by Jenny Hale
Theo whispered into her ear from behind her, “I didn’t sell the coffee shop. I never agreed to the offer.”
She turned around. “I wasn’t serious when I said I wanted all this,” she said, soaking it all in.
“It doesn’t matter. I’d give it to you anyway.” He took her hand. “Come on. I’ll make you a coffee. I have almond milk…”
Lila grinned, emotion tickling her throat. When they got to the counter, something occurred to her. “Oh, did you find the money I left in the drawer?”
“Yes, what was that?”
“I worked here for a day after you left. I felt bad closing up on everyone.”
“I thought I must have left it,” he said, laughing. “It paid for your reindeer rides.”
Lila laughed along with him.
Theo grabbed a mug and gave it a spin in his hand. “Guess what else I did.”
“What?”
His face sobered, his eyes on her. “I called my mom.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. She told me she felt terrible for leaving me. She was so young and stupid—her words, not mine. And she’s wondered about me.” He smiled. “She worried that coming back into my life would just make things more difficult, but I told her that was absolutely not true.” He set the mug under the espresso machine. “She said she’s coming for a visit on Christmas Day. Would you stay too, to meet her?”
“Of course! Oh, that’s so wonderful!” Lila threw her arms around him and squeezed his neck.
“Thank you for showing me that I needed to do that.”
“How did I show you?”
“I see how you love people and how you always want the best outcome for them. I had things to say to my mom that I hadn’t said, and you showed me that I needed to get it off my chest, to make things better. And it has.”
The bells on the door jingled, pulling Lila’s attention toward them.
“I hear there’s a Christmas party goin’ on,” Judd said, wearing his denim overalls and filling the doorway with Trudy and Rex, who was holding a guitar case as big as he was.
Rex set the case down, broke free from his mother’s hand and rushed over to them, wrapping his arms around Theo.
“Hey, buddy,” Theo said. “Missed ya.”
“I brought my guitar, just like you said,” the little boy told him, pointing back to the case.
“Excellent.” Theo beamed at Rex. “We’ll do our thing in a bit, but first I need to get your order and then I want to show Lila something. I’ve got hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles,” he told Rex, his eyebrows wiggling with excitement.
“Yes, please!” Rex said, jumping up and down.
Judd was already talking to Johnny over by the stage, and Trudy had made her way to the counter to take a look at the menu.
Theo pointed to the large, circular table up front. Eleanor was beckoning her over, a box wrapped in sparkly silver paper with green-and-red bows on the table next to her. “Head on over, Lila,” he said. “I’ll make your coffee.”
She crossed the busy room and gave Eleanor a hug. “I’m glad you came out,” she said over the Christmas music, before she was distracted. “There’s a Christmas candle with a holly ring in the center of this table. I’ve never known Theo to be a decorator.”
“Yes,” Eleanor said with a jovial chuckle. “He picked them out himself.”
“Theo?”
“He said you gave him a reason to care.”
She looked over at Theo. He was behind the bar, running the espresso machine and carrying on a conversation with a customer. Just the sight of him felt like home. She looked around at all the faces, the Christmas decorations, the many cups of coffee. Adele waved from a nearby table, and Lila waved back. It seemed like the entire town was there.
“What’s this?” she asked, placing her hand on the beautifully wrapped gift.
“It’s for you,” Eleanor said.
“Who’s it from?”
Eleanor smiled. “Everyone.” But then with a big smile, she added, “Theo helped to design it. Open it up.”
Lila pulled the ribbon free, the bow coming loose. She let the ribbon fall to the table.
Theo came over and sat down. “One lavender almond milk latte,” he said, sliding the cup her way.
“Thank you,” she said, her heart full at the sight of the contentment on his face. He looked so different to her now from when she’d first met him. His features had a lift to them that they hadn’t had before, his eyes bright, his whole body more animated. He was like a totally different man. “Eleanor says you designed this gift,” she said, holding the present.
