Puppy Wishes & Candy Kisses (Kringle Falls #1)

18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

E verything was changing…

…for the better.

Monday morning, Michael awoke later than normal. It felt good to get some extra sleep. And since he was on vacation all week, there was no place he had to be. He stretched and leaned back against the pillows.

He thought of dinner the day before. Even though his brothers had succeeded in embarrassing him with their playful banter and stories from his youth, Candi had come to his defense a few times. No one had ever done that before. At one point, his mother chimed in and threatened to pull out the photo albums with all of those embarrassing kid photos. Thankfully, he’d distracted her with a request for dessert—anything to keep those photos out of sight. A man could only take so much good-natured teasing in one evening.

By the end of the dinner, Candi had totally won his entire family over, even his father, who was normally the quieter one. Candi had drawn his father out and had him talking about football. Who knew that Candi enjoyed football? He wondered what else he would find out about her that would surprise him.

Every year, he used up his remaining vacation days for the year early. It meant he worked through the holidays, but he wanted to let the people with families take the time off between Christmas and New Year’s. Since he no longer had anyone waiting at home for him, it was easier for him to work during the holidays. It helped take his mind off Christmases of the past and the gaping hole in his heart.

He grabbed a quick shower and dressed. He’d forgotten to tell Candi that he was off work, so when he came down the steps and entered the kitchen, she jumped, spilling her coffee.

“Sorry.” He rushed over to grab some paper towels to help clean up the mess. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She moved to the sink to rinse off her hands. “I thought you were at work.”

“Normally, I would be, but I’m on vacation this week.”

As she dried her hands, she turned to him. “I hope you didn’t feel like you had to take time off because I’m here.”

He shook his head as he knelt down to wipe up the drops of coffee that had landed on the floor. “No. I had this week planned for a while now.”

“Oh.” She looked as though there was something she wanted to ask him but decided it was best not to. “Can I make you some breakfast?”

He looked around to see what she’d eaten, but he didn’t see an empty plate or anything. “What did you eat?”

She held up her mug. “This is all I need.”

“You should be glad my mother isn’t around to hear you. She would insist you have a big breakfast with all the trimmings. She says it’s the most important meal of the day.”

Candi smiled. “She should tell that to my waistline. If I ate three meals a day, I’d never fit in my clothes. But I’ve been known to make an exception for a blueberry muffin or a breakfast burrito.”

“Hm...” He opened the fridge and stared inside. “I’m afraid I didn’t pick up any tortillas at the store. But I can run out and get some. It’ll only take me a couple minutes.”

“What?” She looked shocked that he’d go out of his way for her. “Are you serious?”

With a stoic expression, he nodded. “Why do you seem so surprised?”

“I just didn’t expect you to drop everything to run out and get me some food.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re my guest, and I don’t have anything else that I need to do. Besides, a breakfast burrito sounds good to me. I should probably grab some salsa too.”

She smiled. “And cheese. And eggs. And either bacon or sausage, whichever you prefer.”

He arched a brow. “Which do you prefer?”

She shrugged. “I like both.”

“Both it is.”

“Michael, you don’t have to buy everything I like.” Her cheeks took on a rosy hue. It looked really good on her.

“I’ll be right back.”

Buzz. Buzz.

He stopped and pulled his phone from his pocket. “It’s not me.”

She moved to the kitchen island. “It’s mine. It’s Merry. Maybe she has news about the puppies.”

Candi pressed the phone to her ear. “Hi, Merry. How are the puppies?”

He should probably get going, or their breakfast would be more like lunch. He glanced over at Candi once more.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

He noticed how her voice rose. Was that a note of panic in her voice? He stood rooted to the spot in the kitchen until he knew everything was all right.

“Are you sure?” Pause. “It’s not your fault. This could have happened to anyone.”

What happened? Now he was genuinely concerned. He approached Candi. Was it the puppies? Or had something happened to Kris?

“No, I haven’t. But Michael is going into town, I’ll get a ride with him and have him drop me off. Please, don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”

Figure what out? He didn’t like this not knowing. He wished she would get off the phone and tell him what was going on.

“Yes. I’ll keep an eye out. I’ll see you soon.” At last Candi disconnected the call.

“What’s going on?”

Candi put the phone in the back pocket of her jeans. “It’s Tank.”

