One Snowy Night

by Patience Griffin

  Hope didn’t go to the studio. Instead, she limped her way back up the stairs to pack. Ella met her coming down.

  “Have a good day,” Hope said, trying to muster up some genuine cheer.

  “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”

  They were both in miserable moods.

  “I need you here right after school. We have a lot to do.”

  Ella grumbled as she left the lodge.

  Since Hope’s ankle had left her pretty much out of commission for the last three weeks, Ella had been helping with the housekeeping, and some evenings, she stayed in and sewed with the Sisterhood of the Quilt. When she did, Hope was optimistic that things were going to be okay. But just as often, Ella would go out and come home drunk, making Hope feel helpless. A failure. She wished Donovan had been around more to help. Like for the past seventeen years.

  When Hope was done packing her room, she went to Ella’s and filled a laundry bag full of her daughter’s clothes. Outside, she heard cars pulling up, alerting her that workers were arriving for the day. Careful not to do more damage to her ankle, Hope dragged Ella’s laundry bag downstairs. As she hit the bottom step, Jesse Montana walked in the front door.

  “Morning, Hope.” He gave her a friendly wave. “I hope it’s okay but Piney told me to just come on in and find a task to do in the notebook. On the dining room table?”

  “Yes, that’s fine.” Hope waved him over. “Can you help me get my stuff over to Wandering Moose Cabin first?”

  “I thought you lived here now,” Jesse said.

  “Ella and I were just waiting on the new mattresses and they arrived yesterday. But I can’t wrangle our things down the stairs and to the cabin with my ankle still out of whack.”

  Suddenly she noticed Donovan in the kitchen doorway, taking in their exchange. By the glower stretched across his face, he wasn’t happy.

  Jesse turned to look at Donovan, too, as if asking for permission.

  “Do as the lady wants,” Donovan said in a harsh tone.

  She pointed upstairs. “My bedroom is the first one on the left. Ella’s is next to mine. If you could get her stuff, too?”

  She started for the laundry room, dragging Ella’s laundry behind her. Suddenly she was relieved of her load. “Hey—”

  “I’ve got it.” Lugging the laundry, Donovan passed her but kept talking. “And before you say she’s my daughter”—he used a high-pitched voice, as if Hope sounded like that!—“let me remind you that I’m Ella’s parent, too.”

  “Fine!” Hope reversed direction and, snatching her coat off the coatrack, hobbled out the door. A moment later, she heard the door open and close again. Sure that it was Donovan and worried he might scoop her up and carry her the rest of the way to Wandering Moose Cabin, she sped up, slipping as she went.

  “Be careful, Hope,” Jesse hollered.

  “Oh.” She slowed down to let him catch up. “It’s just that it’s cold out . . . the reason I’m hurrying.”

  He was carrying two boxes but he extended his elbow toward her. “Hold on to my arm,” Jesse said. “I can get you to the cabin safely.”

  “Thanks. I’m okay.” Jesse, who had been working construction all around Alaska for the past several years, was nice to her in high school, one of the few people to treat her with kindness instead of making fun of the preggo. “When did you get back?” she asked. Since leaving the Hungry Bear, Hope had become a little disconnected from the daily gossip.

  “Two days ago. I don’t know if you heard but my mom’s sick.”

  “I had heard. I’m so sorry.” Patricia was battling cancer, and Hope had no words to comfort him. “I think I will hold on to your arm, if that’s okay.” She hoped her touch could take away some of the sadness in his eyes. “Tell me what Shaun is up to? The last I heard he was working for an oil company in Texas.”

  “Yes, the bro’s still in Houston but he’ll be here for Thanksgiving.”

  “Your mom told me that he was engaged,” Hope said.

  “Not anymore. They broke up,” Jesse said.

  Hope heard footsteps crunching in the snow behind them and turned to see Donovan carrying her old-fashioned suitcase in one hand and Ella’s laundry bag in the other.

