Read Online All That's Missing by Sarah Sullivan - Free Book Online Page B

believed him. He watched her glare at the man behind the ticket counter.
    â€œCan’t say I’m surprised you ran into trouble,” she said. “That sorry so-and-so needs a lot of friendly added to his diet, if you ask me.” She thought for a moment. “You got your money for that ticket?”
    â€œYes, ma’am.” Arlo offered up the plastic bag with his money.
    The lady laughed. “Oh, me. I’ve seen some fancy wallets in my day, but that one takes the cake. Where is it you’re headed?”
    â€œRichmond.”
    â€œThe same as me.” The lady frowned. “You need to hurry, son.”
    â€œYes, ma’am, I know.”
    She looked at him. Then she slid back in her seat and stared up at ceiling for a minute. “I’d like to help,” she said.
    â€œYou would?”
    She rolled forward again. “You seem like a nice young man, and you and your mama are trying to do a good thing for your grandmother.”
    Arlo nodded. He tapped the wood carving. Maybe it was helping after all.
    â€œYou trust me with that fancy wallet of yours long enough to buy your ticket?”
    â€œYes, ma’am.”
Arlo handed over the bag.
    â€œIt’s a shame about your mama not being able to go. I hope she can catch up with you later on.”
    â€œI hope so, too,” Arlo said. “She promised she would.”
    The lady looked closely at Arlo’s face. Could she tell he was lying? His cheeks turned red sometimes when he was under stress.
    â€œI’ll tell you what,” she said. “You wait right here and I’ll be back in a minute.”
    â€œOK.”
    If a kindly stranger appeared at just the right moment and offered to help you when it looked like everything was lost, that must be a sign you were doing the right thing. After all, what were the odds that somebody like this lady would show up when Arlo needed help? He pulled the wood carving out of his pocket and looked at it. He could almost see the bird blink. In fact, he would have sworn he saw that eye close and then open again.
Slowly.
Like it was winking at him. If it kept bringing him luck, Arlo ought to be sitting in Ida Jones’s living room before the sun went down.
    Two minutes later, the lady hobbled back across the floor waving a ticket above her head.
    â€œWe’ve got to shake a leg, son,” she said. “Come on.”
    Arlo tossed his backpack over his shoulder. “Want me to carry one of your bags?”
    â€œBless your heart.” The lady handed him the smaller of the two bags. “Be careful you don’t hurt yourself. It’s a little heavy.”
    The bag weighed a ton.
    â€œBooks for my grandbabies,” she said. “They were selling them cheap at the library. Guess I got carried away.”
    Arlo followed her to the boarding platform. She favored her right side when she walked, as if her hip didn’t work so well, or maybe it was just that she was off balance on account of Arlo carrying one of her bags. The driver waited for them. He pulled the door shut as soon as they stepped on board.
    â€œYou go on ahead,” the lady said when they got to the top of the steps. “I can’t move that quick.”
    â€œI’ll save you a seat,” Arlo said.
    The lady smiled. “That’s nice.” She pointed toward two seats in the middle of the bus. “Why don’t you take the one by the window?” she said.
    When she sat down, her skirt billowed up, exposing ankles so swollen that they looked like balloons. The skin was purple and splotchy, as if it was stretched too tight. No wonder she walked the way she did.
    Arlo stowed her shopping bags under the seat. He had to rearrange the books so they would fit.
    â€œThank you, son. Don’t believe I could’ve managed that without your help.” The lady patted him on the arm. “You stick with me, and I’ll get you to your grandmother’s in time to