CHAPTER 26
I n Samuel’s office at the restaurant, Ava fidgeted impatiently as Dr. Diane Kelton completed her examination. She always hated when people made a fuss over her, and right now, that was exactly what was happening.
Even though she’d been able to stand up on her own and felt fine, beyond being a little tired and sore, Samuel and Justin had both insisted that she get checked out by a doctor Samuel knew who was having dinner in the restaurant.
“I’m so sorry we had to take you away from your meal,” Ava told the doctor. “I feel fine, but these two don’t believe me.”
“It’s not that we don’t believe you, but you were hit by giant tree branch, you were knocked unconscious, and you were out in a freezing snowstorm, so I don’t think it’s being too unreasonable to have you checked out,” Justin said.
“I agree,” Samuel said. “We have to make sure you’re okay.”
“Well, then what about him?” Ava asked, jumping up from the couch and pointing at Justin. “You said he was a mess when he brought me in here. He was also in the snowstorm, and he had to carry me all the way here. Shouldn’t you be checking him out, too?”
“Yes,” Dr. Kelton said.
“No,” Justin said at the same time.
When Ava looked to Samuel for support, he shook his head. “I’m not getting in the middle of this one.”
“I’m fine. I wasn’t the one knocked unconscious,” Justin insisted. “How is she, Dr. Kelton?”
“Please tell them I’m okay,” Ava said. “So they’ll stop worrying.”
You could tell Dr. Kelton was picking her words carefully.
“I was only able to do a basic exam. From what I can tell, you don’t appear to have a concussion.
You’re not nauseous or lightheaded, and no bones appear to be broken, but that doesn’t mean you’re free and clear.
You still need to have your family doctor give you a full and complete exam as soon as possible. ”
“Agreed,” Samuel and Justin said together.
Ava sighed. “And I will, but right now, I need to get what I came for.”
“A wonderful meal?” Dr. Kelton asked. “Because you’ve come to the right place.”
“No, there’s no time for that. We need to get the dog,” Ava said.
“Dog?” Dr. Kelton asked.
Ava rushed to explain, stumbling over her words. “Yes, a friend’s dog. Not our dog. We don’t have a dog. I mean I don’t. Justin does. He has a lot of dogs. He’s a vet.”
“Actually, a dog trainer right now,” Justin said.
Ava gave him a pleading look to help her out.
“But, yes, we’re here picking up one of the dogs I’m supposed to be working with,” Justin said.
At least that’s not a lie , Ava thought.
“I wish you could train my dog, Lexie, she really needs it,” Dr. Kelton said. “They do have a personality of their own, don’t they?”
“They sure do,” Ava said. “Thank you for taking time away from your dinner to help me. I really do appreciate it.”
“You’re very welcome,” Dr. Kelton said. “I’m happy I could help.”
“And I’m sure you understand, but we’ll have to ask for your complete discretion in not telling anyone you saw the princess here and not saying anything about what happened tonight,” Samuel said.
Dr. Kelton nodded. “Of course, I value all my patients’ privacy. I will not be speaking about this to anyone, I can assure you.”
She shared a smile with Ava. “But please make sure your family doctor does a thorough checkup. You are a treasure to our country, and we all want what’s best for you. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Ava and Justin replied in perfect unison as the doctor left the room. As soon as she was gone, Ava, worried, turned to Samuel.
“You really think she won’t tell anyone?” Ava asked.
“We can trust her,” Samuel said. “I’ve known her a long time. She’s a good person. You need to relax. You’ve been through quite the ordeal. When was the last time either of you ate or drank anything?”
Ava and Justin looked at each other.
Silence.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” Samuel said. “I’m going to go make you something to eat—”
Ava dropped Samuel’s hand. “Samuel, thank you. That’s very kind, but we really need to go. We’re on a tight timeline. We just need to get the dog and get him home before anything else can happen.”
“What I want to know is how did he even get up here in all this snow?” Justin asked.
“He probably jumped on one of the sleighs that brings customers here.”
Justin nodded. “That makes sense.” He turned to Samuel. “Did anyone say anything? How did you find him?”
“He was playing in the snow outside,” Samuel said.
Ava rolled her eyes. “He was probably tearing down your Christmas lights. He loves destroying decorations. Where is he? Hopefully not by a Christmas tree.”
Justin laughed.
Samuel didn’t.
Ava frowned when she saw that Samuel suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Samuel, what’s wrong? Don’t tell me he escaped again. Lydia said he was safe, locked up in a room—”
“Yes,” Samuel said. “We took good care of him. He didn’t escape.”
Ava let out a sigh of relief. “Great—”
“But—” Samuel started. He gave Justin a worried look.
“But what?” Justin asked. He was no longer smiling. “What happened? Did he get hurt? Is he sick?”
