11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
I t was unnerving.
And that was putting it mildly.
Belle couldn’t believe that someone had broken into her house, not just once but twice. Who does that? At least now she knew why they wanted her at the Christmas party. They wanted her out of the house so they could what? Search it? But for what?
Even though she’d been at the hospital for a few hours while they checked out Parker, she still felt rattled.
The good news was they released Parker, but she wasn’t sure if that was due to his condition or the fact that he told them point blank that he wasn’t staying.
And nothing she said would sway him to stay a little longer.
And so it was after midnight when she drove him back to her place.
From what Belle could gather from overhearing Parker’s phone conversations, the deputies were still there, processing the scene.
It sounded like this break-in had been a lot more aggressive.
To her, that meant there would be more damage. She dreaded seeing her home damaged.
Every time this person broke into her home, she felt as though she’d been exposed. They’d barged right into her living room, her bedroom, and nosed through her personal things. Just the thought sent a sense of revulsion through her.
In addition, with each home invasion, her sense of security eroded. Would she ever feel safe in her home again? She didn’t know.
But the worst was that they took her puppy. They had dangled the hope of getting Odie back to get her out of the house. And in the end, it was all a lie. Who does that?
The one positive thing that had come from this experience was that it brought her and Parker closer together. She honestly didn’t think that was possible. He was no longer the sheriff who was lying in wait to pull her over and ticket her.
Instead, he was actually a nice guy who perhaps clung to the rules and laws a little too tightly. But she supposed that everyone had their faults.
Of course, she knew this was all temporary. Come Monday, he’d go back to keeping the streets of Kringle Falls safe. And then she’d be home alone. She wondered if the person who broke in would come back. The thought sent a chill down her spine.
Was it possible that Parker would stay with her until the suspect was caught? Then she realized that wasn’t possible. He had to get back to work. He’d already gone out of his way for her.
She paused to give the circumstances of their new relationship some thought.
What would you call it? Friends? No. That didn’t seem quite right.
Frenemies? No. Because Parker was doing everything he could to help her.
She didn’t think he was faking his kind gestures and friendliness. So, where did that leave them?
She didn’t know. She supposed they were still a work in progress. Yes. That sounded right. But where would they end up? As friends? She refused to even consider that they could aspire to something more.
She slowed down and turned into her driveway.
There was only one police vehicle in the driveway.
She was sure that the other deputy was back patrolling the streets of Kringle Falls.
After all, she’d been taking up a lot of their time.
Not that it was her fault. There was some horrible criminal who was trying to ruin her life.
Belle pulled the car to a stop and turned off the engine. She turned to Parker. “You heard what the doctor said. You need to rest. You just had twelve stitches put in your head.”
“I’m fine.” He opened the car door. “I have work to do.”
Before she could say more, he was already in the driveway. She rushed to catch up to him. In her hurry, she slipped. She went down, landing on her backside with an ompf.
Parker turned and rushed over to her. He held out his hands to her and pulled her upright. “Are you all right?”
His pull was more than she’d been anticipating.
She was propelled toward him. She put out her hands, which landed on his muscled chest. If she were to tilt her chin upward, and he were to look down at her, they would be in the perfect position to share a kiss.
The thought sent her heart pitter-pattering.
She wondered what it’d be like to be kissed by him. Would it be quick and sweet? Or would it be slow and passionate?
The direction of her thoughts caused her to promptly lower her arms. “Sorry about that.”
He looked down at her dress shoes. “Maybe some boots would be better.”
Oh sure. Snow boots would have looked awesome with her outfit for the Christmas party. She resisted rolling her eyes. Instead of arguing with him, she turned and headed toward the house. It looked like all of the lights were on both upstairs and downstairs.
Surely, they had to be done collecting evidence by then. Right? All she wanted to do was go to bed and forget about the way this evening had ended. Instead of things getting better, they only seemed to get worse. Now Parker was injured. What else could go wrong?
