NotKindle.com ( No Worries ) . 100% FREE

away. She had looked at his tiny face, at his pale hair and his winter blue eyes, and she had known that she would do anything, absolutely anything, to protect him. She had named him William, after her father. It was a name that carried weight, a name that meant something. She wanted her son to have a chance, to have opportunities, to have a life that was better than hers. She had looked down at him, her heart overflowing with love. "I m going to take care of you," she had whispered. "I m going to give you everything I never had. I promise." CHAPTER FIVE: THE ROAD BEGINS The years that followed were a blur of motel rooms and bus stations, of stolen moments and constant fear. Ruth had moved from town to town, never staying in one place for more than a few weeks, always looking over her shoulder, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. She had worked odd jobs, taken whatever she could find, done whatever was necessary to survive. She had been a waitress, a maid, a factory worker, a seamstress. She had done things she was not proud of, taken risks she would never have taken if she had had any other choice. But through it all, she had kept William safe. She had fed him, clothed him, loved him. She had taught him to read, to write, to dream. She had given him everything she could, even when she had nothing to give. William had grown up on the road, a child with no home, no roots, no sense of belonging. He had learned to adapt, to be quiet, to stay out of sight. He had learned to read people, to know when to trust, to know when to run. But he had also learned to dream. He had dreamed of a home, of a family, of a place where he belonged. He had dreamed of a future where he could be someone, where he could make a difference, where he could be proud of who he was. Ruth had seen that fire in his eyes, that determination, that hunger for something more. And she had known that she had to give him a chance, a real chance, to escape the life that had been forced upon them. The decision to leave William in Willow Creek had been the hardest choice Ruth had ever made. She had agonized over it, prayed over it, cried over it. She had weighed the options, considered the alternatives, tried to find another way. But in the end, she had known that it was the only way. She was running out of money, running out of time, running out of hope. She could not keep William safe forever, could not protect him from the world that was closing in around them. She had to give him a chance. A real chance. A chance to be someone, to do something, to make a difference. She had led him to the edge of the forest, to the place where the trees loomed dark and forbidding, and she had told him what she had to do. And then she had run. PART TWO: THE RUNNING CHAPTER SIX: MOTEL ROOMS AND STRANGERS The years on the road had taught Ruth that there were two kinds of motel rooms in the world: the ones that smelled like bleach and the ones that smelled like despair. The ones that smelled like bleach were the good ones, the ones where the sheets were clean and the water was hot and you could almost