Page 55 of A Pen Pal for Christmas

Hudson sat back and crossed his arms. “Or he’s playing us, and this whole thing is part of some larger game. Maybe he’s not alone in this.”

Tommy shot Hudson a withering look. “We’re not talking about a criminal mastermind here. He’s made his share of bad choices, sure, but not he’s not known for organizing elaborate schemes.”

“So, what? You’re saying we just trust that this wasn’t him?” Hudson countered.

“I’m saying that if we’re going to figure this out, we need to focus on facts, not theories. And right now, the fact is that Dane has a solid alibi. We have no proof about him working with someone else, just gossip about him arguing with some guy outside the grocery store.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” I cut in. “Dane’s the only one with a reason to mess with me. Who else would?—”

“Gossip or not, it could’ve easily been the guy in the grocery store parking lot,” Hudson interrupted. “Maybe Dane hired him.”

“That’s a stretch,” I said with a frown. “Dane’s broke. He doesn’t have a job. We literally just watched him sleep in his car all night. He probably didn’t even have dinner.”

Tommy shared a look with Hudson before turning back to me. “Sounds like a lot of sympathy ya got there.”

I rolled my eyes. “Maybe it is. Maybe I’ve gotten this all wrong. Dane sucks, obviously, but what would he pay someone with? Monopoly money?”

Hudson shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t about money. Maybe it was a favor, or?—”

“Or maybe you’re trying too hard to make this fit,” I snapped, the frustration bubbling up before I could stop it. “Why are you so convinced Dane has to be involved? Just because he’s been a jerk to me—and in general—doesn’t mean he’s the only person in the world capable of doing something awful.”

Hudson’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond right away. Instead, he looked at me like he was trying to decide if I was being naive—or if I had a point. He took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. “You’re not wrong. I guess I’ve just seen enough to know that sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one. And with Dane… it feels like the puzzle fits. But I’ll admit—” he paused, glancing at me—“there’s a chance I’m wrong. And maybe… Maybe I don’t want to be.”

“Because it makes it a bigger puzzle,” I guessed quietly.

He nodded, and Tommy pointed a silent finger-gun at him, clearly thinking along the same lines.

I smoothed my hands over my jeans, forcing myself to take it down a notch. “Like Tommy said, he’s not a criminal mastermind. It’s not like he’s a mob boss running some kind of empire where he can order someone else to trash my room, you know?”

“I’m not saying he is,” Hudson said in a low, patient voice.

I stared at him. We needed to agree to disagree, but it wasn’t like there was a bright side to any of this, so apparently, tension was all we’d get.

But then Tommy cleared his throat, breaking right through it. “Let’s focus on what we do know,” he said evenly. “Dane didn’t do it, but that doesn’t mean we should just let him off the hook. I don’t believe in coincidences. And until we figure out who might be involved, we keep Sofia safe.”

That last part was directed at Hudson, and his gaze stayed on me for a beat longer before he nodded at my brother. “Agreed.”

I let out a shaky breath. Someone was targeting me, and we were no closer to figuring out who. And worse? I couldn’t shake the feeling that whoever it was wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted.

Tommy looked over at me, his expression softening as he scanned my face. “You okay, Fi?”

I nodded, though my throat felt tight. “I guess. It’s just… a lot.”

His hand landed on my shoulder, giving it a quick, firm squeeze. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

The small gesture eased some of the fear and uncertainty that pressed on my chest, and for a moment, it reminded me of when we were kids—Tommy standing up for me on the playground or sneaking me his dessert when I’d had a bad day. Yes, he was an annoying little brother in a lot of ways, but we were the closest in age, and younger or not, he had always had my back.

CHAPTER 19

Hudson

The next morning,Sofia glanced around the town square as she walked beside me. We’d cleaned up her room after our visit to the station yesterday, salvaging what we could and trashing the rest. I could tell how much it’d bothered her to throw away so many of her books, and even though I’d tried to cheer her up by joking about how she could ask Santa for another suitcase full of books, her answering smile hadn’t quite reached her eyes.

But it hadn’t been all bad. After we’d finished with her room, I’d walked her to The Hearthstone for her shift and the whole crew had joined me at the bar. She’d seemed to relax more and more as the night went on, and I was grateful she had such a good group of people in her corner.

That said, I hadn’t loved the way Jamie’s eyes had tracked her around the bar all night. Not in a predatory way, but he was clearly interested. And since Sofia and I hadn’t defined what was brewing between us yet, I had no leg to stand on when it came to the flare of possessiveness that his longing looks had caused.

At least I had the privilege of walking her back to the inn after her shift—walking her tomyroom. All her things were unpacked into the drawers and closet of my room, right next to mine. Somemight find it odd, and definitely fast if this were solely about our feelings for each other, but this was about her safety first and foremost.

---