His stomach sank. If anything happened to that adorable dog, he would never forgive himself. “What about him?”

“Merry took him outside this morning. She didn’t put the leash on him because her backyard is fenced in. When the phone rang, she went back inside to grab it. She was only gone a minute, and when she went back outside, Tank was gone.”

He sighed. “That dog’s name should be Houdini.”

“I agree. She’s looked everywhere around her house, but the neighbors haven’t seen him. She’s very worried, so I told her I would come help her look for him.”

“Grab your stuff. I’ll meet you in the pickup.”

Candi held up a finger as though she’d had a thought. She opened a kitchen cabinet and pulled out a bag of treats. “I forgot about these when we took the pups into town. I’ve been meaning to give them to Merry. All three of the pups love them but most especially Tank.”

“Good idea.” Michael moved to the mudroom and put on his snow boots and winter coat.

After grabbing her purse, she rushed into the mudroom. “I’m almost ready.”

“I’ll start the truck.” He headed out the back door.

When he got into the pickup, he decided that under the circumstances, he should loop in his family. They had a family chat link where everyone posted if they needed to contact the whole family. It was so much easier than having to call everyone and repeat the same information.

He pulled it up and started to type:

One of the puppies Candi was caring for has run away. Last seen at Merry Kringle’s house. Escaped out of the back yard. No sign of him since.

Then recalling that he had taken some photos of Tank, he flipped through them and attached one of Tank in his bed.

Mom: Oh no. I’ll head over to Merry’s.

Dad: I can drive around and look.

Parker: I haven’t seen him, but I’ll keep an eye out.

Colin: I’m at work, but I’ll get the word out.

Justin: I’m the closest. I’ll start looking.

Candi climbed into the pickup. “Sorry. My phone rang as I was going out the door. Merry wanted a picture of Tank, and would you believe that I don’t have any?”

He noticed the sad look on her face. “Don’t worry. This is all going to work out.” He reached for his phone. His fingers moved rapidly over the screen. “I just sent you photos of Tank.”

Ding. Ding. Ding.

His phone was blowing up with messages. He glanced down to read them. “Do you have to go to work?”

He set the phone in the cup holder before he wheeled the pickup out of the driveway. “Why would you think that?”

“Because every time your phone starts going off like that, it means something has gone wrong, and you have to fix it.”

He reached over and placed his warm hand over hers. “I’m not going anywhere until we find Tank. My phone is going off because my family is throwing out ideas of where Tank might be hiding.”

“I really appreciate their help.”

When he glanced over at her, he spotted her swiping at her eyes. Her tears tore at his heart. All he wanted to do in that moment was fix this for her, but he didn’t have a clue where the pup would go. At one point, he released her hand. He reached out and turned on the radio. Christmas music was playing. He knew how much she enjoyed it. Maybe it would help comfort her.

“Why did you turn that on?” she asked. “I didn’t think you liked Christmas music.”

“I don’t dislike it. And I know how much you enjoy it. I thought maybe it would make you feel a little better.” He took her hand in his again. This time he was the one that threaded his fingers through hers.

Ding. Ding.

His phone continued to go off.

“Do you think someone found him?” There was a note of hope in her voice.

Michael pulled up to a stop sign. He checked his rearview mirror. There wasn’t anyone behind them.

He held his phone out to her. “May I see your phone again?”

Without a word, she handed it over. His fingers moved rapidly over the screen. Then he returned it to her.

“What did you do this time?”

“I added you to our family loop. Now you’ll see all of the updates as they come in.”

“Thank you.” She looked down at her phone. “Your mom is at the Kringles’ place. She searched the yard. He hasn’t returned.”

Ding.

“Colin says everyone at the vet clinic is going to start searching.”

“Good. You should look out the window. I highly doubt he would make it this far, but you never know.”

“Oh. You’re right.” She lowered her phone to her lap and stared out the window. “He’ll be all right, won’t he?”

“Yes.” Michael had to believe it.

He put his hand over hers. He noticed how she turned her hand over and threaded her fingers through his. He told himself it was just the worry that had her clinging to him.

She wasn’t the only one who was worried. Luckily, it had been sunny all weekend, so some of the snow had melted. Still, if anything happened to Tank, he wouldn’t forgive himself. He knew how ornery the dog could be. He should have warned Merry, instead of distancing himself and letting Candi deal with it all.

Where are you, Tank?