there was no Daniel Allen.
He was the biggest lie of all.
Daniel Allen was an idea that Elaina had concocted to explain why she’d moved to the sleepy Texas town of Crystal Creek. An MIA husband. A grieving heart. The desire to start a new life while keeping hope that her husband might be alive and that he might return someday.
Elaine had purposely kept the personal details sketchy, because details could be examined too closely. So, she’d had no picture of her fake husband in case someone compared his looks to her son’s. Instead, she’d told everyone that all her photos had been destroyed in a house fire.
The façade had kept some nosey questions from being asked, had given her space and privacy and it had allowed her and her baby, Christopher, to be accepted in a town where newcomers were often treated as outsiders.
That acceptance wouldn’t continue once the townsfolk had learned that she was a liar. And this man, this imposter claiming to be Daniel Allen, would expose her.
But why?
Better yet—who was this imposter, and what the heck did he want?
Unfortunately, an answer immediately came to mind. A really bad answer. He might be linked to her late fiancé—the slimy, cheating con man who’d nearly gotten Christopher and Elaina killed.
“Well, don’t just sit there,” Carrie insisted. She latched on to Elaina’s arm to lift her from the chair. “You haven’t seen Daniel in over a year. Comb your hair. Put on some makeup. You have to do something to get ready for him.”
The full impact of that hit her like a heavyweight’s fist. Elaina got to her feet somehow. She had to do something all right.
She had to get out of there.
Fast.
She’d have to pick up Christopher from the sitter and drive out of town. There probably wouldn’t be time to pack or stop for cash. She’d literally have to leave everything behind.
However, before she could even shake off Carrie’s grip, Elaina heard the cheerful jingle of the brass and crystal bells that she’d installed over the front door of her shop. It caused her pulse to pound out of control.
Because it no doubt signaled her fake husband’s arrival.
This was her own personal version of judgment day.
“Since you don’t seem too steady on your feet, I’ll bring him in here,” Carrie volunteered.
“No!” Elaina caught on to her as she turned to leave.
What remained of Carrie’s gleeful expression melted away. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Elaina assured her. Yet another lie. “I just need a minute to compose myself. I thought he was dead.” Elaina didn’t have to fake an overwhelmed expression. She was sure it was there all over her overwhelmed face.
“I’ll be right there,” Carrie called out to their visitor. It was something she would have done for any ordinary customer, but this time there was excitement and anticipation in her voice.
Elaina nodded her thanks for the brief reprieve, and she went to the door that separated her office from the stained-glass shop. With Carrie right behind her, she opened the door just a fraction and peeked out.
His back was to her, and he appeared to be examining a Victorian window panel that Elaina had restored just days earlier.
Whoever he was, he was tall. Six-three at least. Not lanky, either. Solid and formidable. He wore jeans and a brown leather bomber jacket that was nearly the same color as his short, efficiently cut hair.
He turned to the side, and Elaina got a good look of him in profile. That good look was more than enough for her to realize that he was a complete stranger. If he was somehow connected to her late fiancé, Kevin, then she’d never seen him before.
That didn’t mean she was safe.
She still had to leave with Christopher and find a new hiding place. Because if this man had found her, they could find her.
Elaina blinked back the hot tears that instantly sprang into her eyes, and she silently cursed. Kevin had been dead for over a year, and he was still casting shadows over her life.
“Well?” Carrie prompted in an anxious whisper when Elaina shut the door. “Daniel’s here. Aren’t you going to run out there, jump into his arms and haul him off to bed?”
Not a chance. The only thing Elaina planned to do was avoid him. “I need you to do me a favor, Carrie. Stall him.”
Carrie shook her head. “W-hat? This is the extremely hot husband that you haven’t seen in months and months, and you want me to stall him?”
Good point. The next lie came easily. “I need some time to make myself look presentable. I don’t want him to see me with pie filling all over me and without a stitch of makeup. I’ll only be a minute.”
Carrie nodded, eventually, but judging from her bunched up forehead, she didn’t understand.
How could she?
And better yet, how would Christopher?
If she remembered the truth by then.
Her son was barely three months past his first birthday. He wouldn’t know why his mommy was dragging him away from the only home, bed and toys he’d ever known. One day, she’d have to tell him the truth.
Elaina had lived with the lies for so long that she had to wonder what exactly the truth was. Unfortunately, she might never know.
“Don’t keep Daniel waiting too long,” Carrie insisted. “And by the way—he is hot, just like I figured he’d be.” She gave Elaina a wink and then headed back into the shop.
Elaina didn’t waste a second. She locked the door behind Carrie and grabbed her purse from beneath her desk. She also took the picture of her son from the top of the filing cabinet. It was her favorite, taken on his first birthday. She stuffed it in her purse, and while she fumbled around the bottom of the shoulder bag for her car keys, she headed to the back exit that led directly to the parking lot.
She estimated that it would take her ten minutes to get to Christopher. She’d call on the way to tell Theresa, the sitter, that Christopher had an appointment with the pediatrician in nearby Luling. An appointment that had slipped her mind until the last minute. Though it would be a first for her to forget something like that, she hoped it’d be a believable lie. She didn’t have time for questions.
Elaina located her keys and threw open the exit door. She heard someone trying to get into her office. Carrie maybe. Or maybe the imposter. Elaina ignored the frantic knocks and raced out of the shop.
The winter air was a little more brisk than she’d figured, and a chilly gust temporarily robbed her of her breath. Goose
