The Holiday Secret (Castle Falls Book 4)

by Kathryn Springer

  Fifteen minutes later, Ellery was kneeling in the snow, helping Bea put her skates on.

  Underneath the covering of snow, the ice shone like glass.

  “Careful!” Ellery took hold of Bea’s hand as they wobbled onto the rink and took a slow, careful lap around the perimeter of the pond.

  Ellery was just getting the hang of it when Bea spun around, taking Ellery with her.

  “There’s Daddy!”

  Ellery watched Carter disappear into the small stone outbuilding adjacent to the barn. He emerged a few minutes later carrying three brooms. With the paint sloughing off the wooden handles and half the bristles missing, they looked as old as the building where they’d been stored.

  Carter must have come to the same conclusion as Ellery. If the number of people attending the live nativity was as high as Brendan projected, they needed more space. Which meant Carter had to clean out one of the outbuildings he’d wanted to tear down.

  He strode toward the bench that overlooked the pond and Ellery almost lost her balance all over again when she saw the pair of hockey skates draped over his shoulder.

  Bea changed direction and hauled Ellery along with her. By the time they reached Carter’s side, he was lacing up his skates.

  He glanced up, caught them staring.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Carter asked. “You didn’t think I was going to miss out on all the fun, did you?”

  Ellery decided silence was the most prudent response but five-year-olds leaned toward honesty every time.

  Bea nodded vigorously. “Uh-huh.”

  Carter bent down until they were eye to eye. “Someone,” he said, the tease in his husky voice as new and irresistible as his smile, “has to catch Miss Ellery when she falls.”

  And now Ellery had another secret to keep.

  The falling part?

  Ellery was afraid it had already happened.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Carter straightened and grabbed the brooms he’d propped up against the bench. Set aside all the things cluttering up his mental to-do list in order to focus on Bea’s instead.

  And it felt good.

  A game of broomball—a fond memory from Carter’s own childhood—would feel pretty good, too.

  Bea clapped her hands. “Horses!”

  Carter glanced at Ellery. The tip of her nose was pink and her shoulders were shaking, but it wasn’t from the cold. She could barely keep her laughter in check.

  He might have rounded up the equipment to play broom hockey but Bea was obviously envisioning another kind of game.

  “Horses.” He repeated the word cautiously.

  “Uh-huh. We have to find Snowflake. She got lost in the storm last night and doesn’t know how to get home.”

  Carter’s gaze bounced from Bea to the inn. Snowflake was a permanent fixture in the front lawn until the spring thaw.

  Bea pried one of the brooms from his hand. “This one’s name is Daisy ’cause it’s got a yellow mane.” She patted the handle and bits of mustard-colored paint sprinkled onto the ice like confetti. “Which one do you want to ride, Daddy?”

  Carter turned to Ellery again. Flashed a silent request for backup.

  Ellery dipped her head and Carter almost sighed in relief. Until she said, “If I were you, I would choose the red one. He looks pretty calm. Perfect for a beginner. Don’t you think so, Bea?”

  After a moment of contemplation, Bea nodded. “What are you going to name him?”

  Name him?

  Carter studied the broom. It should have been tossed in the burn pile years ago with the rest of the flotsam and jetsam that had piled up in the shed over the years. His nose twitched. “Dusty?”

  Ellery muffled a coughing fit with her mitten, and Carter’s eyes narrowed. She was enjoying this way too much.

  “Let’s go!” Bea took charge of the rescue expedition, ankles wobbling as she dragged her broom across the ice.

  Carter didn’t move. “I have no idea what to do.”

  “Use your mad investigative skills, Deputy.” Ellery skated backward, using the broom for balance. “But instead of finding a missing person, you’re looking for a missing horse.”

  “Except it’s not missing,” Carter pointed out. “And it’s really not a horse.”

  Ellery smiled.

  “It is to Bea.”

  * * *

  Snow sprayed Ellery’s jeans as Carter skated up to her.

  They’d been on the frozen pond for over an hour. Ellery couldn’t feel her toes anymore, but the warmth inside her chest had only expanded while watching Carter, former Navy SEAL and now county deputy, play cowboy.

  “Jerky?”

  Ellery looked down at the sticks in Carter’s hand and wrinkled her nose. “No bacon?”

  “Hey, lady, we’re on a trail ride. You have to get used to roughing it.”

  “I was the one who...” Ellery’s hands gripped the broom like a lifeline when she saw the now familiar black pickup truck pull up next to the barn.

  Any hope that it was someone else’s turn to oversee Sugar’s morning routine disappeared when three doors in the cab popped open and Ellery’s brothers jumped out.

  “They came back, Daddy!” Bea had spotted them, too, and she waved her broom in the air.

  Brendan pointed at the pond and they changed direction, taking the path Carter had shoveled to the pond instead of the one leading to the barn.

  Ellery felt a stab of guilt for not telling Jameson she’d met her brothers when they’d spoken on the phone.

  Until she’d been the subject of Liam’s rather intense scrutiny the day before, it hadn’t crossed Ellery’s mind that they were observing her, too.

