by Olivia Miles
“Hi, honey!” she exclaimed, bending down to embrace her child the moment the door was flung open. She pulled Sophie close, burying her face in her daughter’s thick, silky hair, inhaling the smell of her sweetness. “Did you have fun?” she asked when she finally released her.
Sophie nodded energetically. “Oh, yes. Auntie Grace gave me two hot chocolates!” Her eyes danced with illicit excitement.
Jane laughed and took her hand, crossing into the warm hallway and closing the door behind her. Inside, it was as if nothing had changed—this morning had never happened. But one step closer into the house and she was instantly reminded of how much she had lost in the past year. Here it was, four days before Christmas, and aside from the half-heartedly decorated tree, you would never even know it.
“Hi, Mom,” she said, smiling at Kathleen, who was standing at the kitchen counter, slicing an apple into wedges. She gave her a kiss on the cheek, noticing for the first time how papery her mother’s skin felt.
She frowned, thinking of how much time had passed.
“Grandma is making me a snack!” Sophie explained.
Jane opened her eyes and smiled brightly. “Were you a good girl for Grandma?”
“Isn’t she always,” Kathleen said, giving Sophie an indulgent smile. It seemed her granddaughter was the only person who could brighten her mood these days. “Though I think that Grace got a bit more attention during this visit.”
“Where is Grace, anyway?” Jane looked around the room.
“She went into town,” Kathleen told her, carrying the plate of apples to the table, where Sophie was waiting. “Didn’t say why, but I can’t help wondering if it has something to do with Luke Hastings.”
Jane frowned. “Luke? Why would you think that? You know how she feels about him.”
Kathleen grinned mysteriously. “I’m just saying… You’ll have to ask her.”
Jane bit back a sigh and sat down at the table. She knew what Grace was doing in town this early in the day and it had absolutely nothing to do with Luke. Anna had called her yesterday to discuss Grace’s plan for Main Street Books, but Jane certainly wasn’t going to mention that tidbit to her mother. The woman had had enough disappointments for one year, and Jane knew all too well how it felt to know you couldn’t handle another.
“She went out with him last night, you know,” Kathleen added pointedly.
Jane felt her jaw slacken. “Grace went out with Luke? Mom… what?”
Kathleen’s lips twisted. It was the closest to her old self that Jane had seen her in months, and it tore at her heart, making her realize how much she had missed her mother. How much she needed her.
She had tried so hard to keep the details of her crumbling home life to herself, to put on a happy face for her mother, to not add any stress to a grieving widow’s life, but now she felt like she was unraveling, that the truth had to spill out or she would break. She wanted to burst into tears and pour her heart out, and she wanted her mother to take her into her arms and tell her it would all be all right.
She glanced at Sophie, who was happily munching an apple slice, and paused. She was a mother, too, now. Things were different.
“Where did they go?” she asked brusquely, getting back to the topic of Grace and Luke. Grace and Luke. Just the sound of it—it was preposterous! After everything they had gone through, certainly they weren’t finding their way back to each other now. Things like that didn’t happen… Did they?
Her heart fluttered but she pushed the thought back. Adam was cheating on her. He was moving in with his girlfriend. His lover. His tramp. The woman he wanted to be with instead of her. It wasn’t the same. She and Adam were never going to find their way back to each other. She needed to learn how to accept that.
Or want that.
Her hand shook as she reached for an apple slice. She glanced up to see Kathleen staring at her, her eyes squinting with curiosity.
“So, tell me,” Jane said hurriedly. “How did this even happen?”
Her mother shrugged. “Luke called here looking for her, and according to Sophie he spent some time with them at the festival. Not twenty minutes after Sophie’s head hit that pillow, Grace was flying out this door to meet an unnamed friend. That’s all I know.”
