Bonnie

“You go take a break for a bit,” Chef told Bonnie, patting her on the shoulder. “You got all the dishes done. Dinner will be soon enough, and it's going to be a doozy.”

Bonnie's arms were tired. Her feet were tired. She'd washed dishes all morning, all afternoon, and was preparing herself to wash dinner dishes again this evening. It was hard, but it was worth the room and board.

“That sounds great. Thanks,” Bonnie replied, putting her drying towel up on a rack. “What's for dinner?”

“Tacos,” Chef informed her. “My secret recipe for the salsa.”

“I'm already looking forward to it,” Bonnie said. “I mean, the meal. Not the dishes.”

Chef laughed. “Go take a break. You've earned it.”

Bonnie thanked her and took off her apron. She stepped out into the warm summer mountains sunshine. The scent of pine was almost overwhelming, but it was dry and pleasant. There was no humidity up here, even after all the rain.

She walked past the garage, sad to see that Dylan wasn't in it working. She'd enjoyed peeking out the kitchen window to see him up to his elbows in grease as he worked on her car. He had some of the older camp kids helping him out during the day as they fixed up cars and farm vehicles.

She liked a man that could work with his hands. If he saw her walking past, he would always smile and wave. Yesterday, he'd even invited her to come to the garage if she wanted.

Bonnie's phone chirped in her pocket. She looked down to see that it was a calendar reminder to check her email. She grinned and hurried back to her cabin. It was mail day.

She made sure the door was securely locked behind her. It didn't really matter, but it made her feel safer nonetheless. She found the laptop she'd bought in Kentucky on her way here and pulled it out of a bag. It was time to check in on her brother.

She logged into the throwaway email account she'd made for him to contact her. He had one of his own. Waiting in her inbox was an email from Brett. She grinned and opened it up.

Dear Sis,

Things here are good. It's kind of boring right now, so my “friends” are teaching me all about their jobs. I think they are just sick of me beating them at poker every night, but I kind of like it. They say after this is done, I might be able to get a job. I'm seriously thinking about it.

Anyway, that's it here. I hope you are safe. Love you.

His “friends” were the police officers keeping him safe. She let out a sigh of relief. He was safe.

She opened up a new message.

Hey Bro,

Be nice to your new “friends.”

Things here are good. I'm safe and far away. It's really beautiful. I'll take you here someday.

I haven't had anything bad happen, so you don't have to worry about me. Things actually seem to be looking up for a change. I'll let you know if anything changes. Until then, stay safe.

Love you.

There was so much more that she wanted to write. She wanted to tell him about Dylan and her car. She wanted to let him know that the house and the fire were taken care of. She wanted to tell him that she'd gotten a job and that she was actually verging on being happy, despite everything.

But she didn't dare.

If they managed to get their hands on these emails, they could use that information. Neither one of them wanted to risk any extra information getting out, so they made sure to cover their tracks and give as little detail as possible.

So, she didn't tell her brother what was going on in her life. She hated not being able to talk to him. Even though they were night and day opposites, Brett had her back. He looked out for her, and she looked out for him. They were family.

It was why she was on the run. If they captured her, Brett would do anything to save her. He would hold his testimony to keep her safe. She knew that if their situations were reversed, she would do the same. It was what siblings did for one another.

So, since the police couldn't protect her, she was on the run. She was going to keep her brother safe by not being found. She knew she could do it, even though it was hard.

She looked out the small window at the dark green pines and the bright blue sky. She was safe here. They would never find her here. For the first time since the fire, she felt like making it to the trial was possible.