3. Jillian

3

JILLIAN

J illian dragged her suitcase toward the airport exit as her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She wanted to pick it up, but she didn’t have enough hands and she was pretty sure it was Brad. Again.

He’d been acting really weird when he called this morning to check on her flight. Just the fact that he called instead of texting was out of character. And he wasn’t speaking to her in the architect-boss tone he took on when he was working, or the friendly one he used at home, or even the light, teasing tone she loved but only heard once in a while, like when he came in late to find her reading in her chair while Josie slept.

This morning his voice had been deep and almost troubled.

Did he not want me to come here?

That idea was so painful she couldn’t dwell on it. And besides, she had four messages from him when she got off the plane, including one offering to go through security so he could come and help with her bags, which was the oddest of all. Who actually came inside anymore at the airport?

She’d texted back a simple message to let him know she was fine, but then the phone started ringing. She had decided it was best to just push through and get herself outside. She could talk to him then.

Finally, she reached the big glass doors and stepped out to find Brad standing by his SUV, frowning at his phone.

“Hi,” she gasped, breathless from rushing, but glad she had made it out before he tried to come in.

His dark eyes flashed to hers and she saw his shoulders lower slightly in relief before he strode toward her, swinging her suitcase out of her hands with a wild energy she wasn’t used to in her normally laid-back boss.

“ Jillian ,” Josie cried as she hopped out of the car. “What did the one little girl say to the other little girl who just fell on her own shoelace?”

“Um, I don’t know,” Jillian said. “What?”

“Did you have a good trip?” Josie asked, then melted into giggles.

Jillian laughed with her. She always enjoyed Josie’s forays into comedy.

“I did have a good trip,” she said, wrapping an arm around her tiny best friend. “Did you have any fun in Trinity Falls yet?”

Josie launched into an enthusiastic description, including every tiny detail of all the things she had eaten in the day since they had last seen each other. She was making it all sound so good that Jillian was feeling hungry just listening to her.

When they reached the car, Josie hopped into the back seat without taking a breath from her rundown. Brad opened the passenger side door for Jillian, a chivalrous gesture that always made her fight not to blush, though she knew he would offer any woman the same courtesy. She took her seat, and he closed the door for her, moving quickly to the driver’s side and getting in.

The spicy scent of his aftershave followed, and Jillian found it somehow comforting, even after just one day apart. As she reached for her seatbelt, she stole a glance up at Brad.

He was frowning at her, his eyes as intense as before.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Of course,” he said, the frown disappearing instantly along with the eye contact.

“Can we stop for dinner?” Josie piped up from the back seat.

“Are you hungry, Jillian?” Brad asked politely.

“I’m okay,” she lied. She’d been too nervous to eat breakfast before the flight. And with all of Brad’s messages and calls, she hadn’t wanted to stop long enough to grab a snack on the way out of the airport, like she’d planned on doing.

“No, you’re not,” he said. “We’ll stop at Brannigan’s.”

“ Yes ,” Josie said from the backseat.

Jillian glanced over and saw that Brad was smiling now. And she couldn’t help smiling back. They all loved the cozy restaurant. Brad traveled a lot for his work, and before Josie was school age, Jillian and Josie would often go with him. In a lot of places, it could be tough to find a good local spot to eat, especially late in the evening, so they often found themselves at the chain-style family eatery after an evening flight since there was always one close to the airport.

They pulled out of the airport lot with Josie happily listing off menu items she might decide to try. Ten minutes later, a hostess was opening the doors to welcome them in.

“Welcome to Brannigan’s,” the girl said, openly ogling Brad.

Instantly, Jillian felt a twinge of unwanted jealousy. But Brad didn’t even seem to notice the girl’s interest.

“Thanks,” he said crisply. “Table for three, please.”

The hostess looked a little disappointed, and Jillian could hardly blame her. Even now, when he was home for the holidays and wearing a flannel and jeans instead of one of his bespoke suits, Brad was incredibly handsome. And he somehow carried an air of authority with him, no matter where he went.

It made sense. At his firm in the city, he had half a dozen junior architects working under him, and a bunch of assistants scurrying around, all there to support the man the magazines called a visionary young architect .

And he had given it all up to hang a shingle in small town Pennsylvania so that his daughter could have a fuller childhood near their extended family. In Jillian’s eyes, that was much more impressive than any of his designs.

