“What about the bell? Maybe we should head there first and then come back?”
“I talked to Tim again while I was in the store. He said as long as we show up by eight, we’ll be fine. He has plans later tonight, and then he’s heading out for the holidays in the morning.”
Andrea felt a rush of admiration, knowing how much the bell meant to him, that he was willing to postpone getting to it, especially after she’d already gotten them behind schedule.
A short ride later and they walked into the police station. A young uniformed officer with cinnamon-colored hair and crater-sized dimples sat them down across from his desk. He introduced himself as Abe Johns.
“We’ll get to your lost gifts as soon as we can, but honestly, we are swamped with the normal holiday issues, shoplifting, drunk driving, and what have you. And now with this fugitive on the loose, I don’t see anyone having much time to see these gifts getting to where they’re supposed to be before Christmas.”
“They are not ‘our’ lost gifts. They belong to someone who probably can’t afford to replace them.” Andrea said, hearing the tinge of impatience in her tone. She didn’t care. This was Christmas. Couldn’t he see how important these gifts were?
“Fugitive?” Ben repeated calmly.
“Yes, sir. A convict named Gene Yost escaped while being transferred to a new facility.”
“What did he do?”
“He robbed a—”
“Hey, Johns,” a voice interrupted him from across the room. “We’ve had a possible sighting. Call Jim Binder and see if he can get his bloodhound over here ASAP.”
“I’m on it.” Officer Johns said enthusiastically.
“What should we do?” Andrea whispered to Ben. Officer Johns was already moving away, phone tucked under his chin, talking and gesturing urgently. No doubt this was the most excitement he’d ever seen in his small town career.
“Leave the gifts, I guess. They’ve got all the information they need. He said they’ll get to them when they can.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. You heard what he said. We have a better chance of finding the owner than these guys do. I mean, he admitted they aren’t even going to try.”
“I don’t know. The police have more resources. Where would we even begin?”
“Ben, please. Who do you think would be more effective? A bunch of police officers busy, preoccupied, and searching for a fugitive? Or me? You know very well how good I am at finding things.”
He smiled. “That’s true. If anyone can do it, it would be you.” His tone held the sweetest mix of pride and confidence. Andrea swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat.
On so many levels, she hoped that was true.
Chapter 6
They were almost to Homestead when Ben’s cell phone rang. “It’s Tim.” He carried on a brief conversation, ended the call and said, “Bad news.”
A tingle danced up her spine. She hoped Tim hadn’t already sold the bell to someone else before they’d seen it. She needed to know it wasn’t the bell.
“His partner has been delayed with the truck. He’ll be there early tomorrow, and we can take a look first thing in the morning.”
Andrea blew out a relieved breath. “That works for me. Allison can take care of the shop tomorrow. We should find a place to stay.”
Lodgings were packed because of holiday travelers. They only lucked into a vacancy due to a last-minute cancellation at a place called the Lavender Spot B & B.
In spite of the prominently displayed “No Pets” sign, Ben explained to the petite, white-haired proprietor how the “pitiful little thing” had been “abandoned” in the frigid temperatures. They’d had no choice but to rescue her; if they’d left her there, she’d surely have frozen to death by morning.
Lucky for them, Eliza Harriman was a cat lover. One look at the teeny gray-and-white bundle had her melting into a puddle. Andrea suspected Ben’s charm had also been a contributing factor, to both the acquiescence and the puddle-forming.
“Wow,” she said after Eliza led them to their suite. “You sure can spin a yarn, can’t you?”
Ben shrugged his shoulders, his face an exaggerated attempt at innocence. “What? It was all true.”
“Frost on her fur? Really? This fur of hers is thicker than shag carpet.”
“I’m pretty sure she had frost. I really do think it’s a miracle she didn’t freeze to death.”
They watched as she inspected her temporary surroundings; stalking, then bravely attacking the fringe on a blanket thrown over the arm of a chair.
They laughed and Andrea said, “You have the biggest, softest heart, Ben Fisher. And I love that about you, but...”
“But what?”
“We can’t keep calling her ‘kitten’ and ‘she.’ What do you want to name her?”
“Well, that’s a problem.”
“What? Why?”
“In the Fisher family, if you name a critter, then you have to keep the critter.”
She shrugged. “Okay?”
“I’d love to keep her. But—”
“I can. I want to keep her. I’ve always wanted a cat. My dad would never allow me have one when I was a kid. I can’t even think of why I haven’t gotten one before now. You can visit her anytime you want.”
His face erupted with that mile-wide smile directed right at her. It froze the air in her lungs even as her skin felt hot.
“I like this plan,” he drawled.
A mass of butterflies awakened in her stomach. Clearly, her feelings for Ben were taking on a life of their own.
“Good, you can help me name her.”
~*~
With the steering wheel slipping in her sweaty palms the next morning, Andrea navigated the narrow snow-plowed lane. Anxiety clawed at her while a thousand thoughts and questions ticked through her mind; if it was the real bell, what would she do? Call the police? What recourse would she have? Would they have to purchase the same bell a second time? She never should have paid the full amount in advance.
Ben was quiet, but she could feel the tension emanating from him, too.
