Page 35 of Snowed Inn For Christmas

Twenty-One

Gage

“Son of a bitch!”Juliegrowled, her tone a mix of anger and fear as the power went out, casting us into darkness.I was at her side within a matter of seconds, my hand protectively wrapped around her waist while Patrick and her father talked quickly.Flashlights on phones were turned on while I focused on Julie, her body rigid and trembling beneath my touch.

“Hey, are you okay?”I asked.“What happened?”

“Yeah,” she whispered, her body trembling beneath my touch.“I got a handful of text messages from an unknown number.I mean, it’sunknown, but it’s also very clearly Joel.”

“What did they say?”

“Which one?He sent several, each of them equally disturbing,” she said, her voice wary as she turned her phone toward me so I could read them.

I pressed my lips together to keep from saying something stupid since Patrick hadn’t told her the full extent of what was happening.Just then, Duke got up from beside the couch and began growling a low, deep growl.

“Go sit with Mom,” Patrick said, guiding his dad out of the way as he rushed past us, pulling the curtain back and checking the front porch even though it was pitch black outside.“I don’t fucking like this one bit.I can’t see shit outside.”

“The generator should have kicked on by now,” I muttered, realizing quickly that it hadn’t.“Fuck.”

I glanced at Julie, hating how terrified she looked.

“Let’s get you to the couch,” I said, guiding her there quickly, making sure not to trip over Duke as he continued growling at the front door while he stood next to Daisy, who stayed asleep on the couch.“Duke, go check.”

He immediately went to the front door and stood there, staring at it with an intensity that sent a chill through me.While he was calm most of the time, Duke had been trained as a protection dog from a very early age by one of the best trainers I had ever met.I didn’t realize until now how handy his training would be.Once Julie was sitting on the couch with Daisy between her and her mother, I walked over to where Duke was standing in front of the door, his posture rigid and ready to attack.

“Should we open it and let him out?”Patrick asked, staring at my dog.

“We could, but I worry about us not being able to see much out there.I would rather keep him in here while the threat is contained outside.But I think this answers the question about when the lock was cut off the shed.”

“Yep.It would also explain the power tool noise Mom heard last night,” Patrick noted.“The wind must have blown away his tracks.That’s why we didn’t see anything this morning.”

I nodded, completely oblivious to anyone else in the room for a moment while my mind raced, putting the pieces together.

“Umm...Threat?”Julie questioned, turning to look at us.“What threat?”

“I think it’s time to tell her,” I said quietly to Patrick, taking a step back as he nodded.

“Tell me what?”Her tone was sharp as her eyes narrowed on her brother.

“We found some stuff at your apartment,” Patrick said with a heavy sigh.

“Stuff?What kind of stuff?”

“Adoption papers for one.Family photos that had Joel’s head glued over Mike’s.The worst is that he had...”Patrick tipped his head back and shook it, not wanting to say the words as his throat tightened with emotion.

“He had what?”Julie asked, looking between him and her parents.“Just tell me.Whatever it is, I can handle it.”