Postmark: Christmas by Paige Winship Dooly

Author:Paige Winship Dooly [DOOLY, PAIGE WINSHIP]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-62029-098-9
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

David Preston greeted his sister as she entered her house. “Hey, sis. Need help with the groceries?”

“Sure.” Connie shuffled the bags, looping the plastic handles off her fingers and onto his. “Where’s Tyler? I could use his help.”

“I’ll do it. He’s upstairs resting.”

“Resting? Tornado Ty?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I wore him out pretty good today. We went to Jungle Adventures.”

Connie laughed. “I’ll bet he wore you out. How’d he talk you into that?”

“Aw, he’s a good kid. Just needs an outlet.”

David excused himself to bring in the remainder of the bags.

“Outlet.” Connie continued the conversation when he came back in. “I’ve heard that from his teachers.” She proceeded to put the groceries away. “You should be the one resting. You were out of the country for three months this time.”

David opened a bag of pretzels and began munching. “Sweet assignment, too. I had a blast.”

“Mm-hm. I’ll bet you were in your element with all those bugs in the Amazon rain forest.” She shuddered for effect.

“Photographed some. You wanna see?”

“No, thank you! I had my fill of bugs when we were little. I’ll never get over your pet tarantula under my pillow.”

“Upset your whole slumber party, didn’t he?” David still got a kick out of that prank. He liked to think that Fred had fun, too; that is, after he skittered away from the screaming girls trying to flog him with their slippers.

A knock on the door drew their attention. Connie disappeared to answer it while David searched for more snacks in the remaining grocery bags. A moment later, Connie called from the living room.

“David, there’s someone here to see you.”

He shoved a chocolate chip cookie into his mouth. “Coming!”

When he entered the living room, he skidded to a stop. Flashbacks of that horrible night threw him back to when he was seventeen and this same policeman stood in his parents’ doorway.

But this time, Officer Stanton was smiling. And he looked older. And he wore civilian clothes.

Officer Stanton held out his hand. “I heard you were in town so I thought I’d come by to say howdy.” He paused. “You okay, son?”

David shook off the past and returned the handshake. “I am, sir, thanks to you.”

A twinkle in the man’s eyes could have been from joy at seeing his troubled teen project make good, or it could have been a tear. Maybe both. Before David knew it, huge paws pulled him into a bear hug and gently patted his back.

Connie asked both of them if they’d like to sit and chat awhile. “I’ll bring out some refreshments,” she said as she disappeared into the kitchen.

David’s mentor took the sofa, dwarfing it with his well-over-six-foot frame. David sat in the matching armchair.

“So, staying out of trouble?”

“Define trouble.” David chuckled. “I’ve been doing great ever since you introduced me to a camera, Officer Stanton.”

“Hey, call me Rick. Been retired for some time now.”

Connie brought in a plate of cookies and two cups of coffee. “I thought I’d serve these since they were already opened.

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