FIFTY-FOUR

Wedding Canceled?

A hard slap on her ass jerked Lolita awake. Her heart flew out of her chest; for a moment she thought Jarrod was surely back to punish her for her sins. She jumped out of bed and pushed her hair out of her eyes, smoothed her nightdress and rubbed her neck.

“You look so guilty,” Samantha said. “What did you do this time around?”

She heaved a breath she didn’t know she was holding when she saw it was Samantha. “Oh, it’s just you.”

“Yeah, it’s just me. Who were you expecting?”

“He’s not back?”

“Who’s not back?”

“Did you see Jarrod when you came in?”

“Lolita, the door was wide open when I came in. Have you seen your house? You have dust and leaves all over from outside. Were you robbed or something?” She looked around. “It doesn’t look like anything was taken, though.”

Depressed, Lolita sat on the bed and hunched her shoulders. “He didn’t come back last night.”

“Who, Jarrod?”

“Yes. He saw me with his brother.” Her eyes shimmered with tears. “I was holding Hayden then. I