Not Her Name
Chapter 02 - Not Her Name
Boone Carter, Mason’s best friend, saw the white van at the same time.
Boone was sixty, bow-legged, and allergic to minding his own business. He stepped into the van’s path with two other riders beside him.
The driver braked.
The woman in the peach dress tightened her grip on Lily.
“She’s overwhelmed,” she said, smiling at the crowd. “She gets like this in loud places.”
Lily shook her head.
Dolly Mercer, a retired 911 dispatcher who ran the raffle table, walked over with a roll of tickets still in one hand.
“Honey,” Dolly said, “a child just handed a rescue note to a stranger. We’re done pretending this is a mood.”
The woman’s eyes flashed.
“My daughter has behavioral issues.”
Lily lifted her chin.
“I’m not your daughter.”
A murmur moved through the crowd.
Before Mason could ask another question, a man in a navy suit pushed through the people near the VIP tent.
Preston Vail.
Mason knew his face from the charity posters. Attorney. Donor. Speaker. Local hero, if you believed banners.
Preston carried a leather folder and a smile that looked rehearsed.
“This is a family matter,” he said. “The child belongs with me.”
Lily shrank behind Mason.
Preston opened the folder and showed a court order.
Emergency temporary guardianship.
Child: Mia Lily Vail.
Guardian: Preston Vail.
Mother: Rachel Lawson, pending psychological evaluation.
Lily’s voice shook.
“That paper lies.”
Preston sighed like a tired parent.
“My niece has been manipulated by her unstable mother.”
“Your niece?” Mason asked.
Preston’s smile thinned.
“Legally, my daughter. By blood, my niece. It is complicated.”
Then, from the old animal barn behind the food trucks, a woman screamed.
“Lily!”
The girl bolted toward the sound.
The woman in peach tried to grab her, but Mason blocked her hand.
Dolly looked at Preston.
“Well,” she said, “looks like complicated just got louder.”
May you like
Preston’s eyes went cold.
Behind them, the white van door slid open.
