When Terry and Kel Coleman run from their abusive father, they end up in Denver. The day they arrive, they meet three street kids named Rudy, Snap, and Josie. The brothers move into the trio's squat where Rudy and the others teach Terry and Kel the ins-and-outs of survival on the streets. While that happens, Terry and Rudy are drawn to each other and begin a tentative relationship.<br><br>Then Kel is almost kidnapped by a man sent by his father to bring him home. Forced to leave their squat to keep Kel safe, they turn to a local pastor for help. Thanks to the pastor, the five young people may find hope for their future -- if they can survive the present. In the process, can the budding relationship between Terry and Rudy survive, or will it be torn apart by the life they're forced to live?

Surviving

“Farmers?” Kel cocked his head in question.


“Yeah. Well sorta. My dad, my real one, was an undocumented farm worker until he got deported. Because he and Mom weren’t really married, and she was born here, she and I got to stay. Soon after, she married my stepdad and we moved to the big city.” She grimaced. “If you can call Sheridan, Wyoming a big city.”


“Damn,” Kel said softly. “Do you…have you seen him since then? Your dad I mean.”


She shook her head. “When I ran away, after what my stepdad did, I was going to go down to Mexico to find him. I got as far as here and met Snap.”


Snap nodded, putting his arm around her. “She was just a kid, not that I wasn’t too, but I was a bit wiser about things, like pointing out to her she sort of needed to know more about where he lived than just ‘somewhere in Mexico City’.”


Josie shrugged. “I was a bit na?ve I guess.”


Chapter 17