A Small Town Christmas Part 6

That narrows it down. Jamie unlocked the shop and brought Mandy the fairy inside, locking the door after them so no one would think she was open for business and come in. She quickly flipped on the light as Mandy's crying had gotten louder the second they entered the dark shop. She settled the child at one of the bistro tables, saying, "Now, I'll just get my phone and then we'll call and tell the police where you are so your grandpa can find you. Okay?"

The child didn't say anything, just slumped in her seat, clutched her pumpkin full of candy and cried.

This was like getting punked by gremlins. Jamie could barely take care of herself and now she had a lost child on her hands.

It's okay, she a.s.sured herself. You're in Heart Lake now. Call for help. She hurried to the back room and dug her cell phone out of her purse, calling over her shoulder, "Don't worry, Mandy. It'll be okay." How long would it take for the cops to get here? What could she do in the meantime to keep Mandy the fairy from having a nervous breakdown? To keep herself from having one?

"Nine-one-one," said an operator.

"I have a child," Jamie blurted. "I mean I found a child. She's lost and her name is Mandy. We're at the Goblin Walk. Can you send someone to help?"

"Can you give me an address, ma'am?" asked the operator.

Oh, yeah, that. "I'm in Valentine Square, in Heart Lake. The Chocolate Bar. How soon can someone get here?"

"Someone will be there in just a few minutes," the operator a.s.sured her.

Just a few minutes felt like an eternity when you had a crying child on your hands. "I know," Jamie said to Mandy. "Let's have something to eat while we're waiting for your grandpa. You want to come and choose a truffle?"

The crying downgraded to small sobs. Mandy slipped from her seat and walked tentatively over to the gla.s.s case where Jamie was standing.

Jamie knelt beside her. "We have a lot to choose from. Do you like chocolate?"

Mandy nodded solemnly, looking at her with big, brown eyes.

"Caramel. Do you like caramel?"

Another nod. The sobs were dying down, thank G.o.d.

"How about a chocolate caramel then?" Jamie suggested. She slipped around back of the counter, returning with a chocolate caramel for each of them. Mandy wasn't the only one who needed chocolate. "There you go." She handed it over and the child took it and studied it. Maybe she'd been told not to take candy from strangers. Jamie took a bite of hers to prove it wasn't poisoned. "Mmm, good." Except maybe she shouldn't be giving candy to Mandy the fairy.

Before she could suggest Mandy wait until her grandpa showed up, the child popped the entire goody into her mouth. In less than a second she was drooling chocolate. But she also wasn't crying.

Jamie felt pleased with herself. "Good stuff, huh?"

Mandy nodded and looked at her with a "what's next" expression.

Now what? "Are you thirsty? Would you like a drink of water?"

Mandy nodded.

So they had a drink of water. Now what? Where the h.e.l.l were the cops?

"I'm a fairy," Mandy announced.

Okay, she was feeling better. "You're a very pretty fairy," said Jamie. Why on earth wasn't your mom watching you? "Do you know your address?"

"One-two-three Willow Road," said the child.

"Good for you," Jamie approved. At least they'd have some information to give the police. It would be enough to match Mandy the Fairy with her mother.

A sudden banging on the shop door made Jamie jump. The cops. Thank G.o.d.

But it wasn't cops. It was one cop. The cop, and he had people with him-a paunchy sixty-something man with shortly cropped gray hair and a princess a little older than the fairy, but with the same big eyes and brown curls.

As soon as Jamie opened the door, the princess pointed at Mandy and cried, "There she is!"

"Mandy. Thank G.o.d," breathed the cop. He rushed to her, arms wide open. "Come here, baby!"

"Daddy!" The child jumped into his arms and he swept her up. "I had chocolate," she told him.

"I can see that," he said, taking a wipe at her chin, which looked like she'd painted it with chocolate syrup.

The older man fell onto the nearest chair. "I think I've aged twenty years."

"You were supposed to hold Grandpa's hand," scolded the princess. "Daddy was mad."

"Not at you, baby," said the cop. He walked over to Jamie, the other child tagging along at his side. Jamie was sure the floor was shaking with every heavy footfall. She could feel her heart rate stepping up. He looked like a super-sized Superman in a police uniform. "Thanks for keeping my daughter safe. We owe you."

"For being a good citizen? No you don't."

She only came up to his shoulder. With those big hands of his he could crush her head like a walnut. He smelled like the outdoors and aftershave, but something else, too. Could you smell testosterone? Hic. Oh, great. Not again.

"Well, you saved the day big-time," he said.

"That's for sure," said the older man from his chair. "My G.o.d, I've never been so scared in my life. One minute I had her and the next I didn't."

"By the way, I'm Josh Armstrong," said the cop, holding out a hand.

She took it and hers was immediately swallowed. But it was a gentle swallowing, and that was a surprise. "I'm . . . I guess you know." She tried to hold in a hiccup and he tried not to smile.

"Can we go get more candy now?" asked the other child.

"No," said her father firmly. "We're done for the night and Dad's got to get back to work."

"And Grandpa's p.o.o.ped," added the older man, pus.h.i.+ng off from his chair.

"But we didn't go to the toy store," the princess protested, her voice full of disappointment.

