Page 46 of Snowed Inn For Christmas

I had told her I had a gift for Julie in my car and asked if she could help me surprise her mom.I knew that Daisy would do anything for her mom, so it was easy to convince her to leave the store.Getting herinthe car was another story, but thankfully, I made up an excuse about needing to wrap the gift and how it was too cold to do it outside.

I turned the music up so she couldn’t keep talking as I made my way through the wooded area and watched the snow fall.It was a long drive, but worth the extra effort to be as far away from people as possible.Not only that, it was closer to where Julie had been staying, which made it easier to keep an eye on her.

An hour later, the cabin that Julie had been staying at came into view.I noticed Daisy’s excitement as she saw it when I glanced at her.

But before she could say anything, I grabbed the pill from the middle console and turned toward her as I stopped the car.

“Open your mouth,” I commanded, my tone harsher than I intended.

Her eyes widened as she stared at me, confused.

“Now, Daisy.Open your mouth.”

Her lower lip trembled as she did as I asked.

“Lift your tongue.”

She shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

“NOW!”I shouted, making her flinch in the seat beside me.

Her whole body shook as she lifted her tongue and watched in horror as I set the tablet of Phenergan under it.

I had debated on giving her two, but the pharmacist I spoke to confirmed that one was the appropriate dosage for a child.I had faked a stomach bug and did a video visit to get the prescription, claiming that it was the only medication that worked for me after doing plenty of research on its effectiveness in knocking children out.When I went to pick it up, I told them that there would be another prescription coming in soon for my child, but in the meantime, I planned to share mine since we were both so sick.I was honestly surprised at how easily they gave me the information without scolding me about the importance of not sharing a prescription.

A few minutes went by as she sat there calmly staring out the window.She was such a good kid and didn’t give me any trouble, which reassured me that she would continue to be trouble-free once I became her new dad.While I knew Julie’s brother had taken the copy of the adoption paperwork I left for them at Julie’s apartment, I still had the other copy with me.All I needed was Julie’s signature, and I could get it filed.

Her body relaxed more, sagging further down in the seat as the drug took its effect.I grinned and started driving now that I knew she wouldn’t be able to clearly identify where we were.I drove past the cabin they were staying in and worked my way through the thick forest until I reached the two abandoned cabins.One was close enough to Julie's place that you could see it from the front porch.The other was tucked even further away, where no one would ever think to look.

Thirty

Julie

Iwas numb.Absolutely, completely numb as I sat at the kitchen table while everyone talked around me.

We spent hours with the police, providing them with all the information we had about Joel and any details I could think of to help them locate Daisy.Thankfully, the store printed a second copy of the photo they’d taken of her with Santa and gave it to the police to help locate her.They were also able to use it to assist with the Amber Alert that was sent out, providing an accurate description of what she was wearing.The copy we had purchased was sitting in front of me, reminding me of how my life had changed in the blink of an eye.