Ain't She Sweet (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #2) - Whitney Dineen Page 0,75

after the first article came out. I know she was getting stir crazy, but I thought she agreed to stay put so she could have some control over how the truth of her identity would be disclosed.

I turn to Syd Byerly and say, “She’s gone. She checked out.”

“Then I’ll just go over to her house.” He sounds as annoyed as I feel.

He doesn’t wait for me, he just bolts. I take my phone out of my pocket and send a text to Tara: Syd is on his way over to your house. Where are you? Why did you leave?

I wait two minutes for her to respond and when I still don’t hear from her, I dial her number and call her. It goes straight to voicemail.

The only thing to do is to follow Syd to Tara’s house. I take the stairs, reasoning that I might be able to beat him there if I speed through town. I need to protect Tara. While Syd is claiming he’s being a good guy by warning her of Romaine’s impending arrival, I still can’t help but distrust the guy.

The only problem is I can’t get through the crowd in the lobby. There must be ten different reporters along with their camera crews filling the space. I scan the area to see why they’re here and that’s when I see him. Romaine Choate, in the flesh.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Gwen

After putting the phone on speaker, Gwen dials Ruby’s number before pulling her car away from the curb. Tara said she didn’t need her to accompany her to the lodge, but her mothering instincts have kicked into overdrive.

“Hey, Gwen, what’s up?” Ruby asks.

“Tara checked out of the hotel and came home. She’s on her way back to tell everyone who she is.”

“She was supposed to stay in her room until after Thanksgiving.” Ruby sounds panicked.

“She said she was going nuts being cooped up and she didn’t see the point in waiting. Now that the articles in the Tattler are coming out, I guess she wanted to face the music ahead of time.”

“Gwen,” Ruby starts to say before releasing an agonizing groan. “Romaine Choate is checking into the hotel today.”

“What? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was going to, but I was waiting until the kids were done with their interviews. I didn’t want to distract them with bad news.”

Gwen’s foot automatically pushes down on the accelerator. “I’m on my way right now. Try to find Tara and warn her if you can.”

“I’ll head straight to the kitchen,” Ruby tells her. “Hurry up, Gwen. I’m afraid I may have made a mess of everything.”

Tara

It feels great walking around the hotel again. I consider calling my mom and having her meet me here for dinner. We haven’t spent nearly the amount of time together we should have with her staying at my place and me hiding out at the lodge.

I head toward the great room figuring I can call her from there and enjoy a glass of wine while I wait for her. The only problem is, I can’t get to the great room. There’s a crush of people blocking the way. I look closer and realize they’re not just people, they’re reporters. What in the fresh hell? How have they found me already? Rachel’s first article about us doesn’t come out until tomorrow.

Yet no one appears to be looking for me, they’re focused on someone else. I can’t see who because whoever it is, is surrounded by reporters. That’s when I spot James. I know when he sees me because he starts to make wild hand gestures for me to back up.

I turn around and hurry down the hallway leading to the ballroom and sneak into the public restroom when my phone pings.

James: Meet me in my truck behind the lodge. Hurry!

Running through the hallways like my pants are on fire, I don’t stop to turn around to see if I’m being pursued. Once I hit the parking lot, I jump into the cab of James’s pickup and keep my head down so no one can see me. Moments later, I peek over the dashboard and spot James jogging across the parking lot.

He opens the door and announces, “You are not going to believe what’s happening.”

I wait a beat for him to continue. When he’s not fast enough, I demand, “What’s happening?”

“Romaine is checking in to the lodge.”

“Not this lodge?” How can that be?

“Syd Byerly told me. We were on our way to find you when we saw the media circus