Christmas Peril, page 9
Caleb, where are you? By now you have to know I’m gone.
“And your cop won’t be able to save you. I’ve got a surprise for him.”
The storage area off the kitchen was empty, other than two cigarette butts on the floor by the door. Caleb closed the door and turned into the kitchen. Since he was protecting Annie, he had his service weapon on him. He pulled it out of his holster under his red coat then his cell from his pocket. Had someone been waiting in there? Salvador or someone else he sent?
He called the station. “Tyler, I need you here at the church to watch Jayden and Sara. Annie’s gone. I’m going to check the rest of this place. Have Jeremy swing by Sara’s house and make sure everything’s okay there.”
The sound of an explosion roared through his connection. Caleb jerked his cell from his ear for a few seconds before shouting into it, “Tyler, what happened?” Nothing. “Tyler?”
Salvador shoved Annie through the entrance into Sara’s house. Suddenly a blast rolled through the air like thunder. She peered behind her and saw a flash light the night toward downtown.
She stopped and pivoted. “What have you done?”
“Got rid of a liability before he decided to talk.”
“You blew up the jail?”
He chuckled. “A most effective way to cause a diversion and take out Downey. He had his chance to fix his mistake. He wasn’t supposed to kill Bryan until after he got all the information I needed.”
I’m a liability, too. Even if I could find the information and give it to him, he’ll kill me.
She had to stall as long as she could until someone finally came or she could think of a way out of this situation.
“How did Downey find me?”
Salvador stepped through the entrance and kicked the door closed. “That was easy. Your cop friend led him to you.”
Caleb betrayed her? No, he’s lying. “You’re lying.”
The man’s laughter erupted. “For once I’m not. He called the Crystal Creek police and introduced himself and then asked about you. If that wasn’t enough, he sent someone to check up on you. That someone talked to the police in Crystal Creek about you. It was only a matter of putting a few things together to find where you went. At least Downey was good for something. His police connections helped. Now enough of this, where’s your things?”
Again Annie found herself trudging up the stairs to her bedroom with a madman behind her, wanting something she couldn’t give him. She and Caleb had discussed what she’d brought and couldn’t come up with anything.
At the top of the steps she swung around, and the action was so sudden, it took the man by surprise. His hand shot out and grasped the banister. “Back off.” He lifted the gun and pointed it right at her face.
“I don’t have what you want. At least tell me why you want them.” If she were going to die, she wanted to know why.
He scowled, his eyes narrow. “Bryan’s mother, years ago gathered a tape, a gun and photos that tied me to a murder. When she ran away from me, she used it as her insurance to keep me in line. Believe me, I still looked for her, but it’s much easier to track a person today than it was twenty-eight years ago.”
“Maybe she was lying and there wasn’t anything.” Bryan certainly had lied to her enough.
“It’s possible, but I don’t think so. In the note she left me it was clear she knew too much. I don’t let people live who know too much about my…affairs.” A smile pulled the corners of his mouth in an evil line. “You don’t think I know what you’re doing. You’re stalling. No one’s gonna come. Show me your room.”
In his vehicle, Caleb called Jeremy. “I need you at the station. The back of the jail was blown up and the fire department is there.”
“How’s Tyler? He was there.”
“Okay. A few cuts and bruises, but he says he can handle the situation. I want you to help him. Downey is dead. Thankfully we didn’t have anyone else in jail. Two FBI agents were on the way out of town. They’re coming back. They’ll help you. I’ll take care of Annie.”
“Sure, Chief.”
Caleb turned down Bethlehem Street and saw Sara’s house at the end of the long block. And he also glimpsed an unknown car in front. He gunned his and came to a stop a few seconds later. After confirming Annie wasn’t in the church, he knew where Salvador would take her. Annie wouldn’t leave the party without letting him know unless the man had taken her.
