The Christmas House Read online

  Olivia nodded. “It was … Dawn. And it was a new beginning.”

  Tears welled up in Charlotte’s eyes. “I believe in you. I always have. You may think you screwed everything up, but I think you’re on the cusp of a whole new life, Liv. Maybe this was all meant to be. There are better things, better people, waiting out there for you.”

  “Hello! Everyone, I’m here! Let the holidays begin!”

  They both gasped and turned to the door as their mother’s voice reverberated through the quiet house.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  FEBRUARY 1, 1978

  SILVER SPRINGS

  Ruby would not lose Mrs. Pemberton’s house.

  She sat down with her mug of coffee at the last available table at Mable’s Bakery with a huff. Wasting no time, she pulled her notebook and pen out of her purse. She had one hour before it was time to pick Wendy up from school, and she couldn’t waste it. She needed to brainstorm ways to make enough money to keep up with the maintenance of that home and have enough left over to live off of. While she’d inherited the home and a small amount of money, Mrs. Pemberton had donated the rest to various charities, along with a large sum for the Sisters of St. Michael’s. Mrs. Pemberton had also been collecting her husband’s pension for years. Once Ruby had done the calculations, she quickly realized that there was no way she’d be able to stay afloat in that house, since she was now also out of a job. She knew that the home required continuous upkeep—even just maintaining the grounds cost a small fortune every year.

  Taking a sip of coffee, she stared at the blank notepad, panic slowly filling her as the reality of her current situation sank in. She had no education, no formal job training, and a massive home that if she sold would be able to provide for her and Wendy for life—except she couldn’t do that. It was Mrs. Pemberton’s legacy and she wouldn’t go back on her promise. Ruby owed her everything.

  She should have done this months ago, but the grief of losing her friend had made it impossible to think clearly. She’d been focused on getting through the day to day and on helping Wendy cope with the loss of a woman who’d been a grandmother to her. The only grandmother she had.

  Picking up the pen, Ruby became aware of the woman standing close to her table, holding a coffee. She made eye contact with the young woman and smiled. She looked familiar.

  “Hi, um, do you mind if I sit at your table? There isn’t another one available. I’ll move as soon as one comes up, though,” she said, walking over to Ruby’s table.

  Ruby didn’t want to appear rude, even though she didn’t have time to make small talk today. She needed to get her life in order—again. “Of course, no problem,” she said, gesturing to the empty chair.

  “Thanks so much. You’re Ruby, right?”

  Ruby nodded, smiling.

  “My name is Mary, I think I recognize you from church. You have a little girl, right? And you live in the big house on the hill?”

  “Wow, that about sums me up. Yes, all correct. Nice to meet you, Mary. I thought you looked familiar. Have you been in Silver Springs long?”

  The woman shook her head and took a sip of coffee. “My parents and younger sister live here. I’m on my way out of town. I’m going to spend the year traveling. I plan on coming back, though.”

  Ruby was struck by a stab of envy. To travel the world. A server brought over a slice of chocolate cake “Thank you,” Mary said.

  “That looks great,” Ruby said.

  “Would you like to split it with me?”

  “Oh no, but thank you. I love baking, and I still haven’t walked off all the Christmas treats,” she said with a laugh.

  Mary sliced into the cake and waved her fork. “I wish I was more of a baker, but I never had the patience to be so precise with all those measurements. Cooking is more my thing. I hope I’m not interrupting your work,” she said, pointing to the pen and notepad.

  Ruby took a sip of coffee, contemplating whether or not she should tell this woman her troubles. There was something about Mary that made her feel relaxed. “I’m happy for the company, but yes, I came here to try and brainstorm some ideas. I was a housekeeper for years to a lovely woman. She died a little while ago and left me her house. But I need to earn an income in order to keep it running, because it’s a huge historical property, and I don’t really have any kind of experience in anything or even an education beyond high school.”