  “Hold up,” he called.

  They stopped and waited for him, though Hope wanted to keep going.

  “So Mr. Brewster just called and he needs able bodies to help at the hardware store today. Do you mind?”

  “Sounds good,” Hope piped up.

  Mr. Grouchy gave her a look. “I’m not talking to you.”

  Jesse grinned at their exchange. “I’m glad to do it. As long as I can check in on my mom now and then.”

  “Absolutely. As much as you need to,” Donovan said. “Here, I can take those boxes.”

  Jesse transferred them. “It was good to see you again, Hope.” He gave her the same kind smile he’d given her when they were young, but now he was a man.

  “We should catch up while you’re home,” Hope said deliberately. Yes, it would be nice to visit with Jesse for a while, but what she really wanted was to see the flash of anger ignite in Donovan’s eyes. Good. He deserved it.

  Hope watched Jesse walk away.

  “Come on.” Donovan waited until she turned back around before he started walking again.

  “You two seem very friendly,” Donovan said. “After I left, did you and he start dating again?”

  “Why do you care?”

  Donovan’s jaw clenched and the vein on the side of his neck bulged. “Never mind. Get inside. You need to get off your foot.”

  Hope hobbled up the new solid steps, opened the red-painted door, and walked inside. Wandering Moose Cabin had been transformed from a ramshackle hut to a cozy hideaway. The hole in the floor had been fixed and the hardwood had been polyurethaned to a glossy shine. The walls had been dusted and the small café table in front of the window had been painted a wilderness green. New headboards, new mattresses, and new sheets adorned the extra-long twin beds. Hope was pleased that she’d donated Izzie’s moose fabric to the cause because the window coverings pulled the whole room together.

  “Since the quilts aren’t ready yet I’ll make sure some blankets are brought down to the cabin.” The offer was generous but his tone wasn’t.

  “Bill said the quilts are nearly ready to come off his longarm machine.” Hope opened the bathroom door and peered inside. It had had a makeover as well.

  “What about putting a microwave, mini fridge, and a coffeemaker in here?” she asked.

  “No, not this cabin,” he said firmly. “Meals will be eaten at the lodge.”

  “Don’t you think guests will expect those amenities?”

  “You’re not a guest. You’re—” He stopped himself, then started again. “Ella is family.”

  “Don’t you think, then, that she ought to be able to keep Boomer with her at night?”

  That seemed to quash his machismo. “Yes. You’re right. But let me be the good guy and tell her, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  They stood there for a few moments in awkward silence. Finally, Donovan said, “Are you sure you won’t reconsider and stay at the lodge?”

  “We’ll be happy right here,” she said, praying it was true. At least Ella would have Boomer to keep her warm at night.

  But what about Hope? Donovan was standing right in front of her. But he wasn’t smiling. He didn’t love her like Boomer loved Ella. He was just glaring at her like Hope had made a big mistake.

  Yes, Hope was already regretting her rash decision to move out of the lodge. But that regret was just her heart wanting more from him, which wasn’t going to happen. She’d gotten used to living without him once before. She could do it again.

  Chapter 17

  AT NOON DONOVAN sat down in his grandfather’s office and opened the
security camera app on his computer to see if everything was operational. Everything looked good . . . until he got to the video from the wine cellar.

  “Hey, can you . . .” Hope was standing in the doorway. “What’s wrong?”

  “Come see for yourself.” She might as well see the truth with her own eyes. “The wine cellar, last night.”

  Hope walked in and stood over his shoulder as he replayed it. “What am I looking at?”

  “Wait for it.” Donovan watched again as Ella keyed in the security code for the cellar and went in. Less than a minute later, she reemerged with two bottles of wine.

  “No. How could she?” Hope whispered. In the next second, she said, “She’s in so much trouble.”

  No. She’s a troubled teen. But Donovan didn’t say it. Instead, he reached up and took Hope’s hand. “Can you let me handle it?”

