14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
W hat was she doing?
Parker couldn’t believe his mother was blatantly playing matchmaker. She knew he didn’t go caroling, and yet she’d gone around him and included Belle. He couldn’t let Belle go walking around town without protection.
Even though he didn’t know who had broken into her house, he knew the person was becoming unhinged. The level of anger needed to do the damage inside her house was off the charts.
The suspect was taking chances. It wouldn’t be out of bounds to think they might try to grab Belle as a way of getting her to reveal the whereabouts of whatever it was they were searching for.
The good news was that they had the suspect’s DNA from the blood on the broken glass and his fingerprints. When they caught the person, they would have a solid link between the suspect and the crime. And it didn’t hurt that he’d assaulted a law enforcement officer.
Since Parker had a responsibility to keep Belle safe, he was now seated at his mother’s dining room table along with Michael, Candi, his parents and Belle.
They’d just finished having soup and fresh-baked bread.
It’d been a while since he’d had his mother’s home-baked bread, so he’d had an extra slice.
“I love all of your decorations,” Belle said to his mother.
“Thank you. I’ve been collecting them for years. Sometimes, I think I have too many. And then I find a new decoration, and I can’t resist it.”
The family groaned, including him. His mother had a problem with Christmas decorations.
There wasn’t a room in the house that hadn’t been decorated, including both of the bathrooms. His parents’ Victorian-style home had electric candles in each of the windows.
Even a pine tree in the yard had twinkle lights.
And there was a giant snowman in the front yard.
“It’s time to go meet the group at Kringle Park for the caroling.” His mother beamed.
Everyone stood and filled their hands with dishes to carry to the kitchen. There wasn’t much talk as everyone rushed to clean up before they left.
At one point, he leaned over to Belle. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She turned her head to look at him, and then she whispered. “I take it you don’t want to.”
What was he supposed to say? That singing was the last thing he wanted to do, but if she was going, then he wanted to be with her. Wait. That isn’t right. Is it?
Definitely not. He would go because he wanted to keep her safe. Yes, that was it. Still, he couldn’t help but ponder his earlier thought. Did he want to be around Belle just because he liked her?
“Parker?” Belle’s gaze searched his.
“Uh…” He struggled to recall what they’d been previously talking about, and then he noticed everyone had left them alone in the kitchen. “We should get going before they leave without us.”
“Would that be so bad?” Belle walked away.
Had he heard her correctly? Did she want to spend time alone with him? His pulse picked up its pace. Or was he just reading too much into her offhand comment? Probably.
As he puzzled over the questions and answers, he joined her by the front door. Everyone but them was bundled up for a chilly walk through town. Oh, boy.
Why hadn’t she gone caroling before?
Belle totally enjoyed singing Christmas carols.
Even though she’d been nervous in the beginning and had initially lip-synced, by ten minutes into it, she was using her voice.
No one seemed to care that she wasn’t the greatest singer.
When she figured this out, she relaxed and just enjoyed the experience.
Of course, she noticed that Parker wasn’t enjoying the evening as much as she was.
As though he sensed she was staring at him, he turned his head until their gazes met.
He sent her a smile, but he didn’t even fake singing, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” She wasn’t going to make an issue of it. She was just glad he was there.
It was surprising to find how quickly she’d gotten used to having him around.
Of course, all of that would end tomorrow when they both went back to their jobs.
And it was probably for the best, because if they spent any more time together, it might start to seem like they had a real relationship, instead of him being near her to catch a criminal.
Her thoughts turned to Odie. As his image formed in her mind, her heart ached. She was really starting to have doubts if she would ever see him again. And she missed him terribly.
Parker leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Is everything all right?”
Not missing a beat, she said, “Sure. Why?”
“You stopped singing, and you had a sad look on your face.”
“I was thinking about Odie. I really wish he was here. Although, he wouldn’t enjoy the caroling. He hates the cold. He’d rather be at home curled up with a blanket on the couch.”
“I can’t honestly blame him.”
Just then Parker’s mother, who was standing in front of them, turned an arched brow. Belle felt like a kid again. She let out a nervous giggle. Apparently they weren’t whispering as quietly as Belle had thought.
