I was losing it, bigtime.This probably explained why I'd fallen asleep just past nine o'clock only to startle myself awake long before dawn. And now, like a total idiot, I was staring out the front window – not the one downstairs, but the one upstairs in my bedroom.
I'd been doing that a lot lately, watching Cole's darkened house whenever I couldn’t sleep. I'd even placed an armchair next to the window – partly for myself and partly for whichever cat was in the mood for a nice comfy lap.
At the moment, I hadtwokitties on my lap – Fred and George, who'd been making a habit of joining me during my nighttime vigils. Normally, they paid no attention to anything going on at Cole's place. But tonight, they were sitting up, staring out the front window just as intently as I was.
At first, I had no idea why. But then I saw it – movement in the shadows across the street. My pulse quickened, and I sat up a little straighter.
What the heck?Someone was skulking across Cole's front yard. Who that person was, I had no idea. But Ididknow that it wasn't Cole.
Cole was tall and muscular while the skulker was noticeably shorter and more petite.A teenager? A woman? One of Santa's elves?
Okay, that last guess was pure silliness, but the mystery remained. Cole's Christmas lights had gone dark while I'd slept, which meant that aside from a distant streetlight, there wasn't much to illuminate whatever was going on.
From my upstairs window, I zoomed in on the person's clothing – dark jeans and an oversized parka. The parka's hood was pulled low over the person's face, hiding not only their hair, but every facial feature, too.
As I watched, the unknown person skulked toward Cole's front door as if planning to invade his house.
With growing concern, I glanced toward my cell phone which I'd placed on the nearby windowsill.Should I call and warn him?
Or should I call the police?
Regardless of who I called, it would be embarrassing as all getup when Cole discovered that I was living across the street. Even so, I'd rather look like a fool than watch Cole get robbed or worse.
As I reached for my phone, the person dug deep into the right-hand pocket of their parka and pulled out –holy heck– a roll of toilet paper.
Oh, my God.
Was that…Harper?
Jiminy Christmas.
Ithadto be. And even more strange, she wasn't on her own – because soon, I spotted another hooded figure, this one decidedly masculine, striding toward her as she moved closer to the front door.
She must've heard him coming. Or maybe he'd called out. Either way, she whirled around to look.
At the sight of whoever it was, she put her hands on her hips in a gesture that I knew all too well. The way it looked, she was about to give him a piece of her mind.
She obviously knew him. But whowashe?
And what in Santa's britches was going on?
Chapter 21
Lexie
I watched for several awkward moments as the two hooded figures had quite the animated discussion – well onherpart, anyway. In contrast, the guy stood nearly still, as Harper gestured like a crazy person.
I hated to interrupt, but the thought of my sister getting discovered by Cole was more than I could stand. I turned away from the window and fumbled in the darkness for something to wear.
I didn't dare turn on the lights, and getting dressed took me way longer than I'd intended, especially with Fred and George pouncing on my back every time I bent over to search the floor for my discarded socks. In the end, I gave up on the socks entirely and bolted down the stairs wearing ratty sweatpants and the thin T-shirt I'd been sleeping in.
Before rushing out the front door, I stopped only long enough to throw on some clunky winter boots and the first heavy coat that I could lay my hands on. Without bothering to button the coatorlace up the boots, I clomped across the street and made a beeline for Cole's front yard.
Already, there was toilet paper streaming from his Christmas wreath, the one smack-dab in the middle of his massive front door.
As for Harper, she was stalking toward his garage as if preparing to toilet-paper the shrubbery near his driveway.
I rushed up behind her and hissed, "What are you doing?"
