Christmas Peril: Merry Mayhem / Yule Die. Margaret Daley

coloring the kitten blue?”

      Her daughter giggled. “I will, Mommy.” After she grabbed the crayon, she bent over the paper and concentrated on finishing the animal, the tip of her tongue peeping out of the corner of her mouth.

      The sound of Sara’s cane hitting the hardwood floor in the hallway preceded her entrance into the kitchen. “I heard laughter and wanted to see what was going on.” Slowly she lowered herself in the last chair at the table.

      “I took care of the leak. Is there anything else you need fixed?” Caleb leaned toward his toolbox to shut the lid.

      “This place is old. There’s always something.”

      “Sara, all you have to do is call.” Caleb inhaled a deep breath. “That meat loaf just gets better smelling by the minute.”

      “You know you can always stay for dinner. We don’t stand on ceremony around here.” Sara hooked her cane on the back of her chair. “And I agree it smells wonderful.”

      “I checked it a while ago. It should be ready shortly.” Annie turned to her daughter. “Which means you need to put your coloring book and crayons in our room, then wash your hands.”

      “Do I hafta? I haven’t gotten them dirty.”

      Annie took her hand and showed her the black smudges from the pencil she’d used earlier. “Go, young lady.”

      Jayden leaped up from the chair and raced from the room.

      “Walk. Don’t run.” Annie waited to hear that her daughter had slowed down and then said, “Running is her favorite mode of traveling.”

      “Don’t worry about Jayden. It’s nice to have a child in the house again. I used to have nieces and nephews who visited all the time before they moved away and got so busy. I enjoyed watching them grow up. To this old lady—” Sara patted her chest “—seeing the world through a child’s eyes is like being young again.”

      “You aren’t old.”

      “Goodness me, Caleb. Have you gone blind? I’m feeling every one of my years right now.”

      “Age is all up here.” Caleb tapped his temple. “By the way, how many years are we talking about?”

      “That said, Annie, by one of the young,” Sara said, then shifted her sharp gaze to Caleb. “And, young man, it’s none of your business. I’m not telling, and you know that.” The stern tone belied the gleam dancing in Sara’s eyes.

      “Ah, but age has nothing to do with how you look at life. And yes, ma’am, I know, but I was trying to help the townspeople.” He angled toward Annie. “Her age is a town secret many in Christmas have been trying to figure out.”

      Sara’s laughter filled the kitchen. “It will go with me to my grave.”

      The humor in Caleb and Sara’s exchange touched a much-neglected part of Annie. Working hard as a single mom, trying to make ends meet, had left her without much hope. And now with the threat looming over her and her daughter, she felt weighted down. If she had to disappear as Bryan had insisted, what did she know about doing that? There had been a time in her life when she would have turned to the Lord for help, but maybe the Lord had really forsaken her when she’d lost her direction as a teen.

      A few hours later, after a delicious home-cooked meal, Caleb dried the last dish and put it in Sara’s cabinet. “I keep forgetting Sara doesn’t have the conveniences like a dishwasher for just such an occasion.”

      “Now she does. At least for the time being.” Annie wiped her hands on the tea towel hanging on a hook near the sink. “Me.”

      “The prettiest dishwasher I’ve seen.” The second he said it he wanted to snatch the words back. His comment produced a pink flush on Annie’s cheeks that highlighted her beauty. Caleb tried not to notice. Annie probably wouldn’t stick around Christmas long, so why become interested in her? He didn’t want his heart broken a second time. Once was enough.

      “Thanks.” She ran the wet dishcloth around the sink.

      Busywork, as though she were nervous. “I just appreciate a home-cooked dinner I don’t have to make.” Caleb folded the towel and placed it on the counter. “I’ve got a question for you.”

      She stopped in mid-rotation, her body tensing. Then as if shaking it off, she completed her turn, throwing a glance over her shoulder.

      “Jayden has red hair, but yours is light brown. Was Jayden’s father redheaded?” Great going, Jackson. Why don’t you just ask what happened to her marriage? Is the guy still in the picture?

      “Yes.” Lowering her eyelashes, she veiled her expression. “I’d better get Jayden to bed. Can I see you out?”

      He deserved that. The subject wasn’t one she wanted to discuss. Which only piqued his interest. “I can find my way to the front door.” He tried to inject humor into his voice, hoping to see Annie’s smile.

      Instead, she said in a serious tone, “I know Sara’s been recovering from a fall. Did she break anything? Was she in the hospital?”

      “She fell but didn’t break any bones. Her hip is bruised, and she pulled a muscle in her leg. Her doctor forbade her getting up on a ladder anymore. It happened two weeks ago.” Caleb passed the front room and gestured toward the eight-foot tree that could be viewed from the street. “Decorating that.” At the door he faced Annie, rubbing his hand along the stubble of a day’s growth of beard. “Sara tends to want to do everything herself.”

      “I can understand that.”

      Caleb stepped closer, taking a whiff of her flowery scent. “The dinner tonight was great.”

      “Thanks.” A dimple appeared in her cheek, enticing him to touch it.

      Caleb curled his hands and kept them at his sides. “Good night, Annie. I’ll bring Ralph down tomorrow for Jayden to see.”

      The crisp night air surrounded him as he left Sara’s house and strolled toward his smaller home at the end of the block. He’d enjoyed himself a lot tonight, but something wasn’t right. He felt it in his gut. During the conversation at dinner Annie had revealed little about herself and her life in Florida, as though she wanted to avoid anything having to do with her past. And really, telling them she was from the Sunshine State wasn’t a big secret since her Mustang sported Florida tags.

      He would keep an eye on Annie Madison. Even though she was Sara’s cousin and his longtime friend hadn’t had a problem with an unexpected guest appearing right before Christmas, that didn’t mean something wasn’t going on. Sara hadn’t been expecting her to show up today. This evening Annie had been nervous whenever anything remotely personal came up. Sara hadn’t seen Annie in fifteen years. A lot could have changed in that time.

      Inserting the key into the lock, he wished he could turn off the cop in him, but it had been drilled into him from his years on the force in Tulsa and now here in Christmas. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Sara.

      He was protecting Sara by being vigilant. Or was he really protecting himself? He’d been in a serious relationship in Tulsa, but when he’d asked the woman to marry him and move to Christmas, she’d decided there was no way she could live in a small town, especially one so kitschy. And he’d known better than to date a woman who wasn’t a Christian, but he’d thought it might work out. Wrong! And he’d paid for that assumption.

      Caleb had been the police chief for two years, ever since he came back to Christmas to take care of his ailing father, who died last year. His death left a hole in Caleb’s life. His dad had been his best friend, and he was glad he could help ease the last few years of his life.

      He tossed his keys on the table in the foyer and set his toolbox down, then made his way to the den. Ralph lay in front of the fireplace and stood when he saw Caleb. His pet wagged his tail so much that his whole back wiggled in his excitement.