Page 34 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
She couldn’t look at him. He would see that she was on the verge of breaking down again. Instead, she nodded and put the box between them.
She didn’t know how long they worked quietly together. Paula finished up her work somewhere along the way. Parker excused himself and walked the deputy outside. Belle assumed he wanted to talk more about the case, but he didn’t want Belle to overhear. And to be honest, she couldn’t deal with any more that evening. After all, it was now the middle of the night. She should go to sleep, but she couldn’t, not until she took care of the ornaments.
Parker wasn’t gone long. When he stepped up next to her, she thought he would insist that she call it a night, but he didn’t. Instead, he quietly settled on the floor next to her and piece by piece they placed the broken ornaments in the box.
For the first time, she noticed how his presence was a comfort to her. The realization shocked her to the point that she gasped.
“What’s wrong?” Parker turned to her. “Did you cut yourself?”
She shook her head as she held up her hand, as though to check for a cut. “I’m okay.”
She got back to work. As angry as she was with the person who had broken into her home, she blamed herself more. She should have taken the ornaments off the tree after the first break-in. She should have foreseen an accident like this. This whole mess was her fault.
“I should have known better,” she muttered to herself.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Are you blaming yourself?”
“Yes.” The word popped out of her mouth before she could stop it. But it felt good to admit it. And so she kept going. “I should have known better than to put those ornaments on the tree.”
“Whoa. Slow down.” He sat back on his heels. “What is the point of having something special—something beautiful—if you never get to see it because it’s always in a box?”
“You sound like my mother.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “But if they had been in a box, they wouldn’t be ruined.”
He reached over and gave her a one-arm hug. “This isn’t your fault. It’s the suspect’s. And I promise you that we’re going to find him, and he is going to pay for what he’s done.”
They finished picking up as much as they could. Parker got to his feet with the box in his hands. “What would you like me to do with this?”
She shrugged. “It’s not like I can repair any of it.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell him to put the box in the garbage. Instead she said, “Just make it go away.”
He solemnly nodded his head.
While he took care of the box, she straightened the tree. She took the remaining ornaments off the tree. She was sad that so few had survived. She carefully took them and placed them on the kitchen island. She proceeded to wrap them in paper towels before placing them in a large rectangular plastic box with a lid.
In the meantime, Parker inquired about the vacuum. She told him it was in the hall closet. She was surprised when he set to work vacuuming the floor. She thought he’d want to go to sleep. He probably did, but he wasn’t going to leave her to do this on her own.
She stepped into the living room. When he saw her, he turned off the vacuum. Before he could say anything, she said, “You need to rest.”
“I’m not resting until you do.”
She opened her mouth to tell him she still had the upstairs to clean up, but she wordlessly pressed her lips together. He was injured and needed to rest. That was more important than the fact that she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep that night. All the events of the evening were still rolling around in her mind.
“Fine,” she said. “We’re done for tonight.” Her gaze met his. “Thank you for…” She recalled the image of him kneeling beside her and picking up broken pieces of ornaments, but she couldn’t vocalize her feelings in that moment. “For everything.”
He stepped closer to her. “Are you going to be all right? I know how much those heirlooms meant to you.”
She nodded, not trusting her voice. She moved to the stairs and rushed up them, needing a moment by herself to gather her feelings. When she reached the landing, she came to a sudden halt. A gasp tore from her lungs.
“Belle?” Hurried footsteps sounded. Parker stopped right behind her. “What’s…”
He grew quiet as he took in the sight with her. Her belongings were thrown across the hallway in a haphazard fashion. There were random holes in the wall as though someone had been in a rage and punched it. The pictures on the wall were smashed. Broken glass was scattered all over the floor.
This on top of the destroyed ornaments made her stomach take a nauseous lurch. She pressed a hand to her mid-section as tears rushed to her eyes. She blinked repeatedly. Why was this happening to her?
She took a step forward. The crunch of broken glass sounded under her shoe.