Thrusting open his door, he hit the ground in a run and headed toward the porch. With his weapon in hand, he snuck into the house. Pausing in the foyer, he listened, trying to get a feel for where Annie and Salvador were. A floorboard squeaked above the dining room. Annie’s bedroom.
He took the stairs two at a time, making sure he avoided a creaky step.
Pages of Bryan’s mother’s Bible lay scattered all over the bed. Annie’s heart pounded in a mad tempo at the sight before her. Every item, even clothing and the suitcases, that she and Jayden had brought from Florida was being torn apart before her eyes. Salvador took hold of the antique porcelain doll Bryan had given her daughter for her birthday last month.
“Please, not Jayden’s favorite doll.” The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop them. She knew the man wouldn’t listen to her pleas. He hadn’t when he’d ripped through the Bible.
He glared at her and proceeded to tear it apart—first the head then the limbs and finally the body. Nothing. He tossed it down at his feet. “That’s it. Everything.” He scanned the room. “How about that?” He pointed at the ceramic Christmas tree nearby.
“Not mine.”
He picked it up and smashed it against the floor then toed the pieces to see if there was anything hidden among them. His scowl deepened into an almost desperate look when he peered toward her. “It’s got to be here. I’ve looked everywhere I could—Bryan’s apartment and car, anything I could tie to him. You’re my last link.” He covered the few feet between them and slammed her up against the wall by the bed. “Where is it? You’ve hidden it in this house. If I have to and can’t find it, I’ll burn this place down rather than let anyone find the evidence. I don’t leave evidence around to be used against me.” His hand gripped her neck as he held her pinned with his body.
Nor witnesses, from all she’d read about him. “Bryan never gave me anything that would hold photos, a tape and a gun. Believe me, I would know that.”
“Maybe it’s something smaller—a note about the location of where the items are.” Frustration toughened his voice to a growl.
Frantic, she searched the chaotic mess strewn about the room and zeroed in on Jayden’s treasure chest sitting undisturbed on the dresser, as though part of Sara’s belongings. Salvador squeezed her neck, the glint in his eyes feral. Slowly he cut the flow of air to her lungs. Her mind swirled from the lack of oxygen.
“Box,” she choked out, shifting her gaze to the item on the dresser, peeking out from some clothing pitched onto its top.
He eased the pressure about her burning throat. “Where?”
“Dresser.” She dragged air into her oxygen-starved lungs as his hand fell away and he turned toward the piece of furniture a few feet away.
Quickly crossing to it, he snatched it up and lifted the lid, throwing Jayden’s treasures—a polished rock, a picture of her, Bryan and Jayden, a necklace, her favorite hair ribbons—onto the floor. He checked the box’s bottom, but it was solid wood, then his gaze latched onto the satin lining of the lid. He ripped it off and a key and a piece of paper fell out.
As he picked them up, flinging the box to the side, Annie saw her chance while his attention was riveted on the small paper. She grabbed the alarm clock on the nightstand next to her and swung toward Salvador. He started to turn toward her when she smashed the metal-and-plastic object into his head as hard as she could. He swayed.
Then she ran as quickly as she could for the door. His curses propelled her faster and faster as she hit the hallway and saw the staircase only ten feet away.
Caleb heard the sound of pounding footsteps coming toward him as he climbed the stairs. He swung toward the noise, and through the slats in the banister he saw Annie. He increased his speed. She rushed toward him, her eyes wide, her face pale. Then she spied him and lengthened her strides even more.
He looked behind her. Salvador emerged from her bedroom, his expression contorted with rage. The man planted his feet and lifted his Glock, aiming for Annie. Caleb stopped and sighted Salvador through the railing.
Caleb squeezed off his shot a split second before Salvador could. Annie dove the last few feet toward the staircase. Salvador’s bullet whizzed by her and hit the wall. Caleb’s struck the man in the chest. Salvador staggered back, tried to lift his arm to shoot again, but Caleb fired again and Salvador crumbled to the floor.
Caleb scrambled up the two remaining steps and gathered Annie into his arms. “Are you okay?”
