A Hippogriff for Christmas - Zoe Chant Page 0,8
Annie took a deep breath. What had Scott been planning to do when Mr. Dearborn had looked over the week’s takings and found it short by several hundred dollars? Her mind flashed to Danny, and what had happened to him – what Scott had accused him of doing.
“I guess he wouldn’t,” she said, putting the box of cookies down. “But all the same, I think I’d feel more comfortable if I just called and asked him, just to make sure.”
She turned, reaching for the phone on the counter – before Scott’s hand came down over the receiver.
“Are you saying I’m lying?” he asked, his voice now tinged with menace. “You really want to call my dad – my dad – and accuse me of lying to him?”
“I’m not accusing you,” Annie said quietly, fear fluttering in her chest. Ruthlessly, she swallowed it down. She’d always dealt with hostility and conflict by getting quieter and more withdrawn. She could hear the tremble in her own voice, and she hated it.
“Then what’s the problem?” Scott asked, with a short, barked laugh. “If you’re not accusing me of lying, then no biggie, let’s all just move on with our lives.”
Annie took a deep breath, steeling her nerve. She wasn’t good with confrontation – at all. She especially wasn’t good with standing up to authority figures, which Scott, technically, was.
But she knew this wasn’t right. And she wasn’t about to let Scott prance out of here with everything the bakery had earned this morning, to tell who knew what story to his father later.
“Scott,” she said, hoping her voice sounded firm. “I said I’d prefer it if you didn’t do that.”
“And I said it’s none of your business,” Scott shot back. He paused, lip curling. “Or do you want me to tell my dad you’re making trouble?”
Annie shook her head. “I’m not the one making trouble.” She swallowed down her fear, and forced herself to look him in the eye. “You can’t take the money, unless I call your dad and get his okay first.”
A surprised expression crossed Scott’s face, before he snorted out a laugh. “Oh, please. Run along home, Annie. It’s my money, and I’m taking it. Like I said, this has absolutely nothing to do with you.”
Screwing up all her courage, Annie reached across and put her hand down on his where it was rifling through the cash drawer again, plucking up notes. Scott looked at her, eyes furious.
She pulled in a deep breath, willing herself not to falter.
“And like I said, no, you’re not.”
Chapter 3
Driving through the snow, Beau glanced down at the clock on his dashboard. It was barely lunchtime, but he’d been on the road since four, and he could feel – not to mention hear – his stomach beginning to growl. He’d have to find somewhere to stop.
Not to mention, Beau thought, as his hippogriff gave a mighty kick of its horse’s back legs within him, spreading its wings, I have to find a way to keep this guy quiet for the next few hours.
The farther they had gotten from the city, the more restless his hippogriff had become. Now that they were almost in the mountains and the towns were small and far between, it was becoming more and more wild.
No one would pay us any mind here, it insisted. We should leave this metal thing and fly free.
You know it’s called a car, and no, Beau shot back at it. Time is of the essence, here. You wanted to be home, so I’m taking us there the fastest way I can. Besides which, do you understand the meaning of the word ‘loan’? Because I haven’t finished paying the loan for this car, so like hell I’m leaving it on the side of the road so you can go have a frolic.
His hippogriff twitched its tail and turned away sulkily at that, and Beau had to admit he did feel kind of bad for it. It had been a while since it’d had the chance to be truly free, to spend time in the kind of wilderness they were heading out to now.
His hometown of Willow Grove could barely even be called a town – it was more of a loose collection of houses scattered across the county, all surrounded by several acres of woodland. It was perfect for his family to shift and wander around in, letting their hippogriffs run as wild as they wanted to without fear of discovery.
All right – but we will