  Spending time with her brothers would open the door for conversation and questions she couldn’t answer.

  Bea had followed Carter, leaving Ellery with no choice but to skate over and greet her brothers, too. They stood in a loose semi-circle at the edge of the pond, dressed in their everyday uniform of faded denim and fleece-lined jackets with the Castle Falls logo embroidered on the pocket.

  “We thought we’d take Sugar for a walk and clean out the stall before Liam takes a closer look at the barn,” Brendan was saying. “If that’s all right with you.”

  Carter’s brow lifted. “Do I have a choice?”

  “Of course not. But it’s polite to ask before we make up your mind.”

  Carter laughed and Ellery saw her brothers share a look. And then they looked at her.

  “Too bad we didn’t bring our skates,” Brendan drawled.

  “Yeah.” Aiden winked at Bea. “It looks like you were having fun out there.” He squatted down until they were at eye level. “What’s your horse’s name?”

  “Daisy.”

  Aiden caught Carter gaping at him and grinned. “My nieces are crazy about animals. What can I say? Our canoes turn into swans or otters or dolphins, depending on the day.” He gave Carter a friendly cuff on the shoulder. “So, you don’t have to turn in your man card, badge or your duty belt.”

  “When you think about it, it’s no different than the Three Musketeers running around the neighborhood with sticks while we were growing up,” Liam said. “All for one...”

  “One for all,” Brendan and Aiden dutifully chimed in.

  Ellery felt her smile slip sideways.

  The Three Musketeers?

  “I should get back to the house...” Ellery sank down on the bench and fumbled with the laces on her skates. Suddenly, strong, capable hands gently brushed hers aside and took over the task.

  She couldn’t meet Carter’s eyes as he carefully untied the bows at the top and shucked off her skates.

  “Thanks.” Ellery sucked in a breath, unable to move when Carter’s fingers curved around her ankle, holding her in place.

 
“Is everything okay?”

  “Fine. I...I have a lot of baking to do.” Ellery managed to squeeze out another smile before she started up the path, “all for one...one for all” ringing in her ears.

  If her brothers’ home life had been as difficult as she thought it was, Ellery could understand their close bond. Why they’d come to rely on each other.

  What she didn’t understand was why they’d waited so long to find her.

  * * *

  “Mom?” Carter stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Karen ensconced in the rocking chair by the window, an afghan wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl. “What are you doing down here?”

  “Preventing a nervous breakdown.”

  The lively retort made Carter smile. “Your sense of humor is coming back, so that’s a good sign.”

  “I think Sunni’s chicken noodle soup has healing properties,” Karen said. “My headache is almost gone and the only thing that hurts right now are my muscles from lying in bed for four days. I decided to make myself a cup of tea and watch a little television.” A twinkle stole into her eyes. “I must admit, though, what I saw outside the window a little while ago was much more entertaining.”

  She nodded at the bay window, which provided an unobstructed view of the pond.

  Carter hadn’t blushed since middle school, but he felt one coming on.

  “Bea wanted to try out her new skates.”

  “I really must be out of the loop,” Karen said. “I didn’t know you’d bought Bea an early Christmas present.”

  “It was Ellery...and don’t get any ideas,” Carter warned.

  “Ideas about what?” The twinkle grew more pronounced. “It was fun to see you out there. You haven’t skated on the pond since high school.”

  “If you ask Bea, she’ll tell you we were galloping.”

  “Even better.” Karen smiled. “I noticed Brendan and his brothers were here for quite a while.”

  “Liam wanted to make sure there’s enough room in the barn for the holy family, three wise men, an angel chorus, assorted shepherds and a pair of geriatric sheep I was assured will sleep through the whole thing,” Carter said drily.

  “I got an email from Pastor Seth this morning, thanking us for going ahead with the live nativity. It would have been almost impossible to change the location at the last minute.”

  “You have Ellery to thank for that. I still think providing all the food is a lot to take on.”

  It was possible Ellery already regretted the decision.

  Carter had sensed something was wrong shortly after the Kanes arrived but he couldn’t figure out what had caused the subtle change in her mood.

  Ellery had claimed she was fine, but her abrupt departure said otherwise.

  Carter had learned his enemies’ names in the SEALS and the heavy weight pressing down on his chest was fear.

  They were relying on Ellery too much. There was nothing to stop her from packing her bags and leaving the inn.

  Leaving them.

  “I know you need help until you’re feeling better, Mom, but we should have come up with another plan.”

  One that would guarantee Carter would come out with his heart intact.

  “I didn’t ask Ellery because she knows her way around the kitchen, although I certainly don’t have any doubts about her ability,” Karen said. “I asked her because I see myself in her at that age.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I was devastated when your dad left. I was in my last month of culinary training and I’d take you with me to the test kitchen at night. Chopping onions is a great way for a woman to release all those pent-up tears.”

  “I don’t remember any of that,” Carter admitted.

