Read Online A Daughter's Perfect Secret by Kimberly Van Meter - Free Book Online Page A

lights. Maybe sleep would find him if he went to bed.
    It was worth a shot—and if sleep eluded him, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time he’d spent a night staring at the ceiling, anxious and afraid that Devin was long gone, no matter what he managed to shake out of Samuel Grayson.
    It was starting to feel familiar.
     
     
    Darcy couldn’t believe how enamored the community was of her father. Maybe she was immune to his charm. She saw a man manipulating a flock of sheep to his benefit and scooping up the riches they plunked at his feet. Darcy saw beyond the fit, handsome, charismatic character who spouted platitudes that espoused loyalty and the need to be the best version of themselves by following his dictates, whether they were in the form of the menu plan or exercise regimen. Frankly, Darcy found Samuel’s spiel intrusive and ridiculous. Particularly the $25 bottle of water. For all she knew, this “special tonic” could be bottled outside from a hose in Samuel’s backyard.
    “Isn’t he amazing?” breathed Pam, in awe after Samuel had left the stage and people started to rise from their seats, the sound of laughter and gaiety filling the auditorium with a din of murmured voices. “I love these nightly meetings. They’re so inspiring. Don’t you agree?”
    “Oh yes,” Darcy said, nodding. “So, every night people do this?”
    “Yes. It’s about faith and loyalty. Backbones—”
    “—of a strong community,” Darcy finished for Pam, earning a delighted grin. “Yeah, that’s what he said, so it must be true. He obviously knows what he’s talking about.”
    “You’re catching on fast. Do you want to meet him?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. “I know he’ll want to meet you. Maybe if you’re lucky…you might catch his eye.”
    Ugh. Darcy hid the immediate queasiness in her stomach. “Oh, I’m not ready to meet Mr. Grayson just yet,” she protested, feigning a case of jitters as if Samuel were a celebrity and she were seeking an autograph. “Soon, though. I definitely want to meet him.”
    Pam sighed as if disappointed. Maybe she hoped to earn brownie points of some sort by dragging a newbie over to Samuel for inspection. The thought was sobering.
    Darcy made a show of checking her watch and then said, “Oh! I’d better get my tonic water before they’re sold out for the evening. So nice to meet you, Pam. I hope to see you around.”
    “Likewise, honey! And don’t you worry, I think you’re going to fit in just fine around here. You’ve got the Cold Plains spirit. I can tell.”
    Darcy forced a smile. She didn’t know about that, but there was certainly something she shared with Cold Plains…the DNA of its self-proclaimed messiah.
    Edging her way past the crowd, she made a stop at the tonic-water booth, made her obligatory purchase even as she winced at the exorbitant price and wondered if Rafe was there.
    Seeing nothing but a sea of unfamiliar faces, she found herself a bit relieved that she didn’t see her new boss milling about with the rest of the sheep. She wanted him to be better than the rest of these people who mindlessly ate the manure that Samuel shoveled their way. She knew it wasn’t a guarantee that he wasn’t on the same bandwagon just because she didn’t find him here, but she wanted to believe that he was different.
    Rafe…the handsome doctor with a secret in his smile and a sadness to his eyes.... Darcy had to stop herself when she realized she was thinking too much about her boss. Capping her water after a quick sip, she started for the door but was waylaid by a big, burly man in uniform with hard, watery blue eyes and big meat-hook hands, which looked as if they could crush her windpipe without him breaking a sweat. For that matter, he looked the kind of person who could take a life without thinking twice.
    “New to Cold Plains?” he asked, trying for a smile, but the effort only served to make him appear to be grimacing. As if realizing he wasn’t