She parked near a tall, pale-yellow house. They met and exchanged a few pleasantries with Tim. He directed them toward a weathered but otherwise-tidy barn. Gray slats of aged wood showed through the ancient white paint. Andrea’s pulse pounded like a wild drumbeat inside of her head as they stepped inside.
Tim turned on the lights and a spotlight seemed to form on a large bell sitting on the bed of a truck. Her knees turned to jelly. Even from this distance, Andrea knew instantly it wasn’t their bell. A quiet hiss of air escaped her lungs as relief flooded through her. She and Ben moved closer and she could see Ben realized it, too. Wrong markings, a little too small. This poor old bell was in bad shape, pitted from weather with a crack on one side.
She made a valiant effort not to let him see her reaction. Not an easy task when she literally wanted to dance with joy. Until she looked at him again. Her feelings were such stark contrast to his. Once again, she considered telling him the truth. Except, Andrea had called Zacharias again that morning with no answer. She couldn’t shake the fear that the real bell would never arrive.
They thanked Tim and didn’t take up anymore of his time. A few days ago she’d been so sure she was finally going to have a good Christmas. She’d planned to be partially responsible for Ben having one, too.
She thought about those gifts lying in the bed of the pickup. She had to do something. She had to step it up. Those kids deserved to have a good Christmas. Someone should have a good Christmas.
“Ben, hold up.” She pulled back the cover and hopped into the bed of the pickup.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to take photos and put a post on my Timeless Facebook page. It’s a public page. I’ll pay to promote it and ask people to share.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Yes, I know,” she drawled.
“You should unwrap them, too.�
��
“No, that’s an invasion of privacy and—”
“So if someone claims them, you’ll have a way to know if the claim is legitimate.”
“Right, of course. That’s a good idea, too.”
“Yes, I know,” he said in a perfect imitation of her cocky tone.
Andrea chuckled and went to work, determination fueling her. Somehow, one way or the other, she was going to get these packages where they belonged in time for Christmas.
~*~
Twenty miles outside of Christmas Town, Ben saw a mass of brake lights. He slowed and eventually stopped completely. Emergency vehicle lights flashed on the road ahead.
“Hey, do you want to stop and grab a bite to eat while we wait for this to clear out?”
They’d skipped out on a bacon-scented B & B breakfast in order to check out the bell first thing that morning.
“Sure, I’m starving.”
He slowly drove around the car in front of him, and turned onto a side road. They found a cheerful-looking diner displaying a sign that read “Breakfast Served All Day.”
“Breakfast sounds amazing,” Andrea said. “Bacon and eggs and crispy hash browns. Yum.”
That earned Andrea her first genuine smile of the day.
“A girl after my own heart,” he said. “I might throw a biscuit in there, too.”
“I wish,” she blurted.
“What? You don’t think they serve biscuits?”
She steeled her courage, and said, “No, I mean yes, I’m sure they have biscuits. What you said about your heart. I wish I was that girl.”
Ben turned his gorgeous green eyes on her. Those Fisher eyes could melt an iceberg, she decided. Rick and Josh had them, too, but on Ben they seemed so striking.
He whispered, “Andrea.”
Just her name, but in that tone and with those eyes searching her face. She felt herself melt. Who had she been kidding? This was so much more than friendship. Ben was…He was what she wanted. She had to find a way to tell him how she felt, what she’d been going through with her family, her business, and yes, finally she would tell him about the bell. A high-pitched screeching noise interrupted her thoughts. Sirens, she realized about a millisecond before a swarm of police cars surrounded them.
Chapter 7
Ben and Andrea didn’t move a muscle. Even Kitten sat frozen in shock as a bevy of policemen descended on the diner. A uniformed officer tapped on the driver’s side of the pickup, startling Andrea enough to let out a little scream. Kitten scrambled up her sleeve to perch on her shoulder.
Ben rolled the window down and the officer asked them to remain in the vehicle.
“Wow,” she said after he’d gone on to another car that had pulled into the lot after them. “I was afraid they were after us for the gifts or something.”
Minutes later, two policemen emerged from the diner with a handcuffed man walking between them. She watched in the side mirror as a news van parked along the street beside the parking lot. A man with a camera and two others scrambled out. Seconds later, a woman knocked on her window.
She pushed the button to lower it. “Excuse me, but did you two witness the apprehension of Gene Yost?”
“Um, I don’t know,” Andrea replied. “I don’t know what happened.”
They explained what they’d seen. Both of them declined to speak on camera and the reporter seemed frustrated by this and by their refusal to pepper any added drama into the account.
Andrea took the opportunity to relay the story of the gifts they’d found and offered to talk about that on camera. The reporter huffed out a sigh and said, “It’s Christmas. No one wants to hear a feel-good story right now.” Which prompted Andrea to raise the window between them while the woman was still talking.
Ben laughed. The reporter and her little news crew moved on. Soon the last of the police entourage departed.
They made their way through the rapidly growing crowd around the diner. Ben requested a booth by the window so they could keep an eye on the pickup, convinced someone might try to steal the kitten. Andrea watched a car pull out of the space next to theirs and an older model wagon replaced it. A young woman with two kids bundled in winter clothing emerged. Something about the trio tugged at her heartstrings. They looked lost. The woman kept glancing around and then fidgeting with the kids’ jackets, caps, and scarves.
