found wholly new and slightly terrifying.
He had been pacing up and down the kitchen for fifteen minutes, shaking his head as if he’d taken a blow to the skull, his hands fisted at his sides, his movie star handsome face set in a grim expression and his blue eyes filled with anger.
This Sam Bancroft was not her father.
“I want you back in this house every evening before dark,” Sam went on, still pacing and shaking his head. “And I want you to call me to check in when you get home and when you decide to leave the house. I want to know where you’re going, who you’re going with, and when you’ll be back. Understood?”
Again, Lanie nodded, feeling as if she’d done something terribly wrong, even though she had texted her dad to tell him she was going to the cemetery to visit her mom. It wasn’t her fault she’d ran into a possible murderer out there.
“You will not put yourself in danger that way again, Lanie,” Sam continued, a muscle in his jaw working hard. “If you see something that doesn’t look right, do not go and check into it! You call me! Period! You call me and you get away from whatever it is as fast as you can! Is that clear!”
Lanie nodded, trying to blink back a sudden mist of tears. She’d expected him to be upset, but she had not expected this. Her father had never been this angry with her. Never.
“I can’t believe you went into the woods to take pictures of a stranger’s car!” Sam raged onward, now raking a hand through his hair. “And you confronted the stranger! You put yourself in danger, Lanie! He could be the person who killed Stacy Miller! And you were alone in the woods with him! What were you thinking!”
The tears that Lanie was trying to blink back filled her eyes, despite her efforts. She didn’t like her father being this angry with her. And she wanted to argue with him, to tell him that she’d only been trying to help him, but her throat was choked by the lump of anguish sitting there.
“Well? What on earth possessed you to do something like that, Lanie!” Sam demanded, pinning her with an angry glare.
Lanie tried to swallow the lump down enough to answer, because her dad was clearly expecting an answer from her, but her voice failed her.
“Sam, take it easy,” Gretchen spoke up from her place by the sink, where she was watching the scene with a pained expression. “Can’t you see that you’re scaring her?”
Hearing Gretchen’s statement seemed to shake Sam somehow. He stopped his pacing and his brows lifted in surprise, as if he’d been looking at Lanie, but was only now seeing her. And seeing her caused his hard expression to fall and his broad shoulders to slump. “Lanie, I-I’m…I’m sorry. I…I’m just…it’s just that…if anything happened to you, I wouldn’t know what to do. I…I can’t lose anyone else.”
Hearing the stark sorrow in her father’s voice had Lanie sliding off the chair at the center island and going across the room to throw her arms around her dad, who put his arms around her and squeezed her as hard as he could, causing the air to be pushed out of her lungs, but she didn’t mind.
“I’m sorry, squirt,” he said to her, taking in a long breath. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“It’s okay,” Lanie told him, her voice uneven and hoarse.
She tightened her grip on her dad and took a breath, the scent of his clean cologne filling her nostrils. She loved how her dad smelled. It reminded her of something strong and steady and…good.
“Why did you do that, Lanie? Especially knowing what just happened to Stacy?” Sam questioned in a softer tone, still squeezing her to him.
“I saw the car there and I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer. I wanted to take pictures of the car and the license plate, so you’d have a description in case it was moved before you got to it,” she explained. “I didn’t know the guy would show
He had been pacing up and down the kitchen for fifteen minutes, shaking his head as if he’d taken a blow to the skull, his hands fisted at his sides, his movie star handsome face set in a grim expression and his blue eyes filled with anger.
This Sam Bancroft was not her father.
“I want you back in this house every evening before dark,” Sam went on, still pacing and shaking his head. “And I want you to call me to check in when you get home and when you decide to leave the house. I want to know where you’re going, who you’re going with, and when you’ll be back. Understood?”
Again, Lanie nodded, feeling as if she’d done something terribly wrong, even though she had texted her dad to tell him she was going to the cemetery to visit her mom. It wasn’t her fault she’d ran into a possible murderer out there.
“You will not put yourself in danger that way again, Lanie,” Sam continued, a muscle in his jaw working hard. “If you see something that doesn’t look right, do not go and check into it! You call me! Period! You call me and you get away from whatever it is as fast as you can! Is that clear!”
Lanie nodded, trying to blink back a sudden mist of tears. She’d expected him to be upset, but she had not expected this. Her father had never been this angry with her. Never.
“I can’t believe you went into the woods to take pictures of a stranger’s car!” Sam raged onward, now raking a hand through his hair. “And you confronted the stranger! You put yourself in danger, Lanie! He could be the person who killed Stacy Miller! And you were alone in the woods with him! What were you thinking!”
The tears that Lanie was trying to blink back filled her eyes, despite her efforts. She didn’t like her father being this angry with her. And she wanted to argue with him, to tell him that she’d only been trying to help him, but her throat was choked by the lump of anguish sitting there.
“Well? What on earth possessed you to do something like that, Lanie!” Sam demanded, pinning her with an angry glare.
Lanie tried to swallow the lump down enough to answer, because her dad was clearly expecting an answer from her, but her voice failed her.
“Sam, take it easy,” Gretchen spoke up from her place by the sink, where she was watching the scene with a pained expression. “Can’t you see that you’re scaring her?”
Hearing Gretchen’s statement seemed to shake Sam somehow. He stopped his pacing and his brows lifted in surprise, as if he’d been looking at Lanie, but was only now seeing her. And seeing her caused his hard expression to fall and his broad shoulders to slump. “Lanie, I-I’m…I’m sorry. I…I’m just…it’s just that…if anything happened to you, I wouldn’t know what to do. I…I can’t lose anyone else.”
Hearing the stark sorrow in her father’s voice had Lanie sliding off the chair at the center island and going across the room to throw her arms around her dad, who put his arms around her and squeezed her as hard as he could, causing the air to be pushed out of her lungs, but she didn’t mind.
“I’m sorry, squirt,” he said to her, taking in a long breath. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“It’s okay,” Lanie told him, her voice uneven and hoarse.
She tightened her grip on her dad and took a breath, the scent of his clean cologne filling her nostrils. She loved how her dad smelled. It reminded her of something strong and steady and…good.
“Why did you do that, Lanie? Especially knowing what just happened to Stacy?” Sam questioned in a softer tone, still squeezing her to him.
“I saw the car there and I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer. I wanted to take pictures of the car and the license plate, so you’d have a description in case it was moved before you got to it,” she explained. “I didn’t know the guy would show
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