The Christmas Kiss

by Virginia McCullough

“Along with your photography? Parker tells me you do great work.”

  Emma jolted in surprise. He’d made complimentary remarks she thought were in passing, but it never occurred to her he’d repeat them to someone else. “You’ll see a sample in the house—in your room. Parker helped me hang some new ones of this garden.” She raised both gloved hands to catch the large snowflakes drifting down. “Here it comes. We should start back to the house.”

  Sharon nodded. “But I’m sure Parker and Nic have the good sense to get here for dinner before the roads get bad.”

  Emma smiled to herself, thinking of riding through town on the stormy morning with Parker. “Meanwhile, we can wait for them with a mug of warm spiced wine?”

  Sharon’s face brightened. “Great idea.” She didn’t seem in a hurry and continued looking around the garden. “Before the others get here, I wanted to say that I always adored Jackie. She’s a great mom. A standout teacher. So, I’m not trying to criticize my son’s ex-wife.”

  Then why bring her up?

  “But I’m concerned about Nicole.”

  “I take it this isn’t about college or her job,” Emma said. No sense playing naïve.

  Sharon sighed. “I’m afraid Jackie is beginning to realize she made a big mistake when she went off with Ben. Parker tells Nic not to worry about Jackie so much, but I think Jackie’s getting ready to ask Parker if he wants to try again. Start over. There, I said it out loud.”

  Emma took in a quick breath. “Uh, I wouldn’t know anything about that.” But she would know about sweet kisses at her door.

  “Well, Nic still has hurt feelings about not being invited to live with her in the first place,” Sharon said. “As for Parker, he was blindsided. He... I don’t know how...” She shook her head.

  Emma stopped and focused on the woods where the snow was already starting to veil the trees in white. “I see with my own eyes that Parker likes having Nic with him here. Beyond that, I see a lovely college student finding her way.”

  “Finding her way to the resale shops with her friends,” Sharon said, amused.

  “She’s a treasure hunter, all right.” With the snow becoming heavier, Emma tried to pick up her pace, and Sharon fell into step with her. Finally, though, Emma had to slow down. “Sorry. This is as fast as I can go.”

  “Oops, sorry. Hey, what’s a little snow?” Sharon stuck out her tongue to catch a couple of flakes.” Exuberant, she extended her arms and made a full turn.

  The two walked along in comfortable silence. When they reached the sliding door of the house, Sharon said, “I’m thrilled Parker took this job.” She had a faint smile as she looked away. “For many reasons.”

  * * *

  PARKER STOOD AT the kitchen sink, rinsing plates and glasses and handing them off to Emma, who loaded them in the dishwasher. They’d finished their pasta dinner and coffee and thick slices of coconut cake from Sweet Comforts. Parker knew he should coax Nic away from the table where she sat with his mom. But his daughter showed no inclination to leave. Like him. Still, listening to the wind and looking at the huge snowfall starting to drift against the patio doors, he knew it was time to leave.

  “Nic tells me she got you a speaking gig,” his mom said.

  “Tell her, Dad, you only got it because of me.”

  “It’s true,” he said. “Nic volunteered to be on a planning committee for a one-day fair. Next thing I knew the sanctuary had a booth and I have an afternoon talk.”

  “Lots of speakers and displays, Grandma,” Nic said. “It’s about all the jobs there are in the sciences. I bragged that my dad could talk about the sanctuary as part of wildlife management.”

  “I get to go, too,” Emma chimed in, glancing at him and smiling. “I’m in charge of the booth and running the slideshow for the sanctuary. Everybody is getting involved. The co-chairs of the sanctuary board will stop in and help in the booth. Those careers are all well and good, but we’re thinking about the tourists.”

  “I wish I could be there.” Sharon looked out the window and sighed.

  In the reflection in the glass door, Parker saw his mother’s frown.

  “But I have to get back to work.”

  Yes, something was definitely going on with her. He’d sensed it rippling beneath the surface since she’d arrived that afternoon. Whatever it was, he wouldn’t find it out that evening.

  Parker glanced at Emma. “Uh, I hate to break up this party, but Nic and I should go. It’s not going to get any easier to drive out there.”

