Having had her say, she climbed into the backseat of the taxi and closed the door. No sooner had she taken her seat when the cab pulled away from the dock.
Everly didn’t look back.
This really was the end. She told Asher she intended to put him out of her mind, and she meant it.
* * *
—
By the time Everly landed in Chicago, she’d been awake nearly nineteen hours. Going from the airport to her condo in the middle of the night was smooth sailing with a complete lack of traffic. Everly noticed the signs of Christmas everywhere. As she drove past Navy Pier, the bright lights shone a welcome home.
Checking her phone, she saw that Jack had sent her multiple messages, asking her to stop by the office as soon as she could. This didn’t surprise her. She wondered how he’d survived the last two weeks and hoped he’d been able to deal with whatever crisis had come up, because she fully intended to head to Indiana as soon as possible.
As she thumbed through the text messages, she realized she’d been looking for one from Asher and wanted to kick herself for her romantic heart. He had her phone number, as he’d promised to forward several photos. Since he hadn’t reached out, she had to believe that really had been a final good-bye.
Everly had a decision to make. She could be thankful for the time they had and move forward, or she could wallow in the loss of the most promising relationship she’d ever experienced. She knew what she had to do and was determined to make it happen.
* * *
—
The following morning, after showering and unpacking, she headed to the office, as requested. Several of the staff greeted her and commented that it was good to have her back.
She noticed Annette wasn’t at her desk and wondered where she was. Perhaps with Everly away, the assistant had really shown her true colors and hadn’t bothered to show up for work until she felt like it.
“Everly.” Jack rushed out of his office as soon as he saw her. “You’re here. Did you get my texts? I have to say it hasn’t been quite the same around here with you gone. I need you to—”
“Where’s Annette?” she asked, cutting him off.
“Annette…Can we talk about her later?”
“No. I need to square something with her.”
“I know, I know,” Jack said, his face filled with regret. “I learned what she did. I asked her to book you a luxury cruise so you could relax and recharge, and instead she sent you sailing down the Amazon.”
“It was a dirty trick.” Everly didn’t want Jack to know the cruise had turned into the experience of a lifetime.
Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I believe she regretted that after you’d left.”
That was a surprise. “Did she admit what she’d done?”
“No…not exactly.”
“Then how’d you find out?”
Obviously uneasy, Jack rubbed the side of his face. “Accounts Payable questioned the expense, and when I saw that Annette had booked you on the Amazon Explorer, I asked her about it. She admitted she thought it was only fair because you were a terrible boss who was demanding, critical, and unfair.”
“And you believed her?”
“No. I put her to work on another project, which she mishandled. No one in the office was willing to work with her, so I sent her home to think of a way she could improve her attitude.”
Everly had to resist laughing out loud. “Did that work?”
Jack’s shoulders slumped. “As expected, she went crying to her mother, who then called and berated me for mistreating her precious daughter.”
Everly crossed her arms. This was getting better by the minute.
“My sister said she didn’t feel I’d been fair to Annette and that I had made her the assistant to a tyrant.”
“What?” Everly exploded.
“And then Louise said that Annette would no longer be working for me and would seek employment elsewhere.”
That was rich. “In which case, it all worked out.”
“I suppose, except my sister is no longer speaking to me.”
Everly suspected Annette wouldn’t be able to hold down any job for long, with that attitude. Both mother and daughter were in for a rude awakening. That would come in time.
“You said you wanted to see me?” Everly asked. She had no intention of staying in the office for more than an hour or two, if that.
He nodded enthusiastically. “Would you mind stopping by my office? There are a fair number of items I need you to review.”
“What items?” she asked, crossing her arms tightly over her torso, nonverbally letting him know she had no intention of jumping to the rescue.
Her partner immediately started a long list of problems that had arisen in the two weeks she’d been away. After about ten minutes, Everly stopped him. “Jack, if you remember, I am taking off the entire month of December. I’m not giving up the next two weeks solving problems you should’ve been handling while I was away.”
Jack responded as if he hadn’t heard her. “Of course…you’re probably jet-lagged. This won’t take more than a day or two to clear up.”
She shook her head. “You’re not hearing me, Jack. I’m heading to Indiana to spend time with my family. Unless the entire company is in jeopardy, I suggest you manage whatever comes up. You and the team can do this. You don’t need me leaping to the rescue.”
His mouth sagged open in shock.
Everly gently patted his cheek.
“But…But, Everly, I waited for your return. I thought you’d be the best one to handle this situation.”
She wasn’t giving in. “I’m sure whatever it is, you’ll figure it out.” She smiled and headed out of the office, deciding to catch up on emails from her condo.
It felt good to resist getting trapped in the office her first day back. If there was anything truly serious that demanded her attention, then the team would reach out.
Once home, she sorted through what felt like a thousand emails. With less than two weeks to go before Christmas, Everly was anxious to get to Indiana and her family. She’d missed everyone far more than she realized. Her hope was that she could do a little Christmas shopping with her two sisters and hang out with her nieces and nephews. It’d been way too long since they’d had quality time together.