Tears streaked down her face. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed.
“May I have a word with you, Annie?” Caleb’s voice held no emotion in it.
She paused and turned from the front door as Sara and Jayden were finally allowed into the house after the scene upstairs had been processed and Salvador’s body carted off. “Sure. Jayden, can you go with Miss Sara for a few minutes? I won’t be long.”
“I’ve got some cookies left over from church tonight and some milk. Wanna share some with me?” Sara offered her hand to Jayden. “Then I imagine you’ll want to take a hot bath. You and your mom are gonna camp out downstairs in the living room. Won’t that be fun!”
Jayden hesitated, clinging to Annie.
“I won’t keep her but a few minutes. I just need to check out some things.” Although Caleb grinned at Jayden, a tic twitched right above his jaw line.
“Mommy, I’ll save a coupla cookies for you.”
“And some milk.” Jayden didn’t know what had happened that evening upstairs. Sara had kept her at the church helping to clean up. Annie would have to explain part of it to her daughter. The past hours had been filled with people in and out, and all she wanted to do was collapse on the portable mattress Caleb had set up for her and Jayden and sleep for the next twenty-four hours.
Jayden leaned back and looked up at Annie. “Okay?”
“I am, honey. I just had some things I had to take care of here at the house, but everything’s okay now. Enjoy the snack.”
Jayden fit her hand in Sara’s while the older lady kept a running commentary going about how successful the Christmas party at the church was and what a big help Jayden had been.
“Let’s go into the living room,” Caleb said in that matter-of-fact voice he’d been using since that brief time he’d held her at the top of the stairs and let her cry.
When she settled on the couch, he remained standing, facing her. “Why did you leave the rec hall this evening? What part of ‘you need to stay with me at all times’ did you not understand? He had you in his sights tonight. You could be dead right now instead of Salvador. You could—” Frustration and anger poured off Caleb, his hands curling into fists and uncurling at his sides.
He was angry with her for going into the kitchen when he was the reason it all happened. She drew herself up tall, lifting her chin a notch. “I know exactly how Downey found me. Salvador told me you sent someone to Crystal Creek to check up on me. What did you think? I was a criminal running from the law?” When guilt flickered across his face, his gaze sliding away for a few seconds, her own fury surfaced. “You did think that.”
“No, not really, but I could tell you were in trouble, and you weren’t talking.”
“It wasn’t any of your business.”
“Ah, the ‘I can do everything by myself’ attitude. How far did it get you today?”
His question wounded her more than she ever wanted him to know. She narrowed her eyes and pinned him with her look. “I’ve learned the hard way not to depend on others.”
“And yet today, you had to.”
She fisted her hands. “Yes, today I did. But that’s not the issue here. You didn’t trust me, or you wouldn’t have gone digging into my life.” Annie surged to her feet, needing to get away from the anger she saw in his eyes. “I have a daughter who needs me. Good night.” She strode toward the foyer and opened the front door for him.
He walked passed her without looking at her. He stopped, started to turn back. Quickly she shut the door, too tired to go into her feelings concerning Caleb. She half expected him to pound on the wood and demand she let him in. But he didn’t, which spoke volumes to her.
How did she expect him to be any different from Bryan? He had her investigated, so when she was spilling her guts to him, he’d known all about her past.
“Is Jayden finally asleep?” Sara asked in the kitchen, where she was cleaning up after their snack.
“Yes, I laid down with her and held her until she drifted off.” Annie collapsed into a chair at the table, too weary even to sleep with her daughter in the living room on the air mattress. When she’d tried to close her eyes, all she saw was Caleb’s furious face.
“Did you tell her anything about what happened tonight?”
“Not yet, but I’ll have to tomorrow when she sees all her things were destroyed. I just couldn’t deal with it after…” After the scene with Caleb.
“How about you?” Sara sat across from Annie.