  Mary leaned forward and nodded as Ruby spoke. “I’m sorry for your loss”

  “Thank you,” Ruby said.

  “Maybe I can help you brainstorm,” she said, taking another bite of her cake.

  They sat in silence for the next few minutes and the conversation from the table next to them drifted over. The couple were complaining about how there were no vacancies in town and the only inn was always booked up during the holidays. A ridiculous idea popped into Ruby’s head, but then she made eye contact with her new friend and realized the notion might not be so ridiculous after all.

  “A bed and breakfast,” Ruby whispered, leaning forward.

  Mary’s eyes sparkled and she pushed her empty plate to the side. “It’s perfect. I think there might only be one other bed and breakfast in town, and it’s very modest.”

  Ruby nodded, tapping her pen against the table with a nervous energy. She could do this. She knew how to cook, how to clean, she knew enough about finances and spending because she had even taken that over for Mrs. Pemberton the last few years. Excitement flowed through her veins. This could be the next chapter of her life. “Yes. The house has six bedrooms that aren’t being used … I’d be able to stay at home for my daughter still, and Lord knows I can keep house.”

  Mary leaned forward. “You need something. Some spin, something that makes your place stand out.”

  Ruby sat back in her chair, taking her mug of coffee and wrapping her hands around it. “You’re right,” she said, staring out the window, thinking.

  “Was there ever anything special about the house, anything that stood out?”

  A shiver crept down Ruby’s spine and, for a moment, it was as though the reflection in the window changed and she saw herself on that cold winter’s night, pregnant and alone, and she remembered how she always thought that the house would be magical at Christmas. And she had spent her best Christmases there. Mrs. Pemberton had always wanted Christmas dinner with a table full of guests … Ruby’s mind was spinning and her heart was full with purpose as she turned her gaze to her new friend.

  “I have it. I know what I’ll call it, I know what I’ll make it … it’ll be The Christmas House.”

  She sat there for the next hour mapping out how she would give back to the world, to people who had been alone and hopeless like her, and a friendship with Mary blossomed in the process. When she stood with her new friend, she caught her reflection again and remembered looking into the mirror at Mrs. Pemberton’s, fearful and afraid of becoming a single mother. And now she was here, making her way in a world which she had thought far too big and scary for someone like her.

  * * *

  Wyatt looked up from his desk to see Aunt Mary walking into the station; it wasn’t a new sight, but judging from the spring in her step and the smile on her face, it was about a certain someone. He stood before she could announce to the entire department that he was getting married to Charlotte Harris.

  “Do you have time for a late dinner with your dear aunt?” she said, as he approached.

  He grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I do, and you have perfect timing because I’m starving and my shift is over. Scott is taking Sam to ballet so I have about an hour before I have to get home,” he said, waving to a few officers as he left. It was also a welcome distraction because his house was going to feel extra empty without Charlotte in it.

  “Good. How about we try the new Greens on Queen? Everyone is talking about it. Though I’m sad Mable’s Bakery is gone, I am curious to try this place. There are smoothies and salads and everything is vegetarian,” she sa
id as he held open the door for her.

  He grimaced. That place again. “I was thinking more along the lines of a burger at the Dairy Bar.”

  She gasped. “You can’t eat like that now, Wyatt.”

  “Why? What’s now?” he asked as they headed down Main Street. The sidewalks were plowed, but every now and then he grabbed his aunt’s elbow when he spotted a patch of ice. She’d been known to talk fast and walk even faster, and had fallen once each winter for the past five years.

  “Because you have to keep that flat stomach of yours if you want to keep Ruby’s granddaughter interested.”

  Hell. There were so many things wrong with this conversation he didn’t even know where to begin. “Aunt Mary,” he began, with a resigned sigh as he held the door open for her. The little restaurant was bustling, for sure. He wasn’t aware there were so many health-conscious people in Silver Springs, considering how busy the usual greasy-spoon restaurants were.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we finish this conversation when we find a table,” she said as they stood in line and read the large blackboard menu mounted behind the cash counter.

