Page 49 of This Christmas

“Does Ted know about them?”

She stilled and he could see the fear in her eyes. “Charlotte might have mentioned something to him during one of their visitations. She was so excited that Faye had found the diamond, and she overheard us talking about the tunnels.”

He nodded. “Let’s go back upstairs. I want to see if whoever is down there comes out. I think I’m going to call Aiden too. Just in case.”

“I… I think I’m going to go stay in Charlotte’s room tonight. I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“Would it be okay if we brought her in your room for the night? I can take the sofa so you two can have the bed,” he suggested.

She nodded and they made their way up the stairs. He gathered Charlotte and laid her on the bed with Ally. For a long time, he stood by the window, watching. Since it was late, instead of calling Aiden, he shot him a text message telling him what was up and that he was thinking of exploring the tunnels first thing in the morning.

“Be careful. Let me know if you need backup,” Aiden responded. He gave them the thumbs-up and turned off his phone.

He couldn’t see a boat or pretty much anything, since the snow was still falling in huge clumps. It looked like a white sheet in front of the windows, blocking out any view.

“Tomorrow morning, I’m going to want to go down there,” he told Ally, turning back to the bed.

She was curled up with Charlotte and looked so tired.

“You’ll have to go at low tide,” she mumbled.

He frowned. “Do the tunnels fill up with water?” He glanced back out the window.

She nodded. “Some of the way, yes.” He saw her shiver.

“I’ll start a fire in here so it will be nice and cozy for you both.” He turned and got to work.

She surprised him by walking over and wrapping her arms around him, then kissing him. “Thank you for being someone who understands.”

He nodded. “Ted must have been a real monster.”

She sighed. “He still is.”

The next morning, Joe had a kink in his neck, and he never wanted to sleep on a sofa again. It would have been perfectly comfortable for someone a foot shorter than he was.

Charlotte had bounced out of bed and headed downstairs with Ally so that he could shower and change into clothes. He was going to head down to the beach after breakfast.

The morning light slanted through the frosted windows as he walked down the stairs. He liked the way the sunbeams painted soft gold colors across the hardwood floors. It felt cozy, warm, like a home.

An hour later, the smell of the sweet syrup they’d had on their pancakes and the tang of coffee lingered in the air. He enjoyed the sound of Charlotte’s laughter as she watched cartoons.

The little girl was curled up in the chair by the window, still in her fuzzy robe, occasionally sipping her hot chocolate with extra sprinkles. Ally was on the sofa, folding laundry. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, and the pair of them looked so at home, he almost didn’t want to go down into the cold dark tunnels.

“Be careful,” Ally said softly.

She’d given him the map that her brother had drawn of all the tunnels they had found. He’d found a flashlight, which was more like a floodlight, in the kitchen cupboard. The thing easily weighed ten pounds.

“I will. I just want to make sure everything’s secure,” he said, leaning down to brush a kiss against her temple. “I won’t be gone long.”

She hesitated, searching his face. “Call me if you need help.”

He gave her a nod. “We can head out and pick up that surprise and see that place I was telling you about when I get back.”

“We’ll be dressed and ready,” she promised. “Ten minutes,” she warned Charlotte, who groaned.

Everything begged him to stay right there where it was warm and happy. Instead, he adjusted the strap of the flashlight over his shoulder and glanced at the map.

He hadn’t seen whoever was down on the beach last night leave. It could be due to the weather or it could be that they were still down there. Which is why he’d strapped his holster and weapon under his thick coat. He’d made sure not to let Ally see it. He didn’t want to cause her more worry.