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“I’m not leaving Bells Pass on a whisper of a threat, Cliff. Nothing has happened since I first arrived, and there’s no reason to believe that will change now.”
“Everything has changed. That’s what you don’t understand.”
“I fully understand what you’re telling me, Cliff, but I’m not in danger here. If something happens to me now, Felding knows he’s going away for life. He won’t risk that when he has much bigger fish in the frying pan to keep from burning.”
“Valid,” Cliff said, and I heard a note of relief in his voice. “Still, you play by the rules and stay out of the public eye until I have a better handle on things here.”
My mind picked that moment to remind me about the caroling event on Christmas Eve. That was almost three weeks away, meaning I could wait for more updates before deciding to back out. Not that caroling was exactly in the public eye. “Sure, I’ll stay out of sight, if you’ll work toward a resolution of this nonsense. I want to stay in Bells Pass and have no interest in returning to Florida other than to testify against Felding.”
“If we get lucky, you won’t have to. At this point, Felding may plead out and go to prison to avoid a trial.”
A snort escaped before I could stop it. “Sure, you let me know when that happens. In the meantime, I won’t be holding my breath.”
“Keep this phone near you. If I have to pull you, this is the only way to contact you.”
“It’s faster to email me,” I said, reeling off the address. “I get alerts to incoming mail immediately. I can’t check this phone during work hours in case someone notices. I only saw it today because I was digging in my purse.”
“Fine. The email subject will be, pack your bags for a fun-filled holiday trip.”
“Gee, I bet it will be fun-filled. Noted, but hopefully, it’s not needed. I want to remain employed in Bells Pass when this is over.”
“I doubt that will happen once they find out you lied to them.”
“It wasn’t like I could tell them the truth,” I said defensively. “I’ll come clean just as soon as you tell me I can, so get your crap together over there and end this madness, please.”
“That’s something we can agree on. I’ll reach out with updates, otherwise, we’ll talk next week.”
“I’ll be here, doing the job I came here to do,” I said, wishing neither of us had to be in contact with each other. Cliff was a nice enough guy, but I wanted this as over and done with as he did.
“I’ll be doing the same. With a little Christmas magic, maybe we can get this resolved sooner rather than later.”
I shut the phone and put it back in my purse with a sigh. All I could think was Cliff might be right. Dr. Travis Felding could still end my career here in Bells Pass, if only by default. There was nothing I could do about it now, though. I’d been in town long enough that any excuse I had for not telling them would sound hollow.
After last night, I knew one thing for sure. It was time to tell Irving why I was here and make it extremely clear that I was staying, even after this fiasco with Felding was over. Tonight, as soon as we’re done working, I’ll make him dinner and explain everything. All I could do was pray he would understand why I kept it from him, and why he couldn’t tell anyone else until it was over. Irving is a smart guy, so I’m not worried he won’t understand the implications of not keeping this between us. I had to pray he understood why I couldn’t tell him and that the Florida situation had no bearing on what’s happened between us.
My gut told me it was going to be a hard sell. Irving doesn’t trust easily, but now he trusts me wholeheartedly. I swallowed down the heartburn and shook my head. If he genuinely loves me, he’ll understand, right?
I blew out a breath, squared my shoulders, and left the apartment to find the man I’d fallen head over heels for in the blink of an eye. If our love is as strong as a soulmate's love, he’ll understand and keep me safe until this is over. With my rose-colored glasses firmly in place, I was ready to start a new day.
∞∞∞
“Last night was wonderful,” Hazel said as we hung garland in the rec room.
“Which part?” I asked with a smirk.
“All of it, but I especially enjoyed the part that came after the tree was decorated.”
“I agree that was also my favorite part of the evening. I loved waking up and finding a sleeping Star under the tree. That picture you took will be framed.”
“He probably thought he needed to protect you from the tree that suddenly grew inside the house.”
“I hope he doesn’t lift his leg on it!” I exclaimed, laughter bubbling up from my belly. It had been doing that a lot lately whenever Hazel was around. The great part was I wasn’t even upset about it.
“I never thought of that!” She made the Home Alone face. “You don’t think he would, do you?”
My laughter gave away the joke before I could, and she punched me lightly on the arm. “No, Star’s a trained animal who has seen a Christmas tree before. I just wanted to see your reaction. It was worth it.”
“All I can say is, I’m glad you suggested it. It makes your apartment feel like home.”