Samuel shook his head. “No, he is very healthy.”
“So, what’s the problem?” Ava asked, because Samuel was still looking stressed.
Samuel took a deep breath. “The problem is, the dog we found…wasn’t your dog.”
“What?!” Ava and Justin exclaimed at the same time.
“What are you talking about?” Ava demanded, her voice rising. “Lydia said you found our dog.”
Samuel cringed. “I know, and we did find a dog. A black-and-white border collie. I immediately went to the village’s website to see if anyone had reported him missing and saw Lydia’s post. I called her right away—”
“And she told us, and here we are,” Ava said.
“So, what do you mean the dog you found isn’t ours?” Justin asked.
“After we found who we thought was Stormy, we fed him, put him in our storage room, and made sure he was comfortable. While we were waiting for you to come, a family showed up asking if we’d seen their missing border collie.”
Ava eyes grew huge. “I can’t believe this.”
“It turns out they’re here renting a nearby cabin for Christmas and their dog, Shadow, got loose,” Samuel finished.
Justin dropped his head into his hands and groaned.
“I’m really sorry,” Samuel said. “I called Lydia right away and told her what happened. She said you guys had already taken off to come here. Since there’s no cell service, there was no way to get you a message.”
“So, we came up here for nothing,” Ava said, pressing her palms against her eyes. “And almost killed ourselves in the process.”
“What can I do to help?” Samuel asked.
“Unless you can find our dog, nothing,” Ava said, feeling defeated. “So, if Lydia knows, that means she told Edgar—”
“Or not,” Justin said. “We don’t know for sure.”
Ava shook her head and sighed. “No, she would have told him. She had to. We’ve run out of time. The only question is, did Edgar tell my mother, or is he waiting for me to get back to do it? I need to get home right away.”
“How are we going to get out of here?” Justin asked.
Ava turned to Samuel. “Do you have a service vehicle that we can take?”
“Not at the moment,” Samuel said. “All of our SUVs are out picking up supplies.”
“What about the sleigh?” Ava asked. “I know it’s not the fastest way, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Unfortunately, the sleigh isn’t going anywhere right now,” Samuel said.
Ava gave him a blank stare.
“That storm you guys were in has gotten worse. A lot worse. There’s almost zero visibility right now.”
Ava’s eyes widened. “So, are you saying we’re stuck here?”
“Only temporarily,” Samuel said. “The good news is the storm is supposed to let up within the hour. We had four couples ready to leave, but we’ve let them know what’s happening and are offering complimentary desserts and drinks.
They’re happy to stay a little longer and relax.
It’s all part of the adventure of dining at the Skylight Restaurant, right? ”
Ava couldn’t find the words to express how disappointed and stressed she was. When she looked to Justin, he had the same bewildered look on his face that she knew she had.
“So now what?” Justin asked.
“How about that dinner?” Samuel offered with a hopeful smile.
Ava anxiously shifted from one foot to another. “I need to call Lydia before I do anything else.”
“How?” Justin asked.
Ava pointed to a landline phone on Samuel’s desk.
“Are you going to tell her about our crash?” Justin asked, looking worried.
“Crash?” Samuel asked. “I thought you said the snowmobile just broke down.”
“Yes, it did. After it flew over a cliff and smashed into a tree,” Ava said matter-of-factly.
Samuel looked horrified. “No—”
Justin shook his head. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“But I’m not going to tell Lydia anything about that right now,” Ava said. “I need to find out if Edgar has told my mother yet, and if not, to buy us some more time.”
“How?” Justin asked.
“By telling her we’re following a new lead.”
“What lead?” Justin asked.
Ava gave him an impatient look.
“Got it. We don’t have any leads,” Justin said.
“But she doesn’t need to know that,” Ava added.
Samuel looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know about this—”
“Me, either,” Justin jumped in.
“Then why don’t you both leave the room and let me do what I need to do?” Ava said.
Justin shook his head. “I think at this point, we just need to come clean.”
Ava locked eyes with him. She didn’t blink.
Samuel patted Justin on the back. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll get you a drink.”
“But—” Justin started to resist.
“Go,” Ava said. “I’ll take care of this.” She started to pick up the phone.
“Our landline usually works, but sometimes storms take down the phone lines,” Samuel warned her.
Ava smiled with relief when she heard a dial tone. “It’s working.”
“And we’re leaving,” Samuel said. “Right, Justin?”
Justin didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded and left the room with Samuel.
As soon as they were gone, Ava put the phone down and sat back down on the couch, feeling a little shaky. She needed to gather her thoughts together and figure out exactly what she wanted to say. She couldn’t be emotional. She had to stay strong and stay focused.
She let out a deep breath and then with determination stood up and picked up the phone…