The Winter Berry House

by Caroline Flynn

  ‘Then my Christmas wish has come true.’ Branch leaned forward and kissed her softly. The pressure of his mouth against hers was sweet and inviting, tinged with the bygone years as well as the time they would spend making up for those years, but the simple sweetness of the gesture might as well have been an explosion the way it burst through the armor around Kait’s wounded heart and made her whole again.

  ‘Come in,’ he whispered against her lips. ‘Spend Christmas with me, Kaitie.’

  ‘As long as you make my Christmas wish come true, too.’

  ‘Anything.’

  She knew he meant it, unconditionally. ‘Promise me this isn’t our only Christmas together, Branch.’

  The upturned curl of his lips broadened. ‘It’s definitely not the only one.’ He kissed her again. ‘Let’s make it the first of many. For us, and in this house.’

  ‘You’re staying.’ It came out as a rush of relief, fortifying Kait. She wasn’t too late.

  ‘I’m staying if you are.’ He pulled her against his chest again. ‘You’re stuck with me now.’

  Thank goodness. She reveled in the warm strength of his arms.

  ‘Come in. Let’s get you some cider and a plate. You wouldn’t believe the food Jay’s entourage whipped up today.’

  She offered him a questioning glance as he helped her out of her coat. ‘Jay’s entourage?’

  He tossed her coat onto the already overfilled rack by the door. ‘Long story. Where’d you park?’

  ‘Oh!’ Kait scrambled for the door. In the intense emotion of it all, she had forgotten about him completely. ‘Zach drove me here.’ Hand on the door handle, she winced at the mention of his name in Branch’s presence. ‘I’ll let him know everything’s okay in here.’

  ‘Zach’s here?’ He gently removed her hand from the handle and opened the door himself.

  ‘Branch, I—’

  Astonished, she watched as Branch swung the door wide and waved a hand in Zach’s direction. Except, he didn’t wave him on, dismissing him. Branch waved him in.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Kait didn’t bother to hide her surprise.

  ‘Inviting him inside.’ He waved a second time, more vehemently. This time, Zach rolled down the window and offered him a gracious nod of the head before disappearing further down the road at a slow crawl, undoubtedly in search of a parking spot. Branch closed the door with a satisfied nod of his own.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  He reached for her hands again, enveloping them tightly. ‘I meant it when I said it’s time to let the past stay in the past. Tonight, if we’re going to talk, Kaitie, let’s talk about the future. About the life we’re going to build together, here in this house. Here in Port Landon.’

  Her heart swelled. The sound of the word future on Branch’s lips was intoxicating, a dream she never thought would come true. ‘I’d like that.’

  ‘Good.’ He nodded toward the door where Zach was somewhere on the other side of it. ‘I won’t belittle what’s happened between all of us, but for tonight, let’s spread a little holiday cheer and focus on what’s right in front of us – friends, family, and the future.’ A crooked grin played on his mouth. ‘It’s Christmas, after all.’

  Even after everything, he was willing to offer his house, his food, and his Christmas Eve crowd to the man who had been the catalyst for their sordid past. But he was right. No one person was guilty, and no one person was innocent, and it didn’t matter who was what because it was the past.

  And it was Christmas. She beamed up at Branch, proud of him for the gesture toward Zach. Silently, she thought that Grandma Addie would be proud of him, too.

  ‘I’ll call Janna and make sure she’s bringing the twins over.’

  ‘I’d love to meet them,’ he replied. ‘Oh, just one more thing.’

  Her eyebrows arched, but her confused gaze was met with another sweet kiss that left her dazed and floating.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Kaitie.’

  She stared up at the man who had been the love of her life even when she didn’t want him to be, then around the room at all the festive decor and glittering lights and smiling faces. She had never felt more certain of her path in life than she did in that moment. After all, it had brought her full circle, proving that her heart had been right where it was supposed to be, all along. With him.

  Right here in Port Landon.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Branch.’

