Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Early Saturday morning, Margo was just finishing getting ready to head out for her wildlife photography class when she heard Rhonda downstairs, calling for her. She hurried down the stairs, grabbing her coat and scarf as she went.

“I have to be at class in forty-five minutes,” she said breathlessly. “What’s up? The teacher can’t be late.”

“I think the teacher is the only one who is allowed to be late,” Rhonda said with a laugh. “Anyway, I won’t hold you up. You just had a package delivered, that’s all.”

Margo’s eyes widened as Rhonda handed over the small box to her, and she saw the return address. “Oh!” she exclaimed, looking toward the kitchen. “Where’s Caroline? I want to show her too.”

“What about me?” Caroline walked out from the entry room, still holding the guest log. “What’s going on?”

“Margo got a package,” Rhonda explained. “She wanted to show us what it was.”

“I was just about to grab some coffee. I’ll bring us all some,” Caroline said, hurrying past into the kitchen as Margo sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace. Rhonda sank down next to her, peering at the box.

Caroline emerged a moment later with three mugs of coffee, topped with whipped cream and small sprinkles of crushed peppermint candy. “Here you go,” she said, setting them all down, and Margo laughed.

“Thank you,” she said, reaching for it to take a sip. “I’m going to have to run in just a few minutes though, seriously. I have class.”

“Which just means you need more caffeine,” Caroline said, taking a sip of her coffee. “Mom crushed the candies this morning for peppermint mochas, so I couldn’t let that go, not when I know how much you like them.”

“How much caffeine have you had already?” Margo asked teasingly. “You look a little tired, honestly.” She frowned, her expression turning to concern, and Caroline just shrugged.

“The to-do list never seems to end,” she admitted. “Especially with a new baby. But that’s just how the holidays go, you know?”

“Like last year, when you and Rhett were both so busy that you got away with not telling him you were pregnant for weeks ?” Margo teased, and Caroline nodded.

“Exactly. The holidays are always insane. I’m sure it will all feel more manageable once they’re past. And I didn’t sleep well last night either. So that’s part of it.”

Margo nodded, taking another drink of her coffee before she started to open up the package at Rhonda’s urging. She tore off the tape, carefully slipping one end open before pulling out two small, identical blue velvet boxes and setting them on the coffee table.

“Your wedding rings!” Rhonda exclaimed, and she gasped as Margo opened the first box.

Hers was the first one, a thin white gold band with small diamonds set into the gold, so they couldn’t easily be knocked loose. Spencer’s was in the box next to it, a wider, smooth white gold band. They were perfect, exactly what she and Spencer had picked out together.

“Those are beautiful!” Caroline exclaimed, setting down her mug of coffee to lean in and get a closer look, along with Rhonda. “They suit you both perfectly.”

“I thought so,” Margo said, looking at them both again before she gently set the boxes down. “Spencer wanted something very simple, since he’s at the clinic all day, working with patients. And I can’t be trusted with anything too flashy, I’ll knock it loose in no time. So this was just the right amount of sparkle.”

Rhonda reached down, squeezing Margo’s hand as she beamed at her, a mist of tears in her eyes. “I can’t wait for your wedding day,” she said with a smile. “You found such a wonderful man. All three of my girls found wonderful men. And now I get to see my youngest get married too. I couldn’t ask for anything more, honestly.”

“Nora is doing such an incredible job with the planning too,” Margo said enthusiastically. “I don’t think I could do it without her.”

“She was the reason mine went off without a hitch,” Caroline said. “I couldn’t begin to think of what I wanted. I hadn’t ever really imagined what kind of wedding I would have either,” she added, picking up her coffee for another sip. “She just pictures it. It’s a really amazing talent.”

“It is,” Rhonda agreed, picking up one of the rings to look more closely at it again.

Margo looked down at her left hand as Rhonda and Caroline passed the rings back and forth, finishing her coffee. As always, she felt a small flutter of happiness, looking down at the purple-green stone in the white-gold setting. The ring meant so much to her, because he’d picked out something that was so specifically perfect for her. He’d paid attention, and that meant everything.

The ring signified their new life together in Evergreen Hollow, the one that he’d asked her to spend with him, but it was so much more than that too. It showed that he understood and loved her adventurous spirit, because he’d chosen a stone from her favorite place in the world that she’d visited. It showed that he knew that she was spontaneous and quick to do things on the spur of the moment, because he’d chosen something simple and sturdy that could last no matter what.

Something that would last through thick and thin, just like them.

“Spencer knows you so well,” Rhonda said, echoing Margo’s thoughts as she set the ring boxes back down. “I still love the engagement ring he picked for you.”

“Me too.” Margo smiled, slipping the wedding band free of the box to try it on with her engagement ring, to show Rhonda and Caroline. It fit snugly up against the other white gold band, sparkling in the sunlight. “He’s perfect. And even though he’s more of a homebody, he’s really embraced the things I love to do too. He’s gotten used to me going on hikes, and doesn’t worry so much, even though he knows I can be prone to accidents sometimes.”

“Twice in two years,” Caroline cut in with a smirk. “ Very prone.”

Margo laughed. “You’re not wrong,” she admitted, thinking of how she’d broken her leg right after coming back to Evergreen Hollow, and then last Christmas, twisted her wrist while looking for snowy owls for an article. “But now he just says it’s lucky that I’m marrying a doctor if I’m going to go do things like that. And he’s been so supportive of the photography classes that I’m teaching. It takes up half of my Saturdays, when we could be doing things together, but he knows it’s important to me to keep busy and find ways to do the things I love in new and interesting ways. And we’re going to the Galapagos for our honeymoon.”

“Wow.” Caroline’s eyebrows rose. “That’s very adventurous. I’m impressed, honestly. I wouldn’t have thought Spencer would be that adventurous.”

