Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The next morning, Caroline threw on a pair of jeans and her favorite fisherman knit sweater, tossing her hair up into a messy bun and preparing to head to The Mellow Mug. She felt guilty taking another part of a morning to herself, after going to see Nora just a couple of days ago, but Rhonda had told her firmly that there were no check-ins scheduled, and she should go and enjoy her morning.

She tried not to let her mind wander back to the prior day with Rhett and Jay as she walked, the crisp air making her cheeks turn pink and the snow blowing around her feet. But it was hard not to—it had been fun, more so than she had expected. She hadn’t spent a lot of time with children, and she had worried that it would feel awkward. But it had felt more natural than she’d expected, to help Jay fill in the holes, and the snowball fight afterward.

Audrey and Nora were already sitting at a table at The Mellow Mug when she arrived, each of them with a Danish and a cup of coffee. Caroline ordered a cinnamon latte and a piece of coffee cake, and went to join them.

“How is everyone’s holiday planning going so far?” Audrey asked as Caroline sat down. “I thought I was almost done with my shopping, and then Kara gave me a different list.” She shook her head. “I’m telling you, the holidays are one thing before you have kids and something totally different after.”

Caroline laughed, shaking her head. The holidays were already an insane time for her, and she couldn’t imagine it being any busier.

“This year has been absolutely crazy so far,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee. “We have almost three times as many guests as last holiday season. But it’s a good thing,” she added quickly. “The marketing plan that Nora came up with is really working. We really owe a lot of it to her.”

“I just got it started,” Nora said modestly, cutting off a bite of apple Danish. “You and Mom have been making sure it all lives up to the hype. She told me that sixty percent of the guests that came in November booked for spring, so that’s great!”

“It really is,” Caroline agreed. “The retention is going to be good for the inn, and I’m sure some of those guests will bring us other business too.”

“And you had another visitor yesterday,” Nora added with a mischievous smile, and Caroline winced. Of course their mother would have told Nora about Rhett’s visit.

“Oh?” Audrey caught on to Nora’s expression instantly. “Who was that?”

“Rhett and his son came over yesterday,” Caroline said, feeling her cheeks heat a little. She explained what had happened—that Jay had dug in the yard thinking he would find fossils, and that Rhett had brought him over to fix the damage. “It turned out to be oddly fun,” she admitted, taking another sip of her coffee. “We started throwing snowballs once he was done filling in the yard, and it was kind of a blast. I can’t remember the last time I did that.”

“He’s into you,” Audrey said confidently, a grin spreading over her face. “He could have just sent Jay over to patch things up, but he came too? And hung out for a little while? He definitely likes you.”

“I really don’t think so.” Caroline shook her head. “He was just trying to look out for his son by coming over. And he does seem like he likes to have fun. But it’s just that. It didn’t mean anything.”

Nora and Audrey exchanged a look, but Caroline privately thought that she couldn’t be convinced otherwise. She thought back to the day before, how much fun it had been in the moment, but how awkward and out of place she had felt afterward. She’d been a little sad when they had left, but she had also felt a tiny bit relieved. She didn’t know how to behave around someone she liked, especially when she felt so sure that it wouldn’t be returned.

It simply wasn’t possible, she thought, crumbling her coffee cake in her fingers as she sipped at her latte. She felt so plain and simple, not someone who could attract a man like Rhett at this point in her life. He might have a flicker of interest in her, but even if that was true, he wouldn’t want her if he knew how boring she really was, how vulnerable she felt. She looked tough on the outside, she knew, and anyone who saw what she really felt underneath would be disappointed.

She thought of her parents mentioning to Rhett how she’d always been a stickler for the rules, how it was to be expected that she would insist on Jay coming and fixing the holes he’d dug, their teasing that had only served to make her feel even more dour and set in her ways. They made her sound like a spinsterish aunt, not a desirable single woman. Definitely not someone who would be desirable to a man like Rhett.

“What are you three chatting about?” Melanie’s voice cut through her thoughts, and Caroline looked up from her coffee cake—which was now nothing more than a pile of crumbs. “Holiday plans? How is the party planning going, Nora?”

“Slow,” Nora admitted. “Leon couldn’t get the chandelier that I wanted. So I’m trying to come up with a little bit of a new vision for how I want it all to look. I have to rethink some things. But the party is still happening!” she added quickly. “I just need to get my ideas straight.”

“I remember seeing the house you and Aiden bought when it went on the market—it’s such a beautiful old Victorian.” Audrey let out a sigh. “It’s going to be so beautiful all decked out. I’m sure whatever you come up with will be amazing.”

“This party is becoming the event of the season in our little town,” Melanie said teasingly, smiling at Nora. “Just like your efforts with the festival last year.”

