Under the Christmas Star

by Amanda Tru

  Brooke led the way back out to the front part of the shop and walked over to where Emma’s ornaments were displayed on a Christmas tree. “I agree with you, Emma. Your ornaments are unique. There are none like them. Also, they are easy to authenticate as yours because you sign each one of them. If Chief Jacobs searches shops and asks others in the area to be on the lookout for your ornaments, then if they are spotted, he could have a direct trail to the thieves.”

  “I tried to tell him that, though I probably didn’t use the right words,” Emma said, wishing she could express her thoughts as clearly as Brooke.

  Wanting to more clearly see the ornaments on the tree, Emma took a huge step, attempting to make it over a sleeping Orion who was inconveniently in the way. The dog didn’t move in the least, even when Emma’s foot brushed his back. Emma envied his relaxed doggie nap curled up on a rug beside a Christmas tree.

  Brooke really did an exceptional job of decorating her shop in a way that displayed her wares and created a beautiful atmosphere. Counting all of her ornaments still hanging on the tree, Emma surmised that the display must be successful. Some of the branches looked a little sparse.

  “Emma, don’t you have pictures of all of your ornaments? Why don’t you take those in to Chief Jacobs tomorrow? Then he’ll have a record of what was stolen and hopefully understand it as a good angle from which to approach the case.”

  Emma brightened. “That’s a good idea. I have a picture of every ornament I have ever made. I know which ones were in the boxes. If I sort through them, I’ll be able to give him an exact inventory of what the thieves took. I know some of them were broken. I saw glass on the ground, but most of the ornaments must have survived.”

  “I agree. And anyone who looks at the ornaments will realize they are valuable and try to sell them somehow.” Brooke adjusted a few ornaments on her side of the tree and then reached down to rearrange the wrapped presents below.

  “I’ll go home right now and find the pictures.” Emma reached to pick up Orion’s leash and wake him. “Maybe I can call Chief Jacobs tonight and—”

  “Emma, please don’t do it tonight,” Brooke said, her forehead suddenly wrinkling as if she was worried. “You need to rest. People who have concussions are supposed to rest, but I bet you’ve been on the go constantly since you woke this morning. Go home and get some rest. The pictures will wait until tomorrow, and you’ll be able to think more clearly. Maybe you’ll even remember some of the empty spots from last night.

  Emma shook her head. “I don’t have time to rest. I—”

  The tiny chimes above the door jingled merrily. Chief Jacobs stepped into the shop with his jaw set firmly in a tense face.

  “Emma,” he growled, his searching gaze colliding with hers. Immediately, his features scrunched up in what Emma labeled as anger. He ran a hand through his hair and let his breath out in a huff. Then he held up one finger as if asking her to wait a minute.

  By the expression on his face, Emma was quite sure she didn’t want to wait even five seconds. She wanted to run!

  Leo took out his cell phone and pushed a button. “Mrs. Sheldon, I found her. She is at Brooke Hutchins’ shop.” His voice was calm, in complete opposition to the tension Emma felt emanating from him.

  As he paused, Emma heard some form of exuberance on the other end of the line, even from a distance.

  “No, you go ahead and stay there,” he continued calmly. “You’re already home. I’ll bring Emma home. No, it’s no problem at all. At this point, I want to make sure she gets there safely and doesn’t disappear again. See you soon. Bye.”

  Leo pressed a button on the phone and replaced it in one of his uniform pockets before turning the full force of his intensity in her direction. “Emma Sheldon, what were you thinking? Your mother has been frantic, and we’ve been searching all over for you!”

  Emma blinked, startled both by the fury directed toward her and what he said. “Why are you looking for me?”

  Leo rolled his eyes. “Because the last anyone saw of you, you were at the police station. When your mom came to pick you up, she found you’d disappeared. She searched the route to your house, and I have multiple officers searching every street in Crossroads. Did you not think what would happen when your mom couldn’t find you? She said you had your dad’s old phone and weren’t answering that either. For goodness sake, Emma, I can’t be your own personal police officer and take off chasing you every time you take off on a whim!”

