Page 64 of Sweet Home

He opened the envelope first. Not a single dollar he’d paid herwas missing.

Heart pounding, he grabbed the paper bag and checked inside.

He found the little princess figure that went with the castle he’d bought for Elizabeth’s Christmas present. The princess was the only item that hadn’t been available when he’d stopped in to make his purchase last week.

For Elizabethwas written on the inside of the bag.

West stood there for a moment holding the little doll in the palm of his hand.

Dulcie is gone…

He came back to himself and ran for the front door.

But when he got out to the front porch, his heart dropped to his stomach.

Something was different outside too.

He hadn’t noticed it on his way in, because he’d been so eager to track Dulcie down and question her.

His truck was gone.

20

WEST

West hurried back to his parents’ house only to find his dad standing out on the front porch waiting for him, his breath fogging in the snowy air.

“Hey,” West said, stopping on the lawn below. “Can you take me into town?”

“What happened?” Dad asked, already jogging down the steps to join him.

“I’ll tell you on the way,” West said.

They hopped into the truck and the engine roared to life. Dad backed it up and tore down the drive without even waiting for it to warm up.

“I’m an idiot,” West said darkly.

“How so?” Dad asked.

“She’s not who she says she is.”

“Who is she?” Dad asked lightly, taking the turn onto Fox Hollow without slowing down.

“I guess Dulcie Bloom is her real name,” West admitted. “But she stole that car she drove into town. And she was arrested for kidnapping back in the city.”

Dad nodded, frowning.

“I let her into myhome,” West went on. “I brought her around our family. IleftElizabeth with her. And now she’s on the run in my truck. She played me like a fiddle and made me look like a fool. I’m only lucky she didn’t take my little girl.”

Dad slowed and rolled his window down before taking the covered bridge fast enough to make the whole truck rattle on the wooden planks.

When they reached the other side, Dad drove on in silence, and West finally turned to look at him. His father had never been the kind of parent to rub your nose in something if he felt you had learned your lesson. But this wasn’t a bad grade on a chemistry exam, or getting caught sneaking out to a party. West had put the whole family in danger.

“She’s a criminal,” West said, feeling his foolish heart break. “And I’m an idiot.”

“If you really thought that, would we be doing this?” Dad asked him gruffly. “Or would you have called the police already?”

I thought I was in love with her. Am I still trying to protect her?

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