CHAPTER 16
E dgar took a moment before he continued.
Ava nervously waited, shifting from one foot the other.
“I can give you tonight, but if we don’t find Stormy by tomorrow morning, I’ll have to tell your mother. It’s her dog. She loves him so much already. She needs to know. I’m sorry…”
When Ava saw how miserable Edgar looked, she fought off the panic growing inside her so she could comfort him. “It’s okay,” she said, even though she was thinking this was anything but okay . “I understand.”
And it was true. Even though she didn’t like it, she did understand where Edgar was coming from.
She knew Edgar had already left his comfort zone by not telling her mother immediately.
She didn’t want to put him in a compromising position any more than she already had.
She knew she needed to be thankful for any extra time he would give her.
“You will let Justin know?” Edgar asked.
“Yes, I will text him right away,” she answered.
Edgar’s eyebrows raised. “You have his number? You gave him yours?”
Ava blushed. “Only so we could stay in touch during the search.”
Edgar nodded thoughtfully. “I see.”
Ava jumped in. “There is nothing to see . This is just so we can stay in touch about the dog. This is only about the dog. Nothing else. Just the dog.” She was feeling more flustered by the second.
When she searched Edgar’s expression to see what he was thinking, his expression gave nothing away.
“Thank you for giving me this extra time, Edgar. I won’t let you down.”
“There’s only so much you can control,” Edgar said.
Ava frowned. “I know, and that’s what I’m the most worried about.
I feel so helpless. I just don’t understand how my mother could, on a whim, bring home some stray, wild dog, without even talking to me about it, without any warning, and right before Christmas when I’m trying to plan the biggest party we’ve ever had. ”
“I’m sure she had a very good reason,” Edgar said.
Ava gave him a skeptical look. “Edgar, come on. You know my mother often acts impulsively without thinking things through. You also know that’s why my father always had to step in and keep her from going completely off the rails.
Now that’s my job, and I feel like I’m already failing.
If my father were here right now, what do you think he would do about this dog situation? ”
“Your father would have never allowed a dog in the first place,” Edgar answered with conviction.
“Exactly!” Ava said, feeling better that she wasn’t the only one who thought her mother was way out of line. She rubbed one of her throbbing temples. The stress was getting to her. “I just need to think like my father and figure this all out.”
“I’m sure you will,” Edgar said.
To try and calm her frazzled nerves, she started walking around the Grand Hall, surveying all the decorations.
“While Justin finds the dog, I need to get back to concentrating on something I do have control over—our Christmas party. It looks like things in here have really come together.
“We tried to follow your instructions exactly down to every small detail.”
Ava gave him a grateful smile. “And you all did an excellent job. Thank you so much for doing all this while I was gone.”
“So, you approve?” Edgar asked, looking pleased.
“Yes,” Ava said. “Overall, but—”
Edgar’s smile faded.
“Of course, there are a few things that need to be…adjusted,” Ava continued.
“Of course,” Edgar agreed as he watched her walk over to one of the life-size nutcrackers and try to move it. It was bigger than she was and started to tip over.
Edgar rushed over to help her. “Please, don’t hurt yourself. We can move anything you like.”
“It’s okay, I’ve got it,” Ava said as she struggled to move the nutcracker a few feet to the right. “These guys are heavier than I thought.”
“Please let us handle this. You don’t want one crashing down on top of you,” Edgar said.
Ava stepped away from the nutcracker. “You’re right. We’ve already had enough decoration disasters to last a lifetime.”
She reluctantly gave up on the nutcrackers and headed over to a dazzling display of Christmas wreaths that were each individually suspended from the ceiling by small silver cables. They were lined up perfectly about seven feet from the ground.
Ava got out her phone and tapped an app that had a wreath on it. All the wreaths suddenly lit up and started rotating 360 degrees, showing off every angle.
Ava smiled proudly. “This looks even better since I added more lights. You know what father always said—”
“You can never have too many Christmas lights,” Edgar finished for her.
They shared a smile.
“Exactly.”
“Your Wreath Rotator invention is still one of my favorites,” Edgar said with admiration as he stepped closer to the wreaths, watching them slowly spin around. “How you come up with all these things I will never know.”
“Almost all my inventions solve problems,” Ava said with a bright smile.
“Like, for example, these wreaths. I never understood why you’d have beautifully decorated wreaths that you only see one side of when you hang them on your door or the wall.
