Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

About halfway through his appointments for the day, Dr. Spencer Thorpe looked at his phone and hummed under his breath.

It was three in the afternoon, and he had enough appointments left that he had a feeling he wouldn’t be leaving the clinic until at least eight. He was supposed to have dinner with Margo at The Mistletoe Inn that evening, but he knew he was going to have to text her and let her know he’d be late, or possibly not make it at all.

It had been like this for the last few months. Around the beginning of autumn, the small-practice medical clinic that had been established in the next town over for probably the last thirty years had closed its doors. The result of that closure was that Spencer had become the next closest option, and most of the other practice’s patients—especially the ones that liked the small-town feeling and didn’t want to go to a major hospital—had ended up coming to him.

He was glad for the extra business, especially with the upcoming wedding, and he was even more glad to be able to help. It reaffirmed that he’d made the right decision, years ago, leaving San Francisco to come and work in Evergreen Hollow.

It felt good to be able to be there for those patients who needed someone familiar, to not have to shake up their routine too much other than driving a little bit further for their appointments.

But it had meant he’d been working a lot more, which had allowed him less time to see Margo lately. He missed spending time with her, especially this time of year when all of the memories from the very first part of their relationship seemed especially fresh. There were so many romantic winter activities that he wanted to do with her, and they just hadn’t had the time.

Especially with the wedding right around the corner.

He’d been over the moon at the prospect of marrying her last year when he’d proposed, and he still was, but he’d definitely underestimated how much planning went into a wedding. Margo had wanted to elope, but he’d known there was no way her family would go for that, and he’d been right.

Truthfully, he was more than a little glad. She might not have been crazy about the idea of a big, traditional wedding, but he liked the idea. He was looking forward to a holiday celebration of their love in front of all of the most important people in their lives.

Fortunately, her sister Nora had stepped in to help plan the whole thing. He’d gotten to see firsthand why she’d been so sought after when she lived in Boston. She was an excellent event planner with a good eye, and she knew when to just make decisions and when to bring things to them for their input.

The parts that needed their input had kept them busy over the last several months though. They’d found the perfect venue, a gorgeous lodge in a snowy part of the hills surrounding Evergreen Hollow, where they could have the ceremony right in front of one of the most perfect views he’d ever seen.

Nora had come up with a number of mockups of rustic, charming invitations for them to choose from to send out, and he and Margo had spent several nights in front of the fire with mulled wine, trying to decide which one was perfect. They had decided on one with heavy, creamy stationery printed with cardinals interspersed with greenery, and their date nights after that had involved signing all the invitations before they could be sent out.

As much as the wedding planning had taken over their lives though, he wouldn’t have changed it for anything. Rhonda and Donovan, his future in-laws, had mentioned a number of times that they would look back fondly on the chaos one day, and be glad they had those memories. And he believed them.

He smiled as he looked at the picture of Margo on his lock screen, sliding his thumb over it so he could text her and let her know that he was going to be late. It was his favorite picture of her, one that he’d snapped candidly while they were on a hike getting pictures for one of her articles. She was posing next to a nest with a few of the local birds sitting in it, sticking her tongue out because she’d seen him taking pictures of her. It was silly and lighthearted and fun, and those were all things that he thought of when he thought about his bride-to-be.

SPENCER: I’m sorry to tell you that I’m not going to make dinner tonight. I still have patients, and I’m going to be here late. Raincheck???

MARGO: I can cover a plate for you. Come over after? I’ll be up for a while. Mom made gingerbread cookies.

SPENCER: You know I can’t resist gingerbread cookies. Or you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.

He smiled as he sent the last text, knowing it was true. He knew he was going to want to go home and fall directly into bed after what had been a series of very long days, but he also couldn’t turn down an opportunity to spend time with Margo, especially not when she asked him to come over so sweetly. He missed her, even when they hadn’t been apart for that long, which he thought was a good sign for their marriage. He never felt like he could spend enough time with her, and he didn’t think he ever would.

