Chapter One
Kaylee
Kaylee Kringle opened her guinea pig’s enclosure, attaching the custom-made short staircase at the entrance.
Pumpkin let out several excited squeaks as he raced down the wooden steps and hit the floor running, leading Kaylee into the kitchen and plopping in front of the refrigerator.
His dark eyes fixed on her, and he erupted with several more high-pitched chirps that sounded a lot like Feed me, woman!
“All right, piglet, I’ve got you,” she said, opening the fridge door and pulling out the bowl of fresh veggies she’d prepared for Pumpkin the night before.
She liked to let him out as much as possible so he could get exercise and not turn into a total chunk.
Her treasured pet loved to eat, and so did she, noting that her hips, thighs, and breasts definitely showed the amount of takeout she’d been consuming.
She’d gone from coltish to curvy, and she liked her new form.
The roar of a motorcycle outside made her jump, and she nearly dropped Pumpkin’s food. Her heart drummed in her chest as she rushed to the window just in time to catch a glimpse of the back of a solid brown winter coat and full-coverage helmet. No cut. No caramel-colored hair.
A heavy breath rushed between her lips as her guinea pig’s impatience snapped her out of the paralyzing fear, and she sighed, tsking at Pumpkin. “You are a rude little dude with an attitude, you know that, right?”
Pumpkin beat her to his enclosure, reaching for the bowl as she set it down. He dived headfirst to gorge himself on goodies, making her laugh. Kaylee removed the stairs and fastened his enclosure, earning a grunt of indignation from the rodent.
“I’m sorry, but last time I let you run amok all day, you chewed several corners of the kitchen cabinets, and this is a rental. I can’t afford for you to be naughty.”
Pumpkin crunched loudly on a lettuce stem in response, and she imagined that was a guinea pig’s version of fluff you.
“I’ll see you in a few hours, bud.”
Enthusiastic chewing from the enclosure was the only sound in the room as Kaylee headed for the door.
She stepped out of her small two-bedroom house and locked the deadbolt.
As she descended the stairs, she sucked in a deep breath of cold Idaho air.
The weather officially turned a few days before Halloween, and all the trees in every yard along her quiet street were bare, their leaves now covering what had once been green grass with brown and yellow foliage.
The first snow of the year could fall any day, and Kaylee couldn’t wait to see the town of Holiday blanketed in white.
This was her second Christmas here, but she hadn’t arrived until a few days before the last one and missed all the festivities leading up to Christmas Eve.
Kaylee knew she couldn’t get too comfortable, but still, being here was the happiest she’d been since …
A lump formed in her throat as she finished the thought. Since living with Elasia.
Kaylee pushed down the raw emotions that threatened to claw their way to the surface at the thought of her best friend, Elasia Gutierrez, and focused on the world around her as she made her way into the heart of town, watching the handful of people outside on an early Friday morning.
It was the busiest shopping day of the year, but her boss, Dana Summers, opted to open Heart Stop Coffee Shop at eight instead of its usual seven.
She’d figured people would be tired from Thanksgiving and early Black Friday shopping and need the extra hour to rally for more.
Thus, Kaylee was free to walk through town as the sun’s glow crested over the mountain, falling over Holiday with a golden hue.
“Hello, Kaylee!”
She jerked from her musings, her heart racing at the male voice calling her name. When she twisted her head and recognized Benecio Gomez loping toward her, her tense shoulders sank with relief.
Man, I am on edge today.
He fell into step beside her and grinned. “Did I catch you daydreaming?”
“Maybe a little! Sorry, I’m not awake yet.”
“No worries,” Benny said, a slight accent giving his words a lyrical lilt.
His dark hair was long, tucked behind his ears and curling around his neck.
His face was clean-shaven, and his eyes were a soft brown.
He was only an inch or so taller than Kaylee, with wide shoulders and muscular arms under his tan work jacket. “You headed to work?”
“Yeah, Dana wanted to open a little later today. I think she went to the city to shop and didn’t get back until early this morning.”
“Have you started Christmas shopping yet?” he asked.
“No, not yet.” Considering how short the list was, it wouldn’t take Kaylee long to knock it out. “What about you? Are you going to work or shopping?”
“I’m helping my dad finish the flooring on a house in Soda Springs, and then I’m working at the restaurant tonight.
I need a little more money this year, now that my oldest niece has turned twelve.
I’m buying her and my sister concert tickets for this artist she likes, which will make me the favorite uncle until her birthday and one of my brothers tries to one-up me. ”
Kaylee laughed. “Devious.” She studied the Christmas blowups, deflated and spread across lawns like bedsheets, and the festive wreaths hanging on doors, a pang of loneliness pinching her chest. A couple teens were raking leaves into a pile when a child of no more than six came out of nowhere and jumped into the middle of it.
They started shouting and cursing while the little one grinned unabashedly.
Kaylee chuckled, memories of her own childhood rushing over her.
Although they were all adults, she could imagine her brother and sister arriving at her parents’ house—her sister’s husband and kids piling out of their van, while her brother arrived in his electric car, chiding their parents for the number of Christmas lights they had hung that year.
Benny didn’t seem to realize she’d drifted away from the conversation, as he stated, “I have to be devious with four brothers.”
Kaylee chuckled in response, although it sounded empty. It had been over two years since she’d contacted her family, let alone spent a holiday with them, and she missed them. Hearing about someone else’s only intensified her wishfulness for things to be different.
There was a slight lull in the conversation, and they walked several blocks in companionable silence.
Kaylee fiddled with her knit cap, pulling it down to cover her ears.
Benny was usually friendly to her, but the last few months, she’d gotten the impression he might want something more, which sometimes made their interactions awkward, like something was hovering in the air between them.