If there was enough snow on the ground, perhaps she could convince her father to bring out the big sleigh that had been in the family for a couple of generations. Those sleigh rides were some of her happiest Christmas memories.
It was after five when Jack called her cell. “Will you be in the office tomorrow?” he asked, sounding anxious.
“No!”
“No?” Jack repeated. “Everly, I don’t think you realize the seriousness of the situation.”
“You’re CEO. You can take care of it.” Seeing that she’d checked in with the team and not one of them had mentioned anything that dire, she had to believe Jack was exaggerating, which was something he tended to do.
Silence followed, and she was about to disconnect when Jack spoke, his tone urgent. “You’ve changed.”
“Yes,” she agreed, “I have.”
“Is it because I refused to listen to you about Annette?”
“That was only part of it. You were right, Jack. I didn’t appreciate how right you were until I got away from the office for more than a day or two,” she said.
Jack laughed. “What exactly was I right about?”
“Me. I was stressed out and badly in need of a vacation. I learned quite a bit about myself while I was away, and as a result, I’d like to suggest a few changes.”
“What sort of changes?” he asked, concern coating the question.
Everly outlined the various promotions and reallocating of responsibilities among the staff, convinc
ed he wasn’t going to like her suggestions. To her surprise, he agreed to all her recommendations. Her workload would be lightened, giving her the life she hoped to carve out for a future.
“From now on, I expect you to carry your share of the business. I won’t be working more than a forty-hour week.”
“Forty hours. You? I’ve never met anyone more ambitious than you are. You spend more time in this office than anyone. What’s changed?”
Asher’s face flashed before her and she frowned. “Not what, Jack, but who. It’s me who changed. Me.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Everly drove down the long, frozen dirt driveway that led to the Lancaster family farm. Cheerful Christmas carols played from her car’s stereo. Despite the uplifting music, she was in a somber mood. Although she’d been determined to put Asher out of her mind, he clung to her thoughts like Velcro. Everly had been back only four days, although it felt more like four weeks.
Deep down, she wanted to believe he would have a change of heart, mainly because that was what she hoped for her own selfish reasons. It disturbed her that he could connect with her if he wanted to. Obviously, he didn’t. He had her phone number after sharing several photos with her, so it would be a simple matter to send a text. He could have asked if she’d made it home safely. He hadn’t because she was out of his mind. She’d best accept his decision and move on. Asher had. When she thought of him, she was filled with a sense of loss, of what might have been if he’d been brave enough to give them a shot.
Once she’d parked by the old barn, Jasper, their family dog, wandered out, his long tail slapping against his hind quarters. He was a Great Pyrenees and was a wonderful farm dog, especially around the chickens her mother raised, the horses, and the few head of cattle her father kept for beef.
She hadn’t climbed completely out of the car before the back door opened and her mother flew down the porch steps. “Daisy!” Lois Lancaster cried, racing over with her arms wide open. “I didn’t think you’d ever get here.”
The two embraced and Everly noticed her mother had tears in her eyes. “It’s about time you came home.”
“It is,” Everly agreed.
“Let’s get you out of the cold.” With their arms around each other’s waists, they walked back into the house.
Her mother had always made the most of the Christmas season. The tree was up and decorated, taking over an entire corner of the living room. The decorations hadn’t changed through the years, though more had been added until there was barely a tree limb without two or three ornaments. The kitchen was rich with the scent of a roast in the Crock-Pot and freshly baked sugar cookies spread across the kitchen counter, awaiting frosting and decorations.
Christmas cards from family and friends were taped along the sides of the doorway that led into the dining room. The mistletoe hung in the archway between the two rooms the way it had every Christmas for as long as she could remember. She smiled as her gaze wandered around the living area, where there were several Nativity scenes. And then she looked to the fireplace where seven stockings hung, the same as when she was a little girl, as she knew they would.
This was home and this was her family. Everly wrapped the comfort of all that was familiar around her like a well-loved sweater.
Dressed in his coveralls, her father rose from his recliner and hugged her close. “About time, girl. You’ve been away too long.”
“I have, but I’m here now and I don’t intend to leave until well after Christmas,” she promised, and kissed his weathered cheek.
“Good.” He gave her a gentle squeeze, then looked to his wife of forty years. “How much longer before dinner?”
“All in good time. Rose and her family are coming.”
He nodded approvingly.
“Lily is bringing dessert later.”
Everly couldn’t ask for a better homecoming. Her family was working overtime to make sure she felt welcome, and Everly appreciated that they made the effort.
“What about Jeff and John?” Her twin brothers lived half a mile down the road. The two had always been inseparable and had built homes next door to each other.
“They’ll be here tomorrow night; said they didn’t want to overwhelm you the first night home.”
“Snow is predicted for tonight,” her father said from behind his newspaper. “Thought I’d hitch up the sleigh sometime before Christmas, give the grandkids a ride.”