“It’s true. I can’t deny it.” He sent a little grin over to Eleanor. “Open it.”
Lila slipped her finger under the tape and pulled it away, ripping the paper and discarding it. Putting the box down, she lifted the lid. She pulled back the tissue paper, and peered down at the T-shirt in front of her. In glittering letters, it said, Home is where the heart is.
“That is very true,” Lila said. “Home is most definitely anywhere the heart is.” She pulled the shirt out and held it up.
“And you’ve got a home here with us if you want it,” he said.
Lila hugged the shirt to her chest.
“You didn’t get to wear the Girls’ Week shirt very long,” he said. “Charlotte tells me you all usually wear them at least a few times during the vacation.”
“Charlotte told you that?”
“Mm-hm,” he said, nodding.
Just then, someone covered Lila’s eyes with cold hands, the very unique scent of Piper’s salt and pepper oregano tickling Lila’s nose. She pulled free and turned around, her mouth dropping open.
Piper held out her arms for a hug, along with Charlotte and Edie. All three of them were wearing matching T-shirts with Home is where the heart is on the front. Lila stood up and threw her arms around them, the women huddling in a giant group hug.
“What are you all doing here?” Lila said with a squeal.
“In all of this, you haven’t really had a Christmas,” Edie said. “So instead of going our separate ways for the holiday, when Theo called to tell us what he was planning, we all jumped in the car—your car—and headed back to Fireside Cabins. We’ve been here since yesterday, waiting for all this!”
“Is that why you weren’t answering my calls?”
“Yes!” Charlotte clapped her hands, bouncing up and down. “Our week vacay starts today.”
“We’ve got loads of fun in store,” Piper told her. “So put that shirt on!”
Lila slipped the T-shirt over her head, covering the long-sleeved knit shirt she’d put on this morning, and sat down as the girls all took a seat in the empty chairs at the table.
“You all enjoy your coffees,” Theo said. “Rex and I have a song to sing.” He got up from the table and stepped on stage, beckoning the little boy to the front. Rex picked up his giant guitar case and lugged it up to the stage, opening it, and pulling his instrument out. He twisted the knob on the microphone, lowering it like a pro, while Smash stepped off the stage and took Theo’s seat at the table.
“Ready to sing our song?” Theo asked Rex.
Rex nodded and found his chord.
“This one’s for Lila,” Theo said.
Lila couldn’t take her eyes off them, her heart pattering at the idea they were actually playing something for her.
Theo and Rex began strumming a familiar tune together, and it was only a few lines in when Lila realized it was the song “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” As Theo sang, his voice sounded so good—like his dad’s, but younger and deeper. He locked eyes with her and smiled.
“What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” Charlotte asked into Lila’s ear. “Looks like Theo wants to know.”
Lila couldn’t hide her smile. It was so festive and wonderful with all her friends around her that she’d almost forgotten the drama Alexa had caused. She’d worry about it later—they’d figure it out,
and no one here would give a hoot what the press said about them. She was going to take in all the love that surrounded her right now. Today was the first time it had really felt like Christmas.
Thirty-One
Lila held her hot cocoa with both hands to keep them warm, the jingling of bells filling the air. She and Theo were bundled under a thick fur blanket in the sleigh as snow fell down all around them, the reindeer’s hooves click-clacking on the road under a now inky sky.
“You’ve completely changed your tune since I met you. What happened? Did a Christmas tree bonk you in the head?” she teased.
“No,” he said, pulling the blanket up to their chins. “I just realized something.”
“What’s that?”
“I realized that the whole time I was running away from you, I felt hopeless and empty. I thought I’d gotten used to that feeling, but it hit me a hundred times harder leaving you. And when I saw you slide into the ditch, it was like my world had come back. I didn’t want to admit it at first, for fear I couldn’t make it work. But then when you left to go back to Nashville, I knew I couldn’t spend another second away from you, and all I wanted to do was show you how I feel.”