“I’ve made a mess of everything. Caleb is mad at me for leaving the rec hall.” Tears blurred her vision.
“That’s his frustration lashing out. He was frantic when he couldn’t find you this evening. He kept saying he shouldn’t have been Santa. I think he blames himself for everything that happened.”
“It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t mine, either. Salvador would have come after me one way or another. He was crazed. I’m glad the FBI took the safety deposit key and the box’s location. Let them deal with what’s in it. Not that it makes much difference, since Salvador is dead. So much death.” She shuddered, several tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t even try to stop them. “I can’t believe Bryan hid something so potentially dangerous in one of Jayden’s possessions.”
“What are you gonna do now? You have a home here for as long as you want.”
“I don’t know. I guess I could go back to Crystal Creek, but that never really felt like my home. What do I do about Caleb? I care for him so much.”
“It’s sounding like much more than that. Are you falling in love with him?”
“I—yes.”
“You won’t find a better man.”
“I know, but we can’t have a relationship without total trust. And I don’t think he really trusts me. He had me investigated like a criminal.”
Sara peered down at the table then up into Annie’s eyes. “I think I had a part in that happening. I told him I thought you were in trouble. He said he would do some poking around and see what he could find out. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. I was worried about you. You weren’t sleeping. I could tell something was really troubling you. Please forgive me.”
“Always. You have been so kind to me and Jayden.” Annie reached across the table and covered Sara’s hand. “I’m still not sure how much Caleb really can put his trust in someone. For that matter me. I’ve been so scared to do that, especially after Bryan. After years of not trusting others, I finally trusted Bryan and let him get close. Look what happened because of that. He put me in danger as well as his daughter.” She averted her gaze, the scene with Salvador replaying in her mind.
“Do you trust the Lord?”
Do I? The whole time she’d been with Salvador she’d prayed to God to protect her. And He had. He’d answered her prayers and had even given her a sense of peace in the midst of her panic in the trunk. She used to think He’d forsaken her because of her past, but He hadn’t. He’d been with her the whole time, even at the end, when she’d dove toward the staircase. Something instinctively had compelled her to drop suddenly. “Yes, I do. I couldn’t have said that a few weeks ago.”
“Then trust He’s there for you always. Turn your dilemma over to Him concerning Caleb. Ask Him for His advice on what to do.”
Annie pushed to her feet and came to Sara, giving the older woman a hug. “I will. Thanks for listening. Thanks for opening your home to Jayden and me.”
“You’ve helped this old lady feel young again. I should be thanking you.”
Annie trudged into the living room, wishing she could collapse onto the makeshift bed but knowing from past experience she wouldn’t. One light still on, she found Sara’s Bible on the end table by Sara’s lounge chair and let it fall open. Annie began reading the first chapter of Nahum.
The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him.
As in the trunk, a peace descended as she continued to read the Lord’s words. Had He led her to Christmas? To Sara and Caleb? She’d come to care for the people in this town in a short amount of time.
The next evening when Annie saw Caleb come home from work, she hurried down to his house and rang his bell. When he opened his door, she drank in the sight of the man she loved and was determined to fight for. Shadows under his eyes declared the toll the past few weeks had taken on Caleb. The urge to throw her arms around him inundated her, but the closed expression on his face stopped her.
“May I come in?”
He stepped to the side. “Have you come to tell me you’re going back to Crystal Creek now that you’re free of Salvador?”
“What if I told you I wanted to stay in Christmas?” Her heartbeat accelerated as she tried to read his emotions behind his neutral countenance. “Would you mind?”
“You don’t need my permission.” Wariness still touched his voice, but there was a warmth inching into it.
“I know, but I felt like we should talk about it.”
“For how long?”
“Talking or staying?”
“Staying.”
Hearing the note of hurt in his words and remembering about his past relationship with the woman in Tulsa, she advanced toward him. “I’m staying for good. I don’t want to move on or go back to Crystal Creek. I want to call Christmas my home. But I don’t want to stay if it’ll make you uncomfortable or—”
“And your cop won’t be able to save you. I’ve got a surprise for him.”
