“Good grief!” Hannah gasped, hardly believing her eyes. She’d never seen anyone move that fast. It was obvious that the girl had been prepared for rude awakenings. She’d slept in her clothes and she must have hidden her other belongings in the bottom of her sleeping bag. All that was left to prove she’d been there in the first place was a bare spot on the floor where she’d moved a table and two chairs so she could stretch out.

“Let me go! Come on, Mister! Please? I wasn’t hurting anything, really I wasn’t!”

Hannah hurried to the door to help Norman, who’d caught the fleeing runaway as she’d rushed out into the night. “It’s okay, Candy. We didn’t call the police and we’re not going to. You’ve got my permission to stay here for the night.”

“I do?” Candy still looked frightened, but her struggles diminished noticeably. She gave another twist to try to get away from Norman’s grasp, but it was clear her heart wasn’t in it.

“How about some hot chocolate?” Hannah suggested, motioning for Norman to escort her to the kitchen. “You don’t want to catch a cold, dashing outside like that without your coat.”

Candy gave a little nod. “That would be great, but being outside in the cold doesn’t give you a cold. My dad said that when people tell you that, it’s just an old wives’ tale.”

“But I’m not married and I’m not that old,” Hannah shot back, and she was gratified when Candy laughed. For someone who’d been jolted out of sleep by a stranger and had fled into the bitterly cold night with all her belongings, she had managed to maintain her sense of humor. “Is your dad a doctor?”

“My dad was a vet. He’s dead now. You’re sure you didn’t call the cops on me?”

“Of course I didn’t. This is a small town. If I’d called them, they’d be here by now.”

Candy turned to Norman. “How about you? Did you call them?”

“Not me. My cell phone’s still in the car.” Norman glanced down at Candy’s feet. “Isn’t it hard to climb into a sleeping bag when you’re wearing tennis shoes?”

“Not if you unzip it all the way. Getting out is the hard part. The soles stick to the lining of the bag and you have to keep tugging it down.”

“Maybe you should think about wearing two pairs of socks. Then your feet would be warm and you wouldn’t have to bother with shoes.”

Candy shook her head. “I don’t do it to keep my feet warm. I have to be prepared in case I need to run.”

Hannah stood at the stovetop, stirring the hot chocolate and listening to Norman and Candy. He’d only been talking to her for a few moments, but already she seemed comfortable with him.

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Norman told her. “Hannah’s going to let you stay.”

“Why would she do that?”

Hannah jumped in, right on cue. Norman had given her the perfect opening for the plan she’d been hatching. “Because I could use some help around here. Have you ever worked as a waitress?”