Page 6 of Sweet Home

“We’ve got a spare room,” he told her. “You can stay there until you get on your feet.”

He saw the torn expression on her face.

“The Lawrences are good people,” Joetold her right away. “Doc here won’t let any harm come to you. And if you’re lucky, his mama will cook for you. Her pot roast is legendary around here. You couldn’t ask for a better situation. What are the odds the doc was hiring?”

Rob rolled his eyes behind Joe’s back, but West was grateful that the girl didn’t seem to notice.

“Okay,” she said after a moment. “That sounds good. Thank you.”

He straightened and stepped back to give her space to get up.

She scrambled to her feet, handing Joe back his coat and tugging her own more closely around herself.

“You take care of yourself, sweetheart,” Joe told her with a warm smile.

“Thank you, Joe,” she said, hugging him impulsively. “Thanks, Rob.”

Rob nodded to her, and she let go of Joe to head off with West, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“Wait,” she said, eyes wide with worry again. “I need to get my stuff out of the car.”

“I already put it all in a duffel,” Rob told her. “I’ll follow you out and carry it to the doctor’s truck for you.”

“Thank you so much,” she said, smiling as her shoulders lowered with relief.

West watched in amazement as grumpy Rob Bradford smiled right back at her like he couldn’t resist her sunny expression.

She’s just a young woman in trouble,he reminded himself.She’s not actually an enchanted princess.

3

DULCIE

Dulcie gazed out the window as they headed back into the trees, wondering what kind of doctor drove a pickup truck.

She was doing her best to keep her wits about her. The road they had turned onto had a sign that saidFox Hollow Road. But she wasn’t sure what she could actually do with that information if the doctor turned out to be some kind of serial killer. Her cell phone was zipped up in the duffel he’d thrown in the back of the truck, along with the rest of her possessions.

But weirdly, she had this sense that she was completely safe with him, maybe safer than she’d ever felt in her life.

It’s just the apple juice talking.

She glanced over at him again.

The occasional streetlamp played on his face, showing her his dark eyes and the harsh angle of his jawline.

He certainly didn’t look like any doctor she had everknown. The man was big and brawny—more like a cowboy that spent time outside chopping wood than a medical man who worked in an office all day. Even his name sounded like a cowboy.

Nobody is messing with this guy,she thought to herself with satisfaction. Though why she would care, she had no idea.

He was offering her a job and a place to stay. That was all. And he was probably only doing it to protect himself from liability in case she was lying and she’d gotten hurt in the crash.

But it was nice of him to take my word…

The truck slowed to a stop and she looked around, trying not to panic when she saw the dark tunnel in front of them.

“It’s a one-lane covered bridge,” West explained. “We always stop before crossing. And during the day, we honk the horn, too.”

Dulcie nodded.

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