Puppy Wishes & Candy Kisses (Kringle Falls #1)

19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

T his was awful.

Candi couldn’t believe with what felt like half of the town searching for Tank that no one had found him. They’d been searching for hours.

And now it had started to snow again. She knew the bad weather was going to make the search so much harder. But she wasn’t giving up. She didn’t care how long she had to walk the streets of Kringle Falls. She was going to find Tank.

“Candi”—Michael’s voice had a worried tone to it—“you have to take a break.”

“No.” She shook her head. “He’s out here somewhere. He’s probably scared. I have to find him. He’s my responsibility.”

Michael reached out, gently grasping her forearm. “You aren’t going to do him any good if you make yourself sick. You’ve been out here for hours. The temperature is dropping, and the snow is getting heavier.”

She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “You want to stop now when he needs us most of all?”

“No. But you need some hot food and warmer clothes.”

She wanted to argue with him, but he was right about the clothes. As the frigid wind picked up, it cut right through her jeans. Perhaps the snow suit he’d lent her for the snowmobile would be better.

Reluctantly, she said, “Okay. You go get the clothes, and I’ll keep looking.”

“No. You have to warm up before you get frostbite.” There was a hard edge to his voice, as though he weren’t about to negotiate about this point. “Once we change into something warmer. Eat something hot. And get some flashlights, we’ll come back out.”

She didn’t want to go with him—not without Tank. Still, her body was freezing. And her teeth were chattering. So, she grudgingly walked with him to the pickup.

In the pickup, he messaged his family that they were taking a short break. Candi read the group chat that she was now a part of, even though she hadn’t contributed to any of the conversations. His mother said she had a big pot of beef vegetable soup on the stove. Michael told her they’d be over shortly.

Candi felt guilty for sitting in a warm truck and going home, erm , to Michael’s place to put on warmer clothes. All the while, Tank was out there in the snow and ice.

“Hey.” Michael’s voice drew her from her troubling thoughts. “He’s going to be all right.”

“It’s been hours. He must be frozen.”

“You and I both know how smart he is. I’m sure he’s found a dry, warm spot to stay until we find him.”

“You don’t know how much I want to believe that.” All the while she stared out the window for any sign of the little pooch. They just had to find him.

She did have a point.

And Michael didn’t like it. The more time that had gone by, the more he worried about the puppy. Was it possible someone had seen him, thought he was homeless, and took him home?

He didn’t like the thought of not seeing Tank again, but if someone cared that much, surely they would give him a good home. It had to be something like that; otherwise, how had Tank disappeared without a trace?

Ding.

His phone had been going off with notifications from his family throughout the day. A couple of times they thought they had spotted him, but the first time, it was the wrong dog, and the second time, it was the fluffy tail of a squirrel. He didn’t even ask how Parker had mixed up a squirrel’s tail with a dog’s tail.

“It’s your brother—”

“Which one?” Michael slowed and turned into his driveway.

“Oh. Um, Justin. He says he has searched in the area around the Kringle’s house, and he didn’t find Tank.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “What are we going to do? He needs us.”

Michael reached over and squeezed her hand. They’d been holding hands a lot that day. Sometimes for reassurance. Other times just because it felt natural to hold on to her.

“Michael!”

The excited tone of her voice startled him. He pulled his hand back and automatically turned off the engine. “What’s wrong?” He didn’t hear a notification on their phones, but perhaps he’d been too lost in his thoughts. “Did someone find Tank?”

“Yes.” She stared straight ahead.

His heart beat faster. This is what they’d been waiting for. “Where is he?”

She pointed straight ahead.

He turned and looked out the windshield but he didn’t see anything. “I don’t see him.”

“He’s crouched in the corner of the porch.”

Michael didn’t say anything else as he flung open the door. Not slowing down to close it, he jogged up the walk to the porch. When he saw Tank hunkered down in the corner, he couldn’t tell if the pup was alive or not. He didn’t notice any movement from the puppy.

Using a soft voice, he said, “Tank?”

There was no reaction to him calling his name.

Michael started to make his way across the porch. He took slow, steady steps.

“Is he all right?” Candi called out behind him.

“I don’t know.” His empty stomach knotted up as he came to a stop.