  “I was wondering when you were going to be a party pooper and say that,” Nic said in a long-suffering voice. But she got up from the table and gave her grandma a hug.

  “You’re both welcome to stay,” Emma said. “I’m serious. It’s not like I don’t have plenty of room.”

  Parker looked outside. It was tempting, but his truck would make it. “I think we’ll be fine. If we get going now.”

  “I’ll expect you back for breakfast,” Emma said. “I know Sharon will want the grand tour of the sanctuary tomorrow. Even in the snow.”

  They walked to the door for hugs all around. Parker kissed Emma’s cheek. Whispering his thank-you, he breathed in the scent of her. Like the woods with spring flowers. Not for the first time, it left him light-headed.

  He and Nic were quiet in the truck as they inched along the roads. He was mentally kicking himself for not leaving sooner.

  “We probably should have taken Emma up on her offer,” Nic said.

  Parker carefully steered around a drift that spread into the middle of the road. His tires spun, but only until he pressed the gas pedal and accelerated his way out of trouble. “We’re almost home. The plows will be out soon.” Home? He hadn’t spent much time there, but sometimes Emma’s house seemed as much like home as his cabin.

  “Safe and sound,” he said a few minutes later. He put his arm around Nic’s shoulders as they trudged to their cabins. “I’ll get the driveway plowed first thing in the morning. Assuming the snow stops.”

  “I got a text while we were at Emma’s. My classes are canceled tomorrow.” She smiled sheepishly. “I’m glad. I get to spend more time with Grandma. I have a shift at the café, but not until late in the afternoon.”

  “It will all work out, I’m sure.”

  “How optimistic,” Nic said.

  “That’s me.” He kissed her forehead when they reached her door and they used their feet to push snow off the two stairs. “See you in the morning.”

  Too keyed up to sleep, Parker put his boots and jacket back on and using his flashlight to guide him, he kicked a path through the snow to check on the crow. The building was plenty warm for the bird in his pen. He turned on a low light, but lifted the cover only long enough to make sure he was okay. Earlier, he’d fed him nuts in the shells, and some chicken. “You’re so easy to feed,” he said aloud.

  The lake was lost in the blur of snow, but he trudged down to the pier anyway. Not caring about how impractical it was, he wished Emma was with him to listen to the wind and see the snow. The lights in Mike and Ruby’s windows were like haloed dots in the dark. It wasn’t exactly a night for a walk. If he had Emma with him, he’d need to pick her up and carry her to the pier so she could appreciate this picture-perfect scene with him. Finally ready to get into bed, he trudged back to his cabin.

  The next morning, his bare feet hit the icy floor, shocking him awake. He checked the heater. Cold as stone. The light in the kitchen? Out. He glanced out the frosty window. It was not only a white world, but a bone-chilling one. He checked the time on his phone and texted Emma.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  LEAVING NICOLE AND Sharon huddled around the fireplace, Emma took her phone into her cold kitchen to pick up Ruby’s call.

  “Are you okay over there?” Ruby asked. “We don’t lose power very often, but we’ve got a woodstove in the
kitchen. You’re welcome to join us. Mike’s standing right here. He’s happy to come get you.”

  “As a matter of fact, I’ve got three guests for breakfast,” she said, reminding Ruby about Sharon’s visit. “At the moment, Parker is scrambling eggs on the propane stove he had handy. Nicole and Sharon are playing a cutthroat game of Scrabble. And I’m just taking it all in.”

  Ruby’s laugh came from deep in her throat. “And here we worried about poor Em in the power outage. Sounds like you’re having a fine time.”

  “You’re welcome to join us. Jason can pitch a tent in the living room and pretend he’s on a camping trip. I’ll be bringing out the hot dogs and marshmallows later.”

  “Ooh, sounds good. But as tempting as that is, I wouldn’t crash your party.”

  “By the way, Sharon’s terrific. The three of them seem right at home here.”

  “Like that surprises me? It’s easy to feel that way in your house. You have a fun day. With any luck, the power will be on soon.” In a stage whisper, Ruby added, “Details later.”