One of the biggest complications she’d been trying to avoid was romance.
Leaving Josie, the first friend she’d had since Elasia, made her heart seize, but letting herself fall in love? Out of the question.
Not that she thought Benny could be the one, but he was sweet and handsome.
Kaylee didn’t want to hurt him. She kept moving so she could keep breathing, and living in this town was the first time it felt like she was standing still.
She’d tried to keep her distance, to fly under the radar, but that was hard to do in a town like Holiday.
The minute she’d stopped in at the Perky Inn for the night, Wilma Perkins wanted to know her story.
She’d signed the inn’s registry book as Belinda Kringle, and Wilma had let out a little giggle.
Kringle, well, isn’t that perfect just a few days before Christmas?
The next day, Kaylee had asked Wilma where to grab a cup of coffee, and as she walked down the street, people were greeting her like they’d known her for years.
It was the oddest experience of her life, and Kaylee had planned to leave the minute she figured out where to head next.
Drawing attention to herself was a good way to get herself caught.
Or killed.
If only Josie Dowd hadn’t snuck up on her and anchored her to Holiday with her warm, welcoming spirit.
The cheerful blonde caught Kaylee completely by surprise, offering to give her a tour, and although Kaylee tried to avoid it, Josie was like a dog with a bone.
During their exploration of the town, Kaylee suddenly blurted out, You can call me Kaylee.
It’s my middle name, and I actually prefer it.
Josie had smiled brightly. I love it.
It may have been foolish to give Josie and the rest of the citizens of Holiday her real name, which she hadn’t used in the previous five towns, but something about this place moved her, made her feel like she belonged, and it didn’t feel right having them call her anything but Kaylee.
The tour had turned into a chaotic town meeting that night, and she had received an invitation to Josie’s book club the day before Christmas.
When Kaylee found herself sitting around a festive Christmas tree with Josie and her friends, a beautifully wrapped present addressed to Kaylee on her lap, she realized this might be somewhere to rest for longer than a few days.
Now, she had a job, a month-to-month rental next door to Josie, and a weekly book club meeting to attend. Although Kaylee knew she might have to drop everything and leave at any moment, being a small part of this place made her life less lonely.
Oh, and there was Pumpkin. The wild-haired little dude was her world now.
“Are you going to the dance?”
Kaylee realized Benny was watching her expectantly and that she hadn’t answered him. “I don’t think so. I’m not much of a dancer.”
Benny nodded. “I get it. I can’t say the same, but don’t be surprised if someone tries to persuade you to go.” She met his dark eyes, and the way his gaze softened made her heart pound anxiously. “You’re something special, Kaylee.”
The words hit Kaylee like a slap, and her first instinct was to argue that she wasn’t special.
She was a coward, a miserable, frightened little girl who hadn’t protected the person who meant everything to her.
Elasia had been the special one, the life of the party, the spark everyone wanted to be near. Kaylee was the quiet sidekick.
“Thanks, Benny. I think you’re a great guy.”
“Keep thinking that the next time I mess up your order at the restaurant,” he said, winking.
Kaylee only laughed because she had nothing to say to that, her thoughts dwelling on his comment about her being special.
Maybe in a small town, where the number of single women of any age was slim, she was special, but most of her life she’d just been …
ordinary. The short list of guys she’d dated hadn’t been passionate flirtations, but built on convenience, like, We’re already lab partners; we should go to prom together, or Our friends are dating, so let’s give it a try.
While they’d all been nice guys, they’d never pursued Kaylee because they wanted her. She was just there and available.
They got to the corner of Main and Mother’s Day Road, Benny said a quick goodbye, and they parted ways.
Kaylee stood for a minute watching him. It could be fun to go to a dance.
Maybe she was being paranoid, always staying home except for book club and the town meetings.
It had been a year and six hundred miles since anyone had recognized her.
Which happened because you let your guard down.
Kaylee couldn’t argue with the tiny voice inside her head. She’d been living in Oregon for a few weeks and went by the bulletin board at the local grocery store to see if there were any apartments or jobs posted—something cash and under the table—when she’d spotted a flyer with her picture on it.
Reward
Missing: Have you seen this person?
Kaylee Taylor
Please call (555) 899-2341
She’d rushed out of the store and climbed into her silver sedan, taking deep, shuddering breaths. Why were they still looking for her? Was there a flyer hanging in every city and town on the West Coast?
Kaylee decided it was time to head east, and although she kept her IDs and cash with her at all times just in case, all her clothes were back at the pay-by-the-day motel she’d been staying at.
As she started to pull in, Kaylee noticed several motorcycles parked in front of the office.
Three men walked out with the manager, who pointed down the walkway toward the rooms. Kaylee recognized the cut worn by the Pit Viper Motorcycle Club and ducked down in the seat.
They passed by each door, finally stopping outside room five.
The same one she’d been staying in.
Pressing her foot down on the gas, Kaylee headed out of town and took a left, wanting to put some distance between them before pulling over.
Kaylee drove until she had to stop for fuel, then punched in a new destination into the car’s GPS.
She’d crossed the border into Idaho the next morning and hadn’t stopped moving, taking jobs and saving until she had enough to move on.
Until Holiday.
They should have given up searching, especially since Kaylee wasn’t a danger. No one in their right mind would want to testify against the Pit Viper Motorcycle Club.
Kaylee pinched the skin of her hand to chase the past away, but it was always there, a reminder that her life was no longer normal. It was all about survival, and that meant keeping her relationships to a minimum and being ready to run at any time.
So, no movies. No dinner. The only thing she needed was to stay one step ahead of Ansel, the Vipers, and him.
No. If he found her, Kaylee would face a fate worse than death.