The Christmas Thief Read Online Free

neighbor’s regular habit.
    “You left one of your carpet tack strips in the street,” he accused, his eyes flashing. “Put holes in Marc’s tires.”
    Tasha recoiled. Wolfy whined in her arms. “I’m sorry to hear it, but that carpet strip wasn’t mine, I can assure you.”
    “Oh yeah?”
    “Andy!” Marc hurried over to stand between them.
    Tasha continued. “I don’t know what just happened up there—”
    “I just told you what happened,” Andy muttered.
    Marc’s voice was sharp. “That’s enough.” He turned to Tasha, his hands on his hips. “I’m sure it was an accident.”
    “I told Andy already—I didn’t leave a strip of wood with sharp tacks sticking out of it in the street. I’m not an idiot.” Tasha peered over his shoulder and squinted through the darkening night. “Actually, I just drove right over that same spot less than a half hour ago. I’m parked right in front of you.”
    Both men looked toward the street where Tasha’s Subaru was indeed parked. Marc glanced at Andy then back to her, his brow furrowed. “And you didn’t pull into your spot from the middle of the street?”
    She shook her head. “No. I remember specifically pulling into right about where your truck is parked, and then I decided to pull forward.” Adding that last part made her want to wince. She’d saved a space for him, but so what? She was only trying to keep him from knocking on her door to ask her to pull up.
    He watched her too intensely for comfort.
    “So wait a second,” Andy said. “If you didn’t leave it there, who did?”
    Tasha shrugged. “Haven’t a clue.”
    Andy folded his arms in front of his chest. “That’s what I thought.”
    Marc let out a sigh and put a hand on Andy’s shoulder. “Let’s not let this ruin the night, okay? The guys’ll be here soon with grub and I promised this one”—he pointed a thumb toward Tasha—”that I’d make her dinner.”
    She scoffed. “Oh, you did not.”
    He winked. “I did invite you to join us whenever you see us out here eating, and though I’m not cooking, the guys’ll be here soon with plenty of food.”
    “Man, what about your tires?” Andy said. “When you gonna take care of those?”
    Marc scratched his shadowy chin. “After dinner one of you clowns can help me change them.”
    Tasha took a step back. “Thanks for the invite, gentlemen—”
    Something sinister flashed in Andy’s eyes. She could tell by the cold stare the kid gave her that he thought she was guilty of sabotage. She wanted to wring his skinny little neck, but not only did she know this would likely be frowned upon, it would unleash more fuel on the boy’s ridiculous insinuation that she had left something dangerous in the street for Marc’s truck to find. Refusing the dinner invitation, she reasoned, might also point to her guilt.
    With a sharp intake of breath, Tasha continued. “I accept your invitation.”
    Marc looked both surprised and pleased, but Andy not so much. She didn’t care. She was hungry, and another more serious thought had entered her mind during this whole tiring exchange: she had not removed survey flags, stolen tools, or left a strip of tacks wide open on the street.
    So if not her, who?
    ~~~
    In no time, the rest of the crew showed up, and a couple of guys changed Marc’s tires while the others carried two picnic tables onto the site, lit a flame in the fire bowl, and spread out dinner. At some point, Mr. Cho showed up with two bags of garlic bread and that prima donna dog of his in tow saying, “Thought you might like some, yes?” He smiled widely at the applause he received.
    Tasha relaxed against a plastic Adirondack chair she had dragged over from her own deck. They were a lively crew, most of them in their older teens to young twenties, eating faster and more than she thought possible. Most of the campers she had served lately were elementary aged, except for a middle school group that had been in the first week she spent