Jane stared at her mother, aghast. Both women knew that Grace’s heartbreak over Luke had kept her from Briar Creek for five years. She had missed out on holidays, birthdays, time they could never have back, all because she couldn’t bear to face that man again. And now she was cavorting with him. The man whose named could not be spoken. The man who had married another, and who now held a torch for his deceased wife, two years after her passing.
It pained Jane to watch Luke’s distress, even from a distance. Out of loyalty to Grace she had stepped back from his life, soon even fading away from Mrs. Hastings, who had been such an inspiration to her when she practiced ballet through her youth. She knew that Helen’s death had been a shock, a horrible tragedy, really, and she knew that Luke had never recovered from it. Never moved on. Everyone knew.
“Did she say anything to you when she came home last night?” Jane asked.
“I was already asleep,” her mother replied.
Jane nodded slowly, trying to make sense of this information. She looked at Sophie, who was finishing the last slice of apple, and back to Kathleen, who looked pale, troubled.
“Is everything okay, Jane?” her mother asked.
Jane sucked in a breath. “Of course.” She forced a smile. “Why would you say such a thing?”
“You looked sad for a minute there,” Kathleen observed.
Jane swallowed the knot in her throat. She wiped Sophie’s mouth with a napkin and carried the plate to the sink. From the kitchen window, she could see children playing in the backyard of the house next door, making snow angels. Her heart felt heavy, like she couldn’t fight through this for another day. It all seemed so unfair, so lost.
“Maybe I’ll go into town and see if I can find Grace,” she announced, and her mother nodded. “See if she gives me any details of her big date.”
“Don’t tell her I said anything,” Kathleen warned.
“I won’t,” Jane said, as she began gathering Sophie’s things. She was going into town to find Grace all right, but it wasn’t to hear about her supposed date with Luke—Jane knew better than to take that at face value.
No, she had other things on her mind today. And if she didn’t talk to someone about it soon, she might end up just as sour as the rest of her family by Christmas day.
CHAPTER
22
Grace pulled the last box of decorations out of the car and slammed the door shut with her hip. Walking carefully across the icy sidewalk to the front steps of Main Street Books, she placed the box on top of the others, panting at her efforts. It was really a task for two, but she couldn’t tell her mother about her plans, and Jane and Anna were obviously busy with other things.
Grace frowned as she pulled out her key and unlocked the shop. She had been worried about Jane since she left her yesterday—when she wasn’t worried about her own problems, that is.
She still couldn’t quite believe how things had changed in such a short amount of time. Luke had kissed her. Kissed her properly. And damn if she didn’t enjoy every second of it.
She’d replayed the taste of his lips on hers over and over again from the moment she had reluctantly pulled herself free of his embrace, and the sensation of his body close to hers was the first memory to greet her when she opened her eyes this morning.
Well, all the more reason to get busy. She had a purpose for the day, and it had started as soon as her bare feet hit the cold, hardwood floors. While her mother was still asleep, she’d ventured into the attic, where at least three dozen boxes were labeled “Christmas.” Leave it to the former Christmas Queen to have an entire store’s worth of decorations on hand. She’d never notice that a few measly boxes were missing. A few lights. A mini tree, a few small bulbs. It was ju
st the thing Grace needed to spruce up the store and get it noticed again. A sale before the New Year would hopefully stir up interest for the expansion.
Her breath caught on the idea.
A shuffling on the sidewalk caught her attention, and as she slid one of the heavier boxes over the threshold, she paused, turning to look over her shoulder.
“Mrs. Hastings,” she said, somewhat breathlessly. She stood, feeling the flush of guilt heat her cheeks, and wiped her dusty hands on her jeans before reaching out a hand.
Rosemary tutted it aside. “Come over here and give me a good hard squeeze, Grace. After five years, I’m long overdue.”
Grace smiled as relief swept her and she skipped down the stoop and into Rosemary’s open arms. When she released her, she thought she saw tears in the older woman’s bright eyes, but Luke’s mother simply sniffed and patted her cheek.
