The Christmas Kiss

by Virginia McCullough

  Emma heard not a single thing they said, but she didn’t need words to read their happy faces. After giving Jason a quick hug, Mike grabbed the mic and sounding like an old-fashioned carnival barker, directed traffic to start the parade. When circus music came over the loudspeaker, Emma moved to join a group of parents watching the children take a turn around the room one by one.

  Mike’s voice came through the speakers, crisp and cool as he began narrating the parade as if he was covering a high school football game. “And here comes Sally, a little brown-haired bunny. And a robot named... Nate... And there’s Annie dressed as the real redhead Annie herself. Look at those big freckles!”

  Parents called their kids’ names as they came in so Mike could introduce them by name. Peter as a troll, and a little girl they called Cookie dressed like a sugar cookie iced in pink. Jason came in with the next-to-last group and Emma caught him on her phone when he was laughing and again when he curled up his hands at his chest, his pretend paws. When he was done with his moment in the spotlight he made a beeline for Ruby who gave him a big hug and then scooted him off to the line forming at the treat table.

  Watching Nicole fill cups with cider, talking and smiling like she knew everyone at the party, she felt even more irked that Parker had skipped it. Granted, Emma was probably the only person in the room who noticed Nicole glancing toward the door, subtly craning her neck to see around the clusters of adults circulating through the room. She still hopes he’ll change his mind and show up. Her disappointment in Parker caught in her throat. As if it was any of her business.

  Once the costume parade was over, Emma caught up with Ruby and Jason at the treat table. “Impressive,” she said to Jason, flipping one of the dog’s ears. “That costume does Peach proud.”

  “I want to be a dog every year,” Jason said. He made three woof sounds in a row, getting the laugh he was going for.

  “And you make ballet dancers proud, my friend,” Ruby said, opening her arms for a hug.

  “I came by to say hello—and goodbye—to the ghost and her dog,” Emma said, smoothing her hand over Jason’s head. “I got here early, so I’ll be on my way. You have fun.”

  Ruby frowned. “You’re leaving? Are you okay?”

  Emma nodded. “Great. I got here for the main event—which is to see you and take a couple of pictures. I told Nicole I liked to tease you about your new costume rules. But it paid off. She and Star are glamorous in their dresses. We took lots of pictures.” She glanced down. “Even my ballet flats got their own shot.”

  Ruby posed with Jason, but when someone called Ruby’s name from the other side of the room, they said a quick goodbye.

  Emma headed to the exit, waving as she walked. “See you soon, Nicole.”

  “You should stop by to see our patient,” Nicole said. “My dad is always glad to see you.”

  “I will, thanks. Maybe tomorrow.”

  The cold air made her shiver as she walked to her car. Parker was a presence weighing on her mind. And if he was always happy to see her, he missed his chance to see her looking like a willowy ballerina. She chided herself for assuming he’d relent and come to the party, as if her recommendation would mean so much. Not even his daughter working there had been enough. Emma hadn’t known that some special family traditions had kept him away. But did he know his daughter’s memories of her family and the holiday could bring her to tears?

  * * *

  PARKER TURNED ON the hose and rinsed off the loosened rust and dirt he’d scrubbed off the metal mesh. Then he flipped the heavy cage to expose another side and ran the stiff brush back and forth over it.

  “Hey, Dad, it’s getting dark.” At the sound of Nic’s voice, he looked up to see her walking towards him where he was working outside on the cage.

  “Oh, hi, Nic.” The sky behind her had gone from a deep pink a few minutes ago to gray. He tossed the brush into the bucket nearby. “I’d hoped to get this one cage scrubbed today, but I’ll have to finish up tomorrow.”

  “You should have waited to start until tomorrow. You missed a good party.”

  “Oh, right, Nic, you were working. But c’mon, what would I have done there? Stand around and admire the kids?” He closed his eyes, wanting to inhale both the words and the tone back in. He hadn’t meant to sound so resentful.

  “Yeah, Dad, that’s exactly what adults do at kids’ parties.” She planted one hand on her hip and tilted her head. She’d gone from scolding parent to an exasperated thirteen-year-old. “Jason was dressed like Peach, for one thing.”

  “I bet that was cute.”

  “It was.” She filled in the blanks about the parade and Ruby as a ghost and Mike as a carnival barker. “But Emma was the best.”

  “Oh?” He jolted to full attention at the mention of her name. “What did she... I mean, was she in a costume?”

  “If you ask nicely, Dad, I’ll show you.”

  Okay, he could handle the teasing. This was the Nic he enjoyed so much. If she could read his mind she’d get a bead on his overwhelming need to know about Emma’s costume.

  “How nice? You want me to grovel because I chose scrubbing cages over the party.”

  She turned down the corners of her mouth as if considering a serious question. “Nah, I was sad about it at first. But then I saw Emma and her cool costume. Star and I got loads of attention in our dresses, so I won’t make you suffer. I took a slew of pictures. I’ll show you.”

  “Let’s go to your cabin where it’s warm.” And he could have a better look in the light. Why did he care about Emma’s costume?

