A Family for the Holidays by Sherri Shackelford Page B

discretion pass. Absently whistling a lively tune, he strolled from the dining room once more. As soon as he was out of sight, Lily shook out her hands.
    Sam and Peter rushed forward.
    â€œAre you leaving us?” Sam demanded. “Where will we stay?”
    â€œI don’t like him,” Peter said. “I don’t want to stay here without you.”
    Perhaps it was his odd pale coloring, but there was something about Vic that struck her as sinister.
    â€œDon’t worry.” Lily hugged them close. “I’ll sort this out.”
    With his peacock waistcoat and colorless skin, Vic would make an excellent villain in one of Peter’s novels. She certainly didn’t trust his motivations. There was no way the sheriff had come up with the idea of taking over guardianship. If the word jeopardy was outside of his vocabulary, he certainly wasn’t throwing around words like jurisdiction and authority .
    She mentally checked off the people she’d met in the past few days: Regina, Jake, Vic and Sheriff Koepke. For such a small town, Frozen Oaks sure had its fair share of shady characters. Last week she’d been fully prepared to leave the boys with their grandfather and return home immediately. After spending several days in this peculiar town, she’d grown reticent. Truth be told, she’d feel no better about leaving the boys and returning home if Emil walked through the door that instant. She certainly wasn’t handing them over to Vic Skaar and his saloon-frequenting sheriff.
    Sitting here stewing about her predicament solved nothing. “Who wants to go on an adventure?” Lily asked.
    Her question was met with obvious enthusiasm.
    She tucked the bills into her reticule. She didn’t plan on keeping them, but she couldn’t exactly abandon that amount of money on the dining room table either. Once outside, Lily directed them toward the red-and-blue pole of the barbershop. As she’d noted the day before, the windows were shuttered. The whitewashed storefront needed a fresh coat of paint, but Emil was probably waiting for better weather.
    â€œWhat’s this place?” Sam asked, unwrapping a peppermint.
    â€œYour grandfather’s shop. He’s a barber. Did you know that? Apparently he lives upstairs.”
    â€œMy dad said he was a vagabond who couldn’t stay in one place if his shoes were nailed to the floor.” Sam finished off the candy with a decisive crunch. “Can we go inside? I mean, I’d like to see where we’re going to live.”
    â€œThe door is probably locked.” Melancholy stirred in her heart. Of course Sam and Peter were interested in seeing their new home. But was this their home? From the moment they’d stepped into Frozen Oaks, nothing had been certain. “I suppose there’s no harm in looking.”
    A narrow space between the buildings held a staircase leading up to the second level. Boot prints showed in the fresh layer of snow. They overlapped each other, as though a man had come and gone from the apartment.
    Emil has gotten tangled in some trouble .
    All she had were rumors and gossip. She knew well enough the lack of truth they contained. She was poor orphan Lily after all.
    â€œHold the railing. The steps might be slippery.”
    They traversed the narrow stairs and crowded onto the landing. She shook off her apprehension. Probably someone had come to check on Emil when he didn’t open his shop. She touched the handle and the door swung open.
    Before she could stop them, the siblings rushed inside.
    Lily chased after them. “Wipe your feet. Don’t track snow.”
    The person who’d been here before them had not been as thoughtful. Footprints tracked across the wood floors. Crouching, she swiped at the marks. The melted snow had dried, leaving only dirt behind.
    The space was neat and tidy, though sparsely furnished. The woodpile was well stocked, and Emil’s belongings