Jolie appeared at his side, dressed in her red-and-gold Queen of Hearts costume. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, her face painted white with a tiny heart drawn at the center of her lips. She pulled back the curtain ever so slightly and looked out at the audience. “Is she here?”
Hollis leaned in closer, making Jolie’s sight line his own. “Your mom? Yeah, she’s right there, with Rick.”
The two lovebirds had arrived earlier that day. They’d checked into a bed-and-breakfast and, having been instantly charmed with Nantucket, decided to turn their weekend into a week.
Apparently the honeymoon wasn’t over. Hollis cringed a little at the thought.
“Not Mom,” Jolie said. “Emily.”
Hollis stepped back. “JoJo, you know she’s gone. You saw her leave.”
“Yeah,” Jolie said, letting the curtain fall closed. “But she won’t let us go on without her, right?”
Hollis wished it were true. What he wouldn’t give for the chance to make things right with Emily. They’d left things so undone.
“Plus I gave her your letter.”
“You what?” Hollis spun toward her.
“The one you left on your dresser,” Jolie said.
“Did you read it?”
“Who do you think I am?” Jolie asked. “Of course not.”
“Jolie, that was private,” Hollis said. “If I’d wanted her to read it, I would’ve given it to her myself.”
“But you did want her to read it, Dad. Otherwise you wouldn’t have written it.” Jolie glanced at the table next to him. “And you think she’s coming too. Otherwise you wouldn’t have bought two bouquets of flowers.”
Hollis followed her gaze to the table, where, sure enough, there were two bouquets wrapped in brown paper. This kid was too smart for her own good.
“You weren’t supposed to see that until after the show.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jolie said. “You’re not very good at keeping secrets.”
He wished that were true. Maybe if he’d been straight with Emily about who Jack was as soon as he found out, things would be different now.
But that’s not why they’d argued. She wasn’t mad he didn’t tell her the truth; she was mad he’d defended her father. Why had he done that? Because he was worried he was just like Jack?
It was selfish. It wasn’t what she needed, and he knew it.
At least he knew it now.
“You need to go get ready,” Hollis said. “I think Marisol is going to want the cast together for a preshow pep talk.”
“I don’t care about a pep talk unless it comes from Emily.”
“Jolie, don’t be like that,” Hollis said. “Be respectful. And go be with your cast.”
She pouted. “Fine. Are you going to your seat now?”
“Yes,” he said. “I’ll be right in the front. You won’t be able to miss me or your crazy family.”
A slow grin spread across her face.
He might’ve lost Emily, but at least JoJo had forgiven him. Oh, she’d given him the silent treatment for a full twenty-four hours, but she’d eventually forgiven him.
“I know it wasn’t all your fault that Emily left,” she’d said. “And I know that you love her, so you’re sad too.”
Hollis hadn’t been able to respond. The lump in his throat was too big to swallow.
He was sad.
But as the seconds ticked by and the time to raise the curtain drew closer, he’d all but lost hope.
Emily was gone. Just like when they were kids.
And this time, he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover.
Emily stared at the building where she’d spent so many hours preparing for her production of Alice in Wonderland.
She’d tucked the letter she wrote to her mother into the back of the book with all the other letters and then put the whole thing in the bottom of her suitcase. She didn’t have it with her now. She was on her own.
And she wasn’t so sure she could follow through with her plan to walk in that door.
She’d abandoned Jolie and the rest of the cast when they needed her most. How could she have done that?
And would they ever forgive her?
Before she lost her nerve, she walked into the back of the theatre and found herself in the scene shop in the middle of a flurry of activity. At the sound of the door, everything in motion stopped and pairs of eyes turned her way.
Marisol was standing on a poorly built wooden box, the entire cast in a semicircle around her.
“Emily, thank goodness,” Marisol said, hopping down. The girl hugged Emily tightly. “I knew you’d be back,” she whispered. “Your cast is ready for their opening night chat.”
Emily pulled away and looked at all the kids, fully dressed in their costumes with their hair and makeup done just the way Emily had instructed. Seeing them made her want to cry.
She might’ve missed a crucial rehearsal, but the work had been almost done before she left. Marisol likely had a few fires to put out, but most of the hard stuff had been finished.
It didn’t excuse her leaving, however. That had been a poor choice, and she regretted it. Running was no longer the answer.
Time to grow up. Time to do hard things.
She stood on the box Marisol had just vacated and scanned the crowd until she found Jolie. She’d expected the girl to be angry with her, but she met Emily’s eyes with a smile.
Kids were so forgiving. Was it too much to hope they all felt that way? Was it too much to hope that Hollis did too?
“I want to start by telling you all how sorry I am I wasn’t here for dress rehearsal,” she said. “I had some things come up and I had to leave.” She glanced at Jolie, who gave her a soft nod. “But I knew I couldn’t miss tonight. Your opening night.” She paused, eyes moving from child to child. In their faces she saw a mix of emotions—nervousness and excitement and a little bit of admiration, which she definitely didn’t deserve.
