This morning I thought I’d give you all I little peek into what I’m working on. I started Fire and Rain four days ago and it is already about a quarter completed. I think this is going to be one of those stories with a life of its own and I just need to hold on for the ride. I only hope my heart can take it.
“They’re already full,” the man said, though he sounded like a kid. “We got turned away from there a few hours ago.”
Bonner’s suspicion rose. We? What exactly was going on under that blanket? Bonner waited and the man lowered the blanket further until a small blond head made an appearance. The man, though now that Boner could see him better, he really wasn’t much older than a kid, maybe nineteen or twenty, held the young boy closer.
A pair of eyes and that closely matched the kid’s, looked up at him and then darted back down, hiding under the blanket. Bonner stopped the gasp that rose in his throat. That was quickly followed by anger. “The Salvation Army turned you away?” He wondered if they saw that he had a child.
“Yeah. It seems everyone in town tried to get in and they filled up right away. I knocked, but they said they were full without really looking at me.”
Bonner stepped back and made a call. “I checked out Hansen’s.”
“Was it clear?”
“Negative,” he answered and waited for a response.
“We’re going,” the kid said as he slowly got to his feet and then lifted the child, who looked about three, into his arms. He wrapped him in a blue blanket that had been hidden under the darker one and finally pulled the other blanket over them both. “You don’t need to take me in or anything. I wasn’t causing any trouble.” The kid stepped out into the rain and walked down the street toward the square.
“They’ve moved on,” Bonner said watching from shelter of the overhang. Then he turned and shone the light into the store. Something glinted when the beam passed over it. Bonner stepped over and bent down, lifting up a gold chain with a coin on it. He didn’t know if it was real or not. Bonner turned and hurried back to the sidewalk, but the kid was no longer in sight.