The storage area off the kitchen was empty, other than two cigarette butts on the floor by the door. Caleb closed the door and turned into the kitchen. Since he was protecting Annie, he had his service weapon on him. He pulled it out of his holster under his red coat then his cell from his pocket. Had someone been waiting in there? Salvador or someone else he sent?
He called the station. “Tyler, I need you here at the church to watch Jayden and Sara. Annie’s gone. I’m going to check the rest of this place. Have Jeremy swing by Sara’s house and make sure everything’s okay there.”
The sound of an explosion roared through his connection. Caleb jerked his cell from his ear for a few seconds before shouting into it, “Tyler, what happened?” Nothing. “Tyler?”
Salvador shoved Annie through the entrance into Sara’s house. Suddenly a blast rolled through the air like thunder. She peered behind her and saw a flash light the night toward downtown.
She stopped and pivoted. “What have you done?”
“Got rid of a liability before he decided to talk.”
“You blew up the jail?”
He chuckled. “A most effective way to cause a diversion and take out Downey. He had his chance to fix his mistake. He wasn’t supposed to kill Bryan until after he got all the information I needed.”
I’m a liability, too. Even if I could find the information and give it to him, he’ll kill me.
She had to stall as long as she could until someone finally came or she could think of a way out of this situation.
“How did Downey find me?”
Salvador stepped through the entrance and kicked the door closed. “That was easy. Your cop friend led him to you.”
Caleb betrayed her? No, he’s lying. “You’re lying.”
The man’s laughter erupted. “For once I’m not. He called the Crystal Creek police and introduced himself and then asked about you. If that wasn’t enough, he sent someone to check up on you. That someone talked to the police in Crystal Creek about you. It was only a matter of putting a few things together to find where you went. At least Downey was good for something. His police connections helped. Now enough of this, where’s your things?”
Again Annie found herself trudging up the stairs to her bedroom with a madman behind her, wanting something she couldn’t give him. She and Caleb had discussed what she’d brought and couldn’t come up with anything.
At the top of the steps she swung around, and the action was so sudden, it took the man by surprise. His hand shot out and grasped the banister. “Back off.” He lifted the gun and pointed it right at her face.
“I don’t have what you want. At least tell me why you want them.” If she were going to die, she wanted to know why.
He scowled, his eyes narrow. “Bryan’s mother, years ago gathered a tape, a gun and photos that tied me to a murder. When she ran away from me, she used it as her insurance to keep me in line. Believe me, I still looked for her, but it’s much easier to track a person today than it was twenty-eight years ago.”
“Maybe she was lying and there wasn’t anything.” Bryan certainly had lied to her enough.
“It’s possible, but I don’t think so. In the note she left me it was clear she knew too much. I don’t let people live who know too much about my…affairs.” A smile pulled the corners of his mouth in an evil line. “You don’t think I know what you’re doing. You’re stalling. No one’s gonna come. Show me your room.”
In his vehicle, Caleb called Jeremy. “I need you at the station. The back of the jail was blown up and the fire department is there.”
“How’s Tyler? He was there.”
“Okay. A few cuts and bruises, but he says he can handle the situation. I want you to help him. Downey is dead. Thankfully we didn’t have anyone else in jail. Two FBI agents were on the way out of town. They’re coming back. They’ll help you. I’ll take care of Annie.”
“Sure, Chief.”
Caleb turned down Bethlehem Street and saw Sara’s house at the end of the long block. And he also glimpsed an unknown car in front. He gunned his and came to a stop a few seconds later. After confirming Annie wasn’t in the church, he knew where Salvador would take her. Annie wouldn’t leave the party without letting him know unless the man had taken her.
Thrusting open his door, he hit the ground in a run and headed toward the porch. With his weapon in hand, he snuck into the house. Pausing in the foyer, he listened, trying to get a feel for where Annie and Salvador were. A floorboard squeaked above the dining room. Annie’s bedroom.
