After the Storm (KGI #8)(18)

“When did this happen?” Frank asked in a puzzled tone.

Rusty swallowed and glanced back at Donovan, asking for silent support. He nodded and encouraged her to continue on. He’d step in when the time was right. For now she needed to give the details.

“He’s a kid,” she said quietly. “Fifteen years old. He’s in . . . trouble.”

When the table erupted in questions and scowls—the usual Kelly response to anyone in need—she held up her hand, and they quieted.

She took a deep breath. “He’s hungry. I know how that feels. As I told Van, he could be me—he is me—at that age. Desperate. He’s a good kid, though. I know y’all will think I’m crazy. Or naïve. But I know he’s a good kid. He’s quiet. He’s a hard worker. He has two sisters he’s trying to support and feed. And oh my God, y’all. What they’re living in. It makes me want to cry for them.”

Marlene’s expression was immediately fierce. “How old are his sisters? Where are his parents? Why didn’t you come to us immediately? You have to know we’d be willing to help them.”

Rusty nodded. “I do know. I do. It just happened yesterday. He came in and asked if we needed any help. And I know I shouldn’t have done it without asking, but I was afraid he’d walk out and never be back if I told him I’d have to see. So I made the decision and put him to work. I paid him in cash out of my own money.”

Donovan’s brothers scowled. Not in disapproval over Rusty. They’d gotten past that stage. But there was worry in their eyes. Not only of the kid Rusty had helped but over Rusty and the fear that she could be harmed.

“I went by today,” Donovan said, speaking up for the first time.

Rusty sent him a grateful look for taking over. The entire table went quiet as they waited for Donovan to continue.

“It’s why Rusty and I were late. I drove by the hardware store and saw Rusty’s Jeep outside. I knew it was Sunday and so I went in to check and see what she was doing there. The kid was working and Rusty said he was hungry and she wanted to follow him home and check out his situation. See if he was in trouble at home and what kind of living conditions he had.”

There was an instant round of objections as his brothers voiced their disapproval over Rusty going into a blind situation. One where she could easily be hurt or killed.

Donovan held up his hand. “I went with her. We followed the kid home. It’s bad,” he said after a pause. He knew he couldn’t keep his emotions from the others. Couldn’t keep his expression blank. They saw his reaction and they went silent and thoughtful, frowns creasing their brows.

“He has an older sister. Looks to be early to midtwenties. And a much younger sister. Charlotte’s age. They’re living hand to mouth in complete squalor. It’s awful. I couldn’t stomach it. I hated to leave them there.”

“Why did you?” Garrett asked curiously.

The same question was in all of his brothers’ eyes. They well knew his propensity for going in and doing what needed to be done. His softness for women and children in need. It likely did puzzle them as to why he would have walked away.

“Because they’re in trouble,” Donovan said quietly. “The bad kind of trouble that has nothing to do with being dirt-poor and having nothing to eat. They’re running from something and running hard. They’re scared to death, living every moment in fear of discovery.”

“Fuck,” Sam muttered, earning an instant glare of reprimand from his mother over his language at the dinner table.

“What are you going to do?” Garrett asked quietly.

Because it was a foregone conclusion in his brother’s eyes that Donovan would act. He wouldn’t just stand back and allow a situation like this to go unchecked.

“The boy—Travis—is fifteen. The little one—Cammie—has been sick. My guess is that Eve has been staying with her while Travis found work just to put food on the table and buy medicine for her.”

“Oh my Lord,” Marlene whispered, her voice aching with pity. “We have to do something, Donovan. We can’t just stand by and let them go hungry and without.”

Donovan smiled at the answering agreement in all his family’s faces.

“No, Ma, I don’t plan to. But Rusty wanted you to know what she’d done and why. And I support her on this. I’ll gladly pay Travis’s salary out of my pocket. She’s going to let him work this week whenever he wants to come in. They desperately need the money. But we have to be careful how we handle this. If we come on too strong, they’ll cut and run. I saw the desperation—and fear—in their eyes. We have to tread very lightly.”

“No need for you to pay for his salary,” Frank said. “I’ll gladly take on the kid. If what Rusty says is true and he’s a good worker, I could use him around the shop. I’d gladly hire him on and pay him in cash like she’s been doing.”

“Just be careful,” Rusty warned. “Don’t question him. I’ve been very careful not to pry. He’s scared and he’ll bolt. I was him once. I know what he’s thinking. He doesn’t trust anyone. He’s been conditioned to expect the worst in people. As Van said, we have to be very careful about anything we do, because they’ll run. Eve said as much when we were at their house. I hesitate to call it a house. It’s a horrible, run-down, leaking, dilapidated trailer.”