The hostess led them to a nice booth by the windows. Brad sat on one side and Josie slid in next to Jillian on the other, like always.

She’ll have this side to herself next time, Jillian thought to herself.

Josie must have thought it too, because she snuggled close, prompting Jillian to wrap an arm around her as they studied a single menu together, as they liked to do.

Unlike Josie, Jillian had a go-to order, and so did Brad. She could practically taste her French onion soup now. But Josie liked to ponder her choices.

“Hey, that’s new,” Josie said, pointing to an appetizer on special. “What’s cal-ah-mar-ih?”

“Calamari is squid,” Brad said, the corners of his mouth tugging up slightly.

“That’s gross,” Josie decided, moving on to inspect the next special.

“So, we have options for you at the house, Jillian,” Brad said, looking down at his menu, even though she was sure that he knew his order by heart.

“Okay,” Jillian said, wondering what the options could be. Brad and Josie were moving into a cottage on the family homestead.

“We’re going to be roommates,” Josie said, popping up from her study of the menu.

“There was a problem with the guest room,” Brad said at the same time.

“Squirrels,” Josie said, looking delighted.

“Oh,” Jillian replied. She was trying and probably failing to show her horror. Maybe it was only because she was a city girl, born and raised, but the idea of rodents that lived in trees was a little alarming .

“They get into attics out here from time to time,” Brad said lightly. “One got into the second-floor room of the cottage, which is a finished attic space, and made a real mess of it. We’re having it redone. But for now, you can stay in Josie’s room with her, if you want.”

“It has two beds,” Josie said, practically delirious with joy. “We’ll be like Bert and Ernie.”

“Jillian might want her own space though,” Brad said to his daughter. “My mom has also fixed up the guest room in the big house for you.”

The idea of staying away from Brad and Josie made sadness fall around her heart like a weight.

Is that what he wants?

But Brad’s face was impossible to read.

Josie’s on the other hand, wasn’t.

“Jillian, we can’t spend our last Christmas in separate houses,” she said firmly. “What would even be the point? You have to stay with us.”

“She doesn’t have to—” Brad began.

“I’d love to, Josie,” Jillian said quickly. “You’re right. It will be fun to be roommates, even if I’m definitely the Bert in our duo.”

That earned her a full belly laugh from Josie.

“Definitely,” Josie agreed. “We’ll stay up late every night and talk.”

Jillian’s heart warmed at the idea. Josie was probably right. They would have plenty to talk about, too, with the big move she and her dad were making.

“That sounds like a perfect Christmas to me,” Jillian told her, giving her a light squeeze .

Josie went back to reading the menu, and they all fell into their usual routine—ordering drinks and asking for just a little more time when the waitress came a second time.

I wish it was always that easy to ask for a little more time, Jillian thought wistfully, wondering if Josie would always make decisions in her own time, asking ceaseless questions on the way.

“Philadelphia cheesesteak omelet,” Josie said proudly when the waitress came back for the third time.

“Great decision,” the waitress said with a smile, turning to Jillian.

“French onion soup, please,” she said.

“And for you, sir?” the waitress asked Brad.

“Rib-eye, rare, with French fries and a Caprese salad,” Brad said.

“Coming right up,” she told them.

Josie launched into her pitch for adopting a dog, and kept them busy enough listening to her that before they knew it, their food had arrived.

Before she even took a single bite, the rich scents had Jillian’s stomach rumbling. She set her soup to the side to cool as Brad turned his plate so that the salad was facing her.

“Well, if you two are sharing a room, we should let Grandma know,” Brad said, cutting into his steak.

“Maybe she can let another friend stay over,” Josie suggested, digging into her omelet.

“It was really nice of her to get it ready for me,” Jillian said .

When Brad was done cutting, he pushed his plate closer to her and she captured one of the cherry tomatoes from his salad on her fork. She loved cherry tomatoes, and Brad had always hated them. It was funny that he always ordered a salad with so many of them, but she wasn’t going to complain.

“She loves you,” Josie looked up to tell Jillian.

“Well, I love her too,” Jillian said, taking another tomato. “It will be so nice to see her again. Maybe we can teach her how to make a gingerbread house.”

She didn’t say, so she can make one with you next year when I’m gone , but they all felt it, and for a moment the conversation deflated.

But the waitress came back to see how everything was, and afterward Josie launched into a story about one of her cousins, and the communal mood picked up again.

