By the time they were finished, the gingerbread house was covered in red licorice, peanut M&M’s, Skittles, and Tootsie Rolls, plus a dozen other small candies. Part of the roof decorations disappeared as quickly as they were pressed into place. While Everly’s patience had been stretched to the max, she’d never laughed more in her life, certainly not in the last several years.
Except when she’d been with Asher. The thought flooded her brain before she dismissed it and him.
When the children finished, they proudly showed the house to their grandfather. Before they left, Everly’s nieces and nephews had all hugged her, smearing candy juices on her blouse.
When the last one was out the door, Everly, exhausted but giddy, flopped down onto a kitchen chair. Her mother brought her a warm cup of homemade eggnog. “Here, we could both use this.”
Everly gratefully accepted the glass. “I hope you spiked this with a liberal dose of rum.”
Her mother responded with a confirming smile. “We’ve earned it.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “It’s so good to have you home this year, Daisy.”
She was back.
Finding her way back to the woman she had once been.
Back to where she understood the importance of family. Of traditions. Of celebration.
Back to enjoying Christmas.
* * *
—
Asher’s immediate reaction to his brother’s statement was a flat denial. Yes, he’d had a couple relationships go south. He was willing to admit that both had been painful. He’d managed to come out the other side without scar tissue, or so he believed.
Something else he was willing to admit: His time with Daisy was unique. The guests who booked the Antarctica and Amazon adventures were almost always retired couples. It was rare to host single young women. Not only had Daisy arrived unaccompanied, he’d spent far and away more alone time with her than he had with any other guest.
Almost from the first day, he’d been smitten with her. Who wouldn’t? She was gorgeous, funny, smart, savvy, and far out of his league. That didn’t stop him while she was on board, but he was smart enough to know this relationship was doomed to fail. He’d done his best to protect his heart, made sure she understood that there was no hope of a future together, and let her go. It was the smart thing to do for them both.
That was the game plan. He sent her off, convinced that once she was out of sight, he would forget her.
To admit his plan had backfired would be an understatement.
Daisy was constantly on his mind. He tried to fight it, wondered if there might be a possibility of making something real and lasting out of this attraction. For that reason alone, he’d contacted his brother. What he hadn’t expected was for Daniel to gut-punch him with questions he didn’t want to answer.
After a day filled with denial, grumbling under his breath, refuting Daniel’s claims, Asher was having second thoughts. First and foremost, Asher didn’t need his values or his priorities clarified. If anyone was aware of his strengths and weaknesses, it was him.
One point he was willing to concede was the fact that his lectures were akin to what he would do as a professor. He remembered his own classes and the enjoyment he’d gotten from both learning about nature and exploring a variety of areas around the world to complete his studies. Teaching at the university level, he would be able to do both as he once had as a student. It boggled his mind that he hadn’t considered this earlier.
Another day passed and Asher was reluctantly willing to consider the second part of the conversation he’d had with his brother. By cutting off any contact with Daisy, he had been protecting his own heart. It would be wonderful if there was a way for them to be together long-term, but he couldn’t see that happening. Then why, he asked himself, had he been unable to stop thinking about her? She was on his mind constantly. It didn’t help that he found himself staring at the photo he took of her ten or more times a day.
Unable to sleep, he pulled up his phone and stared at Daisy’s face again. His heart ached.
He hit the call button and waited for Daniel to answer.
“Why is it you can’t manage to call me at any other time than the middle of the night?” Daniel muttered, sounding none too pleased to be hearing from him.
“Okay, you win.”
“Is there a prize?” Daniel asked on the tail end of a yawn.
“Very funny. I’m booking a flight to Chicago. As soon as I have the details, I’ll text you.”
Asher expected some show of pleasure, but none followed. “Did you hear what I said?”
“I did. Just need to know who you’re coming to see? Me or Daisy?”
Asher growled under his breath. “If you must know, both.”
“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Dinner!” her mother shouted up the stairwell.
Everly sat on top of her bed, staring at the computer screen after answering emails from the team regarding Jack’s handling of the latest crisis. She was pleased. As she knew he would, he’d managed a difficult real estate developer who had threatened to pull out of a deal. Crisis averted. Everly knew Jack felt good about it. She was relieved that her faith in her partner hadn’t been misplaced.
Hearing her mother’s voice, Everly bounced off the bed and bounded down the stairs. With Christmas the following week, she’d been busy every minute with family and church events. Her sisters had made the effort to make sure she felt included, and Everly had done her own part. It felt good to be home. There was no place else she’d rather be to nurse her tender heart. Her mother hadn’t pried. Rose was the only one she’d told about Asher. It needed to be that way. Everly needed her family, not their sympathy.
On Friday she’d attended the school program for her nieces and nephews, followed by cookies and lemonade afterward. Russell and Lily’s two boys, Denny and Scottie, had proudly introduced her to their teachers.