  “I’m not surprised. You were younger than Bea at the time. But I chopped and diced and prayed and sang silly songs with you. I leaned on God for strength...and I healed. I think Ellery is the same way. This is her first Christmas alone—”

  “Alone?” The word stuck in Carter’s throat as an image of some faceless man rose like a specter in his mind. “What do you mean?”

  “Her parents died last spring.”

  “What?” The words landed like a blow. “How... When did Ellery tell you that?”

  “I asked,” Karen said simply. “It’s so close to Christmas, I didn’t want Ellery to stay here out of obligation if she had family waiting for her to come home. She didn’t share any of the details, of course, but the grief is fresh. The night she arrived, I saw a young woman searching for something.”

  Where Ellery was concerned, Carter had only seen what he wanted to see. A modern-day princess who’d come to Castle Falls on a whim. A woman who put her needs above everyone else’s.

  He’d seen Jennifer.

  “I can’t deny that I needed Ellery’s help in the kitchen, Carter,” Karen said. “But I think...I think she needs us, too.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Ellery slid another cookie sheet from the oven and set it down on an insulated pad.

  Her calves ached from being on her feet all day, the scent of vanilla and cinnamon were permanently embedded in her clothing and she’d loved every minute of it.

  In twenty-four hours, dozens of people would be arriving at the inn, guided by luminaries that Brendan and Aiden had placed on both sides of the driveway leading to the star shining in the peak of the barn.

  Carter had taken Bea into Castle Falls to do some shopping, but Ellery’s brothers had been there most of the day. She’d caught glimpses of them moving in and out of the buildings now and then. Heard the rhythmic tap of a hammer while Liam converted an empty stall into a manger, and occasional bursts of masculine laughter in the yard.

  Ellery had kept her distance, afraid she wouldn’t be able to hide her emotions. Which was why she’d politely declined Bea’s invitation to join the family for supper, too. Carter already noticed too much.

  “Can you take five, Ellery?” The man she’d successfully avoided all day poked his head into the kitchen.

  Five minutes. You can handle that.

  “Sure. This batch needs to cool a few minutes anyway.” Ellery rinsed off her hands and wiped them on the towel looped through the tie on her apron.

  She followed Carter to the living room, expecting to see the rest of the Bristow family. Karen still hadn’t ventured into the kitchen, but when Ellery had brought Bea a gingerbread man to sample earlier in the day, Karen had been sitting on the couch with her laptop.

  “I sent Bea and Mom upstairs to bed.” Carter chuckled. “They were both falling asleep during It’s a Wonderful Life.”

  “I’m glad Karen looks like herself again. In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s going to boot me out of the kitchen before the guests arrive tomorrow.”

  “You’re probably right. She also mentioned something about greeting people at the live nativity.”

  “Making people feel welcome is her gift.”

  Carter slanted a glance at her. “And speaking of gifts... I wanted your opinion on something.”

  Ellery tried to hide her surprise.

  “While Bea was talking to Anna Leighton’s twins in The Happy Cow this afternoon, I did some very last-minute Christmas shopping.” Carter reached into a cabinet and pulled out a brown paper sack. “Talk about being out of your comfort zone...”

  He set the contents, two small boxes, on the coffee table and motioned for Ellery to sit down.

  Next to him.

  Ellery sank down on the cushion and tried not to think about the fact that Carter smelled better than the cookies she’d been baking all day.

  “This is for Bea.” He opened the box and withdrew a delicate silver bracelet. A tiny silver horse dangled from one of the links.

  Ellery recognized the charm from a display in Anna’s studio.

  “She’s going to love i
t, Carter.”

  “Anna calls them memory charms. Mom usually does the shopping, but I wanted to get Bea something special. Something just from me.”

  Ellery felt tears burn the back of her eyes as Carter removed the lid from the other box.

  “What do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful.” The bracelet was similar to Bea’s in design except for the tiny silver bell dangling from the chain.

  “Anna said you can return it if you’d rather have something else,” Carter said.

  It took a moment for the words to register. And when they did...

  Breathe. Ellery.

  “This is for me?”

  Carter nodded. “I thought you might like a memory, too.”

  “It’s the wishing bell.” The significance of the charm he’d picked out suddenly became clear. “But...you said you didn’t believe that wishes can come true.”

  Carter smiled—he was getting really good at that—and slipped the bracelet over Ellery’s wrist.

  “I know. But lately I’ve been seeing more and more evidence that suggests otherwise.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Ellery was wrapping the last of Bea’s stocking stuffers when Karen nodded at the window.

  “I think the reinforcements have arrived, Ellery.” Ellery mentally prepared herself to see her brothers again and was surprised to see their significant others instead. Lily, Anna and Maddie were unloading boxes from the back of a minivan. Cassie and Chloe, Anna’s twins, stood next to the vehicle, rearranging the contents of their backpacks.

  “I didn’t realize they were coming over today,” Ellery murmured.

  “Oops.” Karen cringed. “That’s my fault. I meant to pass along Sunni’s text last night, but I was so tired I went straight to bed.”

  Ellery touched the bracelet peeking out from the cuff of her sweater, a reminder she hadn’t dreamed that Carter had given her a gift.