Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
“Did she ever say where she wanted to go?”
“Hood River,” she squeaks out.
“Do you think she’s here but lost?”
“Daddy says we’ll find her.” She chews on her bottom lip. “Will we?”
“Daddy Terrence?”
She nods.
“I hope so,” I utter. “I think she’s just scared. Your grandfather can be scary.” A shudder ripples through me.
“Can I go play?”
I stifle a sigh. “Sure.”
She plays for a good solid two hours. Eventually, as it creeps close to nine, I decide I need to get her back home. Jack will be home around midnight and I don’t want to cut it too close.
I check my texts to see if I’ve missed any from Dad. Thankfully, I haven’t. I lied to him that I was going to hang out with Charlotte tonight. Straight to his face. He’d been distracted by his dumb girlfriend Elise, so he nodded, not bothering to check out my answer. At least I don’t have to worry about that on top of everything else.
We dispose of our evidence, but I let her smuggle the toy from her kid’s meal in her pocket. The drive back to her house is filled with happy chatter. How she made friends and it was the best adventure ever. My heart his full until I pull into the driveway.
Fuck.
Jack’s car is on one side of the driveway and I have no idea how long it’s been there. He hasn’t texted me, which makes me nervous.
“Oh no,” I whisper. “Your, uh, grandfather is home.”
Zella sucks in a fearful breath, killing me in the process. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have left with her. Fuck.
I could turn around and go straight to Terrence’s…
But what if that messes up everything?
Could that be considered kidnapping?
If I ruined his chance at getting Zella, I’d never be able to live with myself.
“It’s okay,” I assure her as I hop out of the Jeep and rush to unbuckle her. “We just tell the truth. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
She’s quiet and clutches onto my hand too hard for someone so small. My heart shatters with every step toward the house. As soon as we reach the front door, it opens.
Wild.
Furious.
Manic.
It’s my gut instinct to stand between them. She cowers behind me as I face off with the dragon. He’s snarling and stinks of liquor.
“The lasagna didn’t turn out,” I say, keeping the quiver out of my voice. “We went to the chicken place to eat and play.”
“She’s not allowed to leave,” he seethes, his face turning purple with fury.
“That’s my fault.” I lift my chin as we walk inside. “I’m sorry.”
“Zella!” he booms, making me jump and her squeak. “You know better! There are rules and you fucking know better!”
Zella starts to whimper, which makes me panic.
“I said it’s my fault,” I bark at him. “I’m the one in charge when you’re gone and I needed to feed her. Take it out on me, not her. Cut my pay or fire me, but don’t take it out on her!”
“Go to your room,” he bellows. “I’ll deal with your ass later!”
Zella runs off crying, taking my heart with her. At least he’s not chasing after her. I can deal with him a million times better than she can.
“Please don’t punish her for my mistake,” I say, drawing his attention back on me. “She doesn’t deserve—”
With surprising quickness and force, he backhands me. I hit the coffee table hard with my head and black out.
I feel sick to my stomach when I come to. I’m in Jack’s arms as he carries me to the sofa. The room spins, making me want to vomit. He drops onto the sofa, holding me to him.
“Fuck, I just miss her,” he says, tears rolling down his cheeks.
His touch makes my nerves go haywire, but I’m afraid to move. And whenever he mentions Lacey, I feel like I need to endure so I can find information.
“W-Who?”
“My daughter. Lacey.” He sobs. “We were going to have a baby together.”
I shudder in his arms at his words. It was one thing reading it from Lacey’s letter, but hearing it is something else. He’s a disgusting pig. His fingers clumsily stroke through my hair in my ponytail. I’m a rabbit caught in a wolf’s mouth, his teeth nearly puncturing my flesh. One wrong move could turn badly for me.
“Where did she go?”
He continues to cry. “Now they’re going to take away Zella too. Why can’t I just have my family? I’ll be left all alone.”
I squirm in his grip, hating the throbbing inside of my head that he caused. “She’s hiding from you?”
“I did nothing but love her!” he yells, spittle showering over my face. “I don’t deserve this!”
“Maybe she’ll come back,” I lie. “If you were going to have a baby together. Plus, she loves Zella. She’ll want her back. Do you think she’s in Hood River?”