Saturday morning, Everly volunteered with members of the community church to deliver food baskets to families in need. Sunday morning, following the church service, her father gave the kids from the congregation sleigh rides while Everly and her two sisters helped their mother serve hot apple cider to those awaiting a turn on the sleigh.
Monday morning, the receptionist at the hair salon where Rose worked called in sick at the last minute, so Everly had filled in for the day. She got a free pedicure for her effort, although she would have willingly paid for it.
“I’ll set the table,” Everly said, coming into the kitchen. “How many for dinner tonight?” she asked, pulling open the silverware drawer, ready to count out the forks and knives.
“Just the three of us,” her mother said.
That was a switch. Every night since her return, company had shown up for dinner. Her siblings, their families, aunts, uncles, and assorted cousins had made their way to the farm. No one needed an invitation, or an excuse. There was always enough.
Although her parents had an empty nest, it seemed like her mother was unable to cook a meal for fewer than seven. It had become a family joke, yet nothing ever seemed to go to waste.
“Jeff said he might stop by after dinner,” her father shouted from the living room.
“Good.”
Her brother was sure to take home any leftovers, and probably enough to feed him and his family for two or three dinners.
While the reconnecting with her two sisters had gone well, it hadn’t been the same with her twin brothers. Jeff and John had a beef with her skipping out on Christmas the year before and weren’t inclined to keep their opinions to themselves.
“Guess we should count our blessings that you decided to grace us with your presence this year,” John had said when he first saw her. His hug was long and hard, as if he feared she might try to escape again.
“What’
s that supposed to mean?” Everly asked, although she knew.
“It means we’re happy you’re here this Christmas,” Jeff had added.
Yup, it did seem her brothers had gotten the message. “Staying in Chicago was a mistake I don’t intend to repeat.”
Jeff and John smiled. “Glad to hear it,” they’d said in unison. Even now it was difficult to tell the two apart. They personified the term identical twins.
“I plan on sticking around for a while after Christmas, too,” she’d told them.
The two shared a look. “Did you have a falling-out with Campbell?” John asked.
“Nope.”
Jeff chuckled and elbowed his brother. “No way, Jack’s too smart to let anything like that happen.”
Everly laughed; her brothers weren’t far from wrong.
“What’s for dinner?” her father asked, wandering into the kitchen and breaking into her thoughts.
“Meat loaf,” her mother answered, bent in half, her backside sticking out as she pulled the pan out of the oven. “With scalloped potatoes.”
“Green beans?”
“Yup, and salad. Do I have your approval?”
Everly’s dad kissed his wife’s cheek while wrapping his arms around her waist. “That’s my favorite dinner, as well you know.”
Everly smiled, enjoying the exchange between her parents. She knew there’d been times when they’d disagreed, but she would never doubt their love for each other. It was that kind of partnership she’d hoped to find one day herself. Only it wouldn’t be with Asher.
“Didn’t you say last night’s dinner was your favorite?” Everly teased her dad.
“Every meal your mother makes is my favorite,” he returned.
Following dinner and dishes, Everly sat down at the piano and played several classic Christmas songs until Jeff arrived. He brought along his wife, Marlene, and his three-month-old son, Andrew. Everly had little experience when it came to infants. When Marlene asked her if she wanted to hold the baby, Everly hesitated and then decided she should.
Marlene carefully handed Everly the sleeping babe. Nestled in her embrace, Andrew’s tiny mouth formed little milk bubbles. She gazed down at him, content and at peace. For his part, little Andrew looked as if this was exactly where he wanted to be. After a moment, he opened his eyes, looked up at her, cooed, and smiled. Everly smiled back and tickled him beneath his chin.
“You might make a good mother after all,” Jeff teased.
“Thanks, Jeff.” To her surprise, she found the thought of motherhood didn’t terrify her.
“You’ll make a wonderful mother,” her mother countered automatically, as if this was never in question. “When you were little you used to play endlessly with your dolls.”
“I did?” Everly didn’t remember that. “I must have been really young.”
“You doted on your brothers, too.”
“Their crying bothered me.” She recalled fighting with Rose and Lily for a chance to hold one of the twins when they first came home from the hospital. She’d been little herself and hadn’t been allowed to. As she remembered, she’d pouted and thrown an epic temper tantrum.
Her brother and his family had stayed for an hour when Everly reluctantly released the baby to her sister-in-law. She was about to head up to bed when she got an urgent text message from Jack. He’d routinely reached out a few times each day with a question or two he needed help answering.
Everly hadn’t completely ignored his panicked pleas for help. She wouldn’t do that to Jack. He needed reassurance and she gave it to him. She listened but didn’t offer advice, rather letting him sort out how he intended to handle the situation. Only once had she advised a different tactic. Jack was more capable than he realized.