  “You bet, Rubes,” Emma promised. “As it stands now, Sharon is supposed to start driving home tomorrow morning. Parker says the roads should be okay by then.”

  “Mike is staying in touch with the power company, so I’ll keep you posted with my insider info.”

  Laughing, they ended the call at the same time Parker came inside from the patio with a pan of scrambled eggs. Nic entered the kitchen and Emma pulled out paper plates and the box of goodies from Sweet Comforts.

  Nic bounced around the kitchen in her thick socks to see if she could help out. Emma was sure that for Nic the storm and the blackout were all part of the fun of Grandma Sharon’s visit. Emma smiled to herself. She wouldn’t disagree.

  “Why don’t you clear the coffee table, Nic? We’ll sit around it on pillows.”

  “Definitely a paper plate day.” Nicole took the pan from her dad and started spooning eggs onto the plates. “Lucky us, Dad,” she said. “Emma’s got jelly donuts.”

  “I’m glad you’re having fun, honey,” he said dryly. “I am, too, as long as it doesn’t last too long.”

  “We’ve never lost power for more than four or five hours. Half a day tops,” Emma said.

  “I’ll need to add an item to the budget I’m submitting to the board,” Parker said when Nicole left. “We need a generator. There’s an ancient one stuck in one of the storage buildings, but probably not safe anymore. I can also beef up the insulation in the cabins and work buildings.”

  “I always meant to put a woodstove in the office,” Emma said. “I can sleep in there if I need to. I just never got around to it.”

  “So far, Mom and Nic are happy around your fireplace.” He paused. “I’ll install a woodstove for you this winter, Em.”

  Em...she liked the sound of it when he said it.

  “Oops. I don’t know why I suddenly called you that.”

  “That’s okay. It’s allowed. Trust me, I like it.” How silly to feel her cheeks warming.

  “Good,” he said, keeping his voice low.

  “As for the woodstove, you’ve got yourself a deal,” Emma said. “Today is a gentle warning of storms to come.”

  Parker pointed to the blanket of unbroken snow from the patio to the woods. “It’s so quiet out there now that the wind has stopped. But last night, I took a quick trip down to the pier. I was thinking how much you’d have enjoyed it.”

  “Oh, yeah.” She so easily put herself in the picture. “I feel a lot like Nicole this morning. She’s enjoying all this like we’re having a little adventure. What could be better?”

  He chuckled. “It’s not just Nic. I’m enjoying it, too.”

  “Well, wait until you all see what we’re having for lunch,” Emma said, raising her eyebrows up and down to feign a mysterious expression. “I had some things in a little freezer in the basement just for this kind of occasion.”

  The morning passed quickly. While Parker plowed the driveway, Nic and Sharon dug out one of Emma’s jigsaw puzzles.

  “Ooh, the Chicago skyline. You picked a hard one,” Emma said, as she cleared the coffee table to make way for the puzzle.

  “Okay, Grandma,” Nic said. “We have our challenge, so get to work on those edges.”

  Sharon laughed. “That’s what I used to say to you. Gotta start with the edges.”

  “You take this puzzle thing pretty seriously,” Emma said after watching them pull out blue water and blue sky and toss pieces into piles, stopping only for what Nicole called sidebars to speculate whether a particular piece was the sky or the lake.

  “Definitely part of a building,” Emma said when Nic held up two pieces. “Trust me. Ruby and I put together this one last winter after she and Mike got married and he was running for mayor. We appointed ourselves co-chairs of his campaign and my house was the headquarters.” Emma chuckled. “We worked pretty hard, too, but whenever she came over, we always spent a few minutes adding to this puzzle. We called it decompressing.”

  “You should meet that family next time you come to visit, Grandma,” Nicole said. “They’ll have their new baby by then. I’ve watched their little boy a couple of times.”

  “Parker told me about them,” Sharon said, “and your Thanksgiving at their house.”

  “Speaking of Parker, he’s been out plowing a long time.” Emma said.

  “I’m sure he wants it thoroughly cleared for you,” Sharon said. “But I hope he comes in soon. I’ve got a lot on my mind and want to tell him about it—well, I want all of you to hear my idea.”

