Summer of Love - Carly Phillips Page 0,49

not to call, and it was obvious something was going on. She thinks I’m in the ladies’ room now.”

“Keep her there for me. I’ll be right over. And thank you so much for calling.”

Zoe exhaled a huge breath of air.

“Well?” Ryan stood towering over her.

“She’s at the spa and please don’t ask why we didn’t realize it before now. I don’t have time to explain.”

“Thank God,” he muttered. “Thank God.”

She wanted to hug him and join in his relief, but she had to stay focused on Sam. Zoe grabbed a pad and jotted down a bunch of cell-phone numbers. “Please call my parents, Quinn and Ari, and Connor, with the news.” She handed the pad to Ryan.

“Sure thing.”

“I’m going next door to get her. And Ryan?”

“Yes?” He gazed at her with those gorgeous brown eyes.

Zoe paused, knowing her next words would sound cruel. She truly wasn’t looking to hurt Ryan; she just wanted to look out for Sam. “Could you…could you not be here when we get back? I promise to call you this afternoon. Just let me get Sam here and talk—”

“No.”

Zoe blinked. “Excuse me?” She thought he’d be understanding. Reasonable.

“No, I won’t disappear. We’ll all deal with Sam together, your family and mine,” he said, his gaze encompassing both Zoe and his uncle.

She could see from his clenched jaw that he wouldn’t budge on this issue. Apparently, she didn’t know Ryan as well as she’d thought.

In the spa, Zoe found Sam having a grand old time. She sat with her bare feet in a pedicure tub full of bubbling water. Her nails had been freshly done. She had a mud pack spread across her face, and she was currently applying the same salve to Ima Pig’s skin. When she finished, she lifted the animal’s hooves and held them under the dryer along with her own nails.

Zoe stepped closer. Sure enough, Ima’s nails, or whatever they were called on a pig, had a bold red color that matched Sam’s.

Zoe cleared her throat.

Sam glanced up, saw Zoe and jumped. Her nails hit the fans. She put Ima on the floor, then glanced at her hands and frowned. “You made me mess my manicure.”

“I’m going to mess more than that. Do you realize that everyone in the family is out looking for you? Connor checked all the hospital emergency rooms. Mom and Dad and Ari and Quinn are driving all over creation, knocking on your friends’ doors, and you’re here having a pampering session!” Zoe yelled, not caring about disturbing other customers.

Sam glanced down, obviously duly chastised. Then without warning, she threw herself at Zoe, sobbing like crazy. “I’m sorry. I was going to run away. I was. And then when I got down the tree by my window, I saw that guy.”

Zoe’s nerves went on alert. “What guy?”

“The guy that was in my room the other day. He was lurking in the shadows by the house. Right beneath my window,” she said, eyes wide.

Theatrics aside, Sam had obviously been spooked.

“Are you sure he was the same person?” Zoe asked, then shivered. Because if Sam was right, they’d been searching for someone with a beef against her parents, but maybe someone wanted something from Sam.

“I’m sure. He had dark hair like the guy who was in the kitchen that morning, ugly face with big teeth and everything. I got scared, and I hid behind the tree. Even if I wanted to go back, I couldn’t. I’m good, but not even I could climb back up that tree as easily as I got down. And I didn’t want him to see me and end up following me. I could end up like someone on those Without a Trace or CSI shows, you know?”

“Heaven forbid!” Zoe said.

“Well, there was no place for me to go even if I changed my mind. The alarm was set, and I’d forgotten my key, and I couldn’t just ring the doorbell and tell you all I was going to run away again, so I just hid, praying that man wouldn’t see me,” she said, her voice rising.

“Slow down, okay?”

“Okay.” Sam sniffed and drew a deep breath. “When I looked out from around the tree again, I didn’t see him there. So I started to walk, sticking close to the house, and then I saw Francesca opening up the spa, and I thought, safety in numbers.”

“So you told her you wanted a manicure.”

Sam nodded. “Besides I didn’t want to leave you guys. I really didn’t. So I thought