  “The party was like the ones we had in grade school,” Nic said as they started walking. “I was telling Emma about you and Mom taking the neighborhood kids around.”

  Those memories had a habit of weaving in and out of his days, chasing him, almost impossible to ignore.

  “I told her it was our favorite family holiday.”

  He tried to smile as they went inside Nic’s place and settled at the table. She was so right about the holiday.

  “So, here’s Jason,” Emma said, handing him her phone. “And Star decked out in red. If you scroll back, you’ll see Emma. She looks like a real dancer.”

  He dutifully commented on Jason and Star, eager to get to Emma. He glanced at the photo and swallowed hard. Her expression was full of fun and she’d posed like a ballet dancer. He hadn’t forgotten the first day he saw her and imagined her on a dance floor.

  “Go to the next one, Dad, and you’ll see her shoes.”

  “Ah, I see. Those crisscross ribbons make them look like the real deal.” He smiled. “You took great photos, Nic. She looks beautiful in both of them...and happy.”

  “She said she used to love to dance.”

  “Uh-huh, just as I thought.”

  “You did?” She frowned. “How could you tell?”

  Because of his vision of holding her in his arms and slow dancing around the pier. From the warmth spreading through his body, it was almost as if he was living it right then and there. He glanced at Nic, sensing her stare. “Takes one to know one,” he quipped.

  “I suppose.” Nicole took the phone from his hand, stared at the photo, her forehead wrinkled in thought. “Mom’s an okay dancer, but not as good as you. You sing better, too.” She gave the phone back to him. “Keep looking.”

  It was true. Jackie was only a fair dancer, but he wasn’t taking Nic’s bait. He didn’t want a conversation about himself and Jackie right now. He scrolled through the other pictures. “You really look like a couple of princesses, you and Star. Good costume idea. And you already had the dress.”

  He put the phone down and listened while she added details about this or that child’s clever costume. She tucked her legs under her and rested her chin on her palm as they talked. For the moment she was the picture of a fresh young woman without a care in the world. She st
ill wore her dress, but had changed into sneakers. When she brought up Star and the hundreds of cookies they’d handed out, she spoke with a happy lilt in her voice.

  Finally, when Parker thought she was all talked out, she sighed. “Mom sent me a couple texts. I’ll answer them before I go to bed. She said to say hello.”

  “Same back to her, Nic.” How long would they keep up the ritual of saying hi through their daughter?

  “She worries me sometimes,” Nic said, nervously thrumming her fingers on the table. “She can’t find a job.”

  “She’ll be fine, Nic. She wouldn’t want you worrying about her. Especially over a job.” He got to his feet. “I’ll leave you to your texts, honey.”

  Nic nodded and got up to give him a hug at the door, but she couldn’t resist reminding him once more that he’d missed a good time.

  He supposed that was true, but he couldn’t make himself care too much. He missed seeing Emma. That’s what he regretted.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “I HOPED I might see you today.” Parker walked toward Emma as she approached the boardwalk.

  “You lured me here with that cryptic text, so now you owe me,” she said. “When do you plan to let me in on the secret?”

  Was it his imagination or did her voice seem a little on the cool side? “I hope I didn’t overdo the buildup.” He’d sent a text to ask her to stop by when she had a chance and hinted at a new development. Now he had to hope she’d find it worth it. Parker gestured toward the building behind him. “That’s what I wanted to show you. I opened up that shed—it has some big windows and a long counter and bins. I’m moving our patient in there.”

  “Into the old garden shed? Good spot—nice and roomy. I spent a lot of time in the shed helping Mike’s mom with her seedlings,” Emma said with a sigh. “I used to help her plant flowers around the cabins. Year after year, she turned this old place into a showpiece.”

  There it was again. Nostalgia. Parker heard it every time someone talked about the old days. Whether it was swimming in the lake or scooping ice cream at the snack bar, it was always there. “You don’t have to convince me. I’ve seen the photos. Mike has a couple in his office from way back,” Parker said. “Come spring, we’ll do some planting around the office.”

  She raised her eyebrows in expectation. “First things first. I want to see our owl.”

  He led the way inside the office. The owl was still, but in a bigger cage and on a perch.

  “The swelling around her eye is down some, isn’t it? She’s looking better, Parker. From the way she’s staring at me, I can pretend she recognizes me from the other day.” She pointed to the smaller covered cage. “Is there someone in there?”

  “Another surprise. A cardinal with a tiny fracture—not serious. She probably got tangled up in something.”

  “Where did you find her?”

  “Out near one of the turnouts we’re building in the woods. With any luck she’ll be on her way next week.”

  “Is that why you’re moving the cages? Because you’ve got two patients now?”

  “That’s part of it. But they don’t do so well with a lot of people in and out.” He tilted his head toward the birds. “There’s a reason treatment areas in sanctuaries aren’t open to the general public. Not like the huge bird refuge sites where species migrate and breed. Those sites are often like giant parks.”

  “I know you’re going to remind me the owl and the cardinal aren’t pets.” Emma lifted her hand as if to stop him from covering that ground.

  “Psychic, are you?”

