Page 16 of A Second Chance Christmas Kiss

They were all giving me incredulous looks. Donovan followed my gaze. His eyes widened as he turned back to me. “Was that Melody?”

People from the movie glanced at us, curiosity at our raised voices overriding their desire to see the film’s ending.

Sebastian’s eyebrows went up. “TheMelody Harris was just here?”

I nodded.

Liam laughed. “Wow.”

“Shh,” I told them and gestured toward the beach. “Let’s go talk down there.”

Chapter Seven

Melody

After the call from the police, I showed up at my mother’s place, well,my placenow …. And Bill Meyers, a cop in town, waited for me.

“What’s going on?” I looked around feeling worried, nothing seemed out of place, aside from a lamp that had been knocked over.

Bill cleared his throat, seeming nervous. “The next-door neighbor called when she claimed to see someone snooping around here. Can you see anything they took?”

My adrenaline raced. “No.” I searched but could only see boxes scattered here and there that I still needed to go through.

Bill put a hand on my shoulder. A hand that felt … possessive. “Melody, would you be more comfortable staying with people right now, since you’ve been broken into?”

I shrugged away from him, unsure if he was talking about himself. “Uh, no. I’m fine. If there’s no damage, I’ll go.”

I walked toward the door and waited.

He followed me.

I waited for him to walk out, then locked it up.

Bill was still there.

“Do you need to file something about this?” I asked, walking past him.

Again, he reached for my shoulder. “Melody, let’s talk.”

The guy was really irritating me now because I’d fallen into a sort of friendship with him since starting ‘grief’ group a few weeks ago, but now he just kept hitting on me. “I have to go, Bill.”

I’d gone home and had weird dreams. Dreams about Charles, about Bill; both on the beach, both trying to chase me. Bill in a crazy swimming suit.

I shook my head the next morning and put my running shoes on. Even though I’d run last night, I needed more. Running was my solace. Plus, I was unsettled that my mother’s place—well, my place—had been broken into. It felt silly to spend a bunch of money I didn’t have on cameras, especially because I wasn’t currently living there.

After a quick forty-five-minute run, I returned home and got ready for church. I didn’t open the store on Sundays. I’d always gone to church, and it felt right. Since I’d come back to Jewel Cove, I went to the nondenominational Christian church I’d always gone to with my mother. It wasn’t far, just down Second Street next to the town park.

As I walked into the church and looked for Gretchen and her family, I was surprised to see Charles there. Then I felt stupid. Of course he would come to church with his grandmother, who sat in the front row. I’d gone to sleep thinking about the man, about the way he’d wanted to talk to me the night before, and hadn’t considered I could run into him here.

As I found Gretchen and sat, I noticed that he was looking in my direction. I didn’t meet his eyes. My heart raced, and I was reminded of the dream I’d had about him last night. We’d been out by the lighthouse on Old Mill Road, young and frolicking inthe beach water. He had taken me into his arms and promised me everything.

Gretchen elbowed my side, and I jumped a little. She leaned over, her gaze moving between me and Charles. “What’s going on?”

I felt myself blush and whispered, “Nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing.”

I glanced over, but right when I met his eyes, he picked up a hymnbook and started singing. I did the same.

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