Page 116 of Fall for You
The treasure.
Would she tell them about the hidden trinkets and just…what?
Hope they didn’t use it against the Spencers?
She bit her lip, nearly sliding on a wet rock. It would only get harder and harder to get up here when winter hit. And then how would she meet up with Eric? How would she leave him trinkets or receive his letters?
She sighed. Maybe coming clean wouldn’t be so bad.
Sure, they’d freak at first, but they’d get over it eventually. They loved her enough to accept her choices.
And then maybe she and Eric could actually meet in public.
The thought of them walking down Main Street hand in hand had her grinning and giggling.
Okay, maybe they’d have to start a little subtler than that. But still…
She sighed at the memory of his kisses.
She’d be totally fine with more stolen moments like that. Dating out in the open could wait until their families came around.
By the time she reached No Man’s Land, Willow was grinning like an idiot. The guilt over her family was starting to ease now that she was formulating a plan over how to tell her family.
She made her way to the tree, sank down next to it, and?—
What?
She stared in horror at the empty space where the treasure box had been. “No. No, no, no.” She brushed away the snow, but all that did was reveal the gaping hole where the box had been hidden.
Someone had dug it up, leaving nothing behind but a hollow pit in the ground.
Her breathing came out harsh and shallow, her heart cracking in two as she stared at the place where her beloved treasures had been.
Someone had taken it. And…
No. Tears welled in her eyes as she forced herself to face the truth. It wasn’t “someone.”
It was Eric.
He was the only other person who knew about it. A sob ripped through her even as she shook her head. No, he couldn’t have.
He wouldn’t!
She was on her feet, scrambling over snow-covered roots and fallen tree limbs.
She’d never gone in the opposite direction before. She’d seen the path Eric ran, but she’d never actually followed it down to the Spencers’ property.
Luckily, Eric ran the route so often, it was mostly clear, but she still slipped and stumbled her way down because her visionwas clouded, tears trickling down the edge of her nose as she ran.
This couldn’t be happening.
She didn’t want to believe he’d taken it, but…
What other explanation could there be?
It took her a second to figure out where she was when she reached the bottom of the hill. She’d stumbled into a clearing, and the main lodge itself was to her left.
She trekked through the snow, ignoring the occasional groundskeeper or guest she passed. When she finally reached the main building, out of breath and puffy-eyed, the glass doors opened with a whoosh, and she strode into the main lobby.