  “I’m her mother. It’s up to me to lay down the law.” She sighed. “I don’t want Ella to see you as the enemy. I’ll take the heat.”

  He didn’t like it. Didn’t like the worry lines between Hope’s eyebrows. Didn’t want her to go through this alone. He squeezed her hand. “Okay. You can let her know she’s busted. But, Hope, we’re in this together. Tell her that she’s in trouble but let me dish out the consequences.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “She stole from the lodge. It should be me who gives out the punishment.”

  “Seriously, Donovan, she’ll never want anything to do with you if you play the heavy.” Hope let go of his hand. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Something to help Ella.”

  “You’re not going to tell me?”

  “I think you should remain in the dark. You don’t want to be complicit, do you? Ella can’t blame you if you don’t know.”

  Hope gave him a hard glare. “It better not be corporal punishment! I won’t allow it.”

  “Of course it’s not corporal punishment. Nevertheless, she is not going to like it. I know I wouldn’t if I were in her shoes.” Since he’d found out that Ella might have a drinking problem, he’d been thinking about a way to help. Now was his chance.

  “I’m just so angry,” Hope said. “Other things, too. When your kid is in trouble, you’re hit with a mixture of embarrassment and heartbreak. And guilt, too.”

  He took her hand again, expecting her to jerk away, but she didn’t. “You know, Hope, this isn’t completely her fault. I’m the one who passed my drinking problem to her.” Bad genes. “She inherited a tendency to addiction. But we can give her tools to overcome it.”

  “I hear what you’re saying, but it’s hard for me to believe I’m not responsible. I’m the one who raised her. I’ve done the best I can, but our life hasn’t been easy.”

  Donovan pulled her in for a hug. “I’m so sorry. I know I’m responsible for that, too.”

  For a second, they held each other. He was overwhelmed with emotion and kissed the top of her head, wishing he’d been here to help Hope. Help Ella. For no other reason than he wanted to, he tipped Hope’s face up and kissed her, trying to erase the furrow between her brows. Trying also to ease the panic within him. And it worked. Until she pulled away and slipped from his embrace before he was ready to let go.

  “I have work to do . . . sewing, decorating.” She left the room.

  That afternoon when Ella arrived home after school, he watched Hope follow her upstairs. He wasn’t proud of himself, but he quietly snuck upstairs, too, to listen outside Ella’s bedroom door.

  “First,” Hope said, “do you have any homework?” Apparently, the Inquisition could wait until after schoolwork was done.

  “I finished it during free period.”

  “Good. Now hand them over,” Hope said.

  “Hand over what?”

  “The bottles of wine you stole yesterday.”

  “Oh.” Ella’s attitude deflated. “How did you know?”

  “I’m your mother. I know everything,” Hope said with convincing bravado.

  “There’s only one left,” Ella said.

  “Get it for me,” Hope said.

  “I don’t have it. I took it to Lacy’s.”

  There was silence. “Fine,” Hope finally said. “I’ll drive over and get it.”

  “Don’t! I’ll get it. It would be so embarrassing, Mom, if you went over there.”

  “You should’ve thought about that before you took something that didn’t belong to you. Plus, it’s illegal for a minor to be in possession of alcohol.” Hope was quiet for a moment, then she made an audible sigh. “Fine. Text Lacy and tell her that you’ll be over within the hour to pick up the wine. I’m driving you. And just so we’re clear, you’re grounded.”

  Donovan thought it was generous of Hope to help Ella save face.

  “There’s more,” Hope said. “You’ll have to work off the bottle you stole.”

  “What’s it worth? Twenty bucks tops?”

  “I don’t think it’s the amount that’s the problem. You broke our trust.”

  “What, are you and him a team now?”

  “Yes.” Then Hope hesitated. “We’re your parents.”

  “He’s not my father. He’s just the sperm donor.”

  That hurt.

  “First, watch how you speak to me,” Hope said firmly. “Second, there will be consequences for what you’ve done. What they are is up to Donovan.”

