Page 32 of Welcome Home for Christmas
“Too busy to come home for Christmas?” she asked, a hopeful note rising in her voice.
Was she really going to continue to make him reject her invitation? This was torture for both of them.
“Not too busy,” he said. “But not coming home, either. You’re coming here, remember? We’re going to have Chinese food and visit with each another.”
“That’s not Christmas, Troy Robert,” she objected, using his middle name, which apparently meant he was in trouble—just like old times. “You haven’t seen my Christmas tree. I spent hours putting it up. And David hung the lights outside.”
Troy frowned.
“Your brother misses you, too,” his mother said softly.
“Yeah?” Troy asked, leaning back into the couch. “So why hasn’t he called me?” Troy knew the answer to that one. David was stubborn. As stubborn as he was. “I’ll make you a deal, Mom. You and David decorate a tree with a thousand tiny yellow ribbons to support the American troops. And to support me. Then I’ll come home.”
His mother was quiet on the other line. Quiet because she knew as well as Troy that David would never do that. He still thought Troy was a fool for not staying and working the family’s many profitable businesses in Paradise Point.
“So Chinese food tomorrow night, then?” he asked, forcing a carefree tone to his voice. “I’m buying.”
“Sounds good. I’ll just take pictures of my tree and the outside of the house to show you,” she said, returning the carefree tone.
“Sounds good, Mom. I can’t wait to see you.” He loved his mother with all his heart. His brothers, too—all of them. Even if his brother David was a dick.
After hanging up the phone, Troy felt restless again. Unsettled. He recognized the feeling and knew he’d never get to sleep tonight if he didn’t work off his energy. So he put on his running shoes, despite the fact that he’d just showered, and started jogging down the street. He turned on the neighboring street, which just so happened to take him toward Allison’s place. Lots of the houses in Seaside were decorated for the holidays, he noticed as he pounded his energy back into the earth. Kind of hard to skip Christmas when it was everywhere you turned.
He jogged toward the Stop sign at the end of Allison’s street, planning to turn around and head home once he came to it. Then his gaze caught on something suspicious at one of the homes. The policeman in him took notice. There were no cars in the driveway. No garage to hide the cars. The house was lit up with Christmas cheer on the lower floor. However, the lights were off on the upper floor. Except for the scattering glow of what appeared to be a flashlight.
Troy stopped running. There was a burglar in the house and,shit, he didn’t have his cellphone on him. He blew out a breath and looked at the Stop sign ahead, then back at the house. The burglar could be armed, so going in without a weapon and no backup was stupid. Plus, he didn’t have jurisdiction in Seaside.Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
Cursing, he jogged up the house’s empty driveway and circled around to the back door. He guessed that any burglar worth his salt would use the back entry to slink away. The front entry was too visible. Troy might not have a weapon, but he had the element of surprise in his favor. He waited.
For ten minutes.
Nothing happened. Either the burglar had pulled a Goldilocks and fallen asleep on the job, or the ass-wipe coward had gotten so confident after his successful burglaries that he’d actually exited the front. Troy cursed again and started running back to his house. He’d call the authorities once he got home and have them check the place out.
