SHAFTS OF LIGHT pierced the darkness, illuminating a stretch of foggy grayness. Callie Lambert drove on and on, putting miles behind her. Up ahead loomed the unknown, the unfamiliar. Her hands clasped the steering wheel with a death-like grip and her stomach roiled with the enormity of her actions. She was on the run. A fugitive. She'd kidnapped her brother and sisters and could be arrested at any minute.

Those facts kept her focused, cautious and half-crazed with fear. What if she was caught? The kids would be returned to their abusive stepfather. And Callie would go to jail.

She wasn't worried about herself. It was the kids. She was their big sister and she'd do anything, go through anything, to protect them. But tangible fear throbbed at the back of her mind like a persistent toothache as she waited for the wail of a siren.

Raindrops splattered the windshield and she turned on the wipers. Their hypnotic action calmed her nerves and steadied her resolve. She thought of her mother and anger stirred in her breast. How could Glynis do this to them?

The past swept through her mind with each swish of the wipers. Glynis had left Callie's father when Callie was barely five and had become a waitress in a hotel restaurant in Houston. She'd struggled to make ends meet. Then Glynis met John Lambert, a wealthy stockbroker, and their lives changed for the better. John was twenty years older than Glynis, but Callie liked him. When Callie was twelve, Glynis married John and they moved from Houston to New York City. John adopted Callie and life was better than she'd ever known.

She was always his oldest child. John never made a distinction between Callie and his own children and she loved him all the more for that. A year ago, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and it was a sad time for all of them. During the last month of his life, he had nurses around the clock, but Glynis only left his bedside to sleep.

After his death, Glynis decided to take a cruise for a much-needed rest and Callie gladly offered to care for her young siblings. It was a shock when Glynis returned home with a brand-new husband, Nigel Tremont, who was twelve years her junior. And it was an even greater shock when Glynis was killed in an auto accident three months later, leaving Nigel as sole guardian of the children and executor of her estate.

Despite the enveloping fog of grief and loss, Callie knew one thing for certain — Nigel was after her mother's money. He'd somehow convinced Glynis to change her will — whoever had custody of the children had control of the money. But how could she prove it?

Two months ago, Callie received a frantic call from her eleven-year-old half brother, Adam. He, nine-year-old Brittany and six-year-old Mary Beth were scared to death. Mary Beth had wet the bed and woken up crying, wanting Callie. Nigel had hit her with a belt and made her sleep in the soiled bed. When Nigel went to his room, Adam sneaked Mary Beth into his, then he called Callie from the den so Nigel wouldn't hear. She told him to lock Brit, Mary Beth and himself in the bathroom until she got there.

She met the police at her mother's home and to her horror, found they could do nothing. They said there was no evidence Nigel was abusing the kids and it was clear that the children needed time to adjust to their mother's death. The kids were so frightened they wouldn't say a word.

The police warned Nigel about hitting the children and said a complaint would be filed with Child Protective Services. This was standard procedure. Callie was asked to leave the house. She refused and was forcibly removed, even though Mary Beth was clinging to her. At that moment, she knew she'd have to fight to get them out of Nigel's clutches.

She'd immediately contacted an attorney and contested Glynis's will and guardianship of the children. The lawyer had said the procedure could take months, but Callie didn't have that much time. Each night, she got another desperate call. Nigel had slapped Adam. Brit was crying because Nigel had locked her in the closet for talking back. Mary Beth was wetting the bed and sleeping in it, afraid to say anything. Callie feared for their safety, for their peace of mind.

She had a friend from college, Miranda Wright, who was now mayor of Homestead, Texas, a dying small town in the Texas Hill Country. Miranda had told her that the city council had foreclosed on a large ranch and several old homes for unpaid back taxes. The land and homes were now being given away if applicants were approved by the Home Free Committee. The applicant had to live on the property for a year and make the necessary improvements and renovations, then it would be theirs. Families and children were encouraged to come to build the tax base — to save the schools and the town.

The plan intrigued Callie because she'd been born in Homestead, as had Glynis and Callie's father, Dale Collins. After her parent's divorce, Callie had never seen her father again. When she was older, she'd asked Glynis about him, and her mother had said that he'd probably died long ago since he was an alcoholic. Callie still wondered though. Maybe now she'd find out the truth about her father.

The town of Homestead had always held a mystique for her. She guessed it represented her childhood or safety, or life before things got complicated. She'd always wanted to go back. And now here she was at two in the morning headed toward Texas and hoping against everything that she wouldn't be caught.

She glanced back and saw Brit was asleep, her head sideways on a pillow — a purple pillow. Everything in Brit's life these days had to be purple. One hand clutched a cowboy hat. She was going to Texas to ride a horse and become a cow-girl. Callie was glad Brit saw this as an adventure.

