Page 2 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

“No, not yet.” Considering how short the list was, it wouldn’t take Kaylee long to knock it out. “What about you? Are you going to work or shopping?”

“I’m helping my dad finish the flooring on a house in Soda Springs, and then I’m working at the restaurant tonight. I need a little more money this year, now that my oldest niece has turned twelve. I’m buying her and my sister concert tickets for this artist she likes, which will make me the favorite uncle until her birthday and one of my brothers tries to one-up me.”

Kaylee laughed. “Devious.” She studied the Christmas blowups, deflated and spread across lawns like bedsheets, and the festive wreaths hanging on doors, a pang of loneliness pinching her chest. A couple teens were raking leaves into a pile when a child of no more than six came out of nowhere and jumped into the middle of it. They started shouting and cursing while the little one grinned unabashedly. Kaylee chuckled, memories of her own childhood rushing over her. Although they were all adults, she could imagine her brother and sister arriving at her parents’ house—her sister’s husband and kids piling out of their van, while her brother arrived in his electric car, chiding their parents for the number of Christmas lights they had hung that year.

Benny didn’t seem to realize she’d drifted away from the conversation, as he stated, “I have to be devious with four brothers.”

Kaylee chuckled in response, although it sounded empty. It had been over two years since she’d contacted her family, let alone spent a holiday with them, and she missed them. Hearing about someone else’s only intensified her wishfulness for things to be different.

There was a slight lull in the conversation, and they walked several blocks in companionable silence. Kaylee fiddled with her knit cap, pulling it down to cover her ears. Benny was usually friendly to her, but the last few months, she’d gotten the impression he might want something more, which sometimes made their interactions awkward, like something was hovering in the air between them. One of the biggest complications she’d been trying to avoid was romance. Leaving Josie, the first friend she’d had since Elasia, made her heart seize, but letting herself fall in love? Out of the question.

Not that she thought Benny could be the one, but he was sweet and handsome. Kaylee didn’t want to hurt him. She kept moving so she could keep breathing, and living in this town was the first time it felt like she was standing still. She’d tried to keep her distance, to fly under the radar, but that was hard to do in a town like Holiday. The minute she’d stopped in at the Perky Inn for the night, Wilma Perkins wanted to know her story. She’d signed the inn’s registry book as Belinda Kringle, and Wilma had let out a little giggle.

Kringle, well, isn’t that perfect just a few days before Christmas?

The next day, Kaylee had asked Wilma where to grab a cup of coffee, and as she walked down the street, people were greeting her like they’d known her for years. It was the oddest experience of her life, and Kaylee had planned to leave the minute she figured out where to head next. Drawing attention to herself was a good way to get herself caught.

Or killed.

If only Josie Dowd hadn’t snuck up on her and anchored her to Holiday with her warm, welcoming spirit. The cheerful blonde caught Kaylee completely by surprise, offering to give her a tour, and although Kaylee tried to avoid it, Josie was like a dog with a bone. During their exploration of the town, Kaylee suddenly blurted out, You can call me Kaylee. It’s my middle name, and I actually prefer it.

Josie had smiled brightly. I love it.

It may have been foolish to give Josie and the rest of the citizens of Holiday her real name, which she hadn’t used in the previous five towns, but something about this place moved her, made her feel like she belonged, and it didn’t feel right having them call her anything but Kaylee.

The tour had turned into a chaotic town meeting that night, and she had received an invitation to Josie’s book club the day before Christmas. When Kaylee found herself sitting around a festive Christmas tree with Josie and her friends, a beautifully wrapped present addressed to Kaylee on her lap, she realized this might be somewhere to rest for longer than a few days.

Now, she had a job, a month-to-month rental next door to Josie, and a weekly book club meeting to attend. Although Kaylee knew she might have to drop everything and leave at any moment, being a small part of this place made her life less lonely.

Oh, and there was Pumpkin. The wild-haired little dude was her world now.

“Are you going to the dance?”

Kaylee realized Benny was watching her expectantly and that she hadn’t answered him. “I don’t think so. I’m not much of a dancer.”

Benny nodded. “I get it. I can’t say the same, but don’t be surprised if someone tries to persuade you to go.” She met his dark eyes, and the way his gaze softened made her heart pound anxiously. “You’re something special, Kaylee.”

The words hit Kaylee like a slap, and her first instinct was to argue that she wasn’t special. She was a coward, a miserable, frightened little girl who hadn’t protected the person who meant everything to her. Elasia had been the special one, the life of the party, the spark everyone wanted to be near. Kaylee was the quiet sidekick.

“Thanks, Benny. I think you’re a great guy.”

“Keep thinking that the next time I mess up your order at the restaurant,” he said, winking.

Kaylee only laughed because she had nothing to say to that, her thoughts dwelling on his comment about her being special. Maybe in a small town, where the number of single women of any age was slim, she was special, but most of her life she’d just been … ordinary. The short list of guys she’d dated hadn’t been passionate flirtations, but built on convenience, like, We’re already lab partners; we should go to prom together, or Our friends are dating, so let’s give it a try. While they’d all been nice guys, they’d never pursued Kaylee because they wanted her. She was just there and available.

They got to the corner of Main and Mother’s Day Road, Benny said a quick goodbye, and they parted ways. Kaylee stood for a minute watching him. It could be fun to go to a dance. Maybe she was being paranoid, always staying home except for book club and the town meetings. It had been a year and six hundred miles since anyone had recognized her.

Which happened because you let your guard down.

Kaylee couldn’t argue with the tiny voice inside her head. She’d been living in Oregon for a few weeks and went by the bulletin board at the local grocery store to see if there were any apartments or jobs posted—something cash and under the table—when she’d spotted a flyer with her picture on it.

Reward

Missing: Have you seen this person?

Kaylee Taylor

Please call (555) 899-2341