  Wyatt’s gaze wandered the new restaurant and he could see the appeal. It was younger and trendier than a lot of the establishments in town. The tables were white, marble-topped with some kind of wicker or rattan chairs that looked marginally comfortable. The large windows that fronted onto Main Street were lined with twinkling white lights. Overall, it was a nice setup. He focused his attention back to the menu when his aunt gave him a nudge.

  Right. So far the main contenders were a grilled vegetable sandwich with a vegetable soup or a salad with more grilled vegetables and cheese on top. So. Many. Vegetables. A young woman took their order, and soon they were looking for an empty table.

  “Do you know what I like about going out with you, Wyatt?”

  “That I’m a very witty and charming companion?” he asked with a smile as they found a table near the window that had just been freed.

  She laughed and patted his hand. “That we get a lot of looks when people recognize who you are. Sometimes it makes me feel like a celebrity,” she said, taking a sip of her green tea.

  He laughed. “I’m glad I can make you feel like a celebrity.”

  Her face grew serious and she toyed with the corner of her napkin. “Did I ever tell you this is where I met Ruby Harris, back when this was Mable’s Bakery?”

  He smiled, remembering the story fondly. “Yes, you did. You played an instrumental role in the start of The Christmas House if I recall.”

  She waved a hand. “She did it all herself. A force to be reckoned with, that Ruby. I’m glad her family is all coming for the holidays. She deserves that.”

  He nodded, bracing himself for where he knew this conversation was inevitably headed. “She does.”

  “This is a very nice spot to sit, don’t you think? I love that we can see the old post office from here. That antique Santa sleigh they put out every year is so charming,” she said, staring out the window.

  He didn’t need to look to know what she was talking about. He just had no idea what was taking her so long to make her point, which was unusual for her because his aunt usually had no issues speaking her mind. A server brought their meals and, even though the presentation was impressive—as impressive as a sandwich without meat can be—he had no raging desire to eat it. “Aunt Mary, are you upset or worried about something?”

  His aunt lifted her brown eyes and he put his sandwich down as her eyes glistened with emotion. “I … I worry about you, Wyatt.”

  He leaned forward, lowering his voice. This was a shock—if anything, he worried about her, living in that old little house all by herself. He’d asked her to move in with him and Sam many times, but she always declared she was an independent woman who needed her space. “Me? Why?”

  “I know life has handed you some hard blows, and sometimes I wish I hadn’t been such a free spirit in my younger days. I should have been around and more aware of what was going on with my sister and how you were being raised. Even this childish aversion to vegetables that you have—it was probably because of how you were raised.”

  His mouth dropped open, but he actually contemplated what she was saying. That couldn’t actually be true, could it? He looked down at the vegetables on his plate and wracked his brain for one of those memories he kept hidden away. There hadn’t been fresh anything when he was a kid. There had been bottles of booze. There had been needles. There had been trash. His throat constricted painfully, and he took a bite of the sandwich, telling himself it was delicious. See, he could eat vegetables. No lasting childhood scars here.

  “Oh, for crying out loud, you are the most stubborn man I have ever met, Wyatt. I didn’t say that to make you prove you could eat vegetables,” she said, leaning forward.

  He shrugged and swallowed the somewhat edible food. “I’m just proving to you that I can eat vegetables.”

  She shook her head and leaned forward. “You don’t understand. I blame myself. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you were young. I could have gotten you out of there earlier, I could have convinced Betty to leave before it was too late.”

  His stomach churned and what minuscule amount of appetite he had for the meal was now nonexistent at the mention of his childhood—and even worse, that his aunt felt guilt over it. There were things that he’d figured out along the way to adulthood that had enabled him to succeed—one being that you don’t dwell on a past that you can’t change. So he rarely thought of his childhood or his parents. He cleared his throat. “It wasn’t your responsibility to look after me or to get Mom to make the right decisions. You can’t blame yourself. Ever. You didn’t know. I’m over it. I’ve made peace with it. You have been there for me … in so many ways, and I’ll never be able to repay that favor. Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

  She sniffled and shrugged. “Christmas makes me nostalgic. I can’t help but look back on all the past Christmases, and I have a lot of regrets. I’ve been thinking about what your Christmases were like.”

