Becoming Calder (A Sign of Love Novel)(106)

A few minutes later, we were stepping out onto the street. A small, red car pulled up to the curb and a pretty woman, with dark-blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail, was stepping out. She immediately went to Xander and gave him a hug.
"Kristi, this is Calder and Eden," Xander said, opening the back door so we could get in.
Kristi's eyes widened as she held out her hand to me. "Wow. Okay," she said, almost so I didn't hear. I frowned in confusion. Then she turned to Eden and shook her hand, smiling warmly at her.
We all got in the car, and Kristi turned around and instructed us on how to attach the seatbelt. I grabbed Eden's hand.
Kristi pulled the car back onto the road and I sat back, looking nervously out the window as the buildings flew by. My heart picked up in speed and I tightened my grip on Eden's hand. She squeezed it back and gave me a reassuring smile.
"So," Kristi said from the front seat, "you guys really did it. You made a break for it."
Xander chuckled from the front seat. "Yeah, we were kind of forced to."
Kristi looked over at him and furrowed her brow. "You did the right thing, Xander."
"Gods, I hope so," Xander muttered.
"God, singular," Kristi said, grinning at him.
"Right." He looked back over his shoulder at Eden and me. "I forgot to mention to you guys, in the big society, people pray to a god, singular. There aren't plural gods like in Acadia."
"Yes . . . I think I remember that," Eden said. Her eyes got big. "Which one is it?" she asked, sitting forward. I smiled over at her. I knew which one she was hoping for.
"Uh, just, you know, the creator of the universe," Kristi said, looking in her mirror at us and shrugging. "But there's also Jesus, Buddha, and Muhammad . . . Allah. Different people, different religions and cultures pray to different gods, or prophets, or whatever. But only one . . . generally."
Eden sat back, a dissatisfied look on her face. I looked at her and grinned and squeezed her hand again. Gods, I loved her. God, I loved her.
"So," I said, "Xander mentioned that you thought we should leave town."
Kristi nodded her head. "If it were me, I would. The police came to the ranger station today, said you were an underage runaway, Eden, and they were looking for you. Obviously I didn't say anything about ever having seen any of you." She glanced at Xander. "But I'd get far away from here if I were you." She paused. "If you decide not to, I know some people who I'm sure would help you get a start here. But I encourage you to get far away."
"Where should we go?" Xander asked.
"Well, that's up to you guys. You don't know anyone at all?"
We all shook our heads. "No one except you," Xander said.
"Which, by the way," I said, "we can't thank you enough, Kristi. I don't know where we'd be if Xander hadn't met you, and without your help."
Kristi looked in her mirror at me and seemed to blush slightly. "Hey, if I were in your position, I'd hope someone would help me, too."
I nodded, not completely understanding her meaning.
"Speaking of help, we have some more jewelry we were hoping you could help us sell," Xander said.
"That's no problem," Kristi said. "I've sold gold before. It's easy. And there are plenty of reputable places."
"Yeah," Xander said, "I don't think the place we went to yesterday was very reputable."
Kristi looked at Xander a little confused and laughed softly. "You'll have to tell me about it." She pulled into a parking lot, turned off the car, and got out. We followed with our meager possessions.
We walked behind Kristi down a path and up a stairway and watched as she took out a key and opened a door that had "8C" on it in a chipped gold paint.
Kristi shut the door behind us and we all looked around at the apartment. In addition to the large pieces of furniture, there were boxes piled up against one wall.
"I know it's small," Kristi said, looking embarrassed. "And you guys know I'm moving in a couple weeks, so . . ."
I looked at Xander and we both started laughing.
"What?" Kristi asked.
I knew it was rude, but I couldn't get a hold of my laughter, and Xander apparently couldn't either as we both doubled over, clutching our stomachs. It was almost as if the stress of the last few days crumbled our self-control.
"Don't mind them," I heard Eden say. "It's just they both grew up in a whole cabin about an eighth of this size." I was still laughing, but I had to admit I was proud of her fraction usage in ordinary conversation. I had taught her that.