Page 3 of Tangled in Temptation

She was clearly going to ignore my question. “How did you get here?”

I hoped like hell Timothy wasn’t lurking somewhere out there.

“I rode my bike.”

”What possessed you to ride your bike in this weather?”

She grinned, as if her daring adventure amused her. “I needed to get here, and I didn’t want to wait for the rain to stop.”

I handed her another towel. “Does Timothy know you’re here?”

Paisley shook her head, water droplets scattering around her. “Nope, he’s not even in town. I’m stuck up there with some of the maids and my mom.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “But why are you here?” I asked again.

“Because I didn’t want to be there. It’s just like it always is. I had to get away.”

“Paisley, she’s your mom. You can’t just run away. I’ll take you home.”

“No!”

“Paisley,” I said and took a deep breath. “Your mom is going to be worried about you, and quite frankly, I would rather not have her come to my house to pick you up. And I don’t want her to think I encouraged you to run off in the middle of a downpour.”

“She’s trying to convince me to go back to boarding school,” she complained. “I don’t want to go. My dad said he asked her if I could stay with him. Now she’s trying to make me go back.”

I sighed, realizing the complications this situation could bring. “Paisley, this is not a good idea. We can’t have you staying here. It’ll only get us both in trouble. Your parents, they, well, they’re your parents.”

But Paisley, being Paisley, made herself right at home. She looked around the house, nodding slowly. “This place is cute. I like it. It’s old, huh?”

“Yes it is,” I replied.

She sat down in the old chair in the living room. “You’re going to restore it.”

She was trying to stall, like she could make me forget she had run away from her parents. I hated kicking her out, but this was just never going to work. I didn’t want to get dragged into the middle of Timothy’s not-marriage any more than I already was. I was the one that was going to get hurt. I didn’t want to deal with Regina. I had a feeling she would have an opinion about her daughter hiding out at my house.

“Paisley, seriously, I can’t cover for you. What if someone finds out you’re here?”

She flashed a mischievous grin. “Don’t worry. I can be stealthy when I want to be.”

I rolled my eyes, not amused by her audacity. “Paisley, this is serious. You need to go back home. I can drive you.”

She crossed her arms, her expression defiant. “No way. I’m not going back to that boarding school, and I’m definitely not facing my mom right now. I’m staying here.”

Arguing with a teenage girl was not something I had anticipated for the evening. I sat down, trying to reason with her. “Paisley, listen. You can’t just run away from your problems. You have to face them.”

She pouted, sinking into the couch. “I hate it there, Catherine. I can’t go back.”

I sighed, realizing the complexity of her situation. “Look, I can’t let you stay here.”

Paisley glared at me, but I stood my ground. “Please, just for a little bit. I can’t breathe when I’m there. She ruined that house.”

“Ruined it?” I asked with horror.

“The vibe,” Paisley said. “It’s so stressful now. She complains about everything. She freaked out when she saw the mural. I just, please, Catherine. Just for a little bit.”

The teenage years sucked. I knew that. “Fine, for a little bit. Let me find you some dry clothes and I’ll toss yours in the dryer. You’re lucky you didn’t crash on your bike in this storm. As soon as this weather lets up and your clothes are dry, I’m driving you home.”

She grinned, accepting the compromise. “Thank you.”