  “Consequences? More than one?” Ella complained.

  “I don’t know. He’ll have to tell you. He wouldn’t share them with me.”

  “Great,” Ella said. “Punishment from dear old dad.”

  “Scoot over.”

  He heard the mattress squeak.

  “When you see him, you’re going to have to apologize.”

  “I know.”

  “And you’re going to have to mean it,” Hope said.

  Donovan had heard enough, and he really needed to break the habit of eavesdropping.

  Quietly, he walked downstairs and back to his grandfather’s office, remembering his past, feeling thoughtful and ashamed of the things he’d done as a kid. He pulled out his phone. “Hi, Dad,” Donovan said when his father picked up. “I wanted to wish you an early happy turkey day, and well, I want to apologize for all the trouble I got into as a kid.”

  “Awww, don’t worry about it,” his dad said good-naturedly. “You were just rambunctious.”

  “I banged up the car. I drank all your beer. I was a pretty wild kid. You can’t deny it,” Donovan said.

  “You were perfect,” his dad insisted, which made tears spring to Donovan’s eyes. Father Mike had talked about God’s unyielding love and forgiveness. Donovan decided his own father must take after Him.

  “I’m trying to make amends once more for all I did,” Donovan said, feeling as choked up as he had the first time. “I’d like to hear again that you forgive me.”

  “Of course I forgive you. I’m your dad.”

  * * *

  • • •

  PINEY WALKED INTO Elsie’s study and immediately knew something was wrong with Hope. She was upset.

  For a few moments she studied Hope and wasn’t feeling good about what she saw—no twinkle in her eyes, only worry. Things weren’t progressing with Donovan the way Piney had planned. Even though Donovan carried that girl in so lovingly from the car, Hope had been acting like he meant nothing to her at all.

  Hope had lived at the lodge for a month and she and Donovan weren’t any closer to matrimony than the day she moved in. Things actually were worse, since apparently Hope had moved out to one of the cabins.

  Something more had to be done! Maybe Piney needed to set Hope up with Jesse. That should shake things up, make Donovan get off his butt and marry the girl before it was too late.

  * * *

  •
• •

  ELLA LAY ON the bed in her lodge bedroom, staring at the ceiling and trying not to cry. Her life sucked so hard. This wasn’t even her bed. It was some fancy sleigh bed with some fancy mattress in some room she’d been forced to stay in. At least the quilt was old and worn . . . and warm. She crawled underneath it, not wanting to ever come out.

  She hated herself for what she’d done. She’d never stolen anything before in her life. Not even gum from her mom’s purse. She didn’t know what had come over her. She’d needed a drink and she’d seen the cellar’s password hanging from the magnet on the refrigerator. It was just that sometimes it was all too much . . . Life. Drinking helped to dull the pain. But now, drinking was going to force her to apologize to Donovan. Her dad.

  Ella buried her face in her pillow, feeling horribly embarrassed. He probably hated her now and would tell everyone that his daughter was a thief. And then everyone would know what a loser she was. They would think she didn’t know right from wrong.

  There was a knock on the door. “Ella?” her mom said. “It’s been fifteen minutes. The pity party’s over. I need help in Elsie’s studio.”

  She wished her mom would leave her alone. “I have homework to do.”

  “You told me you finished it,” her mom said.

  “Fine.” Ella sat up. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “And, Ella?” Her mom’s voice was muffled, like she had leaned her head against the door.

  “What?”

  “You might as well get it over with. He’s in the garage.”

  Great. Ella was so looking forward to it. “Fine.” She crawled out of bed, blew her nose, and opened her door, expecting her mom to be standing there, tapping her foot impatiently. But the hallway was empty.

  She walked down the stairs and past Elsie’s studio, where her mom and a lot of the other women from town were working and laughing like crazy. At least someone was having fun. She exhaled and marched on. The doorway at the end of the hall led to the humongous garage.