“It’s been too long,” she said. “Tell me you won’t run off this time without at least saying goodbye.”
Oh. That. Grace lowered her eyes, her stomach knotting. It had been immature, rash, to not say a proper goodbye to Rosemary. At the time, she couldn’t face her, couldn’t explain that she was choosing her dream over Rosemary’s son. Maybe it was because she didn’t want to acknowledge the part of her that doubted her decision.
“I promise,” she muttered with a limp smile, forcing her gaze back to Rosemary, whose eyes had now shifted to the shop.
“Are you—are you reopening the store?”
Grace nodded. “Not officially, you could say, but yes. I thought it needed one last try before the lease expires for good.”
Rosemary stared at her. “You never could sit still and relax, could you?” she asked, a hint of affection creeping into her tone.
Grace slid her a shy smile. “Guess not.”
“What does your mother think about all of this?”
“Oh, um. She doesn’t know, actually.” Grace shifted the weight on her feet, shivering in the cold winter morning. The sky was gray, and snow was predicted before noon. She stared at the boxes, at the hint of a wreath peeking out of the bottom container, and chewed her lip.
“I’ve tried to reach out to her,” Rosemary said.
“It seems she’s been keeping to herself a lot these days,” Grace apologized.
Rosemary sighed. “Well, all in good time, I suppose. I’ll keep trying.”
“Thanks for that.”
Rosemary patted her on the cheek once more. “Still as beautiful as ever. Tell me, will you be able to see The Nutcracker while you’re in town? One performance only, thank goodness! Christmas Eve Eve.”
Grace grinned. “So the twenty-third.”
“You always were a smart one. I told Luke not to let you slip—” She stopped herself, her cheeks turning pink, and Grace felt her pulse skip a beat. “I should go now, dear. We have a rehearsal today and high drama is expected. The girl playing Clara has turned into quite a diva, between you and me. You would think this was Broadway, not Briar Creek!” She pinched her lips, her gaze narrowing into the distance before turning back to Grace sharply. “Time to remind her who’s running this show.”
Grace chuckled. “It was good bumping into you.”
“Oh, we didn’t bump into each other,” Rosemary said with a wink. “I saw you and made a point of coming this way.”
Grace bit back a smile. “Well… thanks for that.”
“Say hello to your mother for me. And to Jane,” she added. “I keep wondering if she’ll ever take me up on my offer. Maybe one day,” she said wistfully.
Grace paused from lifting the second box. “What offer?”
Rosemary tightened her scarf around her slim neck. “To teach, of course! She always was the brightest star in my studio. When I think of how she gave up that dance scholarship to the academy…” She trailed off, shaking her head.
Grace gave a small smile, but her mind was already swarming with questions. What was going on with Jane? Ballet had always been her passion; Rosemary had not been flattering her when she called her the best in town. Wouldn’t Jane have loved the opportunity to get back in the studio, teach children everything she had learned and mastered?
“Well, off I go!” Rosemary trilled. “I’ll look for you in the audience Tuesday night!”
Grace waved until Rosemary turned away and then finished loading the boxes into the store. Just another topic to discuss with Jane, she decided. It seemed her youngest sister had become a downright mystery at this point.
Grunting as she picked up the heaviest box and carried it over to the counter, Grace couldn’t help but feel pleased with the transformation of the shop. Yesterday, she and Sophie had cleared and dusted the overstocked shelves, reorganized the selections, and tagged all the books for clearance. With a little festive touch, she would be able to turn the sign on the door to OPEN in no time.
Even if the sign remained that way only until New Year’s Eve.
Grace fought off the niggling sensation of doubt and squared her shoulders. No good came from thinking like that. After all, only a few days ago, she hadn’t thought there was any chance at all that her father’s store could survive. Now she was armed with Anna’s support, and with a little luck they might be able to work out some kind of deal with the property manager for the space next door. Grace hadn’t brought herself to do it yet, but she intended to call today.