After the meal, Ben grabbed the check and practicality kept her from arguing. She stepped into the entryway to discover the woman with the children had moved inside. The hostess approached them and asked if they’d like a table.
“Um,” the young woman said, “we’re waiting for someone.”
The little boy volunteered, “My daddy is supposed to meet us.”
The hostess smiled and moved on to the next group of would-be diners.
“Mommy, I’m hungry,” he added.
“Pumpkin, I know. I’m hungry, too.” She peered up and Andrea followed her gaze to the clock on the wall.
“Daddy said he would buy us breakfast.”
“I know he did,” she answered in a defeated tone.
The girl added a weary, “He’s late and I don’t think he’s coming. Let’s go home, Mom, okay? We’ll have oatmeal.”
Tears sparkled on the little boy’s cheeks. “I don’t want oatmeal again. We don’t even have any peanut butter.”
That’s when Andrea made her move. Inhaling a deep breath, she stepped over to the hostess. With shaking hands she reached into her purse and pulled out one of her precious hundred-dollar bills. She explained she’d like to buy the family breakfast, and give them the change. The hostess readily agreed to the plan, leaving with menus to gather the family. Ben joined her and she quickly filled him in.
He gave her a look she couldn’t quite identify, curiosity, admiration, surprise? She wasn’t sure and was about to ask when the family walked by them, following the hostess. A delighted smile lit the little boy’s face, while his sister sported a tentative expression, and the mom appeared baffled.
“Evan, honey,” she said. “Slow down. You’re going to run into someone.”
The boy slowed, but seemed to shift all his excitement into tugging on his sister’s arm. “I’m having pancakes, Jenna. What are you going to get?”
Ben’s stunned expression told Andrea he hadn’t missed the coincidence. Together they watched the trio settle into a booth across the restaurant. A waitress delivered a cup of coffee to the woman and hot chocolate topped with whipped cream for the kids as she had instructed. Tears threatened to fall as she watched the family join hands and bow their heads.
After a quick discussion, they decided Andrea would approach the family by herself, speculating a woman alone might seem less odd or threatening. Ben went out to check on Kitten.
“Hi,” Andrea said, as she stopped in front of their table.
“Hi,” the little boy said, scooping a spoonful of whipped cream into his mouth.
“Hello,” the mom said while the little girl stared suspiciously. Andrea thought her heart might crack in two when she noticed the girl had been drawing a picture of a horse on her placemat. She thought about one of the gifts she’d unwrapped earlier, an expensive horse figurine.
“Um, I know this sounds strange, but I think...Can I sit for a minute?”
“Are you the one buying our breakfast?”
“Yes,” she answered, hoping the woman wasn’t going to bolt.
“Then please, by all means have a seat. I can’t thank you enough for your generosity. I noticed you watching us out there and I had a feeling. This might be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. “My name is Andrea Talbot. And I think your day is about to get even better, strange as that might sound.”
With a curious look, she offered her hand. “My name is Lita, Lita Yost. These are my kids Evan and Jenna. We were supposed to be meeting someone here for breakfast this morning.”
“Our dad,” Evan chimed in. �
��He was in prison, but he’s not anymore.”
This was all the confirmation Andrea needed. “Lita, there’s something I need to show you.”
The family followed her to the parking lot. Ben distracted the kids with the kitten while Andrea explained how they’d found the gifts. She also broke the news to Lita about Gene’s escape and subsequent apprehension.
Tears sparkled in Lita’s eyes. “I don’t know how to thank you for this.”
“You don’t need to.” Andrea reached out and squeezed her hand. “We’re so relieved to have found you guys.”
Andrea gave her time to absorb it all while she geared up to ask the question she’d been dreading. “Do you think there’s any chance Gene would have been bringing the kids a kitten?”
“A kitten?” Lita shook her head. “No, no way. Gene is allergic and so is poor Evan. Besides, we’re moving in with my parents after the first of the year so I can go to beauty school. I couldn’t bring a kitten. They already have three dogs.”
A current of relief shot through Andrea. She couldn’t bear the thought of parting with the kitten now. Feeling confident someone had abandoned her, Andrea reveled in the notion that Kitten officially belonged to her. And to Ben.
Traffic had cleared by the time they parted with the Yost family and got back on the road. Ben seemed as satisfied as she did by their inadvertent discovery of the Yosts. Andrea wanted to continue the conversation they’d begun before they were interrupted by the police, but she didn’t know how to raise the subject again. She hoped she wasn’t imagining this new energy filling the space, this new connection forging between them.
“After we stop by the shop, do you want to come over and help me get Kitten settled? Maybe decide on a name.”
He glanced over at her, a smile playing on his lips. “I would like that very much.”
“Okay, but it’s not going to be Gigabyte. You know that, right?”
They’d been trying out names, not agreeing on any. Ben liked “Gigi” short for “Gigabyte.”
A Heartwarming Christmas: A Boxed Set of Twelve Sweet Holiday Romances Page 27