Puppy Smooches & Peppermint Kisses (Kringle Falls #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

This would be her first Christmas alone.

It was just after lunch as Holly Berry stood in the storage room of the Kringle Soap Co.

She opened a box of handmade snowmen-shaped soaps.

She’d made them using one of her grandmother’s recipes, which included things like coconut for the white ones, merlot for the red ones, and basil for the green ones.

Each year the store had a particularly popular item. This year it was the snowmen soaps and the bath bombs. And now she was running low on those items. Thankfully, business had been brisk this holiday season.

Even though there was a light snow falling outside, it was cozy in the shop. It wasn’t just the warmth coming from the furnace; it was the warmth of friendship that flowed through not only her shop but throughout all of Kringle Falls.

The big difference this year was that Holly’s grandmother wasn’t there with her. The Kringle Soap Co. was her great-grandmother’s creation. The shop had been in business for more than a hundred years. And now her grandmother had entrusted it to Holly to keep it going.

It wasn’t until her grandmother had died that Holly realized just how much her eighty-one-year-old grandmother had done. The woman had been amazing, working straight up until the end. And now Holly couldn’t let her down. She had to keep this place up and running.

“Holly.” Her name was being called from the front of the shop.

“Just a second.” She placed the box of soaps on the worktable. She would deal with them later.

When Holly stepped out of the back room, she found Merry Kringle standing in the middle of the store.

Maybe she was there to pick out a gift basket for someone.

Premade baskets with some extras such as bubble bath balls, loofahs, and some other whimsical items were new this year.

Her grandmother had vetoed the idea in the past, but Holly knew with business in decline that she had to do something to boost the bottom line.

And so far, the baskets were selling well.

“Hi.” Holly sent her a smile. “Can I help you find something?”

Merry glanced at the soaps. “I’ve always loved this place.” She made a show of inhaling one of the merlot soaps. “This whole shop smells heavenly.”

Holly spent so much time in the shop she’d become immune to the scents. She stopped and made a point of inhaling deeply. “I never take the time to notice anymore.” She inhaled again. “To me, it still smells like it did when my grandmother was here.”

Merry nodded. “She would be so proud of you.”

Holly hoped Merry was right. She had more ideas about changing the shop, but she wasn’t ready to do anything so drastic just yet.

“Anyway…” Merry sent her a warm smile. “I’m sorry to disturb you.”

Holly glanced around at the couple of customers that had just entered the store. “You’re not. What do you need?”

“I hate to ask this of you…” Merry glanced down.

Holly had known the woman her entire life. Merry had been good friends with her grandmother. Gran used to tell her if she needed someone to rely on, and her grandmother wasn’t around, she could call on Merry.

“That’s okay.” She wasn’t used to seeing Merry looking so discomforted. “Just tell me what you need.”

“It might be easier if I showed you.”

“Excuse me,” a teenager called from where she stood next to the checkout counter. She held up a container of unicorn bath bombs and some tea tree soap that could help with acne. “I need to check out.”

“I’ll be right there.” She turned to Merry. “Can you wait a moment?”

“It might be more convenient if you stopped over at Purr ‘n Woof after you close.” Merry was out the door before Holly could agree.

That was strange. Really strange.

She glanced over her shoulder to see Merry hustling down the sidewalk. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with her. Merry was normally a direct person. So, what had just happened?

Holly glanced up at the big clock on the wall. It would be at least four hours until she got an answer to that question.

A few hours later, Colin had only one more patient to see that day. If things went right, he’d get out of the animal clinic a little early. That didn’t happen often. In fact, usually it was the opposite, and he ended up staying late.

He couldn’t wait to leave. He had plenty of stuff to do at home. With it being the holidays, there always seemed like there was something to do.

“Looks like you’re almost done, Doctor,” Jane Estes, his office manager, said.

“Shh… Don’t let anyone know, or they’ll come up with something else for me to do.” He sent her a teasing smile.

“Don’t worry. I won’t say a word.”

“Is the last patient here?”

“No. They called. They’re running a few minutes late because of the weather.”

“No problem.”

He moved to his office and checked his email. There wasn’t anything there that couldn’t wait until tomorrow. Now if only the last patient would arrive, he could leave early.

Ding.

He reached for his phone. There was a message from his brother Michael.

One of the puppies Candi was caring for has run away. Last seen at Merry Kringle’s house. Escaped out of the back yard. No sign of him since.

His phone continued to light up with messages from his family. Everyone was going out, looking for the puppy named Tank.

Colin’s fingers moved over the screen: I’m at work, but I’ll get the word out.

He stepped out of his office and moved to the reception desk where everyone gathered at the end of the day. Jane, Mary, and Tyler were there. He told them the situation. And then he messaged his brother for a picture of Tank. He forwarded it to all of his staff.

“Where are they looking?” Tyler Jones asked.

“I think here in town. The puppy was at Merry Kringle’s when he ran away. If you can just keep a look out on your way home, myself and my family would greatly appreciate it.” He headed for the door.

“What about your last patient?” Jane called after him.

He paused in the doorway. “If they make it, call me.”

He’d left his pickup in the parking lot. He wished he had a flashlight. Even though it was just after four o’clock, it was already dark out. He turned on the flashlight app on his phone.

“Tank!” He took his time, looking for little footprints in the snow.

He wasn’t the only one out searching. He could hear numerous voices calling out for the puppy. Pride for his hometown swelled up in his chest. The people of Kringle Falls always pulled together.

Ding.

Ding.

His phone kept blowing up with messages from his family’s group chat. Everyone was out searching. It was a good thing, because it had started snowing again. Tank was too young to be out in the snow for long.

A while later, after not finding any sign of the puppy, Colin’s phone buzzed.

He checked it for the umpteenth time. It was his mother warning everyone not to stay out in the cold for too long without taking a break.

She was a worrier. She invited everyone home for some chili and fresh-baked bread to warm them up.

He messaged back that he would stop by later. He didn’t want to stop the search.

His phone dinged again. It was a message from his younger brother Justin. He’d checked the area around the Kringles’ house and found no sign of Tank. Colin continued searching between the pet shop and the vet clinic. Still nothing.

Buzz.

It was the office. He answered, hoping that someone had brought in Tank. Instead, they were letting him know his final patient of the day had arrived. With a resigned sigh, he let them know he was on his way back.

Ding.

He checked his phone. It was a message from Candi: Tank has been found. He’s at home.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

His phone started to blow up with more messages from family.

It took him a moment to see there was a message for him.

Michael wanted him to come over and have a look at the pup.

He messaged back that he would be over as soon as he saw his last patient.

He turned and walked as fast as he could through the new snow without falling.

Buzz.

He reached for his phone. When he saw the caller ID, he pressed the phone to his ear. “Mrs. Kringle, what can I do for you?”

“First, I told you a million times to call me Merry. And second, I need your help.”

“If this is about Tank, I heard he was found.”

“It’s such a relief that he’s okay, but this is another matter. If you could come over to the store, you’ll see.”

It wasn’t the first strange phone call he’d received about a pet in trouble, but as far as he knew, Merry didn’t have any pets, which was odd since she owned a pet store.

“I can’t right now. As soon as I finish up with a patient, I’m headed over to my brother’s to check on Tank.”

“Oh, yes. Of course, I understand. What about a little later this evening?”

He wondered why she was being so insistent. “I’ll do the best I can.”

“Thank you. I knew I could count on you. See you later.”

The line went dead before he could say anything else. So much for his early evening to get caught up on things.