“I wanted to let you all know how proud I am of you. Getting up onstage is hard. It takes so much courage. Sometimes we can get so nervous or worried about something because it isn’t easy, and that can make us miss out on the good stuff. You have to go through the hard stuff to get to the good stuff.”
She smiled. “Right now, you might be feeling nervous, and that’s hard . . . but tonight, when the show is over, you’re going to have a healthy dose of good stuff. Because you conquered your fears. Because you did hard things. Because you worked for something and it was worth it. So go out there and do your very best, and above all—” she paused, making sure she had everyone’s attention—“have fun!”
The kids cheered and the excited chatter she’d interrupted when she walked in picked up again.
“Places!” Marisol called out. “Places for the top of the show!”
The kids raced by, some stopping to give Emily a quick hug, bouncing around like pinballs in a machine.
She stepped off of the wooden box and found Jolie standing in front of her.
“I’m sorry I left, JoJo,” Emily said. “It was a mistake.”
Jolie smiled. “I forgive you. And I’m super glad you came back. I’m gonna knock your socks off.”
Emily pulled the girl into a hug. “I know you are. Now, go get in your spot for the top of the show.”
She ran off, leaving Emily standing in the scene shop alone but feeling anything but lonely.
CHAPTER 48
EMILY STOOD BACKSTAGE, watching her kids perform the scenes they’d worked so hard to perfect. As was typical with live theatre, not everything went as they’d planned. The Mad Hatter lost his microphone halfway through the show, and the girl playing Small Alice forgot some of her lines. But none of that mattered. These were her kids, and they were doing what she’d taught them to do.
The sense of pride she felt the moment the final curtain went down wasn’t something she’d ever experienced before. The applause wasn’t for her, and she preferred it that way. The audience cheered for chil
dren she’d grown to love. She’d gotten to be at the helm of this ship, and in the process, she’d discovered something that mattered more than herself.
She watched as the kids stepped forward for their bows, and she stood in the wings, applauding. The only thing that would’ve made it better would’ve been standing down in the front, directly in front of the cast, so they could see how proud she was of what they’d done.
As the song ended and the crowd died down, Marisol stepped out onstage with a microphone. She stood in front of the rows of kids, center stage, and waited until the audience was quiet. They’d taken their seats again and now gave Emily’s young assistant their full attention.
“As most of you know, this show wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of one very special person,” Marisol said.
Emily’s stomach churned. No, no, no. She didn’t want them to pull her out on the stage. She took a step back as Marisol turned toward her.
“She doesn’t want us to fuss over her, but I’m fussing anyway because she deserves it. Emily Ackerman, can you come out here so we can thank you properly?”
Emily shook her head.
“Come on, Emily!” Marisol raised her eyebrows expectantly as she gestured for Emily to join her on the stage. The cast began applauding and cheering, coaxing her from her spot in the shadows.
Slowly, unsteadily, she began to walk onstage. The spotlight hit her as she did, making it nearly impossible to see beyond what was right in front of her. But as she met Marisol front and center, she looked down and found Hollis’s eyes. He sat right in the front row, next to his parents and siblings, the exact same spot her mother and grandparents had sat when she was a kid.
Did he know how foolish she felt? Did he know how sorry she was? Did he care?
He watched her for a few seconds until finally his mouth spread into a smile. Then he stood up and applauded, that same look of pride in his eyes that she’d seen in the faces of her family all those years ago.
And that’s the moment it hit her. The thing she’d been searching for, the thing she wanted most of all, was a home.
And Hollis was it.
Hollis was home to her.
His parents, Hayes, and Harper had all joined him in his standing ovation, followed by the rest of the audience, and while Emily was grateful for their appreciation, the truth was, it was them who’d given something to her.
Marisol handed her the microphone. “Go on, boss. Say something.”
The crowd settled, then quieted, everyone waiting for Emily to share something profound.
“Thank you, everyone, for being here tonight. We appreciate your support so much. You know, I’ve spent a lot of years of my life searching for a place where I could put down roots. I’ve never found it until this summer when I came here. The way you all jumped on board with this crazy idea to bring back the children’s show, the way you’ve donated time and talent to making the show a success, the way you’ve accepted me and made me feel like a part of your family—” She glanced at Hollis, then at Nan, then the rest of his family, and she found herself unable to continue until she swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Well, you’ll never know how much it’s meant to me. I’ve learned so much over the last two months. Most importantly, I’ve learned that sometimes your failures can lead right to your purpose. Thank you for letting your kids spend their summer with me. It’s truly been one of the best summers of my life.”
Hollis gave her a slight nod as she handed the microphone back to Marisol and left the stage.
Seconds later, he was at her side, standing in the wings as the kids took one final bow.
He had every right to be furious with her. She’d been rude and hurtful. But she saw nothing but kindness in his eyes.
“It’s good to see you.”
She looked away. “I don’t deserve any of this.” She motioned toward the stage, where the curtain had fallen and the kids were now cheering and celebrating. A little girl ran over to Emily and threw her arms around her waist.