The nurse came to the door of the exam room, opening it and ushering in Leon Woodrow, who Spencer knew well. He owned the Sugar Maple General Store in town, and Spencer had liked him from the moment they’d met.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as Leon came in. “That flu that’s been going through town is a pretty unpleasant bug.”

The older man sat down on the exam table, running one hand through his gray hair. “It definitely is,” Leon agreed. “But I’m feeling fine now.”

“Well, we’ll just do a quick check-up,” Spencer said. “Just to make sure you’re all healthy now.”

“How are the wedding plans going?” Leon asked with a grin as Spencer looked over his chart, and Spencer chuckled.

“Busy, as expected. But we’re both so excited. And it’s extra special that Nora is helping us with the planning. Seeing it all come together is really amazing.”

“She’s something else,” Leon agreed. “Those three girls together are a force of nature. And you got the wildest one,” he added humorously. “It’s nice to see Margo settling down after traveling for so long. We all thought she’d never come home to roost for good. It’s nice to see that she’s happy back home.”

“She is,” Spencer said confidently. “And she’s really coming into her own here. I know she’s excited to start a new chapter.”

Leon’s words lingered with him though, as he finished the exam and let the older man know that he was doing great, before moving on to his next patient. He’d worried, last holiday season, that Margo seemed restless and unsettled. Since the very beginning of their relationship, he’d been unsure if someone with her adventurous spirit would be able to settle down for long. Spencer himself had lived in a big city for a long time, and he was well aware of how different Evergreen Hollow was from a place like that. He also knew that since last Christmas, Margo had found ways to create exciting new projects for herself at her job, balancing her desire for adventure with her love of the town where she had grown up.

This new phase of life would be an adjustment for them both. Settling down for good, moving in together, starting a family—those were some of the biggest milestones two people could go through.

Still, he believed with all his heart that they were ready for those milestones. That when she said her vows and made her commitment to him, she would mean it absolutely.

And so would he.

Around nine-thirty that evening, Caroline settled into a chair at her kitchen table, completely exhausted. She’d just finished putting Toby down to sleep, and cleaned the entire kitchen from top to bottom after making a dinner of pot roast and vegetables that would give them leftovers for a few days.

Now she just had to tidy up the living room, and she could go to bed and try to get a little bit of reading in. She’d gotten a new book from the library, a historical epic that she’d been wanting to read, but she’d barely gotten a few pages in. It felt like every few paragraphs, she had to go back and reread because her mind felt so foggy. And she fell asleep within a few pages anyway.

Letting out a soft breath, she tucked a piece of hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail behind her ear and pushed up the sleeves of her flannel shirt that had slid down.

She had to admit that taking care of two houses and a family was a lot. For all of her adult life, she’d been helping her parents, Rhonda and Donovan, run The Mistletoe Inn. And she’d always loved it. It was the family business, her parents’ pride and joy, and hers. She’d never regretted for a second devoting her life to helping them run it, and for years and years, it had been her whole life.

But then, she’d married Rhett a few years ago, and become a stepmother to his now pre-teen son, Jay. Things had started getting more chaotic then, when she’d no longer lived upstairs at the inn, but had moved out to a small cottage further back on the property that her parents had deeded to her and Rhett as a wedding gift.

Juggling the needs of helping to run a bed-and-breakfast along with the needs of her husband and stepson had been difficult, but manageable. And then last Christmas, she’d unexpectedly gotten pregnant, and everything had gotten so much more difficult.

The pregnancy had come out of nowhere, but she’d been happy about it. So had Rhett, who had been absolutely overjoyed to expand their little family. She’d been even more tired then, struggling to manage it all, but she’d written it off as just being pregnant, and expected that after the baby arrived, she’d go back to her old capable self.

She’d always handled everything just fine, juggling a dozen plates and never dropping any of them, and she saw no reason why that needed to change, even though Nora had warned her that it would.

