Page 40 of A Very Barrie Christmas
She stood in stunned silence as Frank relayed his phone call with Susan. Her heart ached for what Nate must be going through, but when Frank got to the part about the pills, she stiffened.
“With all due respect, Susan’s wrong. Nate told me all about that part of his past, and I know he wouldn’t go back there. Not even for something like this.”
Frank shuffled his feet, looking even more uncomfortable than before.
“What else aren’t you telling me?”
“I take sleeping pills. And I—I can’t find them.”
At this new piece of information, time seemed to slow down. Her heart thudded loudly inside her chest, pumping adrenaline through her blood at an alarming rate, but she shook her head, adamant in Nate’s innocence. “Then there’s some other explanation. I know Nate. He didn’t take them.”
“I want to believe that, too. But I’ve looked everywhere.”
“Then let’s look again. I’ll help.”
As they made their way to Frank and her aunt’s bedroom, she asked, “Did you call Nate and ask him?”
“I tried. He didn’t answer.”
“Poppy Creek doesn’t have the greatest cell reception,” she said by way of explanation. “Or he could be driving.”
Frank merely nodded, but she could see the worry in his eyes. For the next several minutes, they double-checked everywhere Frank had already looked. No sign of the pills anywhere. Juliet wanted to cry in frustration.
“Good heavens, what happened here?” Aunt Beverly stood in the doorway, gaping at the mess.
“We’re looking for Frank’s sleeping pills,” Juliet blurted, searching under the bed for the tenth time. “Have you seen them?”
“Yes, of course. But why do you need them now? It’s barely five o’clock.”
“Where are they?” Juliet scrambled to her feet, her heart frantic with hope.
“In the kitchen.” Aunt Beverly glanced between them, her forehead furrowed in confusion.
“Show me.” Juliet barged out of the bedroom, desperate to see the pill bottle with her own eyes, to prove to Frank she’d been right all along.
“I had them in here this morning.” Aunt Beverly sifted through a pile of mail by the landline. “Dolores mentioned she was having trouble sleeping, so I said I’d call her with Frank’s prescription, so she could ask her doctor about it. Ah. Here it is.” She turned and shook the bottle, rattling the pills inside. “Now, what’s this all about?”
Juliet flung her arms around her aunt’s neck, overwhelmed with relief. “Thank you, thank you.”
One crisis averted. But they still needed to find Nate.
Juliet prayed he was okay.
CHAPTER 29
NATE
Nate tensed the instant he crossed the threshold of the kitchen and caught the current of anxiety sizzling through the room. His hands clenched. What now? He couldn’t handle any more bad news today. “Is everything okay?” he asked cautiously, not wanting to jump to worst-case scenarios.
“Nate!” Juliet threw herself into his arms, clinging so tightly to his neck, he struggled to breathe. “Thank goodness you’re all right.”
Holding her close, he darted a curious glance between Frank and Beverly. Had they all been worried about him? He’d been gone an hour, maybe two,tops. He hadn’t expected anyone to notice his absence, let alone cause alarm. “What’s going on?”
“Susan called.” Frank’s statement said it all.
Of course she did.Nate should’ve anticipated Susan calling out of concern. She had a big heart and cared deeply. She must’ve been worried about the way they’d left things earlier. He’d call her soon and let her know he was okay.
“We’re so, so sorry about your friend.” Juliet tipped her head back, meeting his gaze. Tears of shared grief shimmered in her dark eyes. “I wish there was something we could do.”
