Читать книгу Finding Her Family - Syndi Powell - Страница 12

CHAPTER FOUR

PAGE TRIED TO figure out where a girl with nowhere to go would flee. She sighed. “She couldn’t have gone far.” She sprinted for the hospital exit, Mateo on her heels.

“Page, let’s take a moment and think about this.”

She kept her pace quick. “No. The longer we wait, the farther she gets.” She was almost to the sliding glass doors. “I have to find her.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”

“We all want to be found.” Page knew something about trying to hide but wishing someone would truly see her, to save her. Not that she had any illusions about saving Ruby. She only wanted to give the girl a chance.

Outside, she stopped and put her hands on her hips, surveying the area around them. Parking lot, cars, grassy quad and concrete sidewalks. Everything open. “If I wanted to get away and think, presumably, where would I go?”

“A park. A mall, maybe. Any place I wouldn’t stand out. I’d want to blend in, go unnoticed.”

Page turned to Mateo. “You’re full of surprises, Mateo.”

“Hey, I was an angry, troubled teenager once. Weren’t you?”

“I figured you would be the perfect kid, all A student and chores done on time. Don’t tell me I have to take you down from that pedestal.”

Mateo put a hand on her arm and stopped her. “Are you sure that you want to do this, Page? Why has she suddenly changed her mind about living with you? You could be asking for more trouble than it’s worth.”

She pushed away his hand. “She needs me. And maybe I need her a little, too.”

She walked through the parking lot and kept walking. Ruby had to be nearby, she kept reminding herself. Mateo followed, pointing out a sign for a community garden just a few blocks north. They found Ruby on a rickety chair behind a large shed, eyes closed, a protective hand on her rounded belly.

Page approached and touched Ruby’s hand. The teenager’s eyes flew open, and she sprang forward.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Ruby.” Page edged a little closer. “Why didn’t you wait for me? Did you think I’d forgotten about you? That I wasn’t coming?” Page took a deep breath and released it, needing to reestablish trust between them. “When I make a promise, I keep it. You have to know that about me. The two of us aren’t going to work very well together if we don’t believe in each other.”