family. Of course she can stay here. She can have my old room. Tobias wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Tears form in her eyes, and she wipes at them. “I don’t deserve this family.”
I pull her into a hug. “Never say that again. You’ve made my brother transform into a different person. A better person. You deserve every happiness.”