  “I admit to feeling, oh, I don’t know what to call it, maybe a bond with this owl. For no good reason, other than feeling bad for her.” She paused. “Maybe it was the storm. It was a bad one, fierce and dangerous. I hadn’t thought about how vulnerable these birds are.”

  Parker was taken aback by the intensity in Emma’s face. So much was going on inside her and she’d revealed so little. She could talk about Mike and Ruby and the resort in detail, but he knew nothing about how she spent her days. He knew nothing about her husband except his name. “Are you ready? I thought I’d move the birds now.”

  Emma’s face brightened. “Let me get my camera out.”

  “A real camera,” Parker teased.

  “Absolutely.” Emma shrugged off her backpack and dug inside for her camera. “Phones are fine, but I like the real thing, too, especially since I’m creating my masterpiece slideshow for the open house Thanksgiving weekend.”

  “You can wait here and I’ll get the cart. I can move them both together.”

  The walk to the boardwalk gave him a chance to settle down—his thinking, anyway. His heart wasn’t listening to logic. Earlier, seeing Emma walking toward him in jeans and sturdy hiking boots, her dark hair almost hidden under a cap, he was happier to see her than made sense. Now he looked over his shoulder and spotted her in front of the office moving the camera in front of her as if assessing each view. She walked tentatively with her cane hooked over her arm.

  If taking photos would keep her at the sanctuary that day, then let the pointing and shooting begin.

  “I need the cart for a few minutes,” he called out to Will as he grabbed the handle. “I’ll bring it right back.”

  “You need any help?” Will asked.

  “Nah. We’ll be fine.” We. He liked that.

  When he positioned the cart in front of the office, he went inside where Emma was taking photos of the owl.

  “We don’t want to use too many of those in the slideshow,” he warned. “I need to focus on getting the community nature center part up and running. The boardwalk, displays, a membership drive.”

  “I’m sure the board wouldn’t want you to ignore wounded birds that sort of drop in your lap,” Emma insisted. “What would they expect you to do with the owl? Tell Nicole to leave her alone and let her die?”

  He agreed, noting the irony of the situation. Professional help for an injured owl or any bird was far away. They’d have to go to the state university to find an avian vet. There wasn’t even a zoo close to Bluestone River. “No, you’re right. I need visitors to view this work as part of the sanctuary’s future.”

  “Showing this bird in various stages of healing could be valuable.” She gave him a long look. “I can’t be the only person who has a special feeling about owls.”

  “And red-tailed hawks and eagles.”

  “I’ll make a special section for it. We’ll call it a vision for the future.”

  He grinned. “You make a good argument. And you are a donor, so I suppose I have to listen.”

  Emma flashed a mock look of disapproval. But she waved her camera in his face and gestured to the birds. “I’m spending time, not money. How I feel about these birds has nothing to do with being a donor.”

  “I’m sorry. I knew that.” Old habits really were hard to break.

  She held the door open while he rolled the cart with the cages out the door. When the two cages were side by side on the cart, Emma lifted her camera and grinned. “I’m not sure we’ll want to use them, but I want them just for me.”

  “Gotcha,” he said, returning her half-teasing grin. “Okay, my two avian buddies. Let’s go see your new temporary home.”

  The owl was silent, but the cardinal exercised her vocal cords on the way to the shed. Other birds sitting in the trees called back.

  “This must be traumatic,” Emma said. “She’s separated from her mate.”

  “I know,” Parker said pulling the cart through the door. “It’s a hard part of this work. Still, except for doing nothing and letting them die, this is the only other choice.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Think of it this way, Emma.” He raised his head as he pointed toward the woods. “Birds have hazards all around them every day. They have natural prey coming for them. They get tangled
in plastic bags or they bang into glass doors. We just don’t see what goes on, unless we’re paying attention and know what to look for. Even then we miss most of it.”

  They walked to the garden shed in silence and Emma again held the door while Parker settled the cages in front of the windows that let in light. He’d cranked them open partway.

  “Is this the new clinic, then?” Emma asked.

  “Just for now. I’ve got another idea. I need an area for a larger cage and practical things like better drains. I’ll open an old cabin. We’ll need the extra room later on anyway.” Listening to himself, he sounded like a guy who intended to hang around for a while. “We’ll treat the ones I find or that others bring by. Some, like the owl, will need care for weeks, but some won’t ever be ready to go back home.” He stopped arranging the cages and grimaced. “I can’t save them all. Some will die.”

  She nodded, but didn’t say anything.

  “Let’s go down to the boardwalk. I want to show you the lookout we created at the marsh end. We can reach it from the beach.”

  “You know, I could get there on my own. I mean, I don’t want to take up your day.”

  “Please do,” Parker blurted. “Actually, I’m discovering how much I like showing the place off. Especially to you.”

  They walked slowly down the slope to the pebbly beach, going single file along the narrow strip of stones and sand. The trees thinned as the marsh grasses thickened. The whirring and pounding sounds of construction grew louder as they got closer to the lookout.

  “I can see the boardwalk snaking along through the trees,” Emma said, stopping to take a series of photos into the woods.