Page 94 of Always Be Mine

“I’ll bring Meri home,” Kat offered before he could ask. “Don’t worry about her. Go find Lucy.”

He nodded in her direction; it was all he could manage.

ChapterTwenty-Four

She had nowhere to go.

She didn’t have a home. Not in Trickle Creek.

It hurt to admit it to herself, but it was the truth and sometimes the truth stung.

She wasjustthe nanny.

He didn’t love her. He didn’t care about her.

I would never jeopardize our family by getting involved with the nanny.

The nanny.

His words echoed in her head.

Humiliated, Lucy fled from the Sugar Shack and the man she’d allowed herself to fall for. She’d been so stupid to let her guard down and think that Craig was any different from anyone else.

She knew better.

Lucy drove straight to the house—Craig’shouse—and moved quickly. She packed a small bag. Most of her clothes were in the washer, but they weren’t important. She’d get them later. The important thing was getting far away from him before he came home. She needed space to think about her next move, and she would never get that if she stayed.

Her bag packed, the only thing left was Garfield. She found her cat curled up among the stuffed animal pile on Meri’s bed.

“Come on, buddy. We need to go.”

He lifted his large head and mewled at her before readjusting himself and snuggling deeper into the bed.

“Traitor.” She scratched his head quickly and found a pad of paper on Meri’s desk that she’d been using to draw. Quickly, Lucy scratched out a note and left it on the bed next to the sleeping cat, and then she was gone.

The drive to Vancouver would take almost ten hours, but with nowhere else to go, and nothing but time, she didn’t have any other options.

Lucy knew Craig would probably have to help Meri read the note, but it didn’t matter.

Craig jumped up from the couch the moment he heard the click of the door handle. “Lucy?”

“It’s just me.” Kat walked through the door, a very sleepy-looking Meri holding her hand. “I think someone might have hit a wall.”

Grateful for the distraction, at least for a moment, Craig opened his arms, and Meri climbed up into his embrace. “Time for bed, kiddo.”

She nodded against his shoulder, already half asleep.

“Is she…”

Craig shook his head. Lucy wasn’t there. She’d been gone when he got home. He’d spent hours driving around town, but he didn’t have any idea where to look, so it was a useless search.

“She’s not answering her phone either.”

Kat exhaled deeply and shook her head. “Go,” she said. “Put her to bed. I’ll make some tea. Then we can talk.”

It was the last thing Craig wanted to do after his explosion at the party, but he knew his little sister well enough to know she wasn’t about to go anywhere until they talked.

“Where’s Lucy?” Meri lifted her head sleepily. “Can she read me a story?”

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