He took the stairs two at a time, making sure he avoided a creaky step.
Pages of Bryan’s mother’s Bible lay scattered all over the bed. Annie’s heart pounded in a mad tempo at the sight before her. Every item, even clothing and the suitcases, that she and Jayden had brought from Florida was being torn apart before her eyes. Salvador took hold of the antique porcelain doll Bryan had given her daughter for her birthday last month.
“Please, not Jayden’s favorite doll.” The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop them. She knew the man wouldn’t listen to her pleas. He hadn’t when he’d ripped through the Bible.
He glared at her and proceeded to tear it apart—first the head then the limbs and finally the body. Nothing. He tossed it down at his feet. “That’s it. Everything.” He scanned the room. “How about that?” He pointed at the ceramic Christmas tree nearby.
“Not mine.”
He picked it up and smashed it against the floor then toed the pieces to see if there was anything hidden among them. His scowl deepened into an almost desperate look when he peered toward her. “It’s got to be here. I’ve looked everywhere I could—Bryan’s apartment and car, anything I could tie to him. You’re my last link.” He covered the few feet between them and slammed her up against the wall by the bed. “Where is it? You’ve hidden it in this house. If I have to and can’t find it, I’ll burn this place down rather than let anyone find the evidence. I don’t leave evidence around to be used against me.” His hand gripped her neck as he held her pinned with his body.
Nor witnesses, from all she’d read about him. “Bryan never gave me anything that would hold photos, a tape and a gun. Believe me, I would know that.”
“Maybe it’s something smaller—a note about the location of where the items are.” Frustration toughened his voice to a growl.
Frantic, she searched the chaotic mess strewn about the room and zeroed in on Jayden’s treasure chest sitting undisturbed on the dresser, as though part of Sara’s belongings. Salvador squeezed her neck, the glint in his eyes feral. Slowly he cut the flow of air to her lungs. Her mind swirled from the lack of oxygen.
“Box,” she choked out, shifting her gaze to the item on the dresser, peeking out from some clothing pitched onto its top.
He eased the pressure about her burning throat. “Where?”
“Dresser.” She dragged air into her oxygen-starved lungs as his hand fell away and he turned toward the piece of furniture a few feet away.
Quickly crossing to it, he snatched it up and lifted the lid, throwing Jayden’s treasures—a polished rock, a picture of her, Bryan and Jayden, a necklace, her favorite hair ribbons—onto the floor. He checked the box’s bottom, but it was solid wood, then his gaze latched onto the satin lining of the lid. He ripped it off and a key and a piece of paper fell out.
As he picked them up, flinging the box to the side, Annie saw her chance while his attention was riveted on the small paper. She grabbed the alarm clock on the nightstand next to her and swung toward Salvador. He started to turn toward her when she smashed the metal-and-plastic object into his head as hard as she could. He swayed.
Then she ran as quickly as she could for the door. His curses propelled her faster and faster as she hit the hallway and saw the staircase only ten feet away.
Caleb heard the sound of pounding footsteps coming toward him as he climbed the stairs. He swung toward the noise, and through the slats in the banister he saw Annie. He increased his speed. She rushed toward him, her eyes wide, her face pale. Then she spied him and lengthened her strides even more.
He looked behind her. Salvador emerged from her bedroom, his expression contorted with rage. The man planted his feet and lifted his Glock, aiming for Annie. Caleb stopped and sighted Salvador through the railing.
Caleb squeezed off his shot a split second before Salvador could. Annie dove the last few feet toward the staircase. Salvador’s bullet whizzed by her and hit the wall. Caleb’s struck the man in the chest. Salvador staggered back, tried to lift his arm to shoot again, but Caleb fired again and Salvador crumbled to the floor.
Caleb scrambled up the two remaining steps and gathered Annie into his arms. “Are you okay?”
