Free Nowhere to Run by Valerie Hansen

again, I’d have stopped to change before I picked you up,” he said.
    â€œYou look fine to me. Besides, if we were too dressed up, we’d stand out from the crowd and folks would be more likely to notice us.”
    â€œYou wouldn’t like that, would you?”
    â€œNo,” she said, sobering and boldly meeting his inquiring gaze. “I wouldn’t like that one bit.”
    Â 
    Several hours later, headlights off, Seth coasted into the darkest portion of the parking area at the rear of the repair shop. His tires made quiet, crunching sounds on the loose gravel apron while thunder rumbled in the background, highlighted by distant flashes of lightning.
    Now that it had gotten dark, Marie was no longer wearing the cap he’d given her to disguise herself. She had also scooted down and was holding Patty close rather than having her use the booster seat. Seth chose to allow the breach of rules this time, in spite of his safety concerns.
    â€œLooks like it’s about to pour,” he said, peering out the windshield at the thick cloud cover. “Do you want me to go get your stuff for you so you don’t get wet?”
    â€œNo, thanks. I have my jacket. There’s no way I can tell you what to bring and what to leave in the car. It’ll only take me a second to pick out a few things.”
    â€œOkay. What about Patty?”
    â€œI’ll keep her with me.”
    â€œFine, as long as the lightning doesn’t get any closer or we don’t meet up with your buddy from the van.”
    â€œThen you stay here and watch her. I’ll go alone.”
    â€œNo way. I’m not letting you out of my sight until you tell me what’s going on.”
    â€œThen I guess we have an impasse.”
    â€œNot necessarily. Why don’t we put Babe up here in the cab with Patty? That dog can protect her better than we can. And they’ll both be warm, dry and safe.” Seth could tell from Marie’s frown that she wasn’t convinced.
    â€œWill she do that?”
    â€œOh, yeah,” Seth assured her. “Babe is all business when it comes to guarding her flock.” He smiled to try to lessen the tension, hoping the dim streetlamp and ever-increasing flashes of lightning would reveal his expression well enough to make a positive impression on the anxious mother. “And Patty is definitely one of her favorite sheep.”
    Although she still didn’t look fully persuaded, Marie finally said, “Okay. You’re probably right. It’s not like we’re going very far. We’ll only be away a minute or two, and I don’t want Patty to get all wet and catch cold.” She pointed. “Besides, my car is right there.”
    Slipping out of the truck, she waited at the door while Seth brought his dog from the rear and commanded her to jump in beside the little girl.
    â€œPatty, you stay right there and take care of Babe,” Marie cautioned. “You’re the doggie’s babysitter. Don’t you let anyone bother her, you hear?”
    Patty nodded sagely as she wrapped her arms around the dog’s thick ruff.
    â€œIt’s a good thing the dome light in your truck is broken so nobody could see what we were doing just now,” Marie said as she pulled her jacket closer and joined Seth in the shadows next to the building.
    â€œIt’s not broken. It’s disconnected,” he replied.
    â€œDid you do that for my benefit?”
    â€œNo. I always keep it that way.” He knew he was probably sounding too alarmist, but he thought it was best to let Marie know how cautious he could be.
    Bent low, they skirted the brightest circle of illumination from the streetlights and approached her tarp-covered car. Louder thunder heralded the quickly approaching storm, and the wind had started to pick up.
    â€œCare to tell me why that is?” she asked, pushing her windblown hair out of her face and trying to tuck it behind her