Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
She winced. “I’m in the paper?”
“Yeah, you’re in the paper. You’ve been missing since Friday night.” I gently pulled her along.
She grabbed her backpack and came with me outside through the snow, wearily climbing into Aiden’s truck.
I started the engine and turned the heat on full blast. “All right, what happened?”
She looked at the vent and held her hands out, moaning. “I can’t tell you.”
“You’re going to have to tell me.”
“No,” she said. “I can’t. I won’t.”
I grabbed my phone and sent out a text to the entire family. I FOUND VIOLET. SHE’S OKAY. I DON’T HAVE ANY DETAILS YET.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
I looked over at her. “The entire family is out looking for you in the snow and cold right now. So is Oliver Duck and pretty much everybody we know.”
She hunkered down in her coat. “I didn’t want anybody to look for me. I’m sixteen years old. I’m old enough to live on my own.”
“In the closet in my old, burned-out house?” I asked gently.
A small smile played on her lips. “I didn’t say it was ideal.”
“Violet, come on. You have to tell me what happened.”
She crossed her arms. “No, I’m sorry.”
“Huh.” My text dinged. I looked down to see that it was from Uncle Buddy. He said he would meet us at Aiden’s place.
“All right.” I pulled the truck out. I wasn’t very far away from my new home. “Buddy would like to speak with you.”
“Hell no.” Violet scrambled for the door.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Are you afraid of Buddy?”
She blinked. “Yes.”
My breath caught. How could anybody be afraid of Buddy?
Her chin dropped. “I don’t want him to think badly of me. I like Buddy. He wanted to be my dad.”
“He still wants to be your dad,” I said. “No matter what you’ve done or what has happened, Violet, we’re going to be family. We’re going to help you.”
She shook her head. “That’s not how it works. He’s not going to want me anymore, and I’d rather just go.”
Dread started to slide down my back. What exactly was she talking about?
Chapter 28
We were quiet for the remaining drive until we reached Aiden’s place. “Come on. You might as well face the music,” I said. “I wish you trusted me.”
“I do trust you,” she said. “But we just have to leave things the way they are.” Tears filled her violet-blue eyes. “I’m really sorry.”
“So am I.” I wanted to help her more than anything.
We jumped out of the truck and crossed through the billowing snow to the front door. She walked inside, and Buddy instantly pulled her forward into a hug. I was gratified to see her grab him tight and hold on. He drew her over to a sofa near the fireplace.
I frowned. “When did we get a sofa?”
“Rory brought it over earlier this morning after you left,” Buddy said. “We keep meeting here. We needed furniture. There’s more coming later.”
It was one of Rory’s creations. He had carved it out of wood and added thick, black cushions. The piece looked wonderful.
Violet sat, and Buddy knelt before her. “Are you okay? Were you hurt?” he asked, his voice calm and gaze intense. Compared to her, he was a barrel of a man and towered over her, but he seemed to be trying to be gentle.
She shook her head. “I’m not hurt. I got a little cold, but I built a fire to stay warm.”
“Smart,” he said with approval in his gaze.
She blinked and then blushed. “It wasn’t that big a deal.”
“It was intelligent,” he said. “And you took food to survive. That’s good.”
She looked away and then back. “Thanks.”
“Why did you leave?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I don’t want you to know.”
He nodded. “I understand that. I’ve done things in life that make me sometimes wonder if they were right or wrong. But they are what they are. Violet, what you don’t seem to understand is that you’re not alone. No matter what you’ve done, no matter what danger you might be in, it’s not just you anymore. It’s us. We will handle it. All of us.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “What if you don’t approve?”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “We’re a family. We don’t need the judge to sign those adoption papers. It’ll be nice when he finally does, but we don’t need that. We’re family. If there’s a problem, even if it’s one we created, we fix it. It’s a we situation, not a you situation. You need to understand that.”
Tears finally filled her eyes and started to drop. I wasn’t surprised to find that my eyes had filled, as well.
“Now tell me,” he said gently. “Whatever it is.”
She gulped. “There’s a man.”
Buddy straightened, just slightly. “Go on,” he said very calmly.
Tears hung on her lashes. “There were times my great-aunt couldn’t pay the rent at the apartment.”