Page 264 of Dark Love

“Who’s at the door?” Mom walks over in one of my aprons, wiping her hands on a towel.

Trouble. This is going to be trouble.

“Mom, this is Hope. Hope this is my mother, Eugenia. Hope lives a few doors down.”

“Hi.” Hope gives a friendly little wave.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Mother gives her a friendly smile. “Did you have plans with my daughter today?”

“Not exactly, but she’s been helping me write my book.”

Mom’s eyes move to mine, and I can feel the wheels turning in her head. This spells nothing but trouble for me.

Vex’s library has state-of-the-art security. She’ll never find me there.

Mom walks over and takes Hope’s arm. “Why don’t you come tell us all about your book while we cook?”

“I haven’t gotten very far into it. All I know so far is it’s about a girl who learns to slip through time and space. She’s trying to find a way to bring her mother back to life.”

Oh, Hope.

“But in each time that she saves her mother, the world becomes a nightmare.”

“That sounds like an interesting story. If there’s anyone that could help you, it’s Dahlia. She’s been writing books since she was a little girl.”

“Mom.”

“Well, you have been. You shouldn’t be hiding who you are.”

“Mom.”

“Go get one of your books and show it to Hope.”

“Wait, you’re an author?” Hope stares at me, and behind her Imogene does the same.

Why am I hiding it? Vex knows. If they don’t like my books, the world won’t end. “Yeah. If you open the bottom drawer over there, you’ll find one of my books.” Stress and fear flow through my body. Focus on something else.

Cookies. I need to finish this batch of cookies.

Vex isn’t going to be happy with me making cookies and brownies for the party. Can I sneak him some without my mother noticing?

Probably not.

Hope holds the book up. “You’re D. P. Flowers! I love these mysteries. Dad does too. He saves them to read when he’s flying for work.”

“Your dad travels a lot?” My mother feigns indifference as she works on the brine.

“All the time. He’s going to take me with him next weekend when he goes to the Netherlands. I got the cutest new coat to wear there since there's already several feet of snow there.”

“What does your father do?” Mom transfers the chicken from its packaging into the brine.

“Internet security. He’s the best at it.”

That’s an understatement, but a slick way of hiding who he is without acting like she is.

“You and your father should come to the party Dahlia is throwing tomorrow.”

Mom didn’t just blame this mess on me.

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