Blind Run by Patricia Lewin Page B

hours. They seemed so normal, so unaffected by the morning’s harrowing events.
    “The kid’s got a thing for birds,” Ethan said from behind her.
    Sydney started and spun around.
    “Sorry,” he said, taking a step back. “Bad habit.”
    And not a new one. His ability to approach without making a sound had startled her more than once. In the past she’d have scolded him for sneaking up on her, and he’d have laughed and swept her into his arms. The memory warmed her, and she squelched it as quickly as it surfaced.
    “Forget it,” she said, turning away. They were better off avoiding such precarious terrain. “How long have those children been with you?”
    “They showed up on my doorstep yesterday afternoon.”
    She glanced back at him. “Alone?”
    “With Anna, who dropped them off and split. I went after her, but by the time I found her, she was dead.”
    Sydney wrapped her arms around her waist. She hadn’t liked Anna. She’d been too much of everything: beautiful, intelligent, intense. Still, to die so young was a waste. “What kind of trouble are they in?” she asked, nodding toward the children.
    “Not sure. Anna didn’t tell me squat, just that she wanted to leave them with me for a few days. Then,
adiós.
”
    “But Danny and Callie must have told you something.”
    “Oh, yeah.” Ethan laughed abruptly. “On the way to Dallas, the boy gave me his version of the facts.” He crossed his arms and leaned his good shoulder against the building. “Danny claims they were kidnapped. Anna helped them escape and was trying to reunite them with their family.”
    “And you don’t believe him.”
    “Anna wasn’t the kind of woman to go out of her way to help someone, not even a couple of kids.”
    It fit Sydney’s impression of the woman and raised more questions than answers.
    “All I know for sure,” Ethan said, “is that those two kids are running from something, and Anna was killed delivering them to me.”
    Sydney turned back to watch the children, as if somehow their actions would reveal their secrets. Danny had taken Callie’s hand as they explored the edge of the trees, letting go only as the small girl squatted to pick wildflowers.
    “They obviously adore each other,” Sydney said.
    “He reminds me of . . .” Ethan left the sentence unfinished, and Sydney turned to him.
    “You can say it,” she said. “I won’t fall apart. Danny reminds you of Nicky.”
    Ethan kept his eyes on the children. “Silly, isn’t it? They don’t look anything alike, and Nicky was half Danny’s age, but the kid’s got spunk.”
    “Like our son.” Who’d never been afraid of anything, including climbing a tree to return a baby bird to its nest. In the process he’d fallen and broken his neck. And his parents’ hearts.
    Grief creased Ethan’s features. “Nicky would have grown up like that, you know, like Danny, watching out for the little guy.”
    Which was exactly what Ethan was doing, she realized with a flash of guilt. Okay, so she’d been furious at him for barging back into her life and dragging her from her home. Who could blame her? He’d taken her by surprise. But she knew Ethan, and if he believed she was in mortal danger, he’d do whatever was necessary to protect her. It was simply the way he was made. He possessed a streak of gallantry she’d always found endearing, if somewhat old-fashioned. She couldn’t fault him for it now.
    “Come inside,” she said. “Let me tend your arm and you can tell me the rest.”
    “You go on.” He backed away, the gun no longer visible. “I need to move the truck out of sight and check around.”
    She started to object, then thought better of it. After all, facing the past alone might be easier. At least initially. “Are Danny and Callie okay out here?”
    “I’ll bring them with me when I come.”
    She nodded and watched him head toward the front, waiting until he disappeared around the building. Then, with a sigh of resignation, she