Page 1 of Puppy Love & Snowflake Kisses
Chapter One
“Arf!Arf!”
Early on a snowy Thursday morning, Belle Sinclair smiled as she sat crossed-legged on the floor of her living room. Her new puppy, Odie, chased the squeaky ball that rolled across the floor. Playing ball was his favorite activity, aside from giving her kisses.
Odie was a small dog. Only about seven pounds so far. The vet guessed when Odie was fully grown, he’d weigh about fifteen pounds.
No one was quite sure exactly what breeds were in his lineage. Belle suspected there was some poodle in him. He had the softest curly orange fur. He was long and low to the ground, and he had an outgoing personality. He greeted everyone with a wagging tail.
Little more than a week ago, Merry Kringle had introduced Odie into her life. Belle remembered the day she’d received a mysterious call from Merry. When the wife of the town’s mayor invited her to stop by, Belle’s curiosity had been raised. As soon as she’d stepped into Purr ’n Woof Supplies and saw Odie, she’d fallen in love. There had been no need for Merry to talk Belle into taking him home, because after the first snuggle, it was already a done deal.
Originally, there had been three homeless puppies who had been transported from a shelter in Ohio to Kringle Falls via her new friend, Candi Goodman. At that point, one of the pups, Tank, had been adopted. Belle felt bad about taking Odie and leaving Tater Tot, but Merry told her not to worry. She’d already had the perfect home in mind for him.
Belle never regretted taking Odie home with her. The truth of the matter was that Belle was tired of living alone. After losing both of her parents when she was only eighteen, she’d been on her own. Without any other close family, she made her own family within the close-knit community of Kringle Falls.
Still, there was no one to miss her when she was gone or to be happy when she returned home. And she was tired of waiting around for Mister Right to appear in her life. She was beginning to think that was never going to happen. And so, she was carving out her own life according to her own terms.
Odie ran toward her with the yellow ball in his mouth. He dropped it at her feet. She picked it up and gave it another toss. Only this time the ball went off course and rolled under the Christmas tree. At full speed, Odie charged after the ball. When he tried to stop on the hardwood floors, he ended up sliding. He collided with the tree stand. The jingle of glass heirloom ornaments filled the room.
Belle jumped to her feet and rushed over to Odie. She got him and the ball out from under the tree. Once she rolled the ball to the other side of the living room, she inspected the ornaments. They all appeared to have survived the collision.
She stepped back and took in the sight of the pink, green, blue, and white ornaments on the tree. They had been handed down through the family. A couple were from her great-grandmother, others were from her grandmother, and a large portion were from her mother. And slowly, she’d been adding some of her own to the collection.
At Christmastime, she loved getting out the decorations because it made her feel a little bit closer to the family that no longer existed. As she stepped back to the couch, she noticed one of the ornaments from the back of the tree had fallen.
She rushed over to the tree and knelt down. Of course, Odie had to see what she was doing. So, while she was on her hands and knees, he was licking her and attempting to jump on her.What a silly puppy.
At last, her fingers wrapped around the ornament. When she sat back on her heels, a quick inspection told her it was unharmed. She breathed easier.
The porcelain ornament was in the shape of a little girl holding her teddy bear. Belle ran her fingertips over the ornament with her name scrolled at the bottom. Her mother had painted the small figurine. A sense of longing and loneliness swept over her. She missed her mother a lot.
She blamed herself for her parents not being there to share the holiday with her. She recalled how it was Christmastime eleven years ago. Her parents had been out on the snowy roads when a deer ran in front of the car, and they went over a hillside. Her father had died on impact, but her mother had lived a little longer…
After that, nothing had ever been the same. The life insurance money, of which there wasn’t much, went to paying for their funerals and paying off their debts. Not quite out of high school, Belle had to figure out how to make it on her own. It wasn’t easy at the age of eighteen to suddenly be in the world all on her own with no safety net available to catch her if she should fall. And she had numerous times, but each time she’d gotten back up and brushed herself off.
The puppy took a mouthful of her flannel pant leg and yanked her back to the present. She blinked away the unshed tears and turned her head to look at him. He stared up at her with those big brown eyes that had gotten him out of so much trouble because he was just sooo cute.
Odie pulled on her pants once more. He still wanted to play. He was a ball of energy, while she was still trying to wake up.
Belle placed the ornament higher on the tree before checking the time. She had a few more minutes before she had to get ready for work. She sat down next to the tree and rolled the ball a few more times.
And then it was time to get on with the day. The puppy ran back to her, dropping the slobbery yellow ball in her lap. When she didn’t immediately throw the ball, Odie climbed onto her lap and laid his head down on her thigh. Belle ran her hand down over his downy-soft back.
She lowered her head. “Hey, little boy, I need to get ready for work. I can’t be late.”
Odie stood up, placing his front paws on her chest. He lifted his head and gave her a sloppy kiss. Her heart swelled with love. They’d only been together a little more than a week, and already she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it. They were both orphans who needed each other. He filled a hole in her heart, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
Belle scooped up the puppy and gave him a hug. “I love you. You’ll never be alone again.”
Odie leaned into her chest. And for a moment, she just sat there, cuddling him. She felt bad for leaving him home alone, but she would be back at lunch time to let him out and feed him.
The alarm on her smart watch vibrated. It was set to remind her to get ready for work. It was with the biggest regret that she lifted the puppy from her chest.
She turned him so she could look into his big brown eyes. “I’m so sorry, little buddy, but I have to get ready for work.”
The puppy let out a whine, as though he understood what she’d just said.
“Okay. You can come with me while I grab a shower and get ready. But then you have to go to your crate.” When the pup let out another whine, she said, “I know it isn’t fair, but I will be back in no time.”