Something was stopping her, and she recognized it as fear. Without that space, this store would be what it always was: a bookstore. Judging from the looks of things, that hadn’t been enough to make it a success. To pull in a crowd, they needed that café space. She didn’t know what she would do if she found out it was impossible. She wasn’t quite ready for her last bit of hope to be crushed yet.
For now, she would focus on what she could control, and that was framing the windows with these strings of lights and hanging the wreath for all who passed by to see. She had to admit, it proved a nice distraction from thinking about Luke, too.
Luke. As his handsome image came clear in her mind, Grace sucked in a breath and squared her shoulders. Right. The wreath. She needed to hang this on the front door. Immediately.
Just keep busy.
Grace didn’t stop working until the last strand of tinsel was removed from the box. She stepped back and admired her handiwork, grinning at the results. The store looked like a Christmas card, if she did say so herself.
The large display windows on either side of the door flickered with colored lights, illuminating the collection of Christmas books that she had artfully arranged. On the left window, she had even set up a little village of porcelain figures, right down to tiny skaters gliding on a pond. She knew these were among her mother’s most prized decorations, but Kathleen must have had a collection larger than all the buildings and houses in Briar Creek—surely half a dozen could be spared.
Besides, it wasn’t like they were being put to better use this year.
On each of the armchairs she loved so much, Grace had placed a plump red or green velvet pillow. She set a bowl of candy canes on the counter next to the miniature angel pine tree, complete with tiny bulbs and a garland tied with ribbons. If she didn’t know better, she might think she was almost looking forward to Christmas.
She pushed the thought back. How callous of her. This was the first Christmas without her father. She should be following her mother’s lead—this was not a year to celebrate.
A jingle from the front door caught her attention as she put the finishing touches in the children’s books corner. She wedged the last of the Christmas teddy bears onto an antique reading bench and stepped back.
“Hello?” she called, her heart beginning to thump. Could it be Luke? She held her breath, wondering if he would come looking for her yet. If he had changed his mind, if he wished he could take it all back.
Her pulse steadied when she saw Jane standing just inside the door, holding on to Sophie’s mitten-covered hand, her expression awestruck. “My goodness, Grace!” s
he exclaimed, her hazel eyes wide.
Grace looked around, trying to picture the room through her sister’s eyes. “Do you like it?” Trepidation laced her words. Maybe she had overstepped.
“Like it?” Jane repeated. She shook her head, leaning down to take a closer look at the window displays. When she turned to face Grace, her eyes were wet with tears. “I’m at a loss for words. It’s… beautiful.”
“Really?”
“It’s beautiful, honey,” Sophie said, showing all her teeth in a big grin, and Grace burst out laughing.
“Anna told me what you’re planning. I’m so proud of you,” Jane said, and Grace’s heart swelled.
“I hope Dad would be proud.”
“He is proud. Somewhere, somehow, he is.” Jane smiled and then looked away.
Grace rolled back her shoulders, lifting her chin against her mounting emotions. “How did last night go?” she inquired as she unwrapped a candy cane for her niece.
Jane’s expression faded. Her eyes darted to Sophie, who was happily enjoying her treat. After a pause, she said, “I heard you had an interesting night, actually.”
Grace’s eyes flashed. “Who told you?”
“Grandma,” Sophie offered. “But we weren’t supposed to tell.”
“Oh, weren’t you?” Grace shook her head. She should have known the news would travel. If you could call it that: news. It was more like a non-event really. Just two people who used to know each other, sharing a kiss…
“Grace?”
Grace jumped, noticing the interest pass through Jane’s eyes. “Yes?” she asked, knowing she sounded as guilty as she felt.
“Something did happen last night!” Jane declared. She pinched her lips and wagged her finger. “I didn’t believe it! I still can’t.”
Grace bristled. “What’s so hard to believe?”
Jane blew out a breath. “All of it, I suppose. I mean, now, after all this time? After everything… You and Luke?”