Christmas Steele by Vanessa Gray Bartal Page B

shoulders
another squeeze. “Know one of the things I love best about you,
Lacy? It’s that you can quote Shakespeare in random conversation
without being pretentious.”
    Lacy smiled. Resting her head on his
shoulder, they stayed on the porch for a long time, gently swaying
back and forth.

Chapter 11
     
    In the morning, it occurred to Lacy that her
father might be the provider of her mystery locket. Like with Tosh,
she didn’t have to beat around the bush with her dad, and she asked
him as soon as she saw him at breakfast the next morning.
    “Dad, did you buy me a locket for
Christmas?”
    “To be honest, honey, I have no idea,” he
said, looking up in surprise from his piece of coffeecake. “Your
mom buys all the presents and puts my name on them. Sorry to
disillusion you.”
    “That’s okay; I sort of knew that already. I
was just checking.”
    He nodded, returning his attention to his
cake. Lacy sat across from him and cut her own generous serving of
cake. That left only Jason, but for some reason she didn’t want to
accept that the necklace was from him. Maybe it was because the
inscription was so direct and personal that it left no doubt about
his feelings. Though, if he really intended to tell her he was in
love with her, why would he do it in locket form? The locket was
beautiful and thoughtful, but the anonymity left a bad taste in her
mouth. If someone really loved her, why not come out and say it?
Unless there was a reason he couldn’t. But what could that reason
be? Did she have a secret admirer in prison? Travis flashed in her
mind when she thought of the jail, but he wouldn’t send her a
locket. They had already discussed and ruled out the possibility of
them dating. At five years her junior, Travis was too young.
    Thoughts of Travis led her to remember she
had to deliver Jason’s present. “Dad, what are you doing today?”
she asked.
    “Nothing,” he said. “Unless you count
finishing the book I started yesterday. Do you need something?”
    Lacy nodded. “Can you come with me to deliver
a present to one of my friends?”
    “Sure,” he said.
    “We’ll sort of have to break into his house
and he’s a cop. Is that a problem?”
    He blinked at her. “Uh, I guess not. It’s
been a while since I was last arrested. Could be an adventure.”
    “He won’t arrest us,” she said. “He’s the
type to shoot first and ask questions later, so we have a better
chance of winding up dead than in jail.”
    “Oh, good, something to look forward to
then.”
    They shared a smile over the table. “When do
we get to meet this man?” her father asked after a few minutes of
silence.
    “Don’t you remember Jason?” she asked. “He
was the quarterback my last couple years of high school.”
    While her mother had been more interested in
making sure Lacy looked presentable and watching Riley cheer, her
father had actually immersed himself in the game, becoming a big
fan of their high school football team.
    “Jason Cantor?” her father said.
    “Dad, your incredulous tone stings, it really
does,” Lacy said.
    “It’s just that you’ve never really
gravitated toward the athletic type. You’ve always seemed more
interested in the artsy types.”
    “Yes, well, Jason and I are just
friends.”
    “Jason Cantor, and he’s a cop now. Wow.”
    “If you want, I can get his autograph,” Lacy
offered.
    Her dad laughed and cleared their plates from
the table. “All right, I’ll simmer down my enthusiasm. It’s just
that he always reminded me a bit of myself when I was his age. Did
I ever tell you I played quarterback?”
    “You did?” Lacy asked, feigning innocence.
“If only you had mentioned that before. I don’t suppose Mom was a
cheerleader, was she?”
    “Ah, the merits of a sarcastic daughter. I
had almost forgotten what it was like to live with one. Thanks for
the reminder.” He ruffled her hair. “Ready to get this show on the
road?”
    “Let me call Travis and make sure we’re