I opened the door and peeked out, but I couldn’t see anybody around. A hand slipped into mine. Grace’s. I sent her a grateful look. Slowly, we walked down the path. As we drew near the cottages, a package sitting on the front doorstep of the one I was staying in came into view. A gift perfectly wrapped in red paper with green polka dots and tied with a silver ribbon. I reached for it.

“Wait!” Grace cried, intercepting me before I could touch it.

I flinched. “What?”

She grabbed my shoulder and drew me away from it. “What if it’s a bomb? Or something poisonous?”

I wanted to laugh. That was ridiculous, wasn’t it? Crazy. Nobody would do something like that. But then, whoever this stalker was, they weren’t sane if they’d followed me halfway around the world.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Let’s back away and call the police.”

Chapter Seventeen

LIAM

Nate brought a date to Christmas this year. It was weird as hell. I always thought he and Grace would get together. But at least having his new girlfriend there distracted me from the fact that you weren’t around. - Unsent text message from Liam to Kennedy

Since it was a gloriously sunny day, with blue skies and a pleasant breeze, my family had chosen to sit outside. Two picnic tables had been arranged end to end to fit us all. We were one member down, since it was Tess’s year to spend Christmas with her mother, which meant Nate was a little mopey. He loved spending holidays with his daughter. Unfortunately, while Maddy and Nate were on good speaking terms, they weren’t interested in spending time together. Something about maintaining boundaries and not letting Tess get confused about where things stood. In my opinion, Tess had more of a clue about that than they did, but that didn’t stop them from trying to shield her, and who could blame them? If I had a little girl, I’d want to protect her too.

We were halfway through the meal when a phone rang. At the head of the table, Mum’s eyes narrowed. She scanned us one by one, waiting to see which of her children had dared to bring a phone to Christmas lunch. Across the table, Nate’s expression turned sheepish as he fumbled in his pocket.

“Nathan Martin Braddock,” Mum said sternly. “What do you call this?”

Nate gave her an apologetic look. “I’m on duty. Sorry, Mum.” He stood. “Give me two seconds.”

He walked a few meters away, speaking under his breath. I kept my lips firmly zipped, relieved it was him who’d caught Mum’s wrath and not me. I was also technically on call and had my phone in my pocket. It was a hazard of being a first responder in a small town.