"We're done," said her father. "Anyway, it's after seven. The Goblin Walk is over."

After seven already? Wow. Time flew when you were . . . stressed.

"Your poor old gramps can't take any more adventure tonight, Lissa girl," said the older man.

"Would you like to take a truffle with you?" Jamie offered. That pulled the princess immediately out of her pout. "Okay."

"Come on over and look and see what you'd like," Jamie said, and stepped behind the counter.

Lissa the princess stood in front of the case, studying everything.

"Do you like coconut?" asked Jamie.

Lissa nodded, her eyes sparkling. "I love coconut."

"And white chocolate?"

Lissa's brows furrowed as she thought about it. "I don't know. But it sounds good," she added.

"Well," Jamie said, cutting off a piece of white chocolate coconut fudge laced with lemon. "Let's see if it's as good as it sounds." She handed it over to Lissa, who took a delicate bite. She smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "It's good."

Jamie smiled back. "I'm glad."

"What's your name?" asked Lissa.

"Jamie."

"I'm Lissa. I'm nine. My sister's only six. She's a baby."

"Am not," shot Mandy from her father's arms.

"Are, too," said Lissa. "You got lost."

That started Mandy crying again. "I think we'd better go," said Josh. "Thanks again for finding my daughter."

"No problem," said Jamie.

They filed out the door just as Emma arrived. Jamie saw the undisguised l.u.s.t in her friend's eyes as she and Josh exchanged polite h.e.l.los. There had been no mention of a mommy. Josh the cop was single. Talk about perfect for Emma.

A moment later Emma was shutting the shop door behind her. "Who was that? He's gorgeous."

"Josh Armstrong. His kid was lost."

"And you found her?" Emma was lighting up like a theater marquee. "Oh, my gosh, that's such a movie moment."

Jamie made a face. "How did I know you'd say that?"

"And talk about a good deed. Wow! Is he single?"

"I'm not sure, but I think so. I'll introduce you to him."

"Like I could compete with you and all that gorgeous blondness," Emma said. "Anyway, you saw him first."

"That doesn't mean I want him," said Jamie, going to fetch her purse.

"You'd be crazy not to."

"Well, then, call me crazy. I don't need another cop in my life. Been there, done that, bought the T-s.h.i.+rt. Took it back."

Emma shook her head as she followed Jamie out of the Chocolate Bar. She couldn't blame Jamie for being scarred for life. Married to any man who smacked her around would be enough to scar any woman. At least Jamie had had the sense to get out quickly. This policeman sure didn't seem like the smacking type, not from the way those little girls were climbing all over him. He looked like the catch of the day. He also looked like the kind of man who went for women like Jamie. And Tess L'amour.

Emma sighed inwardly. Oh, well. She had Jimmy Stewart waiting at home. Rear Window, candy corn, and a Vampire's Kiss-now, that was living.

But back at Emma's place Jamie didn't seem to think so. She only drank half of her Vampire's Kiss, even though she was sleeping in the guest room. (Also the office and fabric room, but Emma had managed to uncover the day bed.) And she thought Rear Window was boring.

"How can you say that?" Emma protested. "That movie is a cla.s.sic."

Jamie pulled a DVD out of her purse. "Now, here's a cla.s.sic. Let's watch this next."

Emma took it. "Friday the 13th. Oh, gross."

"We each got to pick one," Jamie reminded her.

Emma made a face. "Ick."

"My turn, my pick."

"We could make some more gift jars," Emma suggested.

"While we watch the movie," said Jamie with a wicked smile.

"You're sick," Emma muttered, but she put the movie on.

It was totally disgusting and creepy. Emma sat at the card table with her back to the TV while they did their craft projects, but just the screams were enough to make her want to run and hide under her bed. "I'll never be able to sleep tonight," she complained when it was done.

"Good thing it's Sat.u.r.day. The shop's closed tomorrow and you can sleep in," Jamie said heartlessly.

"You have rotten taste."

"Thank you." Jamie dumped the last of her Vampire's Kiss in the kitchen sink, then started down the hall to the guest room, calling over her shoulder, "Pleasant dreams."

"Oh, fine. Scare the liver out of me and then leave me to turn off the lights by myself."

Emma had lived on her own ever since she graduated from college, and being alone never bothered her. It certainly didn't now, she told herself, especially when she had another person in the house with her. Like Jamie would be any help against a crazed killer. Or Mrs. Nitz, who lived on the other side of the duplex and was eighty and deaf as a stone. Emma thought of that big, gorgeous policeman. Was he still on duty?

The wind had picked up outside. She could hear her wind chime tinkling like crazy. It was a dark and stormy night, just the kind of night that movie murderers picked to wreak mayhem.

Oh, stop.

The sound of a familiar pitiful yowl drifted in from outside: the scared kitty from the other night. She'd once heard black cats were an endangered species on Halloween, that devil wors.h.i.+ppers kidnapped them and cut them up. It probably wasn't true, but she hated to take a risk on that poor lost cat. Who knew which of its nine lives it was on?

She went to the door, opened it a crack, and peered into the darkness. She could see shadows of trees swaying in the breeze like giant monsters. "Kitty?"

A forlorn meow answered her.

She turned on the porch light and stepped onto the porch. "Are you there?"

A head peeped out.