Nora had been right, she thought absently as she rubbed her temples and looked out to the still-messy living room. It felt like there were never enough hours in the day now. Running a small family business was like a child all on its own, and she had her own house, her stepson, and now little Toby. He was a good baby, but she was still beyond tired, and it didn’t feel like that was letting up anytime soon.

She heard the front door open, and the familiar tread of her husband’s heavy work boots on the entryway floor. Rhett was back from his shift at the fire department, and she was so glad that he was home. If she’d been less tired, she would have jumped up and run across the house to give him a hug.

A few minutes later, he padded into the kitchen. She saw the wrinkle of concern on his forehead as soon as he saw her sitting there, and he leaned down to give her a quick kiss, giving her an appraising look as he pulled back.

“You look exhausted,” he said, giving her another kiss on the top of her head. “Can I get you something? Some apple cider, maybe?”

Caroline cracked a smile at that.

“You absolutely can,” she said tiredly. “If you’ll put some whiskey in it.”

Rhett grinned. “I can do that. Where’s Jay?” he asked as he went to the upper cupboard where they kept their alcohol, taking down a bottle of Kentucky bourbon and heading to get the jug of the fresh-pressed apple cider they’d bought out of the refrigerator. “Also, do you want this hot or cold?”

“Hot sounds amazing.” Caroline leaned back in her chair, stifling a yawn. “Jay is upstairs doing his homework in his room. I was going to go up and check on him after I finished cleaning up the living room.”

Rhett shook his head, pouring apple cider and whiskey into a small pot with a cinnamon stick and turning on the stove.

“I’ll go check on our son,” he said, stirring the cider until it was warm then pouring it into a mug. “You drink this.” He set it on the table next to her elbow. “And then I’ll leave the living room to you, since you’re so particular about how you like it,” he added with a grin and a wink, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Caroline let out a soft breath as she watched him leave the room, picking up the warm mug of cider and cradling it in her hands.

It was perfect, she thought as she took a drink, fresh and crisp with just the right amount of cinnamon and the light, spicy burn of the whiskey. She could feel her muscles relaxing with every sip, and she glanced around the kitchen, taking in the familiar, cozy sight.

She loved the inn. She loved what her parents had built, and what she’d helped them keep going over the years. She loved her husband, and her family, and the life they shared. She loved Evergreen Hollow, and the home that she’d always made in it.

Everything in her life was perfect.

So why am I so tired?

She grinned wryly at the thought as she surveyed her surroundings again, trying to work up the energy to get up and head into the living room to do her final tidying up for the evening.

Another yawn tugged at her lips, and she put a hand over her mouth, shaking her head in bemusement. There had always been plenty of things in her life to keep her busy, but it hadn’t always felt like so much .

There had been times, before Nora and Margo had come home, when Caroline had felt like she had to do everything on her own. But she’d always felt like she could take care of all of it, and even in the busiest and most stressful of times, she’d been confident that she wouldn’t be overwhelmed.

But she knew from years of experience just how crazy the holiday season could get, how busy and chaotic. Last Christmas, there had been the unexpected addition of her realization that she was pregnant, which had definitely added to the whirlwind feeling of the holiday season. And now they had a three-month-old baby. Although Rhett was an amazing father and was great about helping out with Tobias, Caroline definitely felt like she was struggling more than she ever had before when it came to keeping everything running smoothly these days.

As she took one last sip of her cider before getting up and heading into the living room, it struck her suddenly just how much had changed since she had met and fallen in love with Rhett. Her life was immeasurably better with him in it, as well as their children. She adored Jay, and Tobias had brought so much light and happiness to their lives.

But now that she had a family of her own, maybe she needed to change the way she looked at things. She’d always been the type of person to insist that she could do it all, but with all of the new responsibilities and complexities that had entered her life, she was starting to wonder if that was true anymore.

Maybe it was time to look for ways to take a few things off her plate.