Chapter 2

The kitchen light was on and I could smell the coffee, but the voices were coming from the porch. I hurried over and yanked the door open, hoping to see my dad standing there; he hated emotional goodbyes but maybe he'd changed his mind. I couldn't make out anything more than two figures in the pre-dawn darkness.

"Hey, I guess you-" I began, flipping on the porch light but stopped when the two figures turned to face me.

"You're up awfully early." Claire sipped coffee from her steaming mug as I stared at the unfamiliar man at her side, trying to control my disappointment.

"I heard voices and I thought-." I stopped again, taking a deep breath, letting it out in a cloud of white. "I'm sorry I interrupted," I said as I moving to close the door, my toes going cold.

"Actually, since you're up," Claire leaned against the porch railing, "why don't you grab your shoes and a coat and come join us."

I nodded and closed the door. It took me a couple of minutes because I had to use the bathroom, brush my hair and get my shoes and coat on. I shut off my alarm before making my way back outside.

The sun was just barely up enough to see my aunt and the man clearly. He was very tall and, judging by his straining coat, very muscular. His face was a mixture of Asian and African features, though his skin color was more towards tan than brown and he had no eyebrows.

"John," Claire gestured with her free hand, "this is my niece Patricia." He nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Tricia, this is John Old." I nodded back. "John runs the garage and has brought over a special project that he'd like us to take a look at," she inclined her head to indicate the unknown vehicle in her driveway.

I walked over to it, the adults behind me. It was an older model Jeep Cherokee, four door, painted a dark, shimmering blue. I circled it, careful of the slightly slick ground, noting a few minor rust spots, good-looking leather upholstery, the spare tire on the back. It was very clean, inside and out, too.

"It's cute," I told them, circling back to them. "Not too big, it looks like it could handle some rough ground and," I pointed to the push bars, "ready for the wildlife." I shrugged as we walked back to the porch. "You could probably charge some teenager a pretty penny and they'd be happy with it. I know I would be."

"Well, that's good to know," Claire reached into her pocket and tossed something at me, "because it's yours."

I looked at the key ring with the three keys on it, having a duh moment. One key was for the house, one for the store and one-

"You're not serious!" She just looked at me. "You are serious! How much?" I started calculating and hoped I had enough money.

"Merry Christmas," was all she said, taking another sip of her coffee to hide her smile.

I let out a little squeak, gave her a crushing hug and trotted back to the -my- jeep. The door was unlocked and I pulled myself into the driver's seat. With the key in the ignition, it roared to life; it was louder than I was used to but I could get used to it. The heater kicked on immediately, meaning it hadn't been sitting long. There was a CD player/ radio in the dash, set to the correct time, and empty CD holders on the visors.