Emmie’s referee whistle alert on her On Track app went off. “Stop it,” she said as she glared at her phone and hurried to turn the app off. When she saw the app light up with Tree Lighting with Grant, she felt even worse and turned the app off.
“Three, two, one,” the announcer said in a cheery voice that Emmie barely heard. She was staring up at the tree, making her Christmas wish, wishing for the kind of Christmas she used to have with her parents that was always filled with love and laughter.
“Merry Christmas!” When the announcer said the word Christmas, the tree lit up, illuminating the night sky.
There was a collective sigh and oohs and aahs from everyone who was gathered around the tree. Emmie watched everyone celebrating. People were laughing, hugging, kissing, and enjoying the moment. Even though she was surrounded by people, she had never felt more alone in her life.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Back at the inn, Emmie packed her bag in record time. Dasher sat next to her on the bed. Watching her, he looked confused. At one point he’d even barked at her, but she’d just kept packing. All she knew was that she needed to leave Christmas Point right away. She just wanted to go home. She knew the longer she stayed, the worse she would feel, and she didn’t want to risk running into Sam again.
When she saw Denise’s ID on the phone, she almost didn’t answer, figuring she’d call her from the car, but she finally picked up.
“Hey” was all she said. Her voice sounded flat.
“Em, what’s wrong?” Denise asked. “What’s going on?”
With a sigh, Emmie sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’ve really messed everything up.”
“With Grant or with the hot guy?” Denise asked.
“Both,” Emmie said, groaning. “Grant went back to Seattle for work and I found out Sam’s writing this book about me, so I yelled at him. I feel terrible.”
“About Grant?” Denise asked.
Emmie hesitated then nodded. “Yes.”
“So what are you going to do?” Denise asked.
Emmie stood back up and continued packing. “I’m coming home. Tonight. If Grant has to be in Seattle for work, I’ll just find some stuff for us to do there. We only have a few days before Christmas. The most important thing is that Grant and I spend them doing things together.”
“And what about this other guy?” Denise asked.
Emmie shook her head. “He’s just the wrong guy that showed up. I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
A FEW MINUTES later as she headed downstairs Dasher was right by her side. She gave him an appreciative look. She thought about how it was almost like he knew something was wrong and he wasn’t going to leave her side. She already missed him.
She found Ruby waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs and was relieved Sam was nowhere in sight.
She had grown so fond of Ruby. She’d forgotten what it was like to have someone keep an eye out for her, give her advice, and watch over her like a mom. She felt as if her mom had put Ruby in her path, knowing that right now she really needed someone like Ruby in her life. She truly regretted bringing so much drama into Ruby’s peaceful little inn. She didn’t want to make it worse by breaking down in front of Ruby again, so she put on a brave face. She was determined to keep this goodbye as upbeat and positive as possible.
Emmie gave Ruby a heartfelt hug as soon as she got down the stairs. “Thank you for everything. You have a truly special place here.”
Ruby gave her a compassionate look. “I’m so sorry this trip didn’t turn out like you planned. I hope you come back someday when you can truly enjoy it.”
Emmie smiled back at her. “I’d really like that.”
“And you’re sure you won’t stay until the morning and get a good night’s rest before driving down the mountain? It’s always a slow drive at night, and it was snowing earlier.”
Emmie gave her another quick hug. “Thank you for worrying about me, but I checked the road conditions and they’re pretty clear. I really need to get back, so it’s best that I leave now. I promise I’ll be careful.”
“And you’ll call me when you get home so I know you made it okay?” Ruby asked.
Emmie nodded, touched by the request. “I will. I promise.”
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? I don’t just mean the drive,” Ruby said as she followed Emmie to the door.
Emmie nodded, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “I will be, on all fronts. Once I get back to Seattle and see Grant, I just need to try and salvage the little Christmas we have left together.”
“So you two have talked?” Ruby asked.
Emmie shook her head. “No, not yet. We’re playing phone tag, but we’ve texted. Grant and I, we’re good together. We’ve made plans for the future. We’ll be . . . fine.”
Ruby reached out and took Emmie’s hand, looking into her eyes. “And you’re sure fine is good enough for you?”
Because Emmie truly didn’t have an answer for that question, she didn’t respond. She instead reached down to pet Dasher, who was sitting faithfully at her feet.
“I’m going to miss you, Dasher. You be a good boy.”
Dasher happily barked and started running his usual circles around Emmie.
Emmie couldn’t help but laugh. Ruby joined her.
“He’s going to miss you, too,” Ruby said. “And so am I.”
Feeling the threat of tears, Emmie hurried to open the front door. She wanted to leave before she started crying again. “I better get going,” she said as she headed out the door. “Thank you again for everything.”
As Emmie walked outside, Ruby and Dasher stood in the doorway watching her. “Be careful driving and don’t forget to call,” Ruby said.
“I will. I promise,” Emmie replied as she got into her car.
“Merry Christmas, Emmie,” Ruby said. “We’ll miss you.”
