Hometown Hope. Laurel Blount

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СКАЧАТЬ she hadn’t.

      She glared up at him, her cheeks stinging hot, poised to twist out of his grip and give him a generous piece of her mind. What she saw brought her up short.

      Hoyt’s handsome, square-jawed face was pale, and raw fear widened his hazel eyes. Right then all those silly oh-my-word-he-touched-me butterflies fluttering in Anna’s stomach fell horribly still. Something was wrong.

      Nothing scared Hoyt Bradley.

      “Where’s Jess?” Hoyt ground out the question, and Anna’s eyes widened. He was looking for his five-year-old daughter.

      “I—I don’t know,” Anna stammered. “I haven’t seen her. I mean, I saw her for a little while this afternoon. She was with that group of kids Trisha was taking to Jimmy McAllister’s party.”

      “When?”

      “I...I don’t remember, exactly.”

       “Think.”

      He was still holding her arms. She wished he wasn’t, because it made thinking a whole lot harder. She swallowed and tried to focus.

      “They came in a little after three, and they stayed until almost four thirty.” During which time they’d pretty much destroyed her children’s area, while Trisha tried to convince Anna to accept one-third of her building’s value. “What’s going on?”

      “Did you see Jess leave with Trisha?”

      Anna did her best to remember. Finally she shook her head. “I assumed she did. But of course, she’s so quiet—” She broke off, darting a quick look up into Hoyt’s face.

      Everybody in Pine Valley knew that little Jess Bradley hadn’t spoken a single word since her mother’s death almost three years ago. Everybody also knew it wasn’t a topic you discussed with Hoyt.

      “Anyway,” Anna continued after an awkward second, “she must have gone with the rest of them because she’s not here now. I’ve been all alone for the past couple of hours. Oh, no.” The worried lines grooved into Hoyt’s face suddenly made sense. “Is Jess missing?”

      * * *

      Missing. His Jess.

      Fear slammed into Hoyt like a three-hundred-pound linebacker. Let me find her, Lord, he prayed silently. And keep her safe until I do. Please.

      “All I know is I can’t find her. I went to pick her up at the McAllisters’, and she wasn’t there. Trisha took Jess from day care with the rest of the kids, but she can’t seem to remember where she lost track of her.” He couldn’t wrap his mind around that, but right now he had to stay focused on finding his little girl.

      He’d deal with Trisha Saunders later.

      “Oh, Hoyt.” Anna’s ice-green eyes warmed with sympathy, but the change didn’t make him feel better. If Anna Delaney was feeling sorry for him, things were even worse than he thought. “You must be worried out of your mind.”

      Yeah. Pretty much. He ran one hand impatiently through his wet hair. “I thought she might be here with you. She likes this place.” That was an understatement. Jess was crazy in love with this store. She tugged him in here every time they passed by, and she never wanted to leave.

      That was why he’d been hoping...

      “She’s not here, Hoyt.” Anna’s forehead was creased with concern. “Do you think you should go talk to the sheriff?”

      “I’m headed there next.” He couldn’t believe this had happened. If Marylee were still alive...

      But she wasn’t. The grief he’d lived with for three long years stabbed him like a broken rib. It did that sometimes. Mostly it was just a dull ache these days, but every now and then it flared back up and sucker punched him.

      Especially when he felt like he was flunking single fatherhood big time.

      Like now.

      But he couldn’t waste precious time feeling guilty. Not until he found Jess.

      “I’ll go talk to Sheriff Towers. If you see her—” He’d started to turn toward the door, but he froze, listening. His eyes locked with Anna’s. “I thought you said you were alone.”

      “I am. That’s nothing. Just a silly possum I can’t keep out of my storage room.”

      “Maybe not.” Hoyt shouldered past Anna and headed in the direction of the noise.

      There was only one door at the back of the store. He tried the knob, but it was locked. He shot a questioning look at Anna.

      “I’ll unlock it.” Anna moved to the checkout area and started opening and shutting drawers, riffling through their contents with hurried fingers. “But I’m telling you, it’s nothing but that stupid possum. I can’t get rid of him.”

      Hoyt’s fear, mixed with his newfound hope, made him vibrate with impatience. He needed to know right now if Jess was in that room. “Could you hurry this up, Anna?”

      “Hang on a second. I know the key’s here somewhere because I used it just a few hours ago. I moved some breakable items in there when the kids got wild playing hide-and-seek, and— Oh!—” She stopped, her eyes wide. “I unlocked the door while they were here,” she said slowly, “for just a few minutes.”

      That was all Hoyt needed to hear. He wasn’t waiting for any key.

      “Jess, baby, if you’re in there, move to the back of the room. Okay?”

      He reared back and kicked the door. The flimsy lock broke instantly, and the door flew so wide that it banged against the wall like a gunshot.

      And there she was, his little girl, crouched on the floor. She blinked up at him like a startled baby owl.

      Hoyt crossed the room in two strides and swept his daughter up into his arms. Pressing her against his chest, he closed his eyes, breathing in the familiar scent of her baby shampoo.

      “Daddy’s got you, honey. Are you all right?” Hoyt murmured the question raggedly against his daughter’s wispy blond hair. She nodded against his chest, but Hoyt pulled her gently away to check her over for himself. Her eyes, the blue of a robin’s eggs, were wide, but she didn’t seem to be hurt. He nestled her back against him, feeling her little fingers twining tightly into the fabric of his shirt.

      Other than being a little spooked, Jess seemed all right.

      Which meant everything else was all right.

      Hoyt squeezed his eyes closed. Thank You, God.

      As his heartbeat slowed back down into its regular gear, he opened his eyes. His gaze caught on the window across the room.

      “Anna?”

      “Hoyt, truly, I had no idea she was in there.” Anna spoke from behind him, her voice shaking. He turned to look at her. She’d gone so pale СКАЧАТЬ