She smiled. “I appreciate that. But this is what I do. I have a few ideas and need time to think about this situation. Taking Becky closer to her parents is going to cause her a lot of anxiety, which can’t be healthy for the baby…or for her.”

Zach gazed at the floor. “Yeah. You’re right. I can’t believe her parents. Mothers are supposed to protect their kids.” Zach’s voice had a bite to it.

“Not all mothers are the same. You’re lucky to have Janice.”

He brought his arm up and glanced at his watch. “Oh, damn…I’ll bet they’re worried that I didn’t get back up the mountain.”

“You should call them.”

“I will.”

Karen heard Becky and Nolan whispering in the room and turned her head their way.

Zach placed his hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “They’re going to be OK.”

“I know. I’m just sick for them.”

“You and me both.”

“There’s something we haven’t considered.”

“I’m listening,” Zach said.

“If Becky’s parents realize that they could be brought up on charges, they might just let her go.”

“You mean let her run away, or give their permission for them to get married?”

“Either…both. Although I’d love to convince them to hold off on marriage right away. It’s their decision, but they’re both so young.”

Zach was rubbing her arm now and leaning close enough for her to absorb his heat, his strength.

“Let’s get them out of here.”

They packed all their stuff into the back of Zach’s truck and drove to Bell. There, Karen rented a room with two beds, hiding Nolan and Becky in Zach’s truck until they pulled around the back of the motel.

Karen tossed her suitcase on one of the two beds. Zach stood by the door and once again, Becky took the space beside Nolan.

“So here is what I think we should do,” she began, looking at Nolan. “Tomorrow Zach can come back here and pick you up, take you to work…unless you want to go home with Zach tonight.”

“I want to stay with Becky.” Nolan’s voice was firm.

“Fine. But if you don’t show up at work and someone’s watching, they’re going to know you two are together. We need a couple of days to figure out how to get you both what you want. And unless I’m wrong, I don’t think you’ve seen a doctor yet…right, Becky?”

The girl shifted her eyes to the floor. “No.”

“So tomorrow I’ll rent a car, and I’ll drive Becky over to St. George. We’ll find a doctor and get you and the baby checked out. St. George should be far enough away to avoid anyone recognizing you, don’t you think?”

Becky glanced between Nolan and Karen. “Yeah, I guess.”

Karen glanced at Zach. “I’ll call you from St. George. I have a few contacts back home who might be able to advise me on what to do next.” Karen knew it would be easier to blend into a bigger city than the town they were in now, but she didn’t want to worry Becky or Nolan about the possibility of staying in St. George until the legalities could be worked out.

“Karen?” Becky asked with a timid voice.

“Yes, honey?”

“Why are you doing this? You don’t even know me.”

All eyes in the room were on her.

“I’m incapable of walking away from good kids in shitty situations.”

Becky diverted her eyes. “I’m not a good kid. I ended up pregnant—”

“Whoa!” Karen made a cutting motion to her neck. “Enough of that. Yeah, maybe you two could have done something to prevent a pregnancy, but that doesn’t make you a bad kid. You have hormones just like everyone else. They’re really powerful when you care for someone and damn hard to resist. A bad kid would have their baby in a bathroom and toss the infant in the trash…you plan on doing that?”

“No!” The horror on Becky’s face was exactly what Karen was aiming for.

“Good to know. Now enough of the bad kid talk.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“So we’re all in agreement about tomorrow?”

Nolan and Becky offered slow nods and Zach asked to talk to Karen outside before he left for the night.

“Are you sure you want me to leave you here?” Zach asked as they walked across the parking lot and out of hearing range.

“Do you have a better idea?”

Zach chuckled. “Not a one.”

Karen leaned up against his truck and rubbed the back of her neck. This was not how she thought this day was going to end. “I’m afraid if we left them here alone they’d run off. If Becky’s parents pressed charges, Nolan would end up in jail.”

“I thought about that. What a shitty world. The kid doing the right thing is screwed while the messed-up parents get away with everything.” Zach leaned against the truck. “Are you going to tell me why you’re really doing this?”

“I really can’t walk away from a sad story.” She tried not to look in his eyes and feel him looking deeper.

“There’s more to it than that.”

It had taken her over a year to tell Michael about her parents, but Zach was different.

“My parents are still alive, Zach. My father didn’t use his fist to abuse his power over his child.” She remembered her father walking into her room, and the wave of discomfort that swam over her in the moments leading up to…“I was barely a teenager, just in a training bra, and he started looking at me different.” The entire memory was clouded…as if she could make it different just by looking the other way.

Zach’s body tensed, and the playful smile fell from his lips, his fist clenched at his side.

“He came to me one night, kissed, and touched me.” Destroyed her trust…made her feel dirty just by existing. “It was awful.”

The familiar hurt sat in her chest and threatened tears.

Zach pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her as if he could protect her from her memories.

“Good God, Karen.”

She was in the kitchen, helping her mother clean the dishes. A rare moment since her mother wasn’t much for household chores.

Karen took the moment alone with her mom to open up.

“Mom?”

“Yeah?” Her mom slapped another dish into the drainage rack for Karen to dry.

She stared to shake…more nervous than ever about the words that threatened to escape her lips. Her mom worked at a local bar, lived on the tips she’d earned. She left her alone with her dad a lot. Something that started to bother Karen more and more as the years moved on. Now she understood why.