  Epilogue

  Branch

  Port Landon was nothing if not a town that thrived on traditions. And while Christmas Eve might have been Grandma Addie’s claim to fame, New Year’s Eve was the Port Landon Recreation Committee’s time to shine.

  Once spearheaded by Jason Forrester’s grandmother when he and Branch were kids, Mary-Jean had since stepped down as the chairwoman, handing over the reins to someone else whom Branch had learned more than a few colorful things about.

  Sonya Ritter.

  Tonight, Sonya was in the limelight. While Branch and Kait had spent so many days of December organizing the finer details of their Christmas Eve dinner, Sonya spent every minute she wasn’t at the Portside Coffeehouse planning the New Year’s Eve dance, as she had every year for the past five years, Kait had said.

  Over the Christmas holidays, Kait caught him up to speed on Sonya’s recreational activities, mostly meddling and persistent matchmaking, which Branch wondered if weren’t two sides of the same coin, and the older woman’s exceptional party planning abilities.

  ‘We have to go to the dance, Branch!’ she had insisted. ‘We just have to!’

  Like there had ever been a question as to whether he would deny her something she wanted. She could have asked him for a pet zebra and he would have found a way to smuggle one into the country. If she wanted to go to a party held at the community centre, that’s what they would do.

  Besides, having a birthday on December thirty-first made it a little tricky to get out of celebratory antics. Especially when that birthday was the big three-oh.

  Thirty years old. It seemed surreal to be such an age, considering he remembered when he once believed it to be, well, old.

  He was just getting started.

  Before December, he might have had himself a decent career and a place to hang his hat when he wasn’t working, but he realized now, so clearly, that the life he had built for himself had been no life at all.

  Life had been waiting here, in Port Landon, all along.

  The unabashed gratitude and welcoming he received on Christmas Eve was proof of that. Kait was right, the only one disappointed in him for his reckless behavior as a teenager was himself. Not one person who came through the door of Grandma Addie’s house, whether young, old, or in between, mentioned the accident. Not even Zach, who had merely nodded to him from across the living room, a silent but glaring understanding passing between them.

  What had happened in the ten-year span between then and now was over. The truth was out, and things would never been the same, but if Branch was honest, he didn’t want them to be. He only wanted civility between Zach and himself. By the looks of it, he’d got it. All Branch hoped was that Kait could heal from her friend’s betrayal someday, too.

  It was both strange and exhilarating to know that a month ago he had pulled into the driveway of his grandparents’ house, broken and unsure how he was going to make it through the next few weeks, unable to say for sure what he planned to do once the house was organized and cleaned. The only thing he had been confident about was his departure. He had every intention of leaving Port Landon in his rear-view mirror.

  His intentions on the last day of December were so drastically different they could cause whiplash. The only thing he planned on leaving behind him was the past. As for being broken and uncertain, Branch had never felt so alive, and there was no question about his plans for the future.

  His future was standing in front of him, wearing a strapless black dress with sparkles along the bottom hem. Blonde hair twisted up on top of her head
and a daring red lipstick painting her lips, Branch’s breath caught in his throat.

  ‘You look gorgeous.’ After all these years, she still had the ability to take his breath away.

  Playfully, she sashayed this way and that, showing off the swing of the dress’s skirt. ‘I haven’t been dressed up since Allison’s wedding,’ she replied. ‘Thank goodness Paige has such an extensive wardrobe.’

  He didn’t care where the dress came from. Branch was convinced it was Kait that made the dress, not the other way around. ‘You look like a princess.’ The sentiment toppled from his lips without realizing he said it out loud. The sparkles on her dress only seemed to accentuate the sparkles in her eyes, and it was getting to him, big time.

  She closed the gap between them, tugging on the collar of his dress shirt. Like her, he didn’t own much in the way of dressy clothes. Spending more than half his time at a mining site didn’t call for it, and he had refused to wear the only white dress shirt he had since it happened to be the one he purchased for both his grandparents’ funerals. Tonight was a new start, a new year. Branch wanted only happy memories of this evening.