  “Nothing bad, I hope,” Nicole said, straightening up as if she’d been put on alert.

  “Nope, it’s good stuff. I’ll tell you when your dad comes back.”

  Nicole’s eyes got big. “You’ve been keeping secrets?”

  “Maybe just little ones.”

  “They better be,” Nic warned as she got to her feet. “I should be helping Dad.”

  “You don’t have to do anything,” Emma said.

  “Dad will want to make sure your stairs are safe.” She stepped into her boots and hurried to get into her coat and pull her wool hat on.

  “Whoosh,” Sharon said with a sweeping gesture when the door closed. “And she’s gone. She always did move like the wind.”

  “You know how to make a granddaughter curious,” Emma kidded.

  Sharon stared at the puzzle pieces she held in her palm. “Yesterday, during our walk you said something about having a new life, and I guess I’m ready for one, too.”

  “Well, I won’t pry,” Emma assured her. “But you’ve got Nic jumping out of her skin.”

  “I didn’t mean to spark that much intrigue.”

  Emma took a couple of seconds to gather her thoughts before she spoke. “I hope this comes out the way I want it to, but the more I see of Nicole, the less she seems like other girls her age.”

  Sharon gave her a quizzical look.

  “Parker tells me she can be moody, even a little morose. But from what I’ve seen she doesn’t avoid being around Parker. She doesn’t rebel or look for reasons to be mad at her dad. I mean, she loves having the studio, don’t get me wrong.” Emma shrugged. “Even Parker said she perked up a lot when she got her bakery job. Her boss, Star, is like a friend. She might tease her dad, but she doesn’t treat him like the enemy.”

  “Nicole doesn’t have much room for that, I guess.” Sharon’s grimace was fleeting, but Emma didn’t miss it. “When you’re eighteen, it’s easier to be huffy about getting away from home when you take it for granted. If you’re not sure where home is, you’re not so likely to act like you’re planning a prison break.”

  Whoa. No mincing words. “You would know best about Nicole.”

  “If Nicole was one of the high school seniors I counseled,” Sharon said, “I’d note that at the star
t of senior year, she was all set to move to the Rocky Mountains after graduation and start college there. But by the end of senior year, she was alone with her dad, who didn’t have a job. Her mom was gone, presumably for good. She got late admission to Neville University.”

  Emma lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “Of course. She isn’t sure where home is, except that it’s with her dad.”

  “That’s why I’m concerned about how Jackie is doing. I’m afraid she’s confusing Nic.”

  “Since I don’t know the particulars, I’m only rooting for the best for Nicole. If it’s any comfort to you, everyone around here likes her a lot. Talk about spirited.”

  “I used to say she brightened up everything around her.”

  “Like today,” Emma said, touched in a way she couldn’t explain.

  “What’s that I hear?” Sharon asked, amused. “A couple of people stomping snow off their boots.”

  “I’m ready to collect my fee,” Parker joked when he came inside behind Nicole. “I heard something about fun food. And I’ve worked up an appetite.”

  “Kids’ lunch, coming right up.” Emma added another log to the fire before she went into the kitchen and gathered the thawed-out hot dogs and buns and mustard she’d hidden in the kitchen. She called for Nicole to carry in the food on a tray. She followed with the long forks and a tablecloth tucked under her arm.

  “Now, when was the last time you cooked hot dogs over a fire and toasted marshmallows for dessert?” she asked, spreading the cloth in front of the hearth. She gestured for everyone to gather around.

  “You weren’t kidding about a stash of food in your freezer,” Parker said, arranging pillows for his mom to sit. “I can’t think of a better occasion for this lunch.”

  “The house is going to smell so good,” Emma said, as she speared hot dogs on the forks and handed them out, while Nic took charge of warming the buns. “We have plenty, so eat all you want.”

  “These were meant for Jason?” Parker asked as he rotated the fork close to the flames.

  “And for a situation like this,” Emma said, positioning her fork. “Since I’ll be watching Jason when Ruby has the baby and when she first comes home, I decided I better get ready.”