Page 7 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
“Hey, I only pull her over when her actions warrant it.”
Michael grinned at him. “Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that. Rumor has it that you pulled her over last time because she was going two miles over the speed limit.”
“It was four over, and she was breaking the law.” He didn’t like the feeling of being on the defensive with his brother. “Why are you attacking me?”
“I’m not. But if you’re feeling attacked, maybe it gives you some idea how Belle must feel.”
Is that the way Belle felt? He honestly never stopped to consider it from her perspective. His brother had certainly given him a lot to think about.
Parker should let it go but he couldn’t, not yet. “Do you really think she feels that way?” When Michael shrugged, Parker said, “I don’t want anyone to hate me for doing my job.”
“Then perhaps you should make a friendly gesture.”
A friendly gesture? His mind raced. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. That’s for you to figure out.” He looked past him. “There’s Candi. I have to go. But you might question why you don’t date much and why you seem to find yourself paying special attention to Belle’s driving habits.” Michael grabbed the two to-go cups in front of him and headed for the exit, where Candi was waiting for him.
When she caught Parker’s gaze, she smiled and waved. Parker waved back. Just because things had worked out so well for his brother, didn’t mean it would work out for him too—and certainly not with the girl who used to always snub him in school.
Still, all of that stuff was far in the past. Maybe it was time to try to make peace with Belle. Not that he was giving his brother’s comments any credence. It was just that Belle seemed like she could use a helping hand with the burned-out light.
With the thought in mind, he stood. He grabbed his coffee and headed for the door. He had a destination in mind. He just wasn’t sure if what he was about to do was a good idea. If it all blew up in his face, he’d blame it on his brother.
It had been a busy day.
And it wasn’t over yet.
Belle had rushed home at lunchtime. Odie had barked like crazy when she walked in the door. His butt wiggled as his tail swished back and forth like a windshield wiper on full speed.
She didn’t stay long. She couldn’t run late, because she couldn’t speed on the way back. She wasn’t giving Parker one more chance to write her a ticket. Although, she still had the light out. Surely, he didn’t expect her to take off work to fix it. Even he couldn’t be that exacting, could he?
She made it back to Frills & Heels without any run-ins with the sheriff. The afternoon moved along swiftly. Belle checked out their latest customer and sent her off with a Merry Christmas. People were stopping in to buy clothes for the holidays. The store’s clothes were tailored to the over-thirty and young-at-heart crowd. They did a steady business with peaks at the holidays and the summer. Someday, Belle would like to carve out an area for the twenty-somethings too.
She checked the big clock on the wall behind the checkout counter. Thirty-three minutes to go. And then she had a tail light to deal with. Honestly, she didn’t have a clue how to change it. Normally, she’d take it to We Fix It Auto, but they were closed until after the New Year. It was a good thing they had videos online to show her what she needed to do.
And then she had another thought—she didn’t have a replacement light bulb. She’d swing by Merry Mufflers & More on the way home and pick up the light bulb. She just hoped they could tell her which size she needed.
With this being a small town, the businesses closed early and people went home for dinner. She better check what time they were open until. She pulled it up on her phone and found that they’d already closed at four o’clock. She sighed. There was no way she could fix it tonight. Knowing her luck, Sheriff Bishop would notice and give her yet another ticket.
The jingle of the front door drew her attention. She looked up to find two women walking in. They appeared to be together. With Mavis already busy helping another woman, Belle stepped forward.
“Welcome to Frills & Heels. My name’s Belle. How may I help you?”
The older of the two women, who had a brunette bob, stepped forward. She smiled. “We’re looking for something to wear to a Christmas party.”
As she showed them clothing items that might be just what they were looking for, she momentarily forgot about her problems and instead focused on the task at hand. This was the part of the job she loved, interacting with the customers. With the town being a tourist destination, she was constantly meeting new people, many of whom had entertaining tales to tell.
She had just walked the ladies back to the changing rooms when she heard her boss calling her name. Belle had no idea what she wanted, but she was curious. Usually Mavis didn’t bother her when she was working with customers.
When she stepped back into the front of the boutique, her gaze collided with Sheriff Bishop’s. The breath stilled in her lungs. What was he doing here?
If he was here to give her a hard time in front of her boss, he could think again. She strode toward him. Lowering her voice, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
His brows rose, as though he was surprised by her hostility. “I need your car keys.”
“What?” Surely, she hadn’t heard him correctly.
“I need your keys.”
