Page 52 of Christmas in the Shadows

However, was there anywhere that was truly safe?

Chelsea’s heart still pounded out of control as they headed toward her house.

Though she thought the other driver was probably long gone now, another part of her feared he’d show up again, determined to finish what he’d started.

Did this person want to kill them? Or simply scare them?

It didn’t matter. What he’d done was still despicable.

She and Tex were obviously getting too close to the truth right now, and someone was desperate for them to back off.

They cleared the mountain road and reached the small neighborhood where her house was located.

As they drove past Gilbert’s impeccable house, she glanced at the front. The wood covering the window was a temporary blemish to the otherwise perfect house.

She thought about how someone had thrown a brick through his window. How did that fit with everything that had happened?

Did that mean Gilbert was a victim here also?

Chelsea mentally replayed that conversation she’d overheard between Gilbert and the mystery man. Could she have misconstrued it? Maybe Gilbert was being threatened as well.

I don’t know what else to tell you.

I can’t keep doing this.

You don’t have much choice.

She didn’t know. Too many thoughts rushed through her head right now to make sense of any of them.

Tex pulled into her driveway. Wordlessly, they both climbed out, walked to the rear of the vehicle, and stared at the dent in the bumper. The mark was probably eight inches long.

Her stomach churned.

She would have to get that fixed, obviously. It just seemed so senseless. Like such a waste of her time and resources.

But at least her engine seemed okay. That was always a concern since it was located in the back of the vehicle.

“There’s nothing I can do to help you fix that damage,” Tex murmured. “You’ll have to take it to a body shop.”

“I can do that. Probably after the holidays.” She paused. “At least it still runs.”

“That is a good way to look at the situation.”

She glanced at him. “What are you going to do about your truck?”

“I’ll need to call someone to tow it into a shop. Hopefully, someone has some of my tires in stock. I have a spare, but it doesn’t do much good when all four of my tires were slashed.”

Chelsea frowned. “That seems like overkill, doesn’t it?”

“For sure.”

They paused in front of each other, a moment of silence passing.

Her pulse quickened.

Was Tex thinking what she was thinking? Was he remembering the good times they’d shared? The sweet kisses they’d exchanged?

He hadn’t given any indication of that, she realized. She was simply being too optimistic.

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