  Hell. They were hell, but that was like any other day of the year with his abusive, addict father. While his mother hadn’t been abusive, she’d been a junkie like him. “Why on earth would you waste your time thinking about that? Aunt Mary, I’m living a great life.”

  She wrapped her thin hands around her cup of tea and raised a brow.

  He couldn’t handle tension, and he avoided his past more than he avoided vegetarian restaurants. “Seriously. I think the problem is that you’re regretting not ordering coffee and you’re stuck drinking that sour tea and a bunch of vegetables you don’t really want.”

  A small bubble of laughter escaped her mouth. “Oh, Wyatt. What would I do without you? When you and Sam moved to Silver Springs, I thought I’d be helping you, but it turns out you’ve helped me just as much. Sam is like a granddaughter to me, and you’re like the child I never had. I want you to be happy.”

  He frowned. “I am happy.”

  “I know you’re happy, but not the kind of happy that comes from being in love, finding your soul mate.”

  He should have guessed. “There are plenty of people living their lives alone, I’m one of them. As long as Sam is happy, then I’m fine. Besides, what about you then? You’re alone.”

  She put her cup down and leaned forward. “I’ve lived a full life. I met my soul mate a long time ago, and the time we spent was treasured. But that’s me and I’m old … er … than you.”

  “I’m happy,” he insisted.

  Her eyes twinkled. “But maybe you’d be happier if you had someone special in your life … like, oh, I don’t know … Charlotte?”

  He ignored the unexpected lurch his stomach did, as if he was a teenager talking about his girlfriend. Which was ridiculous, of course. He was well past innocent days of crushes. “Clearly you’ve forced her into my life with that early Christmas gift,” he said, barely able to keep a straight face
.

  “Wyatt, I would think as deputy you’d know that gift was a sham and I wanted to set you up with Ruby’s wonderful granddaughter,” she said, her eyes wide.

  He choked on his coffee and couldn’t help but laugh at his aunt’s antics. “Right. Well, thanks.” She was wonderful. He wasn’t too embarrassed to admit to himself that he hadn’t stopped thinking about her since she’d come to town. He felt as connected to Charlotte as he had when they were kids.

  “You’re very welcome. And how is the organizing going?”

  “Great. As thrilling as cleaning out a cupboard could possibly be. Nothing says love like finding moldy cheese in the back of the fridge and then wiping it down,” he said, because it was just too easy to tease his aunt.

  She placed her head in her hands and moaned theatrically. “I should have come over and cleaned up before Charlotte arrived.”

  “Better finish this before it gets cold. And don’t worry, I was joking about the moldy cheese. I actually had a giant basket of fresh cheese in there, which I heard you were responsible for as well,” Wyatt said, smiling as his aunt’s cheeks turned red.

  “Dealing with you and Scott has become a full-time job for me,” she said with a huff.

  He laughed, opening the top of his sandwich to peer inside at the vegetables again.

  “Delicious,” his aunt said as she ate a forkful of her food.

  He had to agree as he chewed his sandwich again. The vegetables were grilled to about as perfect as a vegetable could be grilled, and there was some kind of creamy sauce that made all the flavors meld together well. It was better the second time around. “It’s actually not bad,” he agreed.

  “Wonderful. So now, back to our conversation about Charlotte, the mysterious woman from your past who just happens to be my best friend’s granddaughter.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  Aunt Mary nodded. “She’s very kind. Ruby said she’s taken her sister under her wing and is helping nonstop with the baby. I’m sure she’s busy spoiling Ruby with gifts while she’s here.”