  ‘You don’t look too bad yourself.’ She grinned. ‘So, you’re my prince, then.’

  ‘I am, if you want me to be.’

  ‘I absolutely want you to be.’ Her heeled shoes gave Kait the extra height she needed to easily lean in and kiss him lightly. Chuckling, she rubbed her thumb against his bottom lip. Branch was going to have to keep in mind that her shade of lipstick was going to leave evidence of any stolen kisses throughout the night.

  ‘Kaitie, I—’

  ‘Come on, lovebirds! If you don’t hurry, we’re going to be late!’ Allison’s voice was loud and shrill from the bottom of the staircase. For a split second, he regretted suggesting that Kait invite her friends over to get ready together. He liked them all just fine, and he was grateful she had found such a close-knit group of folks to build friendships with, but he had to admit, it was going to take some getting used to having to share her attention with other people, especially since he’d just found her again.

  ‘We’ll be right down!’ she shouted. Turning back to him, her wry grin was in place once again. ‘You ready for this, Sterling?’

  Humor danced in her emerald eyes, causing a wave of anticipation to flood Branch from head to toe. It wasn’t the first wave he had experienced so far, and he was certain there would be many more to come by the end of the evening.

  The truthful answer was no, he didn’t think he was ready at all. He didn’t think Kait was, either. He didn’t think they had ever been, or ever would be.

  But that didn’t mean he didn’t want this night to happen with every fiber of his being.

  He nodded. ‘Let’s do this, Davenport.’

  Branch hadn’t been in Port Landon’s community centre for more than a decade, and from the outside it looked exactly as he remembered it. What once was an old manufacturing warehouse during the 1950s had been transformed into a well-maintained spot where crowds gathered on most major holidays. The exterior boasted only simple white sidings and built-in window boxes on each sill, currently filled with snow and ice, but the covered front step that had been added on to it, with two thick columns and a ramp going up one edge of it for wheelchair accessibility, gave the whole building a grander look, accented with ornate corner moldings and strings of white lights twisted around each column.

  The inside, however, was nothing like he remembered it to be. Sure, the music poured out onto the street each time the heavy double doors at the entrance opened, just like it always had, and the industrial linoleum under Branch’s feet was the same worn, faux woodgrain pattern that had been there when he was a teen. But the party itself …

  Sonya Ritter had outdone herself.

  He stood at the front entrance, folks bustling past him on both sides, waiting for Kait to hang her jacket up. He welcomed the moment to just stand there and bask in the changes time had allowed in one of Port Landon’s oldest industrial buildings.

  It was hard to tell the place had ever been considered plain. There was nothing plain about the ropes of glittering white mini-lights that hung from each corner of the massive room, draping across the wide expanse to meet in the middle, where a gigantic chandelier in the shape of a wagon wheel hung, with eight large globe lightbulbs hanging from it.

  The entire room seemed to sparkle, with little white lights winking from the round glass centerpieces on the tables that lined each side of the room, and strings of lights twirling the length of every load-bearing metal post. The tables were situated in line with the posts, so their glow announced the spot where the sit-down area ended and the dance floor began.

  There was no question about it, this was a dance party. The far wall of the room boasted huge speakers, strategically positioned to offer up the clearest beat and melody regardless of where folks were in the room.

  The kitchen was the only room that was brightly lit. Harsh fluorescent light beamed across its open doorway into the main room. The overhead lights had been turned off, leaving everyone to rely solely on the glittering mini-lights and oversized chandelier. The result was dim, but the ambience it created was seductive. And perfect.

  It was all just so perfect. Branch couldn’t contain his elation.

  ‘Ready to party like it’s your birthday?’ A punch landed on Branch’s arm. ‘Oh wait, it is your birthday!’

  It looked like he wasn’t the only one to rummage through the back of his closet for something that would be deemed dressy enough for a special occasion.

  ‘That, it is,’ he replied. ‘Man, this place looks great. It’s nothing like I remember it.’