  Emma flinched, his words pelting her like balls of hail in a storm she couldn’t get out of. She reached in her purse and pulled out the phone. The black screen didn’t change when she pushed the button. “It’s dead,” she murmured.

  “Of course,” Leo said with an eye roll.

  “I told Officer Kirk I was coming here,” she responded woodenly, almost sounding robotic with the lack of emotion in her tone. “I told him I was going to Brooke’s shop and to please tell my mom to pick me up there.”

  The instant change in Leo’s face would have been comical if Emma’s anxiety wasn’t so high. It was as if he’d been running at full speed and suddenly caught sight of a flying pig. “Wait. You did what?”

  “I told Officer Kirk to tell my mom I’d be here,” Emma repeated shakily.

  Keeping his gaze on Emma with an expression she couldn’t identify, Leo pulled his cell phone back out and pushed a button.

  “Kirk, this is Jacobs. Did Emma Sheldon give you a message to deliver to her mother?” Pause. A few grunts. “You were on break? You didn’t think to give someone else the message?” Another pause. “You forgot, or you didn’t quite understand what Miss Sheldon had said? Which is it?”

  This time, Leo’s pause didn’t last long before he burst out, “Come on, Kirk! Now you’re saying you don’t know what Miss Sheldon’s mom looks like? It doesn’t really matter if you were on break, didn’t hear right, forgot, or didn’t know who the message was for. The underlying problem is that you’re completely incompetent!”

  The rest of the conversation was too loud. So loud that it made all the colors of flower, diaper cakes, ornaments, home décor, and other merchandise swirl together in a nauseating world that was somehow even louder than Leo’s voice.

  Emma took deep breaths, folded her right arm over her left and let her fingers tap up to 5 and back down to 1 on the skin of her left arm. Orion finally stirred from his rug to amble over and plant himself on Emma’s feet. The pressure was comforting more than uncomfortable, and feeling Orion’s presence beside her helped her breathing to steady a little more.

  Emma looked up at the sound of Brooke’s voice. Her friend stood toe to toe with Leo, who must have just ended his call. Emma couldn’t hear Brooke’s words, but they sounded almost like hissing. Combined with Brooke’s flailing arms and flashing eyes, Emma idly wondered what the mild-mannered florist was so upset about. She really hoped Leo hadn’t said something mean and hurt her feelings.

  “Emma, if you’re ready, I told your mom I’d give you a ride home,” Leo said, turning from Brooke.

  Emma nodded. “Brooke, if you don’t mind keeping the ring in the safe, I’ll pick it up in a few days after I have my other ornaments redone and shipped off.”

  “Sure. That’s not a problem,” Brooke assured. “Is there anything else I can help with? Maybe you should take some of the ornaments you have here at the shop.”

  Emma shook her head. “I can tell by looking that you’ve already sold quite a few today. You’ll need additional stock within the week. I won’t deplete what you have here. I’ll just remake the ones I need to fill my orders.”

  After Brooke extracted a promise from Emma to call if she needed anything, Leo held the door for both her and Orion to exit and followed them to his patrol car.

  After his anger, Emma almost expected him to load her in the back of his car, as he would a criminal, but thankfully, he opened the back for Orion to jump in and the front passenger door for her. Emma scurried in, careful not to actually look at
him while doing so. She couldn’t bear seeing more negative emotion directed her way.

  Without a word, Leo got in the driver’s side, started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.

  “I don’t expect you to be my personal police officer,” Emma stated quietly, staring intently at her hands clasped stiffly at her knees.

  “I shouldn’t have said that, Emma,” Leo said, his voice lacking any of the earlier anger. “I sometimes say things I don’t mean when I’m worried and scared.”

  “Why were you worried and scared?” Emma asked, feeling confused.

  “Because you disappeared. After what happened last night, I worried someone might have kidnapped or hurt you.”

  “So, do you feel worried and scared with every call that comes in?” Emma asked, thinking about the amount of stress that would entail.

  Leo shrugged. “I guess it’s part of the job.”

