I call her name and when she hears me and turns, I see everything I need to. Her pinched face, her furrowed brow and her tight lips all smooth when she lays eyes on me. When I reach her, I hold her close and, with Red watching, kiss her right on the mouth. I want him to see it, and to know that she’s mine no matter what anybody thinks about it, and that he should keep his distance.

She starts to pull away, but I lock my arms around her. “Wait,” I say. “I need to hang on to you for just one more minute.”

She leans back into me and it’s her who’s kissing me then. I have to hold myself back from pawing at her in front of Red. He’s seen what I needed him to see. Now I just want him gone so we can be alone.

“You going to tell him, or you going to make me watch this all day long?” Red’s stepped away from the two of us and stands with his arms crossed.

I slip my arm around her waist and pull her to my side. “Have you got something to say to me, Red?”

It’s Sarah who speaks, tugging at my shirt. Her eyes are wide and dancing. “There’s a runaway come through. Red and I got him hid up top of the coach house where you bunked.”

I know what she’s going to say, and my whole world comes into sharp focus waiting for her to say it.

“Me and Red’s going to run with him when he goes. He knows about a place where folks’ll hide us and help us move on.”

“Do you trust him?” I ask.

“He’s running too,” says Red. “If we get caught, so do he.”

“We’re leaving tomorrow night,” Sarah says. “We waited so I could tell you where to meet us.”

Red cocks his head. “You said his dog bite needed to heal.”

“I…” She looks between Red and me. “It did need healing.”

Red blows out a long breath. “But maybe not as long as you let us think. Woman, if you let your fancy man mess this up, I swear.” He lets the threat sit half-baked.

Sarah quickly tells me about a green house with a white door on the road into a town called Culpeper. She doesn’t know who lives there, or even how to get to Culpeper exactly. The plan is dangerous, maybe even reckless, but I see in the set of her jaw that she means to run tomorrow. No matter what.

“I’m coming with you,” I tell her.

“No, you ain’t,” Red says, and I want to punch him where he stands.

He says, “It’s gonna be bad enough trying to sneak around with the three of us. Adding you makes it harder. More chance to catch our scent. More chance to find our tracks. You coming ain’t helping.”

I clench my teeth and tuck her under my chin. “You’ll be safer running with me,” I say. “If there’s trouble along the way you can hide while I sort it out.”