They entered the house and closed the door when his phone rang. She paused and looked at him, hoping there was a big break in the case. He glanced at the screen and then called upstairs. “Deputy Stark, we’re back.”
Immediately, his phone stopped ringing, and there were footsteps on the stairs. Paula’s eyes widened when she saw Parker. “Boss, you’re gonna have a shiner.”
He nodded as he pressed his hands to his sides. “Why did you just call me?”
Paula blinked, as though she were gathering her thoughts. “We have full prints this time. Just a couple but they’re really good.”
“Nice work. Have Williams run them, and hopefully, we’ll get a hit.”
“Already working on it. So far nothing has popped.”
He jutted out his chin. “You almost done here?”
Paula nodded. “Uh. Yeah. I just have to finish the bedroom. It’s taken me some time to do the whole house on my own.”
Belle couldn’t imagine what that must entail. It’d been hours since they left the party, and Paula had been working the house for most of that time.
At this point, Belle felt as though she were going to drop from exhaustion.
And then she recalled the doctor saying that Parker had a concussion.
Thoughts of curling up in her comfy bed fled from her mind.
Her gaze strayed to the over-stuffed armchair in the living room.
It looked like that was where she’d be spending her night or what was left of it.
But as she turned, she caught sight of the Christmas tree tipped over. She gasped. The ornaments that had been handed down to her were scattered across the floor. Most of them were shattered.
Tears burned the back of her eyes. How could this have happened? And then she recalled the intruder throwing a book from the nearby end table. He must have knocked the tree over before busting out the window, which was now covered by plywood to block out the cold air.
Paula retreated upstairs. The next thing she knew, she felt Parker come up behind her. His hands came to rest on her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry.” His words were soft, but they burrowed deep into her heart.
She wanted to say something to him, but it was taking everything she could do to hold her emotions in. She knew some old ornaments shouldn’t mean that much to her, but after losing her family, they felt like her last tangible link to her past.
It was her fault. She shouldn’t have put them on the tree. But her mother firmly believed that they didn’t belong in a box. They were to be put out and enjoyed.
Parker prompted her to turn around. When his gaze met hers, she saw sympathy in his brown eyes.
He pulled her to him. She didn’t fight him.
The warmth of his hug was like a balm on her broken heart.
She reached out and wrapped her arms around him.
Her head rested against his chest. She didn’t know why she did it. It just felt right in the moment.
She didn’t know how long they stood there like that.
Her gaze kept taking in the sight. She eagerly sought out any ornaments that could be salvaged.
There weren’t many, mostly the ones that were still on the tree.
Any that landed on the floor were broken, and some were smashed to the point of being unrecognizable.
Once she gathered her emotions, she reluctantly pulled away from his embrace.
She looked down at the mess. The next thing she knew, she was kneeling down.
She started to pick up the pieces of her past—of her heritage.
When Parker brought her a box to put the broken pieces in, she knew they’d eventually make it to the garbage, but this was better than a trash bag.
As she worked, a drop landed on the back of her hand. She raised her hand and felt her cheeks, which were damp with tears. She swiped them away. She wouldn’t fall apart again.
The next thing she knew Parker knelt down next to her. He sat back on his heels. “Would it be okay if I helped you?”
His words touched her. No man had ever been so kind to her. Emotions clogged her throat.
In a soft voice, he said, “Belle?”
She couldn’t look at him. He would see that she was on the verge of breaking down again. Instead, she nodded and put the box between them.
She didn’t know how long they worked quietly together.
Paula finished up her work somewhere along the way.
Parker excused himself and walked the deputy outside.
Belle assumed he wanted to talk more about the case, but he didn’t want Belle to overhear.
And to be honest, she couldn’t deal with any more that evening.
After all, it was now the middle of the night.
She should go to sleep, but she couldn’t, not until she took care of the ornaments.
Parker wasn’t gone long. When he stepped up next to her, she thought he would insist that she call it a night, but he didn’t. Instead, he quietly settled on the floor next to her and piece by piece they placed the broken ornaments in the box.