Page 58 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
When she got up from the couch, Odie let out a little whimper. She looked back at him. “It’s okay, little one. I’ll be right back.”
She grabbed her purse from next to the door. She reached inside and quickly found her phone. She glanced at the screen and found it was Merry Kringle. She wondered why she was calling. Maybe she wanted to check in on Odie. After all, it was Merry who brought Odie into her life. She owed the woman a debt of gratitude.
Belle pressed the phone to her ear as she retraced her steps back to the couch. “Hello.”
“Oh, hi, Belle. You didn’t leave yet, did you?” Without waiting for a response, she rushed on. “I forgot the pretzel sticks. Is there any chance you could pick up a half dozen bags or so?”
Pretzel sticks? Belle didn’t know what she was talking about. Lately, her mind had been filled with thoughts of Parker. And wondering if she’d made the right decision.
“Belle? Did you hear me?” Merry’s voice drew Belle’s attention.
“Uh, yes.”
“I’m sorry to call on you. But I’m already here at the community center setting up for the competition.”
And then it dawned on Belle. Tonight was the gingerbread house competition. This wasn’t one of those dramatic competitions like they had on television with the three- and four-feet tall structures. This contest was modest in comparison.
“So, you’ll pick up the pretzels?” Merry asked.
Belle didn’t want to go out. She didn’t want to be around a bunch of cheerful partygoers. But she couldn’t turn down Merry. “Yes, I will. I’ll be there shortly. I just need to change clothes and get Odie some dinner.”
“How is the little guy doing? It was so horrible what happened to the two of you.”
“He’s doing better every day. It’s like he was on alert the whole time he was gone, just waiting for me to come get him. And now that he’s home, he’s wiped out.”
“It’ll take him a bit, but I’m sure he’ll feel safe and secure again. It was great that Parker was there to help you bring him home.”
He was the last person she wanted to talk about. “Yes. He was great.”
“You two spent a lot of time together. I heard he stayed at your place to protect you. That’s so chivalrous.”
Belle inwardly groaned. She didn’t want to think about how awesome Parker was, because it made her regret how she’d ended things between them.
Anxious to end this line of conversation, Belle said, “I better get going if I’m going to pick up the pretzel sticks. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Belle disconnected the call and looked at Odie. His eyes opened, and he yawned. He stretched and then found a new position to go back to sleep. “Must be nice.”
After putting some food out for him, she changed into a red sweater and a pair of blue jeans. She would pick up the pretzel sticks and drop them off at the community center, but as soon as she was done, she was leaving.
Chapter Twenty
Hisideawastakingshape.
Parker looked down at the polished pieces of colored glass. He’d used an old rock tumbler he’d found in his parents’ garage to smooth out the sharp edges. He wished it was as easy to smooth out his relationship with Belle.
He’d been working every evening on this project. He intended to make something special out of broken ornaments. He’d bought clear glass ornaments and a low-heat glue gun. After sanding the glass to roughen up the surface for better adhesion, he’d adhered various shaped bits of colored glass to the ornament.
He wanted the ornaments to be perfect for Belle. He wanted to pay homage to the heirloom ornaments that once graced Belle’s tree.
Knowing it would be impossible to cover the entire ornament in glass fragments, he’d gone to the craft store to buy fine white glitter glue. He used it like sparkly grout between the shards of glass.
He’d been working on the project every chance he had. At last, he was working on the final ornament. He only had a few more pieces of glass to glue to the ornament. He picked up a green bit of glass and, using the glue gun, he dabbed some glue on the base and then pressed the green glass to it. He held it for a few seconds to make sure the glue took hold.
He just set the ornament down in order to choose another piece of polished glass when his phone rang. It was probably work. He was used to them calling him after hours with questions. To him, being the sheriff wasn’t a nine to five job. It was a way of life. And he loved what he did.
He put his phone on speaker as he worked to clean up the annoying glue strands. “Bishop.”