Tears streaked down her face. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed.
“May I have a word with you, Annie?” Caleb’s voice held no emotion in it.
She paused and turned from the front door as Sara and Jayden were finally allowed into the house after the scene upstairs had been processed and Salvador’s body carted off. “Sure. Jayden, can you go with Miss Sara for a few minutes? I won’t be long.”
“I’ve got some cookies left over from church tonight and some milk. Wanna share some with me?” Sara offered her hand to Jayden. “Then I imagine you’ll want to take a hot bath. You and your mom are gonna camp out downstairs in the living room. Won’t that be fun!”
Jayden hesitated, clinging to Annie.
“I won’t keep her but a few minutes. I just need to check out some things.” Although Caleb grinned at Jayden, a tic twitched right above his jaw line.
“Mommy, I’ll save a coupla cookies for you.”
“And some milk.” Jayden didn’t know what had happened that evening upstairs. Sara had kept her at the church helping to clean up. Annie would have to explain part of it to her daughter. The past hours had been filled with people in and out, and all she wanted to do was collapse on the portable mattress Caleb had set up for her and Jayden and sleep for the next twenty-four hours.
Jayden leaned back and looked up at Annie. “Okay?”
“I am, honey. I just had some things I had to take care of here at the house, but everything’s okay now. Enjoy the snack.”
Jayden fit her hand in Sara’s while the older lady kept a running commentary going about how successful the Christmas party at the church was and what a big help Jayden had been.
“Let’s go into the living room,” Caleb said in that matter-of-fact voice he’d been using since that brief time he’d held her at the top of the stairs and let her cry.
When she settled on the couch, he remained standing, facing her. “Why did you leave the rec hall this evening? What part of ‘you need to stay with me at all times’ did you not understand? He had you in his sights tonight. You could be dead right now instead of Salvador. You could—” Frustration and anger poured off Caleb, his hands curling into fists and uncurling at his sides.
He was angry with her for going into the kitchen when he was the reason it all happened. She drew herself up tall, lifting her chin a notch. “I know exactly how Downey found me. Salvador told me you sent someone to Crystal Creek to check up on me. What did you think? I was a criminal running from the law?” When guilt flickered across his face, his gaze sliding away for a few seconds, her own fury surfaced. “You did think that.”
“No, not really, but I could tell you were in trouble, and you weren’t talking.”
“It wasn’t any of your business.”
“Ah, the ‘I can do everything by myself’ attitude. How far did it get you today?”
His question wounded her more than she ever wanted him to know. She narrowed her eyes and pinned him with her look. “I’ve learned the hard way not to depend on others.”
“And yet today, you had to.”
She fisted her hands. “Yes, today I did. But that’s not the issue here. You didn’t trust me, or you wouldn’t have gone digging into my life.” Annie surged to her feet, needing to get away from the anger she saw in his eyes. “I have a daughter who needs me. Good night.” She strode toward the foyer and opened the front door for him.
He walked passed her without looking at her. He stopped, started to turn back. Quickly she shut the door, too tired to go into her feelings concerning Caleb. She half expected him to pound on the wood and demand she let him in. But he didn’t, which spoke volumes to her.
How did she expect him to be any different from Bryan? He had her investigated, so when she was spilling her guts to him, he’d known all about her past.
“Is Jayden finally asleep?” Sara asked in the kitchen, where she was cleaning up after their snack.
“Yes, I laid down with her and held her until she drifted off.” Annie collapsed into a chair at the table, too weary even to sleep with her daughter in the living room on the air mattress. When she’d tried to close her eyes, all she saw was Caleb’s furious face.
“Did you tell her anything about what happened tonight?”
“Not yet, but I’ll have to tomorrow when she sees all her things were destroyed. I just couldn’t deal with it after…” After the scene with Caleb.
“How about you?” Sara sat across from Annie.
“I’ve made a mess of everything. Caleb is mad at me for leaving the rec hall.” Tears blurred her vision.