Was the pup breathing? Michael hesitated to reach out to Tank. Maybe he didn’t want to know. He’d already lost too many people who he’d loved. He couldn’t lose someone else.

In that moment, he willed the puppy to move. He willed him to fight because he still had his whole life ahead of him. And then Tank lifted his head.

Michael blew out a pent-up breath. His heart leapt in his chest. And his eyes grew misty. It must be from the cold air.

He rushed to the puppy’s side. “Oh, Tank. You must be so cold.”

He noticed the puppy didn’t stand up. So, he scooped him up and held him to his chest.

With his free hand, he reached into his pocket, but his keys weren’t there. Where were they?

As though Candi had read his mind, she held up the keys in front of him. “Are you looking for these?”

“How?” And then he remembered leaving them in the truck. “Can you open the door?”

She quickly unlocked it and then pushed the door open. Michael rushed past her. Not bothering to take off his boots, he rushed into the living room. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch. He sat down on the couch and wrapped the blanket over Tank and himself.

He looked up at the concerned look on Candi’s face. “Call Colin. Tell him we need a house call.”

“How do I reach him?”

“The family chat.”

“Oh, yeah.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.

Her fingers moved rapidly over the screen. It seemed like she was writing a short story instead of a quick message.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Their phones were blowing up with messages. But he wasn’t letting go of Tank to check his. “Anything from Colin?”

“Let me see. There are lots of cheers. And sighs of relief. And many questions about how Tank is doing.” She was quiet for a moment. “Wait. Here it is. Colin said he has one more appointment, and he’ll be right over.”

“That better be a really quick appointment.”

“I’m sure your brother knows this is urgent. He’ll be here as fast as he can. What can I do?”

“I don’t know. I’m hoping Tank is absolutely exhausted, and that it’s not something more that has him so lethargic.”

She sat down next to him. “He’s going to be okay.” She gently ran a hand over Tank’s head. “Aren’t you, boy?”

“Can you hold him for just a moment?”

“Sure.” She slipped off her coat and sat back on the couch.

As carefully as he could, Michael transferred the puppy to her. He took off his coat and then he started the fireplace. Then he got Tank a bowl of water and some food. Tank wasn’t interested in the food but he did drink some water.

As time went by, Michael said, “Where is Colin? What is taking him so long?”

“He’ll be here. It hasn’t been that long.”

Michael raked his fingers through his hair. Every second felt like a minute. Each minute felt like an hour.

He settled back on the couch and held Tank to his chest. He’d only been this scared one other time—when he’d gotten a call that his wife and son had been in an accident. By the time he’d gotten to the hospital, it had been too late. He never got to tell them goodbye.

He petted Tank’s head. That wasn’t going to happen again.

He was going to be all right.

Candi felt so much better after Colin had examined Tank. He told them to keep him covered with a blanket until he was warmed up. He said the pup’s thick coat had helped him in the cold. But it was a good thing they had found him when they did.

When Candi told Colin that Tank had found his way home, Colin was surprised. He’d heard of things like that happening with dogs and cats, but he’d never witnessed it.

After Colin left, Michael’s mother and father stopped by. They delivered hot soup and fresh bread. They didn’t stay long. Michael wasn’t exactly in a chatty mood. He just kept holding the puppy in front of the fireplace. It was like Michael was lost in his thoughts.

She turned on the television to give him something to watch, but he didn’t seem interested. Later, she talked Michael into eating some dinner. Tank drank some more water and ate a little food, but not as much as he usually wolfed down. Colin said it might take the pup a little bit to get back to normal, but they were to call if they were worried about anything.

“I can take Tank tonight,” she said.

Michael shook his head. “I’ve got him. I’ll take him to bed with me.”

“Are you sure? You’ve been holding him all evening. Maybe you need a break.”

“No. I’ve got this.” He started up a couple of steps before turning back to her. “Thanks. Get some sleep.”

And then he went upstairs. She watched him go. She felt like something had changed between them since he’d found Tank—like there was once more a distance between them. Maybe it was being out in the cold all day, or maybe he was exhausted.

She didn’t want to accept that this wall between them was permanent. They’d been getting along so well. Maybe they all needed a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow everything would be all right.