True Love Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan

Author:Jennifer Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2021-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Jon held up his phone and snapped a photo of Emmy and Trinity holding up their hands to show off their painted nails and Emmy’s new do. He owed Trinity big-time for setting up the appointment right away and turning the disastrous chop job into a stylish haircut that actually suited Emmy nicely and would be easier to maintain.

“Do you love it?” He smiled to let Emmy know he sure did.

She flipped her hair back with one hand. “It’s so bouncy.”

The short cut did in fact bounce and swish as Emmy walked with them to the car.

Her smile delighted him, but the images of Emmy’s hacked hair and the bruises on her arm and darkening under her eye still blazed in his mind and kept his anger roiling in his gut.

He expected to hear from DPHHS any minute. Nerves and anxiety made his chest tight.

They all climbed into the car and he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward Steph’s place.

Trinity glanced over. “I thought you were taking me back to the store.”

“I will. I just want to do one thing first.”

Emmy hummed along to the song on the radio and stared out the side window.

He used her distraction to pull onto a side street and park.

“Where are we?” Emmy met his gaze in the rearview mirror.

“I just need to make a quick stop here. Wait with Trinity. I’ll be right back.” He left the keys in the ignition and jumped out. He smiled and waved to Emmy to ease any concern she had about the detour.

It took him only a couple minutes to walk to the apartment from the back entrance. He knocked on Steph’s door even though he didn’t see her car in her assigned spot. He used his key to enter and found what he didn’t want to see in the living space. Right there next to the dining table, spread all over the floor, was his daughter’s long, dark hair. The pair of sharp scissors sat on the table atop a stack of unopened mail.

Because of the video calls he had with Emmy every night she stayed with Steph, the place wasn’t that bad. Not spotless, but okay.

He snapped several photos of Emmy’s discarded hair littering the floor to hand over to his lawyer.

Just because he was curious, and his kid lived here part-time, he opened the fridge to make sure Steph had enough food. He snapped a photo of the dismal contents. No milk or eggs or cheese. Just a bunch of condiments, an open bottle of wine, two juice boxes, some sad salad greens that didn’t look edible, and half an apple that had been placed face-down on the dirty glass with no protective covering. The whole thing needed a good cleaning. And to be restocked.

He opened the pantry cupboard. A box lay on its side, oat cereal spilled everywhere. Who knew how long it had been there? The remaining contents were probably stale and inedible now. He spotted a couple

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