Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 336

Mogan sent someone out to grab a kid’s meal—extra ice in the soda, just as he’d asked.

Ruby tore into the meal with the kind of hunger only a child can muster.

Ten minutes later, the burger and fries were gone without a trace, but she still looked like she could eat more.

Mogan cleared his throat. “Anything else you want?”

Ruby licked her lips. “Apple turnovers.”

“You like apple turnovers?”

Ruby tilted her head. “Do you like them too, Uncle?”

“A friend of mine does.”

Ruby nodded. “My mom loves apple turnovers, so I do too.”

At the mention of Amelia, Mogan’s friendly expression faltered. “So you picked it up from her, huh?”

Ruby shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with liking what you like. You don’t have to copy someone else.”

“Some people pretend to like things for their own reasons, even if they don’t.”

The idea seemed to go over Ruby’s head. She frowned, thinking hard. “Uncle, do you know someone like that?”

Mogan looked at her bright, clear eyes and couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh.

He reached out and ruffled her hair. “If you want apple turnovers, I’ll take you to get some.”

…

Daniel had never seen Amelia like this—panicked and desperate, barely managing to hold herself together.

He’d sent every man he had to scour the city for any trace of Ruby. Finally, they tracked a stolen car to the edge of a wooded hill outside town.

“Calm down. It could be news about Ruby.”

He was half comforting, half grasping at straws—no one really expected to hear from a girl who’d vanished without a trace. But then, through the receiver, came a clear, sweet voice.

“Mommy!”

Amelia froze. It was as if someone had sliced open the darkness, letting in a shaft of light.

The whole city had been turned upside down—police and private eyes combing every street and alley, everyone searching for a little girl named Ruby.

No one could have guessed she’d turn up safe and sound in a bustling bakery downtown, eating apple turnovers.

It was like preparing for all-out war, only for your opponent to squirt you with a plastic water gun.

Amelia stared through the bakery window, unable to believe her eyes. As if sensing her mother’s gaze, Ruby looked up. In that instant, tears streamed down Amelia’s face.

The bakery was old, a little run-down, with no tables for customers—just a counter for takeout. The kindly owner, charmed by Ruby’s sweetness, had set up a small wooden table beside the register especially for her, so she could eat her apple turnovers while waiting for her mom.