Free Jailbird by Heather Huffman Page A

alive. He’d
have used every bit of his money to destroy everything our
ancestors have spent generations building.”
    “But we would have stood with you to
fight.”
    “It wasn’t your fight,” I sighed again. I
seemed to be doing that a lot lately. “I was the one that got in
that car.”
    “Exactly. You got in a car. You didn’t do
anything wrong. You know you didn’t do anything wrong, right?”
    “Sure,” I flopped over on my back to stare at
the ceiling. This conversation was seriously hampering my enjoyment
of the morning.
    “So, what about this Charlie fellow?”
    “Fellow?”
    “Stop teasing me and answer the
question.”
    “I don’t know. I mean, I know I should stay
away from him. But I can’t seem to. When I’m with him, I just feel
so… hopeful. Normal. I miss him when he’s not around. It’s the
weirdest feeling.”
    “I like him.”
    “Could have fooled me.”
    “I’m your brother. It’s my job.”
    “Good to know.”
    “So, if you weren’t going to ask me for help,
why now? Why did you call me now after all this time?”
    “I do need your help; just not for me.”
    “How so?”
    “Remember last night, when I told you about
Mary? Well, she’s all alone now that I’m gone. I want to know if
she’s okay. Could you just go visit her? I don’t think anyone would
think much of it if you went to visit her.”
    “You want me to visit your old cell
mate?”
    “Just to be sure she’s okay.”
    “Why don’t you ask Charlie to do it?”
    “First of all, he doesn’t know I’m an escaped
convict. That might put a damper on things. Second, why would
Charlie say he’s gone to visit her? You have a reason to
visit.”
    “Good point. Yeah, I’ll go visit her.”
    “Thank you,” I beamed at him. I’d worry later
about what to do if the news he brought back wasn’t good.
    “On one condition,” he held up a hand.
    “What?” I asked warily.
    “You let me pay for this room for the rest of
the month. And you promise to actually stay in touch this time. And
you let me know if you need help.”
    “That’s three conditions.”
    “I mean it, Kali.”
    “Neena. My name is Neena here.”
    “Fine. Neena… but you have to forgive me if I
slip up occasionally. It’s going to take a while to re-learn your
name.”
    “Just try,” I sincerely hoped he could manage
the correct name for one evening.
    “You should tell them.”
    “And risk it getting out? I’m not going back
there.”
    “You can’t hide forever.”
    “But I can sure as hell try.”
    “It’s hard to build much of a life on the
foundation of a lie.”
    I wanted to scowl at him, but I knew he was
right. My stomach growled, effectively changing the topic of
discussion.
    “Get dressed while I get my shower and I’ll
feed you before we go work on your dandelions,” his face
softened.
    “Really?” I hopped out of bed at the
prospect. I’d missed him and the thought of spending a day in his
company was exciting. It was pretty cool having to decide which
clothes to wear that day. I settled on a pair of denim shorts and a
yellow tank top that had frilled edges. I brushed my hair out then
mussed it back up. He’d even brought me some pink lip gloss. I
looked at my reflection in disbelief. The transformation made me
realize just how bad I must have looked before. What on earth had
Charlie seen in me? Had he been embarrassed to take me in
public?
    Would he find me pretty now?
    By the time Conrad emerged from the bathroom,
I’d painted my toenails and donned my new sandals. His long black
hair was still wet. He’d bound it in a ponytail. He wore jeans and
a black t-shirt, but looked like he should be wearing buckskin
breeches.
    He was a beautiful man with an easy smile. It
had to be my fault that he’d never married. I felt the urge to
apologize, but knew he’d just admonish me for saying sorry too
often.
    Maybe it was the vast difference in size that
garnered us so much attention. Or maybe we just made a