AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Goldy stares at her sister, a bit flabbergasted. “How can you be sure?”
“Trust her,” Dani says. “Honey just knows things, and she’s never wrong, especially about family.”
“Yes.” Honey focuses back in on her sisters and smiles. “I get a sense of things and I trust it. I suspect most people would know things if they just trusted their intuition.”
“Even so,” Goldy says. “I won’t feel better until I hear her voice.”
“I’ll track her down.” I pull my car keys from my pocket and take a last swallow of soda, because I’m not risking it spilling inmy car. Honey has an eerie intuition, but I’m with Goldy. I won’t be able to relax until I know Daisy is safe.
“Real quick,” Grant says. “You and Daisy were in the woods the other night, right?”
“We were.” I’m pretty sure I know exactly where this conversation is going.
“Did you happen to see a naked man being chased by Bigfoot?”
“We sure did. I’ll tell you the whole story later, but the important parts are that the guy being chased absolutely deserved it and Bigfoot spoke to us.”
Grant’s eyebrows pop high. “So it is a person in a suit. I knew it.”
“Or Bigfoot has learned to speak like a human,” Clover says quickly. “I don’t think we should jump to conclusions.”
Every head in the room turns to her, except for Asher who’s standing behind her, eyes closed and jaw tense. There’s definitely a story there, but I’m going to have to save that for later.
“I’ll let you know if I find Daisy.” I hurry past Clover and out of the house.
I have to force myself not to speed to Lovemore Publishing, which is easier since I’ve never been there before and getting there requires twisty, turning, unfamiliar roads in the dark.
Finally, I park in front of the ranch-style house with the Lovemore Publishing sign. The house is dark, but Daisy’s car is in the driveway.
The front door is locked. When knocking and shouting get me nowhere, I walk around to the back of the house, hoping to find Daisy on the screened porch where she says she works, even though it’s already pretty chilly.
The porch is lit up, but empty. Luckily, the door is unlocked. I let myself in, shouting Daisy’s name as I make my way across the porch to the house.
When something hard wraps around my arm, I scream like a bunny being chased by a mountain lion.
Daisy squints up at me from where she’s curled under three blankets on a big outdoor chair, one arm out, her hand around my forearm. Her laptop is on her lap, but she’s so bundled up she looks like part of the chair.
“Are you actually trying to kill me?” I ask, pressing a hand to my chest like that can slow my racing heart.
She pulls her noise-canceling headphones off. “What?”
“Nope. Obviously, you’re trying to get yourself killed. The door to the porch isn’t even locked. You wouldn’t have heard the ax murderer approaching.”
She smiles like I’m cute. I am not cute. “I heard you screaming my name even through my headphones.”
“Why are you still here? Are you hurt? Are you sick? Did Gloria chain you to this chair?”
She scrunches her nose up in confusion, and I hate myself for finding it adorable. “I’m fine. Were you worried about me?”
“You were supposed to be practicing with your sisters tonight. You weren’t answering your texts or your phone and your sisters are worried about you. Actually, hold on.” I shoot a quick text to Clover to let her know Daisy is alive and well. “You worried everyone.”
She rubs her face, looking overwhelmed and exhausted. “I totally forgot. I’m so sorry, Noah.”
“What are you working on that’s keeping you so late? I thought you said Joy insists everyone leave by five.”
Her smile lights up her eyes, and her exhaustion vanishes. “Sadie called. Fernwood is getting desperate, and she thinks I can get my job back if I have these manuscripts edited as abargaining chip.” She grabs my hands and bounces in her seat, so happy. “I might even be able to get that promotion.”
I smile, because there’s no other option when my Daisy is so happy. That’s all I really want for her, even if giving her up will break my heart. “That’s great news.”