Emmie turned and waved to Ruby and Dasher. “Merry Christmas.”
She was thankful that she was able to drive away before the first tear fell. When the song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” came on the radio, Emmie quickly turned it off. The last thing she wanted to hear right now was Christmas music.
As snow started to fall, she gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and slowed down. Although she was in a hurry to get home, she could feel her tires slipping a little on the icy road. She knew she needed to be careful and give one hundred percent of her concentration to getting home safely, and that was fine with her. The last thing she wanted to be thinking about was Grant . . . or Sam.
Startled by a gust of wind whipping at her window, Emmie decided to turn the radio back on and found “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” playing. It was one of her parents’ favorites, so she turned it up. As the beautiful music filled the car, Emmie found herself feeling a sense of peace as she sang along to the words she knew so well.
“It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold;
‘Peace on the earth, goodwill to men,
From Heaven’s all-gracious King.’
The world in solemn stillness lay,
To hear the angels sing.”
As Emmie sang the song louder, putting all her feelings into it, the snow stopped falling and the sky began to clear.
A silver moonbeam lit the road ahead of her.
Emmie repeated softly to herself: “To hear the angels sing.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
When Emmie woke up the next morning in her own bed back in Seattle, she was disoriented for a moment and didn’t know where she was. She’d gotten home so late last night, she’d basically walked into her apartment, headed straight to her bedroom, and immediately fallen asleep.
She had called Ruby when she had stopped at a halfway point to let her know she would be fine, but it was going to be too late to call her when she got to Seattle.
; Of course Ruby had still insisted she check in, so Emmie had sent her a text when she pulled up to her apartment. She knew she shouldn’t have been surprised when Ruby texted her right back, saying she had waited up to make sure she got back to Seattle okay. She felt she had made a true friend in her short time at Christmas Point.
The first thing Emmie did after getting out of bed and getting dressed was to give her two Christmas trees some fresh water. She had arranged for Denise to come over and do it, but now she was back early, so she could do it herself.
It felt lonely walking around her apartment without Dasher on her heels. When she checked her refrigerator and found it pretty much empty, she made a mental note to go grocery shopping.
She missed starting the morning with Ruby’s delicious hot chocolate and pancakes and decided to add both to her shopping list, so she could bring back some of the good Christmas Point Inn memories home with her.
But first things first: she needed to go see Grant.
WHEN EMMIE WALKED down the hall to Grant’s office, she wasn’t surprised to see him working on his computer and talking on the phone at the same time.
“Hey,” she said as she walked into his office, “I’m back.”
Grant was just hanging up his phone. He came over and greeted her with a kiss. “I thought you were coming back this morning?”
“I didn’t want to wait,” Emmie said. “I drove back last night.”
“You should have called,” Grant said.
“It was so late,” Emmie said. “It was actually early this morning. The roads were pretty bad. Plus, I wanted to surprise you.” She held up a pretty Christmas gift bag that had a big white bow. “Surprise!”
Grant laughed and peered into the bag she was holding. “It’s not Christmas yet. It’s still a couple days away.”
Emmie, excited, handed him the bag. “Close enough. I couldn’t wait any longer. Open it!”
Grant looked excited, too, as he dug into the bag. After plowing through some green and red tissue paper, he pulled out the red cable-knit sweater.
“Wow, this is . . . bright,” Grant finally said.
Emmie smiled back at him. “It’s Christmas red. You remember Sandy? You met her up at Christmas Point. You helped her put up the Christmas lights?”
Grant nodded. “I think so.”
Emmie rushed on. “Well, she makes one-of-a-kind sweaters, and I thought this one was so Christmasy and cheery, and red looks so good on you . . .”
Grant laughed a little. “It certainly is . . . Christmasy.” He put the sweater back into the bag.
“Wait!” Emmie said. “There’s more. There’s something else in the bag.”
Grant looked hopeful as he dug around in the bag some more and then pulled out the stocking Ruby had made for him that had the name Grant embroidered on it.
“Why did you bring this back here?” Grant asked, confused.
“Because Ruby made it for you for Christmas. We can hang it up in your apartment over the fireplace, and I have mine, too.”
“Oh, I thought this was just for when we were up there. I don’t have any way to hang stockings on the fireplace,” Grant said. “It’s Italian marble.”
Emmie fought to keep smiling. She refused to let Grant’s less-than-enthusiastic attitude derail her. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I have these special stocking holder hooks we can use. They’re great. They have snowmen on them.” Emmie hurried on. “And there’s one more thing.”
Grant almost looked afraid.
Emmie pulled a little white scroll that was tied with a red velvet ribbon out of her bag. It was exactly like the ones she made for her Christmas scavenger hunt. Emmie, excited, handed it to him.
“What’s this?” Grant asked.
“Because our time at Christmas Point was cut short, I made a new list of things we can do for Christmas right here around Seattle,” Emmie said, excited. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to follow any clues. I just listed a bunch of Christmas activities, and you can pick whatever you want. Open it up and see.”
