Fat Louise(31)

When they stopped to rest, Bailey sat down next to him, leaning against him as if they were already a couple, talking to him in low whispers that had Jane feeling like a third wheel.

She rose to her feet, turning to walk a few feet away.

“Where are you going?” Cade’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“I need to find a place to use the restroom,” she told him softly.

“Hurry.” Cade released her arm.

Jane hurried a few more feet away until she felt comfortable enough to lower her pants and relieve herself. When she came back to the camp, Cade was still sitting next to Bailey, her hand lying intimately on his thigh.

“How much longer before we get to the border?” Jane asked as she found a place to sit down until they started walking again.

“If we can walk some tomorrow without getting caught, we should make it tomorrow night.”

Jane felt relief flooding her. She didn’t know how much longer she could watch Bailey throw herself at Cade. She forced the feelings of jealousy away. She had never envied Bailey anything—not her father or the attention she managed to get from all their family members, and certainly not the boyfriends she had gone through over the years. However, Jane was finding it hard not to feel envious of the escalating intimacy growing between the two.

“Ready?” Cade and Bailey had risen to their feet and were waiting on her.

“I’m coming.” Jane found herself following behind once more, gritting her teeth when Bailey began talking again. This time, she kept her voice to a low whisper so Cade couldn’t reprimand her.

In the morning, they weren’t lucky enough to find another RV, although they did find a small crevice in the side of a hill they could hide in.

“I’m starving,” Bailey complained.

Jane sat down, hugging her knees, feeling her sister’s glare on her as she complained. She tugged her backpack closer and unzipped it to take out the last candy bar. Tearing it in half, she gave a piece to Bailey, and then tore the other part in half again, giving that piece to Cade.

“No thanks, I’m good. You eat it.” While Cade gave her a hard stare, refusing to take it, Jane returned the stare, continuing to hold the candy out until Cade gave in, taking it from her.

“We don’t have too much farther to go. We’ll be crossing the border at Hidalgo, Texas, but it won’t be safe to stay there, since the same criminals do business on both sides of the border. When we get to Corpus, I’ll buy you both a steak,” Cade promised, taking a seat closer to the opening.

“Let me have your backpack, Jane.” Bailey rudely held out her hand.

Jane lifted her head. “Why?”

“I want to use it as a pillow,” she snapped, taking it without so much as a thanks when Jane handed it to her.

Cade frowned, opening his mouth then closing it, and Jane wondered what he had been about to say.

While she tried to make herself as comfortable as possible, Cade straightened out his legs. Reaching out, he curled his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her down until her head rested on his thighs. She lay stiffly, unable to relax with Bailey’s eyes spitting fire. Jane closed her own to shut her anger out. Cade’s comforting hand didn’t move away; instead, he gently stroked her neck until she fell asleep.

It seemed like only a few minutes before she was being shaken awake.

“Is it time to leave already?” she asked drowsily.

“Yes, I want to get started,” Cade answered.

They crawled out of the crevice.

“What time is it?” Jane asked, staring at the large expanse of land around them.

“Around noon.”

They walked for a while before Jane realized she had left her backpack behind.

“Forget it. We don’t need it,” Bailey said.

Jane looked at Cade in question. “It’s too far to go back for it now. Hopefully, we won’t need it.”

Jane nodded unhappily. There wasn’t much left in the bag. Besides, the contents weren’t important to anyone other than her, although it was handy to have when she wanted to stash something.

“We’re getting closer to the border. They’ll probably have people stationed at a few of the crossing, watching for us,” Cade warned.

They passed several small villages on their way. The curious looks from the town people heightened Jane’s fears that they would be stopped.

Bailey quieted, the tension finally succeeding in silencing her.

“Let’s stop here while we still have a little cover. As soon as the sun goes down, we’re going to reach the border,” Cade informed, telling both women without words that they were entering dangerous territory.

Jane nervously ran her hands along the sides of her pants.