She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss. “So where do we go from here?” she asked.
The reindeer had circled around on its short path and pulled to a stop, the driver maneuvering the sleigh off the road and parking it under an old oak tree covered in white lights, which snaked from its trunk to the tip of every single branch.
“Apparently, not too far,” he joked, pointing to the shop in front of them again.
Lila laughed, letting the question linger.
Theo took her hand and stood up, guiding her to join him. He looked at her meaningfully with those deep blue eyes before pointing to the mistletoe dangling from a branch above them by silver ribbons. “Where do we go from here, you ask? Anywhere we want.” Theo took her face in his strong hands, leaned in, and pressed his lips to hers. The cold of the night under the falling snow faded away in the warmth they shared in that place, and as they stood in the curling sleigh draped in garland and ribbon, Theo’s soft lips moved on hers, his hands travelling down her neck, trailing her arms, and grabbing onto her waist. Her life had never felt more complete than it did right then.
She pulled back to look at him, the twinkling lights like stars above them. “This is the first time in my life I’ve truly felt what it’s like to have a Christmas with a loved one. Thank you.”
He grinned. “Loved one? You mean girls actually like an old scrooge like me?”
“Well,” she said, grabbing his hands and intertwining her fingers with his, “depends on the girl.”
Theo laughed, pulling her into him and brushing her hair away from her face. “Your Christmas isn’t finished.” He kissed her once more on her icy nose. “Adele is watching the shop for me, and the girls and my dad have gone back to the cabins with Eleanor. We’ve got some things waiting for you.”
Lila didn’t need any more than what she’d had already. She realized that she didn’t require a place to call home—she just needed a person who felt like home. Anywhere she went with Theo would be perfect because he was there, and any future she faced would be okay as long as they could face it together. She couldn’t imagine what else Theo had in store for her because, as he held her hand to help her out of the carriage, she already felt like he’d given her everything she’d ever wanted.
The fire roared in Eleanor’s fireplace and the Christmas tree glistened in the corner of the living room. Eleanor had made a circle with a mixture of the furniture and kitchen chairs to give everyone a place to sit. Everyone seemed to have something ready to show her. Edie was in a chair with her computer, Charlotte had a pile of large, glossy posters turned over on her lap, and Piper was holding an envelope. Eleanor had some sort of paperwork in her hands, and Smash held his checkbook.
“What’s going on?” Lila asked.
“We all have presents for you,” Piper said.
Charlotte stacked the posters in her hands. “I’ll go first,” she said. She turned one of them around. It was an advertisement poster for a concert.
Lila read it out loud. “Paul Switzer to play live at Fireside Cabins for a Christmas show like no other?”
“Paul Switzer is the lead singer of the Misfit Junkies,” Charlotte explained. “They just hit number one this month with their song ‘Christmas and You.’”
“I know, but they’re playing at Fireside Cabins next week?” Lila asked, totally confused.
“Yep,” Charlotte said. “It’s part of our concert series. We’ve also got…” She shuffled the posters, showing each one. “Country music greats, pop sensations, and even a songwriter night.”
“I’ve got a date set to play,” Smash chimed in proudly.
“I’m still selling, but more on that in a minute,” Eleanor explained. “I’ve been busy talking with Edie. The empty field between the cabins is a perfect place to hold concerts. The natural rock in the hills makes for flawless acoustics, and we can set up benches on the incline. Judd found a way to anchor them in the ground.”
Edie cut in. “It’s all part of the new PR package I’ve given Fireside Cabins. I went ahead and used the photos from the shoot we did with Eleanor, and then I took a few more. Have a look at the website.” She turned her laptop around and brought it closer to Lila. Edie clicked the About page in the navigation.
Eleanor’s beautiful photo came up with a little paragraph of history about her and Chester, and the cabins. But it was the larger font centered in the middle that caught Lila’s eye. It read, Passing the torch.
“Read it out loud,” Edie suggested.
