Paradise Lost (Private 9)

"Are you children planning on catching up anytime soon?" Mrs. Ryan called out, annoyed as always.

"Children?" Sawyer said under his breath as he fiddled with the broken birdhouse. "What are we, kindergartners?"

"Yes, Mother," Daniel called back, ignoring Sawyer's comment.

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He took the birdhouse out of Sawyer's hand with a pointed glare and placed it back where it had been.

Daniel's mother shook her head, as if she were fed up, and continued along toward the house. He chuckled fondly, like her behavior was somehow humorous, and walked along, cutting in front of me, Tiff, and the Hathaways.

"Is it just me or is there something weird about this family?" I whispered.

"Oh, it's definitely not you," Tiffany replied.

"They're out of one of those bad horror movies," Graham joked, putting his hands out in front of him like a screen. He adopted a deep narrator's voice. "On the surface, the Ryans seem like the perfect family, but beneath their shiny gilded veneer lies a deep, dark secret. . . ."

"What's the secret?" I asked, playing along.

"There isn't one," Sawyer said, shoving his brother. "He's just being a dork."

"God! Grow a funny bone, man. You don't always have to be so damn literal," Graham groused, shaking his head as he walked ahead of us.

Sawyer blushed and shrugged, embarrassed. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his black cargo shorts and rushed ahead to catch up. I looked at Tiff.

"Yeah. They're a weird family too," she said in an accepting way.

After the tour we rejoined the rest of the group. Upton slid his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him. I ignored the general

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glowers of the female population and hugged him back. Even Mrs. Ryan eyed us disapprovingly. I supposed I could add PDA to my list of crimes in her book. But the new Reed was not taking anything for granted. Especially not Upton. Especially not after what had happened that morning.

"Sienna's on the phone with Poppy's mother," Upton whispered, nodding toward Sienna, who had walked away from the group for more privacy.

My heart skipped a beat, wondering what was being said. Had Poppy been found? Maybe she was with her parents in Antigua. Please let it be something that simple. Everyone waited in relative silence until she finally flipped her phone closed and returned.

"Well, they're not worried," she said, sounding almost disappointed as she forced a smile. "They say she does this all the time-disappearing without notice."

"See? What did I tell you?" Upton said, looking at me. "Even her parents think she's fine."

"They're not even going to look for her?" Mrs. Ryan asked, her hand going to the ornate gold necklace at her throat. It looked almost too heavy to wear.

"It doesn't sound like it," Sienna said, tucking the phone into her clutch.

"What kind of parents are they?" Mrs. Ryan asked, looking at her husband.

"Calista," he scolded, putting his hand on her back.

"So, Jet Skis?" Paige suggested, stepping forward.

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"Yes, right." Daniel looked around and cleared his throat. "I think I have enough for everyone."

"He has fourteen Jet Skis?" Amberly asked.

"I'm a collector," Daniel replied with a sniff. "I buy at least three new models each year."