18. West
WEST
A n hour later, West stood in the kitchen doorway, listening to Dulcie and Elizabeth chat as they peeled the price tags off the big bag of toys they’d collected for the stockings.
The two of them were leaned close together, and they looked and sounded so cozy and happy—his tiny daughter, and the delicate, fairytale princess with the big blue eyes who seemed so gentle and sweet.
If he hadn’t seen it with his own two eyes, he never would have believed she could attack a grown man like his brother in the blink of an eye, sending him crashing to the ground like she was a professional fighter or something.
But he had seen it. And since that moment, a battle had been waging in his head. Because one side of him was honestly impressed and moved that Dulcie had instinctively protected his daughter so fiercely.
And the other side of him knew that it was a shocking overreaction that probably told him more about her past than any of the veiled references to her father she had made over the last week.
Her past isn’t her fault, he reminded himself. And look what she’s doing with herself now that she’s here. She’s not even settled herself, and she’s already trying to help others.
Elizabeth had been shaken by the moment with Uncle Tripp, but when Dulcie explained in the car that she hadn’t known who it was and that she was scared, Elizabeth seemed to understand.
Why don’t I understand?
But it was West’s job to be careful and skeptical when it came to the people he trusted with his precious daughter. And even though he’d replayed it in his mind a hundred times, he still couldn’t decide how he felt about what had happened.
Dulcie glanced up at him, that guilty, kicked-dog look back in her eyes. He hadn’t seen that expression since the first night he brought her here.
He nodded to her, hoping it was enough to set her mind at ease. He would have to do some more thinking tonight about whether to leave her with Elizabeth again tomorrow. But he certainly wasn’t going to kick her out on the street.
His phone buzzed in his pocket as he thought about it, and he slid it out to see who it was.
“Hey,” he said as he headed out to the front porch with the phone.
It was the shop. He figured they were just calling to give Dulcie the official news that her car was totaled.
Honestly, the old clunker probably had so little value that almost any repair would have labeled it as a loss.
But from what he’d seen on his way out of the shop that night, he would have been surprised if they could get it back on the road at all.
“West,” old Joe Fournier said, his voice shaking a little. “Glad I caught you.”
“How are you, Joe?” West asked.
“I’ve been better,” Joe said. “I got a call about the young lady’s car.”
“You did?” West asked, wondering who else could possibly be involved in such an obviously doomed transaction.
“Local police had the plate number,” Joe said. “They wanted to know if it was the one I pulled out of the ditch the other night.”
“Oh,” West said, not understanding at all. “Why was that?”
“A guy called them looking for the driver,” Joe said softly. “The car is stolen.”
Stolen?
“Don’t worry, I didn’t turn my back on Dulcie,” Joe went on. “I told ‘em it was the car they were looking for, but the driver got on a bus out of town the next day, so I couldn’t even let him know it was totaled.”
That stopped West in his tracks. Old Joe was honest to a fault. He’d never heard a word from the man that wasn’t the truth. And lying to the police…
“You did?” West asked.
“Whole business felt… wrong to me,” Joe said after a moment. “That girl of yours is no thief. Can you even im agine it?”
Can you imagine her sending a grown man sprawling on the floor? Because I couldn’t have until I saw it happen.
“Thanks for letting me know, Joe,” West told him.
“Will you talk with her about it?” Joe asked.
“Of course,” West said, intending to do just that.
He spotted his mom heading up the porch steps, bundled against the snow. She gave him a little wave and let herself in.
“I’ll uh, can I call you back, Joe?” West asked.
“Sure, if you need me,” Joe said. “Just let her know we can’t give her the car back until we straighten it out. Not that she’d want it, I don’t think.”
West signed off and wandered back into the house to find everyone getting ready to leave.
“I was just coming to see if you all wanted to come over to our place and frost sugar cookies,” Mom told him with a smile. “And I got a big yes from these two.”
“And I can eat one,” Elizabeth said as she pulled on her boots. “Right?”
“Of course you can,” Mom laughed. “That’s what they’re for.”
“I’ll grab our coats,” Dulcie said quietly.
“I’m going to meet you guys over there,” West said. “I just have a couple of quick calls to make first.”
“Of course,” Mom said. “We’re just fine, aren’t we, ladies?”
West watched Dulcie slip Elizabeth’s coat over her arms, and then crouch to carefully zip it up. The way Elizabeth smiled up at her broke his heart. And when Dulcie kissed the top of her little head as she straightened, his chest ached .
She can’t be a car thief…
The three of them headed out, the sound of their chatter and laughter trailing down the hallway as they went. The silence that descended the moment the front door shut behind them felt absolute.
What am I supposed to do?
He went over it all in his mind, going back to the night he’d come by to find her faint and desperate. She hadn’t even had the money to pay for a car repair or a doctor visit.
But West’s protective instincts had kicked in, and he’d brought her back here without a second thought—right into the house he shared with his innocent daughter. He’d set her up with a bedroom and clothing…
As if his thoughts had carried him there, he’d walked back to her bedroom just off the kitchen. The door was open and he stepped inside, closing his eyes at the light scent of her that seemed to cling to the space—delicate and floral.
But it was only the shampoo he’d bought for her himself.
Did I make up a version of her in my mind?
West was going to have to face some facts. He was a lonely man. Some part of him probably longed for a beautiful young woman to provide for and protect.
Maybe she was nothing like the image he’d drawn of her.
Or maybe she was a con artist, playing the role perfectly. Maybe she was only here to drain his resources and then slip away once she had what she needed. Somehow, the thought of her leaving was worse than the idea of her stealing from him.
It might all be worth it for the way she’s made me feel these last few days…
He pulled open a dresser drawer, not sure what he expected to find. Maybe something that would tell him her true identity?
But the only thing inside was the clothing he had bought for her.
He turned to the little table beside her bed. A drawing Elizabeth had made for her decorated the top. The drawer held more drawings.
Elizabeth…
He sat on the edge of the bed, face in his hands as he tried to imagine the damage this would do to his little girl. At least when her mother left, she had been too little to remember much.
But he couldn’t afford to sit here feeling bad. He had to act now. At this very moment, Dulcie was in the house with his parents and Elizabeth.
He tried again to picture her being up to no good, and just couldn’t do it. He thought about the scene in the store earlier, and how unlikely that would have seemed if he hadn’t seen it. Clearly, just because he couldn’t picture something didn’t mean it wasn’t true.
He moved to stand up, but his hand brushed over something hard under her pillow.
Sucking in a breath, he lifted the pillow and saw that whatever it was must be under her sheets.
He pulled up the fitted sheet at the corner and thrust his hand inside, coming out with a plastic bag.
Inside the bag, the old t- shirt she’d been wearing when she arrived in town was wrapped around something.
He unwrapped it carefully to reveal a thick stack of bills, along with a very familiar-looking envelope.
She said she didn’t have money for a doctor…
The amount here certainly wouldn’t fill a briefcase, but it was plenty to cover a simple doctor’s visit, some warm clothing, and probably half a year’s worth of groceries.
And there was the envelope that contained the pay he’d given her this morning.
He’d been so proud to hand it to her. At the time, he was thinking that he was being a little too generous, but he assumed she needed it and would be grateful to have some funds of her own so she could buy the things she needed.
She seemed so hesitant to let him do anything for her, though he’d been more than willing.
I would have done anything for her.
I’ve been a fool.