  Feeling that he didn’t really answer the question, Emma tried again. “Do you always worry and feel scared for all the residents of Crossroads, or was it just me that you caused you to feel that way?”

  “Emma, what exactly are you asking?” he said, his tone dipping toward frustration.

  Subdued, Emma replied. “I was just curious if you feel worried and scared all the time about everyone. That’s an awful big load to carry. But if I did something wrong to make you feel that way about me, I wanted to apologize. I know what being scared and worried feels like, and I would never want to make someone feel that way about me. I’m sorry I did that to you.”

  Leo sighed and answered quietly, “Don’t worry, Emma, it’s not just you. I care about everyone. The residents of Crossroads are my responsibility, and it’s tough.”

  Emma nodded as if that settled the matter and then decreed confidently. “That could be the reason why you’re so mean.”

  Leo offered up a snort of laughter as he pulled into Emma’s driveway.

  Emma stepped out of the car, right as Leo appeared at her side.

  “You didn’t need to get out,” she said, not wanting to inconvenience him anymore. “You could have just dropped me off.”

  “I told your mom I’d get you safely home, and by that, I meant through the front door.”

  Leo pulled open the rear door for Orion to hop out. The dog stopped for Leo to reach down and give him a good pat before positioning himself at Emma’s side.

  Side-by-side, they followed the sidewalk to the steps leading up to the front porch and the door. The temperature had dropped with the setting sun, and Emma realized with a shiver that it was almost the exact same time her car was stolen yesterday.

  Before putting her hand on the door handle, Emma paused and bravely turned to him, knowing that she needed to formally apologize. “I really am sorry for disappearing and making you feel worried and scared. I should have waited for my mom or made sure I communicated better with Officer Kirk.”

  “Please don’t apologize, Emma. I don’t think it was your fault. You tried to get your mom a message. It just didn’t happen the way you planned. I’m the one who should apologize. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.”

  “You’re the police chief. It’s your job to worry,” Emma said, reminding him what he’d already explained.

  “No, it isn’t,” Leo’s eyes slid shut and he swallowed with difficulty before opening his eyes and speaking quickly. “Emma, I didn’t tell you the complete truth back there.” Leo grimaced as if in pain. “Nope, that’s not the truth either.”

  Taking a deep breath, he looked Emma square in the eyes and spoke clearly and with determination. “Emma, I lied. I don’t get scared about others. I get concerned and feel anxious, but not the fear and intense worrying I felt today. That’s just with you.”

  Emma’s brow furrowed, wondering what she’d done wrong to cause him to react that way. “Why me?”

  “I don’t know,” he replied, his voice husky.

  The front door wrenched open.

  “Oh, Emma!” Cindy threw her arms around Emma before she could step back. “I know you don’t like hugs, but I’m so relieved!”

  Cindy released Emma only to pull her and Orion into the house and issue a dinner invitation to Leo.

  Leo refused, saying that he must finish some work back at the office. After briefly explaining the chain of events leading to Emma’s disappearing and assuring Cindy that Emma was not at fault, Leo left.

  Emma watched him walk down the sidewalk back to his car. Remembering how bad she’d felt about not telling him goodbye last time, she awkwardly raised her voice to call after him.

  “Thank you, Leo. Goodbye.”

  Leo paused and darted a glance back at her but didn’t say a word.

  Emma watched him drive away and couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling stemming from his goodbye. While it hadn’t been words, that last glance had communicated something, but she had no idea what it was.

  “Chief Jacobs seems like a nice man.”

  At her mother’s comment, Emma’s hand holding the glue gun slipped. She jerked away as a drop of hot glue fell on her finger. Emma winced and immediately stood to go run her injured finger under the running water at the kitchen sink.

  “I guess so,” Emma replied noncommittally. They were working in the kitchen instead of in her studio because her mom insisted there was more space for them both to work. The problem was, so far Cindy hadn’t done much except offer opinions. Emma needed to focus on getting her ornaments done, which was becoming more difficult with her pounding headache. It would soon become impossible if her mom insisted on holding a conversation, especially one about Leo.

