Page 43 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
“Bring the jewelry box to the waterfall tonight at nine and be alone, if you want your dog back. If you aren’t alone, the deal is off.”
The phone went dead.
Belle turned to Parker. “He hung up. Do… Do you think Odie’s okay?”
Parker reached out and drew her to him. He held her for a moment. In his arms, she gathered her emotions. This was about getting Odie home, not the riot of emotions swirling in the pit of her stomach.
When she pulled back, Parker looked directly in her eyes. “What jewelry box?”
Her thoughts were jumbled. Her hands were still trembling. “I don’t know what he’s talking about.”
“Come on.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and escorted her to his pickup.
Once they were both inside, and the engine was started, he turned to her. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”
“I told you, no. Do you think he still has Odie? I didn’t hear him in the background.” She worried her bottom lip.
“Odie is fine.” Parker’s voice was firm and reassuring.
“Then why didn’t he say he’d bring him to the meeting spot?” She didn’t trust the dognapper, not one little bit. But she would do anything it took to get Odie back.
“I don’t know.” He put the truck into gear and stepped on the accelerator. “We need to head to your place.”
“For what?”
“The jewelry box. Do you think it’s the one you have in your bedroom?”
She shook her head. “I’ve had that since I was a kid and the only value it has is in sentimentality.”
“Okay. Do you have another jewelry box?”
She did her best to silence the worried voices in her head. It took a moment, and then it came to her. “I remember. I picked up an old one at an estate sale not long ago. It needs some work, so I put it in the garage. I thought I’d work on it this summer.” She couldn’t believe that’s what all of this trouble was about. “I just can’t imagine what he wants with it. It’s pretty or it will be when it’s sanded and refinished, but it isn’t worth any money.”
As he drove, he was quiet, as though thinking over what she’d told him. She became lost in her own thoughts as she wondered if she was about to get Odie back. She was willing to do what the dognapper asked of her.
But that wasn’t the only thing on her mind that snowy evening. As she watched the snowflakes make their way to the ground, memories came rushing back to her.
“What are you thinking about?” Parker’s voice drew her from her thoughts.
As the snow fell, covering the roadway, her thoughts were swept back in time. “I was thinking about a night like this one.” She got caught up in the past. “It was my senior year, and I was having a blast. Serena was throwing a party up at her parents’ cabin. I heard that you were going to be there. I guess I was driving too fast, and the car went off the road into a ditch.”
“Did you get hurt?”
“Not like you’re thinking.” She paused as she summoned her courage to admit the rest. “I called my parents to come get me.” The mantle of guilt slid over her shoulders, weighing her down. “If only I hadn’t been so insistent about sneaking off to that party. Of course, my parents didn’t know I was going to a party. They thought I was going to Serena’s house to study, which just makes me feel worse.”
Parker reached over and took her hand into his own. He laced their fingers and gave her hand a squeeze. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. His touch was reassuring and gave her the strength she needed to finish her story.
“If it wasn’t for me lying, they’d still be alive. If they knew it was a party, they never would have let me go.” Her heart ached as she peeled back the old scabs.
“I’m positive the accident wasn’t your fault. And I don’t think your parents would want you blaming yourself for what happened. They loved you. They’d want you to be happy.”
“And if I had been honest and kept my word to my parents, the accident wouldn’t have happened.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry that all of this is bringing up bad memories for you.”
“Me too.”
But she’d made a decision. She was going to keep her word to the dognapper and do exactly what he’d asked of her. She knew how severe the consequences could be when she broke her word. And that sweet, loving puppy was counting on her to get this right. She wouldn’t let him down.