“That’s his frustration lashing out. He was frantic when he couldn’t find you this evening. He kept saying he shouldn’t have been Santa. I think he blames himself for everything that happened.”
“It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t mine, either. Salvador would have come after me one way or another. He was crazed. I’m glad the FBI took the safety deposit key and the box’s location. Let them deal with what’s in it. Not that it makes much difference, since Salvador is dead. So much death.” She shuddered, several tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t even try to stop them. “I can’t believe Bryan hid something so potentially dangerous in one of Jayden’s possessions.”
“What are you gonna do now? You have a home here for as long as you want.”
“I don’t know. I guess I could go back to Crystal Creek, but that never really felt like my home. What do I do about Caleb? I care for him so much.”
“It’s sounding like much more than that. Are you falling in love with him?”
“I—yes.”
“You won’t find a better man.”
“I know, but we can’t have a relationship without total trust. And I don’t think he really trusts me. He had me investigated like a criminal.”
Sara peered down at the table then up into Annie’s eyes. “I think I had a part in that happening. I told him I thought you were in trouble. He said he would do some poking around and see what he could find out. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you. I was worried about you. You weren’t sleeping. I could tell something was really troubling you. Please forgive me.”
“Always. You have been so kind to me and Jayden.” Annie reached across the table and covered Sara’s hand. “I’m still not sure how much Caleb really can put his trust in someone. For that matter me. I’ve been so scared to do that, especially after Bryan. After years of not trusting others, I finally trusted Bryan and let him get close. Look what happened because of that. He put me in danger as well as his daughter.” She averted her gaze, the scene with Salvador replaying in her mind.
“Do you trust the Lord?”
Do I? The whole time she’d been with Salvador she’d prayed to God to protect her. And He had. He’d answered her prayers and had even given her a sense of peace in the midst of her panic in the trunk. She used to think He’d forsaken her because of her past, but He hadn’t. He’d been with her the whole time, even at the end, when she’d dove toward the staircase. Something instinctively had compelled her to drop suddenly. “Yes, I do. I couldn’t have said that a few weeks ago.”
“Then trust He’s there for you always. Turn your dilemma over to Him concerning Caleb. Ask Him for His advice on what to do.”
Annie pushed to her feet and came to Sara, giving the older woman a hug. “I will. Thanks for listening. Thanks for opening your home to Jayden and me.”
“You’ve helped this old lady feel young again. I should be thanking you.”
Annie trudged into the living room, wishing she could collapse onto the makeshift bed but knowing from past experience she wouldn’t. One light still on, she found Sara’s Bible on the end table by Sara’s lounge chair and let it fall open. Annie began reading the first chapter of Nahum.
The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him.
As in the trunk, a peace descended as she continued to read the Lord’s words. Had He led her to Christmas? To Sara and Caleb? She’d come to care for the people in this town in a short amount of time.
The next evening when Annie saw Caleb come home from work, she hurried down to his house and rang his bell. When he opened his door, she drank in the sight of the man she loved and was determined to fight for. Shadows under his eyes declared the toll the past few weeks had taken on Caleb. The urge to throw her arms around him inundated her, but the closed expression on his face stopped her.
“May I come in?”
He stepped to the side. “Have you come to tell me you’re going back to Crystal Creek now that you’re free of Salvador?”
“What if I told you I wanted to stay in Christmas?” Her heartbeat accelerated as she tried to read his emotions behind his neutral countenance. “Would you mind?”
“You don’t need my permission.” Wariness still touched his voice, but there was a warmth inching into it.
“I know, but I felt like we should talk about it.”
“For how long?”
“Talking or staying?”
“Staying.”
Hearing the note of hurt in his words and remembering about his past relationship with the woman in Tulsa, she advanced toward him. “I’m staying for good. I don’t want to move on or go back to Crystal Creek. I want to call Christmas my home. But I don’t want to stay if it’ll make you uncomfortable or—”