“The future of Fireside Cabins is bright with the announcement of our new operator, Lila Evans…” Lila looked up. “What?”
Eleanor held up the stack of papers she was holding. “This is the sales contract for Fireside Cabins.”
Smash held up his checkbook. “I just did a tour to raise enough money to pay Theo back for all that I took from him. But he said he didn’t need it. And someone else did. So Theo and I have decided to buy a resort…” Smash opened the checkbook and ripped out a check, handing it to Eleanor. “It’s the escrow payment. I’m finally investing in something great,” he said.
“You’re buying Fireside Cabins?” Lila asked, in shock.
“Yes. But I need fantastic people to run it, and I thought you and Eleanor together would be the perfect team.”
Theo pulled out a little Christmas bag and held it toward her, the gift hanging from his finger. “You’ll have to work the cabins sometimes, Dad. Lila’s going to be busy with the children.”
“Children?”
Piper giggled. “We told him how much you love working with kids.”
He pushed his finger forward and she lifted the gift off of it, pulling out two keys.
“One key is to your cabin, which will be completely remodeled to your specifications, per our budget,” Edie said. “The other key is for the Children’s Cabin that we’ll be using for after-school care for underprivileged children. They’ll come here for activities, and also learn how to run the grounds so that when they get older, they’ll have work experience and we’ll offer them a job if we have one, or find them a job that uses those skills. There will be tutors for homework and activity directors for our new ropes course, hiking trails, and off-campus outings—whatever you want to plan.”
Lila put her hand over her gaping mouth, tears filling her eyes.
Piper held up her envelope next. “Looks like I’m the last one to share my gift,” she said. “Smash and I called some national media outlets and let them know where Theo was.”
“What?” Lila asked, aghast.
“We gave them exclusive interviews with Smash and Theo. We told them that Theo hadn’t done a thing wrong—that everything people had written about him and Alexa were all rumors, and they could be the first outlets to break the real story straight from Theo and S
mash’s mouths. And we also told them how Theo’s been in Pinewood Hills, living among friends to escape all the drama, which is where he’ll be staying to run the coffee shop and help underprivileged youth. The press is running the stories starting next week.” She handed Lila the envelope. “Here’s a list of all of them.”
“When I first told Nikki Mars about this, she called her attorney Trevor Michaels, who was so interested in this case that he’s going to take it on pro bono,” Charlotte told her. “Mr. Michaels says this one is huge, and that he could go after Alexa for slander.”
“But I told him not to do that,” Theo added. “He can threaten it to keep her quiet, but all I want is a divorce. Remember the photo you took of the note on your door that you sent to Piper? That was all we needed to keep Alexa quiet and get her to comply.” He grinned.
Lila twisted in her chair to face Theo. “Do you think she’ll try to bother you?”
“I know Alexa,” he said. “And her main motivation for all this is clearing her reputation. Once my name is clean in the media, she’ll let it go. And she knows that if she doesn’t, it’s her own reputation on the line.”
Lila was stunned.
“What about you, Eleanor?” she asked. “Are you okay with all this?”
“Absolutely,” she said. “Tell her my role, Smash.”
“Eleanor will stay on with us and be our resident historian,” Smash said. “She’s going to be in the new gift shop on the premises, and she’ll narrate the three-dimensional video history in the new wing we’re building.”
“It’s very cool,” Edie added. “When guests take the tour, they’ll begin in seats in a state-of-the-art viewing room where the history of the area is projected on all the walls around them, taking them from the first settlers to the modern resort where they will be spending their vacation.”
“Nikki and I are gathering a production team to shoot the footage right now,” Charlotte added.
Lila’s mouth dropped open and Edie added, “It’s all part of the renovation and updating package.”
“And when I’m not working, I’ll be baking homemade treats to offer all the guests,” Eleanor said with a smile. “I’ve already got some special recipes planned for when we all gather for our Girls’ Week every year.” She winked at Lila.