  Emma dried her hand and decided that the injury would smart a while but was not severe enough to blister. She returned to the table, feeling a sense of hopelessness as her gaze encountered the ornaments and scattered mess of supplies covering the surface. This was not going well. She did not have time to replace some of the more intricate ornaments, such as those with glass or even the felted ones. Instead, her only option was to make quantities of those she considered second-class ornaments, and she constantly worried that they weren’t good enough.

  Resolutely, she sat back in her chair and picked up the pre-made glass ball. With her burnt finger, she positioned the ribbon at just the right angle and readied to make another attempt with the glue gun.

  “Maybe we should invite your Chief Jacobs over to dinner sometime.”

  Emma jerked the hot glue gun again, this time encountering the neighboring finger to the previously injured one. Without making a sound, Emma released her breath slowly at the pain, deliberately set the glue gun down again, and returned to the sink.

  “Mom, why would we invite him to dinner?” Emma called back. “And he isn’t ‘my Chief Jacobs’ at all.”

  “It’s just an expression,” Cindy shrugged casually. “He’s just so handsome, and he seems to like you. I just thought if we invited him to dinner, it might give you two a chance to get to know each other. Sometimes romance needs a little help, you know.”

  Thankfully, Cindy had learned to be fairly direct in her answers when Emma asked a question. Otherwise, Emma would just not understand any “beating around the bush.” The trouble came, however, in Emma’s skill in locating the right question to elicit the information. This time, it worked. Cindy’s response was clear enough that Emma understood Cindy’s purpose in scheming a love connection between her and Chief Jacobs.

  For Emma’s part, the thought of such a scheme made her feel ill with anxiety.

  “No, Mom. Chief Jacobs doesn’t feel that way about me, nor will he ever. Any attention he’s shown me is all part of his job. He even explained that to me before he dropped me off. He said he didn’t have time to be my personal police officer.”

  Cindy shook her head with a long-suffering smile. “Men don’t always say what they mean, sweetheart. He didn’t have to go himself to search for you tonight. He could have sent other officers, but he didn’t. I saw the look on his face when I told him I could
n’t find you. There’s no way he feels that way about every woman in Crossroads.”

  Her words reminded her of Leo’s confession. He didn’t feel that way about everyone. Just her.

  Emma sat back at the table but didn’t attempt to pick up the glue gun again. This time, she knew better.

  “I don’t think he feels the same way,” Emma agreed. “But it isn’t because he feels romantic in any way toward me. Remember when Grandma’s cat had kittens when I was little? The runt of the litter was this tiny little thing, and it got the most attention. Grandma was so concerned about it that she even fed it with a bottle, trying to get it to put on weight.”

  Mom smiled. “That cat is still a scrawny little thing, but your grandma sure does love it.”

  “She doesn’t love Runt because he’s an especially good cat or pretty, or because he has any redeeming qualities,” Emma insisted. “She’s always loved him because she felt sorry for him.”

  Emma picked up the glue gun and resolutely glued the ribbon in place. “I’m the runt, Mom. Leo feels sorry for me because I’m more needy and not like others.”

  Cindy gasped. “Emma Sheldon, you are not!”

  “Mom, I’m not saying that because I feel bad about it.” Emma rearranged the supplies her mom had sifted through into neat little piles. “It’s a fact and not something I can do anything about. I’ve known since I was in junior high that I was a runt and that no guy would ever see me as anything but that. I don’t mean to disappoint you, Mom. I haven’t exactly ever had a date. I thought you already knew that no man would want me for a wife.”

  “Emma, I had no idea you felt that way!” Cindy’s nose turned red, and she began sniffling. “I always thought you were a late bloomer and too shy to let any man know you were interested. Being autistic doesn’t disqualify you from love, sweetheart. Every relationship has its challenges. Just because you are starting out with a challenge doesn’t mean a relationship isn’t worth the attempt. Honey, I’ve been praying for your husband since you were born, and even more so after we found out you are autistic. God isn’t going to disappoint either one of us. Please don’t close the door on the idea that God may have a nice, Christian man for you who can see and appreciate the beautiful woman He made.”