Mary Beth was also asleep, leaning toward the window, her head on a Barbie pillow, her doll, Winifred, better known as Miss Winnie, held tight against her. This was hardest on Mary Beth. She wanted her mother and Callie's anger mounted at Glynis's insensitivity. How could she leave her precious children in the hands of a man like Nigel Tremont?

It was now her responsibility to do what was best for her brother and sisters. Callie could only pray and hope they'd find some peace while she waited for her case to be heard.

Callie had invented a new identity and had applied for one of the free homes in Homestead. When she'd been approved, she'd taken money out of her savings, money that John had left her in trust until her twenty-fifth birthday, and opened a new account in Philadelphia. There was no way Nigel could find out about the account, and she could wire for the money once she reached Texas.

She was staggered by how easy it was to change your identity. Someone in the restaurant where she worked knew a guy, who knew a guy and with the right amount of money she could be anybody she wanted. So they were the Austins and Callie was the young mother of three. At twenty-eight, she was hoping she could pull that off. She was sure she'd aged ten years in the past month and for once in her life she was hoping it showed.

She'd given up her job as executive chef in a New York restaurant, her dream ever since she could remember, and they were headed for a new life, a new beginning far away from New York City — in Homestead, Texas.

Adam stirred in the passenger seat. He'd been dozing for a while but Callie knew he slept lightly, so afraid that they were going to be taken back to Nigel.

"You okay?" she asked, turning off the wipers. The light shower had stopped, leaving a stretch of wet highway.

He rubbed his eyes, gazing into the watery beam of the headlights. "Yes. Where are we?"

"Somewhere in Pennsylvania."

He jerked up straight. "You do have a map and a route planned, don't you?"

"Not exactly." She'd been in too big of a hurry to leave New York. She planned to buy a map once they were on the way.

Nigel had gone out for the evening, like he usually did, leaving the kids by themselves. The children used to have a nanny, but Nigel had fired her, saying the kids were too old for one. Once Nigel had left, Adam had called Callie and turned off the security system. He'd done this several times before so Callie could get into the house and see the kids. Nigel had denied her any visitation and he'd warned Adam about calling her. Adam was told he'd be severely punished if he even thought of contacting his sister. The phone was only to be used for emergencies.

Minutes after she'd arrived at her mother's home, they'd been on the road. Nigel wouldn't check in on the children. Adam said he never did. It wasn't in his nature to be paternal, especially after a night of drinking and partying. Once he'd sent them to bed, he expected his orders to be obeyed.

Callie was hoping tonight would be no different, so they'd have a head start of several hours.

"Callie..."

She patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, little brother. All roads lead to Texas."

"They do not."

To her, they did. "Trust me on this one. I'll get us there."

"Just drive carefully so a cop won't stop us."

Poor Adam. He'd taken on the role of older brother and protector at too early of an age. "I always drive carefully."

"You do not. I was with you twice when you got tickets."

"But that was Callie Lambert. Callie Austin is a diligent, cautious driver."

He was silent for a moment then said, "Sorry about Fred, but Mary Beth wouldn't leave without him."

Fred was Mary Beth's goldfish, a must-have after watching the movie Finding Nemo. Callie looked down at the goldfish bowl she'd managed to wedge into the console. Fred was the last thing she'd planned to pack, but she didn't have the heart to tell Mary Beth. She'd lost two parents in six months and Callie couldn't take anything else away from her.

"It's okay. I guess Fred wanted to go to Texas, too."

THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED were very stressful. The constant vigilance was getting to Callie. She kept waiting for the sound of a siren and when she heard one in Virginia, she almost lost the Big Mac she'd just eaten. But the trooper sailed right by her, stopping the car ahead of them. It took an hour for her nerves to settle down.

The kids were also nervous. As they passed the stopped car, Mary Beth asked, "Are those people running away, too?"

Adam quickly turned in his seat to look at Mary Beth. "You can't say things like that, especially in front of other people. They'll take us back to Nigel and —"

Callie touched his arm, stopping him. "Adam is trying to say we need to be careful what we say."

"I will. I sorry. I don't want to go back."

"It's okay, sweetie," Callie tried to reassure her.

"I want to sit in the front with you, Callie."

"At the next stop you can change seats with Adam."

"Kay."

Callie's heart broke at what this was doing to them. Mary Beth was scared all the time. Hyperactive Brit couldn't sit still and chatted nonstop. Adam, quiet and pale, just stared straight ahead at the road in front of them. And they were only halfway to Texas.

Then Callie had another problem — she noticed Fred floating face-up. Poking him with her finger, she found he was dead. She made a mad dash into a Wal-Mart with the bowl in her arms, leaving Adam in charge and telling Mary Beth that Fred needed fresh water. It took several minutes, but she bought a new Fred and they continued on their journey.

In Arkansas, Fred died again and Callie realized that goldfish did not travel well. Another Wal-Mart. Another fish. Callie prayed she could get this one to Homestead. She was tempted to tell Mary Beth that Fred had gone to heaven, but they'd had too many of those discussions lately. Callie wasn't ready for another one.