“He was nervous at first, but he’s willing to go for me. It’s not his preferred trip, but he’s excited to share something that I love, and see the kind of place that I used to go to all the time. And I promised that we’d go somewhere less exotic, like Ireland, for our first wedding anniversary,” Margo added with a laugh. “But that’s the thing! He compromises, and he always insists on compromising with the things that he knows are important to me. It means a lot, because I’d be willing to do it the other way around. But he wants to try all of the new things I want to show him first. And it really shows that he loves me.”

“Showing love is the most important thing in a marriage,” Rhonda agreed firmly. “You can say the words all you want, but it’s the actions that really matter. When you see how much they love you day in and day out, you don’t ever doubt it.”

“I feel the same way about Rhett.” Caroline smiled, and the tired lines around her eyes softened. “He always shows me, even when he’s busy or tired. It’s amazing, really.”

“That’s why I want to do something special.” Margo set the bands side by side on the table again, considering. “I want Spencer to know just how ready I really am to settle down in Evergreen Hollow and be his wife. I know he has worried in the past, and he’s had reason to. I’ve been fidgety and uncertain, and I’ve struggled to fit back in here. But I’ve found where I fit, and I want him to know that I’m all in now, forever.”

“I think he knows,” Rhonda said with a smile. “But I think he’ll love anything that you might want to do for him.”

“What if I get the rings specially engraved?” Margo picked them up, looking at the width. “I think there’s enough room on each of them. It would be a symbol that shows Spencer I’m his forever, right there on our rings, where we can always see it.”

Rhonda smiled. “I think that’s a beautiful idea.”

“I like it too,” Caroline agreed. “What would you put on there?”

“Well…” Margo thought for a moment. “I didn’t think Evergreen Hollow would be my home again until I came back and met Spencer. What about ‘my heart has found its home’?”

“I love that—” Rhonda started to say, just as they heard the shuffling of boots in the entryway kicking off snow, and Spencer’s voice calling out from the front door.

“Hi there! Rhonda?”

“Oh no.” Margo flushed pink, hurriedly grabbing the rings and closing the small velvet boxes, pushing them back into the larger box they’d come in. “Look natural,” she hissed as she tucked the box behind her, straightening up and grabbing her coffee mug.

The other two women did the same, but as Spencer walked into the living room, Margo could see his eyebrows raise as he looked at the three of them. There was a suspicious look on his face as if he could clearly tell that something was up, and Margo tried to look innocent as she scooted back further on the couch to hide the rings.

Spencer walked over to the couch, leaning down to drop a kiss on Margo’s cheek. She leaned back as he did, distracting him from possibly seeing the box by twisting around and giving him a kiss full on the lips.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” he said with a smile. “I thought you’d already be on your way to class.”

“I was. But I wanted to stop by and see Mom and Caroline. Caroline got me coffee, so…” She trailed off, holding up the mug, and Spencer’s smile broadened into a grin.

“Exactly why I came by. I know it’s the time of year when Mrs. Stoker’s delicious peppermint mochas make an appearance, and I was hoping that I could swing by and convince her to give me one to go.” Spencer looked innocently at his future mother-in-law. “I have some work to get done at the clinic, so I thought I’d pop by while I was out, on my way.”

“And a breakfast burrito?” Rhonda teased him, and Margo flushed, remembering the breakfast her mother had conned him into staying longer at the inn with, long ago when she and Spencer had first met, and she’d been convinced nothing could keep her in Evergreen Hollow.

“I would never say no,” Spencer said hopefully, and Rhonda laughed as she stood.

“I’m all out of burrito fixings, but I have pumpkin cinnamon muffins. I’ll grab you one of those and a coffee to go,” she told him with a smile.

Margo leaned up against the couch, kissing him again. “You ran out of coffee, didn’t you?” she asked teasingly, and Spencer nodded.

“I did. I’ll have to go by the store on my way home from the clinic this afternoon.”

“I can pick some up after class.” Margo tilted her head back against the back of the sofa, looking up at him. “Pretty soon you’ll have me to help keep house anyway. And then you’ll never run out of coffee again.”

Spencer chuckled, coming around the couch to sit next to her. “You forget things from the store even when you have a list in your hand,” he teased her, and Caroline laughed from the armchair.

“That’s true,” she said. “I stopped asking Margo to run grocery errands pretty quickly after she moved back into the inn.”

“Okay, fine.” Margo laughed, finishing her coffee. “I’ll admit my very transient lifestyle up to this point didn’t exactly teach me homemaking skills. But I’ll just have to work on it.”

Spencer leaned over, giving her a kiss on the temple. “I love you even if you do forget groceries,” he told her firmly. “I’m not marrying you for your domestic skills anyway. I’m marrying you because you’re my best friend.”

“Oh, Spencer.” Margo let out a sigh, leaning into him as Caroline laughed, taking both her and Margo’s empty coffee mugs and leaving the couple alone for a moment, while Rhonda finished getting the coffee together for Spencer. “I can’t wait for our wedding.”

“Me too.” He gave her another hug. “You’re going to be late for class.”

“I know.” She stood up, hurriedly managing to sweep the box into her coat pocket without Spencer noticing. “I’ll see you tonight for date night.”

“Sounds good.” He gave her another quick kiss, and then she hurried toward the door, looking at her watch. She was running short on time, but she thought she might be able to swing by Sugar Maple on her way and drop the rings off with Leon to have them engraved.

She was determined to be the best wife that Spencer could possibly ask for. Their sweet, unexpected conversation had just made her feel that much more strongly about it, and she couldn’t wait to get started.

More than anything, she couldn’t wait to show him that, with the surprise of the engraved rings.