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“Thank you, babygirl. I like the sound of that. Now, tell Daddy why you don’t want to go to the doctor.”

It wasn’t a question of not wanting to. It was a question of signing her death warrant if she did. Hers and how many others? Eddie and his crew would find her eventually. She couldn’t let that happen while she was here in Wilder. Everyone she met here was so kind. She owed it to them, and especially to Chance, to disappear as soon as she could.

But she couldn’t tell her Daddy that. So instead, she whispered, “No money.”

He nodded. “I thought that might be it. Here’s the thing, darlin’. The fact you had a flare-up is on me. If you’d spent the night here, you might never have gotten sick at all. So, covering any costs for getting you well is on me, too.”

He truly was a wonderful Daddy. A really good man, period. “Not true.”

“It’s true if I say it’s true. That’s a Daddy privilege. If that’s all you’re worried about, problem solved.”

The sparkle in his eyes when he thought he’d won a disagreement sent a delightful tingling through her tummy. And in areas further down. It was all she could do to keep from squirming.

“No need. Lost card.” She cut herself off when he snapped fullyalert. Did he think she was stupid? Or worse, that she was asking for a handout?

“What?”

She shook her head and would have refused to answer. But she didn’t think his pointed glance at her naughty girl book was an accident.

Slumping lower, she confessed to him just how absent-minded she was. “Lost credit card,” she whispered.

He snapped to attention. “When was that, gypsy?”

She held up one finger. “Before Friendsgiving.”

His eyes held a different kind of spark now. Not exactly angry, but close to it. “The day before the Friendsgiving. Where were you when you noticed you’d lost your credit card?”

“Here.”

“Fuck.”

Wow. He was really upset with her. Sure, she had been careless. Even though she had tried hard not to use it, she hadn’t actually used it at all. She didn’t understand why he was so upset. She canceled it as soon as she got back to the shelter, when she realized what had happened.

Before she could ask, he took out his phone and made a call. “Kaya, this is Chance Daniels. Put me through to the sheriff, please. Thanks.”

What in the world? Why would he involve the sheriff? That was the last thing she needed. He was going to get her killed. Maybe get them all killed.

As if he could read her mind, he said, “If anyone used your card here in Wilder, the people you’re running from can find you.”

Oh no. Oh God! She had worked so hard not to use her card. How could she not have realized that if someone stole it, they might be able to access it?

She had to leave—now. There was no time to waste. Struggling with the covers, she fought her way to the edge of the bed.

A hand clamped down on her leg, holding her in place. “Do not move,” he said, before turning back to his phone. “Hello, Sam? I think we might have a problem.”

CHAPTER 10

The longest week of her life!

And that was with her mostly sleeping through the first three days of it.

Today, the gorgeous room she’d been confined to was again bright with daylight streaming through a large picture window. Not that she’d gotten to view the scenery outside the window. No, she’d been in bed. For seven days.

Chance had growled at her yesterday when she’d tried to get up. Growled. Like a bear or something. “You better get yourself back under those covers, naughty girl. With the discussion we’re having as soon as you get cleared by Doc Bradford, you want to be on your best behavior. I promised you.”

“I wasn’t getting out of bed. I was just giving my foot some air.”

“Is that the same as yesterday when I caught you sticking your tongue out at me? I guess you were giving that some air, too.”