When Grant unrolled the scroll, his eyes grew huge as he took in the long list.
Emmie leaned in and pointed to what was at the top of the list. “I thought we could start with some ice skating, and then look . . .”—she pointed to another item down on the list—“they’re doing Christmas carols at Lake Union Park. I used to always go see them with my parents.”
“Emmie, I still have to work.” Grant rolled up the scroll and handed it back to her.
“But last night, when we texted, you said you were wrapping up work and we could finally spend some time together. That’s why I came home right away,” Emmie said. She quickly unrolled the scroll again and pointed to the top of the list. “Plus, look, I put this list together for after work, so even with work, we can still do some of these things together. So just pick what you want to do. Or if you have anything you want to add to the list, that’s great, too. Whatever you want as long as we’re together.”
Grant gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I can’t do any of this. I have to work that’s why I left Christmas Town—”
“Christmas Point,” Emmie corrected him.
“Right,” Grant said. “But my point is, I told my boss I’d meet him for dinner. He wants to talk about making me partner. This is huge. This is everything I’ve worked for. You understand, right?”
At the moment Emmie wanted to scream no, she did not understand. Grant had promised to make time for her, for them, for Christmas. But she also knew part of the reason their relationship had worked was because they had respected each other’s hectic work schedules. So she didn’t scream. What she did was take a deep breath while she tried to find the words to explain again to Grant how important this was to her. She knew few people would ever understand how Christmas was what connected her to her parents. The more she missed them, the more Christmas activities she did, and right now she was missing them a lot. She needed to find a way to help Grant understand.
She put the scroll back in her bag and walked over to him. She took his hand as she looked into his eyes. “Grant, I’m really proud of how hard you’ve worked. But it’s almost Christmas. We talked about this. We’re both busy, but we both made time, because I told you how important Christmas is to me. You said you understood that and wanted to do these activities with me and start our own traditions. This isn’t just a game for me, something fun to do. This is my life. Celebrating Christmas should be about being with the people you love most, celebrating family, community, and the people you love. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to celebrate Christmas together?”
When Grant’s phone rang, Emmie gave him a look. “Please don’t answer that. This is important!”
“And so is this call,” Grant said. He was already reaching for his phone.
Emmie grabbed his hand. “Grant, please.”
Grant didn’t even look conflicted. “I’m sorry, Emmie. I have to get this.” When he let go of her hand, Emmie’s entire body went cold.
She watched, stunned and hurt, as Grant started talking on the phone as if she wasn’t even there. When he started laughing and talking about golf, Emmie shook her head in amazement.
As she turned to leave, that’s when she spotted it.
Stuffed into Grant’s trash can was the special Christmas Spirit Wreath she had bought him.
She sucked in her breath, and for a second she couldn’t breathe. At the same time her heart was breaking, her anger was growing. She marched over to the trash and carefully got out what was left of the wreath. When she left Grant’s office, she looked back at him, but he was still on the phone. He didn’t even notice she was leaving.
That’s when she made a silent promise to herself. She was never going to look back in this relationship again.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
On Christmas Eve, Emmie stood in her living room holding a box of silver tinsel, putting one strand at a time on her little Christmas tree. While Emmie knew the t
ree didn’t need any more tinsel—every branch was already sparkling—decorating always made her feel better, so decorating is what she was doing.
After leaving Grant’s office, she’d gone through so many different emotions. Somehow seeing the Christmas Spirit Wreath thrown away had made her feel like Grant had thrown her and their relationship away. At that moment she had been heartbroken, but now instead of feeling depressed, she was actually grateful she’d realized he wasn’t the right guy for her.
She’d never been the kind of person to waste time on being sad over something she couldn’t change, and she wasn’t about to start now. All she wanted to do was learn from this and move forward. What had happened to her parents had taught her life was too short to waste, and that also meant wasting time on the wrong guy. Without a doubt she now knew Grant was the wrong guy. Ruby had been right when she’d said you could tell a lot about someone by the way they celebrated Christmas. Emmie had put her heart and soul into planning a special Christmas vacation for Grant, but he hadn’t appreciated anything she’d done. He’d made her feel like she had done something wrong, when all she’d ever wanted to do was share the holiday together. The fact that Grant never did her scavenger hunt made her realize fate had tried to warn her that when it came to Christmas and their relationship, Grant was literally clueless.
But when she looked over at the picture of her parents, she smiled slowly, because even though her Christmas vacation had backfired, the Christmas dinner she’d planned for the community center was on track to be a huge success. They’d surpassed their goal of getting nine hundred meals donated, and for Emmie, that was what mattered the most.
When there was a knock on the door, Emmie knew who it was and opened it with a big smile.
“Merry Christmas!” Emmie said to Denise.
Denise held up a bottle of champagne. “Merry Christmas!”
Emmie gave her a heartfelt hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Because I brought the champagne?” Denise asked in her teasing voice.
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