So, I thought ‘Wouldn’t it make much more sense to have a way to display them where you can see all of the wreaths?
’ And that’s how the Wreath Rotator was born.
I designed this one specifically for in here, but I’m also working on one you can use with just a single wreath. ”
“Sign me up for one of those,” Edgar said.
Ava smiled back at him. “You will be at the top of my list.”
“It’s very impressive.”
“And practical,” Ava said. “The best inventions usually are.” She started walking down the line of wreaths. One by one, she meticulously adjusted each plush gold velvet bow so it was perfect. She stood back to survey her work.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“I think they all look exquisite,” Edgar said. “The entire Grand Hall has never looked more festive. I know your father would be very proud of you.”
When Ava turned back to Edgar, there were tears in her eyes. “That’s the best compliment you could ever give me.”
“It’s true,” Edgar said. “Believe it. What you’ve done here to help raise money for our local charities and honor your father’s memory is very commendable. I know your mother will also approve.”
Ava laughed. “That’s only because my mother loves a party, no matter who plans it.”
Edgar nodded with a discreet smile. “It has been wonderful to see how excited she has been to introduce Stormy at the party. I haven’t seen her this happy in a very long time.”
Ava’s smile faded.
In that moment, she realized it wouldn’t matter how spectacular a party she planned. If the dog was still missing, her mother would be crushed, and Christmas would be ruined.
She knew what she had to do. She headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Edgar called out after her.
“To find the dog before tomorrow morning,” Ava said with determination.
? ? ?
Under the glistening moonlight, Ava stood in front of a spectacular fountain in one of the royal gardens as she called Justin. The garden was glistening with Christmas lights.
He picked up on the first ring.
“Did you find him?” Justin asked before even saying hello.
“That’s what I was calling to ask you,” Ava answered. “So, I’m guessing this means no.”
“Nothing yet,” Justin said. “Lydia and I have been looking everywhere. We even split up to cover more ground. She’s been handing out flyers to everyone and telling them to call her if they see Stormy.”
“And nobody has seen him? How is that possible?” Ava asked, frustrated. “He’s a dog running around a Christmas market. Surely somebody must have seen something.”
“We haven’t been able to find anyone who has yet,” Justin said, sounding tired. “But don’t worry, I’m going to keep looking. I won’t give up until we find him.”
Ava started pacing. “Our time is running out. I just talked to Edgar. While I was able to buy us a little more time tonight, if we haven’t found the dog by tomorrow morning, he’s going to tell my mother. He says he can’t wait any longer.”
“Oh God.”
“I know,” Ava said as she glanced over at her horse, Midnight, who was tied up to a tree, waiting for her. “That’s why I’m going to keep looking tonight, too.”
“What? Where?”
“I’ve been riding around to all our different gardens to see if he might be there.
We have more than a dozen of them on the property.
They’re all decorated for Christmas, so I thought maybe he’d go there.
We know he loves to destroy Christmas decorations.
I don’t know, but I had to do something, and we didn’t get to search the gardens earlier because you—”
“Freaked out about riding,” Justin finished for her.
“Yes.”
“But it’s dark out,” Justin said, sounding concerned. “Should you be riding alone at night?
“No,” Ava replied. “That’s why I’m taking six security guards.”
“Six?” Justin asked, surprised. “Really?”
“No,” Ava shot back. “That would be ridiculous. I’m only taking three.”
Silence.
Ava looked at her phone. “Justin, are you still there?”
“Yes, I’m just in shock.”
“About?”
“You, joking around. This is a first,” Justin said, sounding impressed.
She frowned. “You make me sound so…boring.”
Justin laughed. “Boring? No. That the last thing you are. Maybe a little serious…”
“Well, one of us has to be.”
“Ouch,” Justin said with a chuckle. “But seriously, maybe you should have someone riding with you to keep you safe.”
“Are you offering to go riding with me?”
Justin laughed loudly. “Me? Oh, hell no! That wouldn’t be keeping you safe at all. But call if you need me. I’ll be up all night looking, too.”
“I’ll be fine,” Ava said. “Call me if you find him or find out anything.”
“I will. Be careful.”
Ava looked up at the stars in the sky. “We have to find him, Justin.”
“I know,” Justin said. “We will. Your mother trusted me with Stormy. I’m not going to let her down.”
“I wouldn’t advise it,” Ava said.
“Another joke—”
“No,” Ava said, dead serious. “Trust me. You don’t want to disappoint my mother.”