Page 19 of A Love Like Candle Light

Just pull it out, Kylie. He never needs to learn you snooped. Besides, if it’s a big secret, he would have taken it out of the room, right?

Ever so carefully, I crouch down and pull it out of its hiding place. It’s surprisingly heavy.

As quietly as possible, just in case, I lean it against the shelf and stare at it. There are tons of pictures. Some are full images; some are cut out people. Others are marked with scrawly notes I can’t quite decipher. And at the center, there’s a family picture.

I lean closer. Relief makes my shoulders sag.

The parents on the picture are a couple who look to be around their early thirties and the man has an undeniable resemblance to Erik. Those have to be his parents. A little girl is hugging his mother’s leg, while who I assume is his father holds a baby, which is probably him.

And that’s where the mystery seems to begin. The rest of the board is packed with pictures of the little girl and newspaper articles spanning over years.

Two words are in all the headlines: Missing Girl.

My heart sinks. “Oh no,” I whisper and cover my mouth with my hand. Now I feel bad. This is what I get for snooping.

Abby gets up and trudges past me. I barely pay her any mind, eyes still stuck on the board, until she lets out a whine. The high-pitched sound makes me startle, lose my balance and fall right on my butt.

“What is it, girly?” She stares at me with big eyes.

Right. Of course. I didn’t think she’d have to go outside again, considering we spent the whole afternoon waiting around next to the lake, but I thought wrong. Groaning, I get up. I’ll totally get a bruise, right on my butt.

I pull a jacket over my pajamas and slip into my shoes. My plan is to sneak outside and leave one of the newspapers I saw in his door so I can get back in. However, when I open the door, Abby doesn’t dart toward the front door as I expect her to. No, she rushes right into the living room.

“Hey—” A dark laugh startles me.

Of course he’s still awake. For a moment, I let myself lean my forehead against the door frame.

This godforsaken day won’t cut me a break, will it?

I rush into the living room to find Erik sitting on his couch and Abby sprawled right on top of him, trying to lick his chin off. Either he’s ticklish or loves dogs more than he admits, because he’s handling her like a natural and he’s even smiling.

Smiling suits him.

“I’m so sorry.” Seriously, my girl made herself right at home on top of him. Good for her, bad impression for me.

“It’s okay.” He lifts his chin, trying to escape Abby’s tongue. “I’m just glad I passed the dog test.”

“With flying colors, apparently.” I giggle and awkwardly stay in the doorway. “I forgot to let her out one more time. Am I okay to go out, or do I have to watch out for bears?”

“If you stay within the porch lights, you’ll be alright.”

I freeze. That doesn’t sound very reassuring. “Are you sure?”

“I can come outside with you if it makes you feel safer.”

I stare at him, gnawing at my lip. “I’ve really inconvenienced you enough for one day.”

“Stop it.” He waves me off. “It’s hardly an inconvenience to get a little fresh air. Come on. Down.” He motions for Abby to get off the couch, and to my surprise, she does. She tends to be a stubborn girl when someone who’s not me tries to tell her what to do. But I get it.

That commanding voice would’ve made me get on all fours had it been directed at me.

He walks ahead and all of a sudden, Abby is on her best behavior and sticks right by my side with an expression I can only describe as smiling.

Erik leads me to rocking chairs he has on his porch and I can’t fight a grin. How very grandpa of him. I will totally steal this idea though. Meanwhile Abby sniffs around the lawn, trying to find the perfect spot to pee on.

“It’s nice out here,” I tell him and sink onto one of them, pulling my knees to my chest and giving it a tentative rock. Damn, this is fun! Without a word, he hands me a blanket. I take it with a thankful grin and tuck it around my legs. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many stars.”

“You’re from the city then?” He takes a seat too, sprawling his long legs out instead of rocking and stares into the dark.