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I wish I knew what to say or do to help her feel better. But it seems like there’s a lot going on here that she doesn’t know about.
She stands up and fiddles with her shirt. “I think we better get going.”
I nod my head and follow her out the door to my truck, helping her up into the big cab. She’s so tiny she actually needs a stepladder but that’s why she’s got me.
“Hey?” I ask her when we start driving towards her house. “Have you ever heard your parents talking about this girl at all?”
She shakes her head, her curls wild as hell and just flat-out gorgeous. “No. I’ve never heard a word.”
We get to her parents and there’s a cop car out front and I grimace. “Something tells me we’re about to hear a helluva lot,” I mutter under my breath.
I take her hand and help her out of my truck, trying to look casual when the cop catches a glimpse of us. His questioning look locks on our hands and he closes his notebook and starts towards us.
When he reaches us, we pull up and Lily steps closer to me. I hold her against my body when she trembles.
“Morning. I’m assuming you’re Liliana Sweet?” He asks. She nods and he sighs. “I thought as much.”
He follows us back up the drive and when we get to the top, Liliana’s parents are standing there, looking just as fresh and perfect as usual. Not even a hair out of place.
Mr. Sweet steps forward and tries to yank her away from me but she pulls back and all of a sudden we’re in a tug of war on the front lawn of this giant mansion. It’s a little surreal.
Until the cop hollers. “Hey!”
Everyone stops and Lily yanks her arm away and ducks into me like she’s hiding.
“Now, you people reported your daughter as a missing child.” He points at Lily when she flushes. “She’s obviously not a child.”
Mr. Sweet flushes. “She’s our child,” he insists stubbornly.
He glares at him, dropping his glasses down to really hit him. “You know that’s not what you were asked.” He turns to Lily. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-two,” she says softly.
He nods. “A legal adult. Capable of making her own decisions. And sure as hell not someone we’d roll out after a few hours looking for. You lied to the police and I could have you charged for that.” When both of her parents pale he just sighs.
“I won’t but if you cause any more trouble, I’ll likely change my mind.”
He turns back to Lily. “So…what are you here for?”
“To pick up my things.”
Her mother snorts. “What things? All the things you have are from us, therefore they’re actually ours.”
The cop shakes his head. “Not true. Anything that was a gift is not to be taken back. It’s not yours. Ordinarily this is where I’d leave. But I’ll wait until you get your things. I assume you’re going with him.”
She looks at me and I nod and smile. “Yeah, I am.”
Her dad grabs her arm again and his face is livid. “You can’t just take off with this….” he stops and his voice is fierce. “Well you know what this guy is. He’s a shyster. He probably thinks that if he takes you, he’ll come into some money.”
I growl and the cop steps forward. “Let go of her.” Mr. Sweet drops her arm and his face is red as a damn tomato.
“She’s an adult. She’s free to leave with whoever she wants.” The cop steps forward and holds his arm out to her. “You go ahead and I’ll just stay here at the door. Make sure that you only take things that are definitely yours.”
“Some of it I bought myself and some are gifts. That’s all I want.” He nods and smiles.
“That’s fine.”
She runs in the door and her mother tries to follow her. The cop moves in front of the door. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
