“I don’t wanna stay here.”
Lilly knelt down beside her. “It’s okay, honey. No one is going to hurt you here. I promise you.”
Shaking her head again, she watched as three boys her age came running out the front door. Their clothes were clean and they had new shoes on their feet. Two had dark hair, one with blue eyes and one with dark brown eyes. The last boy had blond hair like Lilly.
Cassandra didn’t know much about boys, but she knew they looked tough, and she didn’t want to deal with them. She shook her head from side to side, faster.
“Look, here comes Marissa. She’s your age and just arrived here last month.”
Cassandra looked over just in time to see a girl around her age walk out the front door. She had a small kitty in her hands and was wearing a white dress and sandals. Her blonde hair was pulled back in short braids.
Cassandra looked at Lilly. “I know they have some chocolate in there and if you don’t like it here, you can come home with me. Okay?”
Finally, Cassandra nodded and got out of the car, holding onto Lilly’s hand as they walked up the front steps under the watchful eye of the four kids and four adults.
Cassandra didn’t pay much attention to the kids since she knew the adults were the ones in charge. There were two women and an older man who looked frail. She knew she could outrun him if she had to. One of the women looked strong and capable; the other looked overweight and older. Cassandra knew that didn’t mean she couldn’t run fast since Kimberly had been pudgy and fast.
“Hi, everyone, this is Cassey.” Lilly looked down and winked at her. Cassandra liked the shorter name; she’d always thought her name was too long and too big for her.
“Hi, Cassey,” everyone said together.
“Cassey,” Lilly said, smiling down at her, “this is Mr. and Mrs. Grayton. They own this house. And these are their daughters, Julie and Karen. Julie teaches school and will be responsible for you.”
“Hello,” she said under her breath.
“Hi,” Julie said, kneeling down to her. Her hands were tan and she wore a faded pair of jeans and a button-up shirt with flowers on it. Her short brown hair was curly and looked soft like Lilly’s. Her brown eyes looked rich and warm like the rest of her. “I’ve made some pancakes for breakfast. Would you like to come in and have some?”
Cassey looked up to Lilly and when Lilly nodded, she looked at Julie and said, “Yes, please.”
Other books by Jill Sanders
Finding Pride
Discovering Pride
Returning Pride
Lasting Pride
Serving Pride
Red Hot Christmas
My Sweet Valentine
Return To Me
Rescue Me
The Secret Series
Secret Seduction
Secret Pleasure
Secret Guardian
Secret Passions
Secret Identity
The West Series
Loving Lauren
Taming Alex
Holding Haley
Missy’s Moment
Breaking Travis
Roping Ryan
Wild Bride
Corey’s Catch
The Grayton Series
Last Resort
Someday Beach
Rip Current
In Too Deep
NEW Series
Unlucky In Love
Sweet Resolve
For a complete list of books, visit http://JillSanders.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-942896-10-4
Copyright © 2015 Jill Sanders – Grayton Press
Copyeditor: InkDeepEditing.com
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
About the Author
Jill Sanders is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Pride Series, the Secret Series, and the West Series romance novels. Having sold over 150,000 books within six months of her first release, she continues to lure new readers with her sweet and sexy stories. Her books are available in every English-speaking country, are available in audio books, and are now being translated into six different languages.
Born as an identical twin in a large family, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest. She later relocated to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent as a writer. She now makes her home in charming rural Florida where she enjoys the beach, swimming, hiking, wine tasting, and, of course, writing.