AllFreeNovel
Share Us
didn’t crack, but it was near to it, betraying her nerves.
She had no idea why Peter Radcliffe was in her store. She
recognized him easily from the photos she’d seen of him
online. His blue eyes, nearly the same shade as Emily’s,
chased around the store for a few seconds before landing back
on her. They narrowed as if he was sizing her up. Dani
swallowed hard. She didn’t like that this man was here. He’d
come in person, which couldn’t mean anything good. His hair
was totally gray, so it was impossible to tell if it had been
sandy like Emily’s before or not. Dani looked for other signs
of Emily in her father’s face but found little.
“Emily’s not here,” Dani whispered.
Radcliffe nodded. “I know that. She stays late at the college
on Thursdays.”
It was something Dani didn’t even know, but she reminded
herself that this man was Emily’s father, and he should know
those things about his daughter. He’d had a lifet
ime to build up
that information, whereas she’d only had a couple days. Then
she wondered why she was making things into a competition
at all.
Peter Radcliffe turned, slid the bolt into place, and clicked
off the sign beside the door. “I think you were just about to
lock up,” he said, which meant he knew what time the store
closed, either because he’d just read the hours on the door, or,
more likely, because he’d looked it up ahead of time and
decided to ambush her right when she was trying to leave for
the day. That way, he could be sure to have her undivided
attention.
Dani gulped and nodded. Her palms were horribly clammy,