“Can I bring you something for dessert?” the waitress cleverly asked Josie, when they had finished their dinner.

Josie looked to her father, and he nodded.

“Brownie a-la-mode , please,” Josie said. “That means with ice cream.”

“Excellent choice,” the waitress said, then looked to Jillian. “And how about for Mom and Dad?”

She gulped, so surprised that she didn’t know what to say. It struck her that they probably did look like a family, eating from each other’s plates and talking so much.

“We’ll have two cappuccinos,” Brad said smoothly.

“Very good,” the waitress said, heading off to put in their orders.

Brad turned back and Jillian willed her cheeks not to heat .

“There was no point correcting her,” he said lightly.

But Jillian was pretty sure his jaw was a little tighter than usual.

She glanced down at Josie. The little girl was sipping her ice water through a straw, almost as if she were pointedly not looking at anyone.

But Jillian knew her well enough to recognize when she was trying not to smile.

After some coffee and dessert, including a few bites of Josie’s brownie, they were back on the road again, the miles melting away as they got closer and closer to Trinity Falls.

Josie fell asleep in the back almost immediately, and Jillian kept her eyes on the road, trying not to think too hard about this being her last time approaching the sweet little village she had grown to love over the course of so many visits.

“Tired?” Brad asked her softly.

“I’m fine,” she said automatically.

He glanced over, catching her eye and then arching a brow.

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “Maybe I am a little tired.”

“It’s okay to sleep for the last few minutes of the drive,” he told her. “I won’t crash. I promise. And Josie is going to expect you to stay up all night and paint each other’s nails or something.”

“She said Bert and Ernie, ” Jillian reminded him with a smile.

“Okay, so she’s going to ask you for a hundred glasses of water,” Brad chuckled. “Point is, I don’t want you worn out.”

“Thank you,” Jillian said. “But I don’t mind. I really want to soak in the rest of my time with her.”

He opened his mouth and then closed it again, pressing his lips together as if to hold in whatever it was he wanted to say. Before too long, he was pulling off the highway, the trees growing taller and more beautiful the deeper into the countryside they drove.

“Oh,” Jillian sighed as they passed houses twinkling with Christmas lights.

The city had plenty of sumptuously decorated storefronts. But just like she preferred the Thanksgiving table she had set with Josie, Jillian loved the uneven strings of lights and front yards with more than one Santa or manger scene.

“I know they’re nothing compared to the big displays in the city,” Brad said suddenly, as if sensing her thoughts. “But these are my favorite kind of Christmas decorations.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Jillian told him with a smile. “Are you sure you won’t miss all those big, beautiful buildings though?”

“I may miss the challenges of working in the city,” he said musingly. “Maybe even the scope of work, compared to what I can do out here. But none of that matters compared to giving her everything she deserves.”

Of course the her he meant was Josie. And though it pained Jillian to think of Brad not stretching his talents and reaching for everything he could ever want, she understood and agreed with him completely. Josie deserved the moon and stars. And Brad was going to give them to her. She was a very lucky little girl. And more amazingly, it felt like she knew it. From a young age, Josie’s ego seemed untouched by the big penthouse and the beautiful things her father could give her. Her feet were firmly on the ground and she knew what was important to her—family, food, and fun. He had raised a really special kid.

“What are you smiling about?” Brad asked.

“Josie,” she replied honestly. “You’ve done such a great job with her. I’ll miss watching her grow up, but I’ll always cheer her on, wherever I am.”

Tears suddenly threatened, so she pressed her lips shut and looked out the window.

“You’ve done a great job with her too,” Brad said. “I’m glad she’s not a spoiled little princess. You deserve so much credit for that.”

She nodded, still not trusting herself to speak.

“The Butlers live in the city too,” Brad went on. “Maybe we’ll still see each other around if Josie and I come out for a consult. Remind me to get you on the phone with them when we get settled at the cottage. Maybe tomorrow.”

She nodded again and they both grew silent, taking in the sight of the little town glimmering in the darkness ahead of them as they passed pretty Victorians adorned in twinkle-lights and cottages with homemade decorations hanging from the trees.

There was a magic to Trinity Falls that felt stronger than usual tonight to Jillian. Though she had been feeling sad, her heart lightened as they drove through the village center. The candy cane decorations hanging from the lampposts and the warm light emanating from the shops and the apartments above all seemed to be embracing her and welcoming her back to town.

Why does this place feel so much like home?