“The grandkids?” Everly protested with a large grin. “What about me?”
“You can come if you want.”
“I do.” Riding in the sleigh was one of her favorite Christmas traditions.
“I’ll have cookies and cocoa waiting for you when you return,” her mother promised.
Everly couldn’t believe she’d missed Christmas with her family the year before because of work. At some point over the last few years she’d lost sight of her priorities. It’d been a gradual shift and had started in small ways, culminating with Christmas. She’d told herself heading to the farm for the holidays would be a distraction and she needed to focus on the business. It didn’t help that she felt like the odd man out most of the time. She was different from her siblings: her sense of drive, her need to excel and be the best. Like her father had often said, she had the middle-child syndrome. With everyone together in the same room, the noise level rivaled that of the cheering crowd at an NFL football game. Much of the time Everly felt that she was on the outside looking in rather than being involved. She wasn’t sure who was to blame and was beginning to think this feeling was more on her than the rest of the family. One thing she could never deny was the abundance of love. A love she was only now fully appreciating.
When suffering from the reaction to the mosquito bite, Everly had wanted her mother. It made her smile now. She was hurting so much from Asher’s rejection and felt relief to have her mother close, although she had no intention of mentioning him. She wasn’t looking for sympathy as much as comfort.
Everly carried her suitcase up the well-worn staircase to the bedroom she’d shared with her two sisters. Three single beds had been crammed into the larger of the two bedrooms, with barely enough space to maneuver between them. Each sister had one chest of drawers with a lone closet that they were forced to section off into thirds. The five kids were required to share the one bathroom. Jeff and John swore they learned to dance, waiting for their turn. She could laugh about it now, but at the time, juggling for privacy had been a festering thorn in her flesh. When she’d complained, her mother had insisted sharing with her siblings produced character. Perhaps it had and created other skills besides, like putting on her makeup in under five minutes.
As she walked down the stairs, she heard the back door open off the kitchen.
“Daisy, where are you?” Rose shouted. “Get your butt down here.”
Yup, her family wanted to be sure she felt welcomed. Everly couldn’t remember the last time her oldest sister had shown any real enthusiasm at her visits. Everly left her room and came down the steps. She didn’t have a chance to breathe before her sister grabbed her into a bear hug. “Missed you, girl.”
Everly hugged her back.
Rose, her sister, the hairstylist, held her at arm’s length. “Hmm,” she said carefully, studying Everly. “When was the last time you had a haircut?”
Everly grinned. “It’s been a while.”
“You’re telling me! We’re sitting you in my chair. Be ready when I call you. I’m taking scissors to that mop you’ve got going on.”
“Okay, okay,” Everly said, sighing. No way was she telling her sister she’d spent a hundred dollars for this haircut a short week before leaving for Brazil.
The three women dished up the pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and coleslaw and set it on the table while Rose’s husband, Stan, and her father talked local politics. Russell and little Rosie p
layed with Jasper, who lovingly ate up the attention.
Conversation over the dinner table rarely lagged while she was a kid, and that hadn’t changed. Questions flew at her about her time in South America. Knowing her dad would enjoy hearing about her fishing for piranha, she went into detail about how fiercely the fish fought. She didn’t mention taking a tumble into the Amazon River. Both her father and brother-in-law were suitably impressed.
“Aunt Daisy, Aunt Daisy,” Russell said, vying for her attention. “How did the piranha taste?”
She looked toward her young nephew. “It was good eating.”
“Did you swallow any teeth?”
“Nope, but those teeth were scary-looking.” Reaching for her phone, she brought up a photo Asher had shared with her, revealing the piranha with its mouth open and dominated by huge rows of teeth. When she passed the photo to the nine-year-old, his eyes got as big as dinner plates.
“Dad,” he cried, “look.” He glanced toward Everly. “Aunt Daisy, do you think you could take me fishing on the Amazon one day?”
“Russell,” Rose admonished.
“Maybe,” Everly told him. “You never know. My guess is that if you want to travel to Brazil, you’ll be able to find your own way when the time comes.”
He smiled as if she’d handed him a plane ticket. “Do you really think so?”
“You can do anything you put your mind and your heart to,” she assured him.
“I don’t want to go to the Amazon to fish for piranha,” six-year-old Rosie said. “I’d rather go to Disney World in Florida.”
Rose nudged Everly’s foot and winked, silently letting her know that the little girl was going to get her wish.
“Christmas?” Everly asked under her breath.
“Right after,” her sister mouthed back.
Following dinner, Rosie wanted Everly to read her a story. She felt guilty leaving the cleanup to her mother and sister, but they were quick to usher her out the door. Rosie already had a book picked out. She handed it to Everly, who sat on the sofa, expecting Rosie to sit next to her. To her delight, the little girl climbed into her lap. This story was much loved, and it seemed Rosie had heard it many times. Before Everly finished, her sweet niece was fast asleep.
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