“Except this is something entirely new. Which you love,” Caroline added, looking at her sister. She was glad for the turn the conversation had taken—she wanted to get her mind off of Rhett.

“Evergreen Hollow does love our traditions,” Melanie mused. “But we do also love new things. And this new party is a big deal. Everyone saw how wonderfully Nora helped the festival grow last year—we’re all so excited to see what new Christmas tradition we’ll have after this season to go along with it.

“You all have to promise me you’ll be there. Each and every one of you.” Nora looked solemnly around the table, and Melanie and Audrey were both quick to chime in that they would be.

“Of course I will,” Caroline said. “I’m your sister—I couldn’t possibly miss it.”

Nora grinned, a hint of mischief in it that Caroline didn’t quite understand. Her sister was often up to something, and she rarely knew what it was. It had been that way when they were children, and it still held true as adults.

She brushed it off as Melanie asked if they wanted second cups of coffee, telling herself that it was nothing. Nora was always plotting and planning.

It almost certainly had nothing to do with her.

“See you next week, Pete!” Rhett called, reaching for his keys and preparing to clock out of work. He was exhausted after four days straight of twelve-hour shifts, and he couldn’t wait to get home. They had leftover lasagna that the neighbor had brought over, and he was looking forward to reheating it, helping Jay with homework for a couple of hours, and then retreating to the couch with a beer. Just the thought of being off his feet sounded like utter bliss.

He fished his phone out of his pocket, calling said neighbor while he finished his last few tasks before clocking out. “Hey there,” he said when she picked up, scrawling his name on a form that he’d had to fill out after their last call. “Did Jay get home all right? No issues at school?”

“Everything’s fine,” she assured him, and Rhett let out a breath. He had started to be able to relax more, as the days had gone on, but he was still a little nervous. Things were new for Jay still, and he expected there to be periods of adjustment. But so far, all had been well.

“Great. I’m about to head home. Thank you again for everything you do to help,” he added. “The lasagna was a really sweet gesture. We’re feeling very welcome.”

“Well, that’s the point. I’ll get him started on his homework, and let him know you’ll be home soon.”

“Thanks so much.” Rhett hung up the phone, tucking it into his back pocket, and grabbed his wallet and keys. He waved to Pete once more, then pushed open the door to the fire station—nearly running smack into someone trying to come in before he saw them there.

“Oh! Sorry!” He paused, taking a moment before he recognized the woman he’d nearly run into. She looked familiar, but it took a second before he realized it was Caroline’s sister. Nora, the woman who had been with her at Rockridge the day he’d gone there to get dinner.

She took a step back, smiling broadly at him. She had a sealed envelope in one hand, adorned with a wax seal shaped like holly leaves and berries, and she waved it at him.

“I’m here to issue a royal invitation to my Christmas party,” Nora said, the grin on her face not wavering for even a second. “I wanted to deliver it in person.”

Rhett laughed. He couldn’t help it. Nora was as effusive and extroverted as Caroline could be quiet and a bit withdrawn. He could see how there might have been times when they didn’t always get along.

“Is it really ‘royal’?” he asked jokingly, and Nora’s smile widened.

“It will be,” she said confidently. “ Everyone in Evergreen Hollow is coming. Including my family, of course, although sometimes Caroline needs a little incentive to show up to these things. An invite from someone other than me.” She handed him the envelope, and Rhett took it, chuckling to himself.

He wasn’t sure if Nora thought she was being slick or not, but he could tell she was scheming. Plotting to get him and Caroline at the same party, specifically, and all the better if she could hint to him to invite Caroline herself.

“You’re being very welcoming to a newcomer,” he said with a smirk. “Very hospitable of you.”

Nora narrowed her eyes, giving him a knowing look. Her smirk matched his as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Well, I think I would have needed to welcome you eventually anyway. So why not now?” She raised an eyebrow. “For what it’s worth, I think you and Caroline would get on fabulously.”

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” Rhett tucked the invitation into his coat. “I’ll be there.”

Privately, he thought that he would like nothing more than to find out. He wanted to see what Caroline was like in a more relaxed setting, when she wasn’t returning his wayward son or calling him because of her faulty smoke detectors, or at dinner with friends. He wanted to see what she was like in her off time, with a glass of wine maybe, Christmas music in the background and merriment all around them. He thought it was a side of her that others probably didn’t get to see all that often.

He watched Nora walk away and turned to head toward his truck, feeling a spark of anticipation despite his exhaustion. He’d been nervous about Christmas, about how to make it feel special, about how the first one in this new town would feel—for himself, for Jay, for both of them.

But he found himself excited at the prospect of a party. And more than just that, he was looking forward to seeing Caroline again.