  Jason shrugged. ‘Sonya goes nuts over this event every year. She’s a party planner extraordinaire, that one. Besides, I think by now you should’ve learned that not much is like you thought it would be.’

  Touché. ‘Everything’s so different, yet—’

  ‘Exactly the same,’ Jason finished for him. ‘Yeah, you’ll get used to that, too. Especially since you’re staying, huh?’

  Branch’s smirk matched the one his friend wore. ‘Yeah, turns out the home I was looking for was the place I’d been trying to avoid all along,’ he admitted. ‘I hate that I’ve got to leave Kait for the next two weeks, but I’m coming back. We’ll get through it.’

  ‘You two have been through fire, man. Two weeks is child’s play for you guys.’

  ‘Here’s hoping it’s as easy as you think it is.’

  ‘It is,’ Jason replied, holding his gaze. ‘And if it’s not, you can come and work for me.’

  He hadn’t seen that coming. ‘You’re serious?’

  His friend slapped a hand down on his shoulder. ‘I’m running with a skeleton crew, and you’re the most reliable man I know. If you need a job to test out that mechanical aptitude of yours, you know where to find me.’

  Dumbfounded, Branch could only nod. ‘Thank you, Jay.’

  ‘If you take me up on the offer, that’s all the thanks I’ll need.’ Jason offered him another solid slap on the back. ‘Happy birthday, Sterling.’

  Branch’s childhood friend disappeared into the crowds just as Kait’s singsong voice sounded from behind him.

  ‘Only two more hours until the clock strikes midnight,’ she announced. ‘What ever shall we do?’

  Scanning the crowd, his eyebrows shot up. ‘If Allison is any indication, it looks like you’re going to dance until they turn the music off.’

  They had been there only a handful of minutes, yet somehow Allison had already managed to convince Paige into the middle of the dance floor, breaking out dance moves he was pretty sure were just as old as the building they were in. To his relief, a quick glance to his right revealed Allison’s husband, Christopher, whom he vaguely remembered growing up with despite their difference in age, and Paige’s fiancé, Cohen, whom Branch had been formally introduced to a couple of hours ago. The men had taken up refuge at one of the tables that lined the edge of
the dance floor.

  Branch pointed toward the men at the table. ‘Go join your friends,’ he said. ‘I’ll be over there, with the rest of the guys who can’t dance.’

  ‘Are you okay?’ She looked up at him, her gaze narrowed. In the dim light, the smoky makeup on her eyelids only increased the gemstone-like brightness of her irises.

  The woman could see through him like a newly polished windowpane.

  ‘I’ve got the most beautiful woman in the room holding my hand, Kaitie. I’m more than okay.’ Nudging her playfully, he pushed her toward the middle of the floor. ‘Go dance, will you?’

  Kait’s laughter rang out above the music, but she relented, kicking her fancy shoes off and handing them to him before she scurried across the floor into the waiting arms of Allison and Paige.

  He had never been much of a dancer, but even as Branch took his time getting a cup of homemade punch from his grandmother’s punch bowl – Sonya had practically begged him to loan it to her for this event after she oohed and ahhed over it on Christmas Eve – taking slow, measured steps as he took in the sights around him and let the nostalgia sweep over him like a warm blanket, he couldn’t deny he was having a good time. Seeing Kait so carefree and buoyant, seeing friends from his past and new friends alike …

  He was making the right decision. He had made the right decision. He’d never been more certain of anything in his entire life except for one thing.

  His love for Kait Davenport.

  ‘You make her happy, you know.’

  The words blasted through his thoughts like a needle pressing against the delicate surface of a balloon. Branch turned, unable to mask his shock at seeing Janna standing there. Her dress wasn’t as formal as her sister’s choice, but she resembled Kait in so many ways it was hard not to think of her as a taller version of her younger sibling. Her eyes, however, possessed a harsher, poignant glare. Despite everything Kait had been through in her young age, he had never seen that kind of irrevocable regret and sadness in her eyes. ‘Janna,’ he said cautiously. ‘I didn’t know you were coming out tonight.’