“I love you, Miss Emily,” she said.
Emily hugged back, but the girl was gone before she could respond. She found Hollis watching her. He walked over to a table off to the side, picked up a bouquet of flowers, and handed them to her.
“They’re wildflowers.” Just like the ones he’d given her when they were kids.
“Probably should’ve gotten you something a little more grown-up, huh?”
“Are you kidding? They’re perfect.” She stuck her nose in the bouquet and inhaled. “But you didn’t even know I would be here.”
“No, but I was hoping you would be,” he said with a grin. “I know how much you love these kids.”
She smiled, looking at her kids rushing around, celebrating their job well done.
“That’s true,” she said. “But not just them.”
He met her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Hollis,” she said.
“Forgotten.”
“No, I owe you a real apology.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Emily, and you never will.” He took her hand and stepped toward her. Her eyes clouded over as his words made their way to her heart.
“I read your letter,” she said.
Hollis groaned. “You weren’t supposed to. Jolie shouldn’t have given that to you. It was stupid to write it.”
“No, it wasn’t. I loved it.”
He looked embarrassed for a split second, but his goodness was all she could see. That letter had moved things around inside of her. Did he know how much his words had meant?
Could she learn to love without condition? Could she learn to forgive—even the people who’d hurt her so wholly the wounds were still fresh and painful? She didn’t know, but she wanted to try. She wanted to stay. She wanted to stop running.
She wanted to chip away at what was hard in order to get to what was beautiful.
She even thought maybe she wanted to give God a second chance. She’d seen the good in all that had happened that summer. Was it possible he knew what he was doing after all?
“There you two are!” It was Nan, and she was beaming. “Oh, Emily, you did a fantastic job with this show. We’ve already bought our tickets for the rest of the weekend. You are truly gifted. I don’t know many people who can pull what you do out of these kids.”
Emily smiled, the memory of her directing debut (or debacle) fading further and further away.
“It’s true,” Jeffrey said, joining them. “That’s a gift.”
“Thank you both,” Emily said. “I really love working with them.”
“So you’ll do next summer’s show?”
Emily turned and found Jolie standing behind her, a small crowd of other cast members around her.
“I think we should do Annie,” one of them said.
“Or maybe The Wizard of Oz,” another one said.
“You’re coming back, right, Miss Emily?”
She opened her arms and the five of them moved in for a big group hug. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Hollis stood in the lobby, watching as Jolie moved from friend to friend, hugging and laughing and congratulating each one as if it were the last time she’d see them. As if they weren’t doing this twice again tomorrow.
The twenty-four hours that Emily had been gone had felt like an eternity. She hadn’t responded to his texts or voice messages, and it was a clear indication that he didn’t want to live his life without her. Yep, he was that guy—the one the guys in the locker room would’ve relentlessly teased. And he didn’t care. He loved her.
Maybe a part of him had always loved her.
“I have to hand it to you, Hollis. You really surprised me.” Jana had found his hiding spot off to the side.
“How’s that?”
Jana cocked her head to one side and squinted her eyes. “Something’s just different about you, and it shows.”
He looked away. He didn’t want credit for finally doing the right thing.
God had worked him over—he should get the credit.
“I know you regret a lot of things, Hollis, but we’re doing well, and Jolie’s doing awesome, and you did a good job with her this summer.”
He met her eyes. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Honestly, I thought you’d be handing her back to us ready to sign those adoption papers.”
He shook his head. “That’s not gonna happen.”
Jana smiled. “I’m actually glad to hear it.”
Rick appeared next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Great show, huh? Our girl did good.”
Our girl?
Hollis glanced at Jana, who widened her eyes as if to say, Don’t make a thing of it. And he decided not to, no matter how annoying Rick was. Maybe they could all claim a piece of Jolie. Maybe he was okay with that now because he had his piece firmly tucked close to his heart.
Emily appeared across the lobby, and he could tell she was looking for someone. He didn’t dare hope it was him.
Okay, maybe he hoped. Maybe he wanted to believe that he’d always be on the receiving end of her expectant expression. And he wanted to believe he’d never let her down.
Jana must’ve followed his gaze to Emily because she nudged him with her shoulder, then waggled her eyebrows at him. “You’ve got it bad, Mack.”
Hollis returned his gaze to the girl next door who’d stolen his heart. “Yeah, I do.” He smiled just as her eyes found him.
She waved, then made her way through the crowd toward him.
With her at his side, suddenly he felt complete, like he could climb mountains. She made him feel strong. She made him want to be a better man.
He loved her for that.
But mostly he just loved her for her. He loved the times when he found a crack in her confident exterior. He loved that she had no idea how beautiful she was. He loved the way she loved his daughter. And he loved this journey she was on—this journey of uncovering the past so she could forgive and move on. He’d been on that journey, so maybe he could help her.
“You must be Jana,” Emily said. “Jolie showed me pictures of your wedding. It was beautiful.” She radiated authenticity—another thing he loved about her.
If for Any Reason Page 35