She responded right away to his current text. No sooner had she hit the send button when her phone rang. It was Jack.
“Merry Christmas,” she greeted.
“It’s not so merry around here,” he grumbled. “Do you realize how late it is? I’m still at the office.”
Everly noticed it was well past seven. She’d spent far too many nights working late; it was fitting justice that Jack put in his share of overtime. This was probably the latest Jack had stayed at the office in the last six years.
“I should be home with my family,” he complained.
Everly didn’t remind him of her own late nights, but he got it. Jack knew, and that alone was better than anything she could have said.
“Jack, you’re doing great.”
“Nice of you to say so,” he muttered, even more disgruntled.
“I’m proud of you,” she added, and she sincerely meant it. “You handled the situation with the Stone Developers better than I would have.”
“Don’t joke, Everly.”
“I’m not joking. I said as much in my email.”
“Another problem has popped up,” he said disgustedly. “What’s with these people? Don’t they realize it’s almost Christmas?”
“Tell me about it.”
Jack took ten minutes to relay the details. Everly listened but didn’t offer advice. Jack was in charge. “What do you intend to do about it?” she asked.
“What would you do?”
“I’m not the one at the office, Jack. You are.”
His every word was loaded with reluctance as he gave her the particulars of how he intended to resolve the issue. She found herself nodding at each point.
“That’s exactly what I would do.”
Jack huffed out a satisfied sigh. “Good.”
“Is there anything else?” she asked.
“There’s something I need to ask you,” he said, and she sensed the same reluctance that she had earlier.
“Fire away.”
Jack hesitated before he spoke. “It didn’t take me long to realize my mistake in insisting you stay away from the office. It was stupid on my part, an effort to keep the peace between me, my mother, and my sister. I made a mistake ever agreeing to let Annette come work for the firm, and it’s cost me dearly.”
Everly appreciated that he recognized this.
“The thing is, Everly, I have this gut feeling you aren’t going to come back.” He hesitated, and it sounded like he was holding his breath before plunging ahead with his question. “Are you? Will you be back come January?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Everly hadn’t really answered Jack’s question. Until he’d asked if she was going to return to Easy Home, she hadn’t considered that as an option. As soon as he posed the possibility, it struck her that selling her half of the company had been playing in the back of her mind since her return. Now that he’d voiced it, she’d begun considering it without addressing it openly.
Jack hadn’t pressured her for an answer; although he’d been quick to explain how badly the company needed her. He continued by saying it would devastate him and the entire team if she were to choose to leave. He added several inducements about taking on a larger part of the responsibilities and made promises Everly wasn’t sure he could or would keep. For the first few weeks, she knew Jack would put in the effort and then gradually everything would return to the way it was before she left for the cruise.
“Was that Jack again?” her mother asked, once Everly was off the phone.
“Isn’t it always?” she joked. The only other calls she’d received had been from her friend Lizzy and her two sisters. Everly felt a wave of peace at the realization that she got along better with Rose and Lily now than she had at any other time. It was enlightening that while they might have different skills and interests, they were a lot alike, too.
After that initial talk at the Mexican restaurant, Rose hadn’t asked Everly about Asher again. She was grateful her sister had kept her confidence. Her heart hurt, but each day she was away from the Amazon and Ash
er, the ache dulled a little more. Before long he would be nothing more than a distant memory.
That’s what she told herself. And if she said it often enough, she might even start to believe it.
“Is anything wrong?” her mother asked. “You looked so serious when you hung up. Jack isn’t demanding you return to Chicago, is he?”
“Not at all.” Everly sat down at the kitchen table and her mother joined her. “He asked me if I intended on ever coming back.” The shock of the question continued to rattle her. Deep down he must have sensed that this matter was weighing on her mind as well as on his.
Her mother’s eyes widened with surprise. “Are you?”
“I…I don’t know. After the cruise I made it clear to Jack that changes needed to be made. He listened, but I’m not convinced he heard me. Then again, maybe he did and that’s what prompted him to ask.”
“You’re considering it. I can tell by the look in your eyes.”
Her mother had a succinct way of looking at problems. What her mother didn’t know was that Everly had been weighing the direction of her future before this conversation with Jack.
She squeezed Everly’s hand. “Your heart will guide you, and when it does, you’ll know the right answer.” Lois Lancaster stood long enough to pour them each a cup of coffee and bring out what was left of Grandma Ruth’s fudge.
Everly reached for the coffee mug and took a piece of fudge. “Grandma’s fudge always makes things better,” she joked.
“It sure does.”
Climbing the stairs sometime later, Everly’s head felt full, her thoughts buzzing like a swarm of bees searching for a place to settle. Her mother had suggested she listen to her heart. Everly had done that with Asher, convinced she was as important to him as he was to her. She’d been wrong. Dead wrong. She’d been so sure, confident, and she’d been misled by her own heart.
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