She turned her attention back to the carols. They were most of the way through their planned area when her phone began to ring. She was mortified that she hadn’t thought to turn off the ringer. She stepped away from the group. Parker followed her.
With warm, fuzzy gloves on, she couldn’t just grab it from her coat pocket. And so it kept ringing while she yanked off a glove. Finally, she pulled the phone from her pocket but before she silenced it, she noticed the number on the screen wasn’t one she recognized.
Her heart clenched. Was this the dognapper? She froze.
Parker was on his phone, talking to someone. He read off the phone number. And then he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Answer it and put it on speaker.”
Her hands were trembling as she pressed the buttons. “Hello.”
“If you want to see your dog again, give it to me.” The male voice rumbled with anger.
“Please. Give me Odie back.” Her voice cracked with emotion. She struggled not to cry in fear for her dog. “He didn’t do anything, and he must be so scared.”
“You should have thought of it before you hid it from me.” His voice was harsh and clipped.
Her heart was pounding so loud it echoed in her ears. “I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
There was a distinct pause. “Don’t play with me.”
“I’m not. Tell me what I need to do to get Odie back.”
“Bring the jewelry box to the waterfall tonight at nine and be alone, if you want your dog back. If you aren’t alone, the deal is off.”
The phone went dead.
Belle turned to Parker. “He hung up. Do… Do you think Odie’s okay?”
Parker reached out and drew her to him. He held her for a moment. In his arms, she gathered her emotions. This was about getting Odie home, not the riot of emotions swirling in the pit of her stomach.
When she pulled back, Parker looked directly in her eyes. “What jewelry box?”
Her thoughts were jumbled. Her hands were still trembling. “I don’t know what he’s talking about.”
“Come on.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and escorted her to his pickup.
Once they were both inside, and the engine was started, he turned to her. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”
“I told you, no. Do you think he still has Odie? I didn’t hear him in the background.” She worried her bottom lip.
“Odie is fine.” Parker’s voice was firm and reassuring.
“Then why didn’t he say he’d bring him to the meeting spot?” She didn’t trust the dognapper, not one little bit. But she would do anything it took to get Odie back.
“I don’t know.” He put the truck into gear and stepped on the accelerator. “We need to head to your place.”
“For what?”
“The jewelry box. Do you think it’s the one you have in your bedroom?”
She shook her head. “I’ve had that since I was a kid and the only value it has is in sentimentality.”
“Okay. Do you have another jewelry box?”
She did her best to silence the worried voices in her head.
It took a moment, and then it came to her.
“I remember. I picked up an old one at an estate sale not long ago. It needs some work, so I put it in the garage. I thought I’d work on it this summer.
” She couldn’t believe that’s what all of this trouble was about.
“I just can’t imagine what he wants with it.
It’s pretty or it will be when it’s sanded and refinished, but it isn’t worth any money. ”
As he drove, he was quiet, as though thinking over what she’d told him. She became lost in her own thoughts as she wondered if she was about to get Odie back. She was willing to do what the dognapper asked of her.
But that wasn’t the only thing on her mind that snowy evening. As she watched the snowflakes make their way to the ground, memories came rushing back to her.
“What are you thinking about?” Parker’s voice drew her from her thoughts.
As the snow fell, covering the roadway, her thoughts were swept back in time.
“I was thinking about a night like this one.” She got caught up in the past. “It was my senior year, and I was having a blast. Serena was throwing a party up at her parents’ cabin.
I heard that you were going to be there.
I guess I was driving too fast, and the car went off the road into a ditch. ”
“Did you get hurt?”
“Not like you’re thinking.” She paused as she summoned her courage to admit the rest. “I called my parents to come get me.” The mantle of guilt slid over her shoulders, weighing her down.
“If only I hadn’t been so insistent about sneaking off to that party.
Of course, my parents didn’t know I was going to a party.
They thought I was going to Serena’s house to study, which just makes me feel worse. ”
Parker reached over and took her hand into his own. He laced their fingers and gave her hand a squeeze. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. His touch was reassuring and gave her the strength she needed to finish her story.