Flipping the Bird (Shift Creek #1) - Carrie Pulkinen Page 0,46
boss. She can’t even come up with a decent excuse. Like you’d ever put a priceless artifact in the garbage.”
He closed his fist around the pendant, his eyes tightening with mistrust. “How much did you hear that night?”
The accusation in his voice ruffled her feathers. Aside from eavesdropping—and lying about being there—she’d done absolutely nothing wrong. “Not much. You were looking for something you’d lost. That’s all.”
“And you didn’t consider the thing I’d lost might have been this?” He held up the amulet.
“It was in the trash. I literally took it from the garbage can that had been set out on the side of the road for the trash collectors to pick up and take to the dump.”
“Don’t believe her,” Marty said. “She must’ve snuck in when we weren’t looking and taken it right from the satchel.”
Donovan’s nostrils flared. “You were wearing this the first time I came into your shop, weren’t you? This is how you turned me into a bird.”
“Yes.” She crossed her arms. “Donovan, you have to believe me. I’m sorry I lied about being at your house, but I would never steal. I only ever take things that people have discarded. Since it was in the trash, I thought you didn’t want it.”
He shook his head. “You’ve had it all this time. You’ve been hiding it from me.”
All right, that she could admit to. She had been hiding it, but who could blame her? “I was embarrassed, okay? I got it out of your garbage, and I didn’t want you to judge me for dumpster diving.”
“I know how you get your art supplies, Alice.” His voice was sharp, his teeth clenched.
“I know. And I’m not embarrassed anymore. I was going to tell you about it tomorrow. I thought we’d have a good laugh about how silly it is to hide things from each other, and everything would be okay.”
He inhaled deeply, his head shaking as he lifted his arms and dropped them at his sides. “Everything is not okay. You deceived me.”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.” He moved toward the door.
“Donovan, wait.” She reached for him, but he turned and headed down the stairs.
“I won’t discuss this now.” He opened the front door.
She stopped halfway down the steps. “If not now, when?”
He paused and turned to her, the pain in his eyes palpable. “I don’t know.”
“Later, gator.” Marty snickered as Donovan closed the door behind him.
Alice stood there, her mouth hanging open as a car door slammed and the engine purred to life. Did he just…? What the…?
“Freaking farting mongoose!” The man she loved just called her a liar and thief. How could he possibly accuse her of stealing after everything they’d shared?
Wait… The man she…?
Fan-friggin-tastic. She was in love with Donovan.
Chapter Fourteen
“I can’t believe she had the amulet the entire time.” Donovan’s heart was breaking as he strode down to the creek with Marty perched on his shoulder. Three days had passed since he’d learned the truth about Alice, but he still couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “Even you were certain she didn’t have it.”
“I was wrong, but we caught the crow red-beaked, boss. Believe it.”
He couldn’t. He didn’t want to. “Why, Marty? Why would she steal it from me?” A hollow ache expanded in his chest, threatening to swallow him whole. “I trusted her.” And trust wasn’t something he gave easily.
He’d spent his entire life watching his back, trying in vain to prove his worth, to show his father he was worthy of the Rainecourt legacy. But the legacy had been a lie.
This town, this creek was his legacy, yet he’d come with the intent of taking magic his family was meant to nurture. Lifting the amulet with a trembling hand, he watched it glint in the sunlight. In his effort to prove himself to a dead man, he’d turned out just like his father. Self-serving and insolent.
Donovan was no better than a common thief. Who was he to judge Alice?
“You’re better off without her,” Marty said.
He kneeled on the edge of the bank. “I love her.”
“You do?” Marty jumped to the ground beside him.
“I thought I did.” He squeezed his eyes shut and sat back on his heels. “I do. It simply doesn’t make sense for her to steal it and then lie about the theft when she had it in her possession.”
“Those crows can be tricky. Don’t forget she crapped on my head too.”
His lips twitched. “If I recall, you were trying to have her for dinner.”
“So?”
“Perhaps the bomb was well-deserved.” He smiled