A Christmas to Cherish (A Festive Christmas #4)

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

S he shifted from one foot to the other and stared at the clock on the wall.

The hands were moving slowly, taunting her with every tick until her head was swimming with fatigue and exhaustion. Emma had spent the past few hours in a flurry of activity, alternating between wrapping up a few details for the case, packing a bag, and ensuring everything was in order for the next few days.

Although she had no idea how long she’d be gone, Emma was already itching to go back home—ever since she set foot in the airport thirty minutes ago.

The line in front of her snaked around a corner, filled with both eager and tired-looking parents, red-faced children in tow. She wheeled her bag behind her and paused to check her phone again, realizing that only ten minutes had passed. With Jules already on a plane high in the sky and no one knowing she was coming, Emma had the strange sense she was well and truly on her own.

After downing an entire bottle of water, she leaned against her bag and took out her phone again.

She was knee-deep in emails when the person in front of her stepped forward, and she breathed a sigh of relief. After a quick cursory glance at her ID and driver’s license, she handed the thin-haired man behind the counter her credit card and waited. A short while later, she was walking out of the double glass doors of the airport, the crisp air making her eyes water, and scanning the parking lot for a silver Toyota. Her breath crystallized in front of her as she lifted her collar and paused to rub her hands together.

It had taken her too little time to get on a plane to Rockport and finalize the rental car paperwork—not nearly enough for her to get her thoughts in order and prepare herself for what lay ahead.

Emma needed a while longer.

Then, she saw the car wedged between two trucks.

Emma shoved her bag into the passenger seat, hurried to the driver’s side, and stuck the key into the ignition. It started with a roar, and she fumbled with the vents, shivering as she waited for the hot air to hit her face. As soon as it did, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms and waited for the feeling to return to her toes.

She had almost forgotten how cold it got.

Through the windshield, she peered at the half-empty parking lot and tried to imagine what her parents would say when she showed up on their doorstep.

Slowly, Emma slid her seat belt into place, switched on the engine, and backed out of the parking space. She drove slowly, with both hands on the wheel and her phone propped on the dashboard, indicating the smooth path ahead. As soon as she left the airport behind her, the dark and empty road ahead stretched for miles on end, illuminated by the soft flicker of streetlamps on either side of her.

Several towns glistened and sparkled as she raced past them, festive music playing through the radio. Halfway there, Emma’s phone rang, startling her out of her reprieve. After ensuring it was connected to the car’s Bluetooth system, she pressed answer and breathed a sigh of relief when Jules’s voice filled the empty spaces in the car.

Her daughter always had a way of chasing the demons away.

“Okay, we just landed, but they’re not letting us off the plane yet,” Jules said, her voice drifting in and out of range. “Did you manage to find a car?”

“I did, but I wish you’d let me wait for you. I wouldn’t have minded.” Emma placed both hands back on the wheel, leaving her phone propped against the dashboard, and her gaze darted to the map displayed on the GPS. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes or so. The roads are pretty clear.”

“Be careful. I heard there’s going to be a blizzard later.”

Emma frowned and gripped the wheel tighter. “Do you want me to turn around and come get you? I’m not too far away.”

Jules chuckled. “No, Mom. I’m fine—really. This way, you’ll have a chance to get some time in with Grandma and Grandpa before I get there.”

Emma made a face. “I don’t know if that’s the best thing since it’s late and all. We should just stop by tomorrow.”

She hadn’t even told them she was coming, so she wouldn’t talk herself out of it.

Hearing her mother’s silence on the phone would’ve been too much to bear.

Showing up at their doorstep was like ripping off a Band-Aid, and she wanted to get it over with—though maybe not tonight.

It wasn’t time just yet to go waltzing down memory lane.

Jules said something else, and her voice was muffled.

A heartbeat later, she hung up, and Emma was plunged into silence again.

Must be the weather. I’ll try her again later.

She hummed along to the music and tapped her fingers against the wheel. It wasn’t until she saw Rockport in the distance, covered in a thin layer of white, that she realized she’d been lost to her own thoughts. As she slowed to a crawl, she took in the buildings leading up to the town square, all glistening underneath the moonlight.

Emma smiled as she drove past Long Beach, drenched in snow.

She turned down the music as she drove down Thatcher Road and continued onto South Street. Her knee began to bounce up and down as she took a right onto Main Street and peered at Saint Joachim Church, burning brighter than any of its surroundings. When she pulled onto Railroad Avenue, her stomach in tight knots and a low buzzing in her ears, Emma was sure she was going to throw up.

The town looked the same as it always did, a perfectly preserved snow globe untouched by time, every inch covered in dustings of white. Garlands and tinsel decorated every streetlamp, and small trees were on display in the glass windows of shops.

She eased into the parking lot across the street from Crackerjacks Whistlestop Market and looked through the windshield. Half of her was tempted to reach out and trace the vague outlines through the glass, but the other half was terrified and wrestling with the impulse to turn around and drive back to the airport.

Jules probably hasn’t even gotten her bag yet. You still have a chance to get back on the plane, go back to the city, and pretend this never happened.

It wasn’t too late.

Guilt churned in her stomach as soon as the thought crossed her mind.

Her dad had reached out for a reason, and despite their differences and the terse conversations they’d had since then, she didn’t have it in her to turn her back on him, not when he needed her.

Why else would he have sent the letter?

Sighing, Emma shoved the door open and paused to lift the hood of her coat. She tightened the sash around her waist and nearly lost her footing. Her heart pounded as she righted herself and checked both sides of the street before crossing. The glass doors of the supermarket swung open, the smell of apple cider and gingerbread cookies spilling out to greet her. Her stomach grumbled as she smiled and took a sample from the tray held by a perky blonde in a red-and-white uniform.

Emma instinctively reached for the nearest cart and pushed her hood back.

She pushed the cart through the brightly lit aisles and found herself humming along to the music. While skimming the aisles, she felt a pair of eyes on her and glanced up. A group of older-looking women were huddled in the produce aisle and sneaking glances at her. Emma’s shoulders sagged as she averted her gaze and pretended to examine the milk cartons on display. She was reaching for some chocolate when the same group of women drifted closer, and she caught snippets of their conversation.

“It can’t be her. Doesn’t she have a job in the city?”

“Some soulless lawyer, I heard. I wonder what she’s doing back.”

“Do you remember how upset her parents were the last time she came to visit? She caused quite a stir, didn’t she?”

“She used to have such potential. I don’t know what she was thinking, abandoning her roots like that and becoming a lawyer, no less.”

Emma stiffened as they drifted closer, and she wheeled around to face them, shoulders squared together. “Hello, ladies.”

A few of them had the decency to look away and examine the floor.

One of them was peering at her.

Emma offered them a tight smile. “It’s good to see you all again. I hope you’re enjoying the holidays.”

With that, she threw her head back and pushed the cart past them, aware of several pairs of eyes glued to the back of her head.

What were they saying about her now?

She was sure they were coming up with their own theories about how and why she left the way she did or muttering about what a disappointment she was to her parents.

As far as they were concerned, Emma had been one of Rockport’s best and brightest—until she’d left for the city without looking back.

They would’ve forgiven you if you’d ended up marrying one of them, but I think they’re just as annoyed as your parents that you married a city guy.

But they didn’t know her, and they had no idea what she’d had to overcome.

Being the daughter of a glamorous movie star from the seventies hadn’t been easy, and she’d lived her whole adolescence being compared to her larger-than-life mother.

Having to live up to that had been almost impossible, and Emma had stopped trying during her last year of high school.

It wasn’t until her mother stepped away from the limelight many years later that Emma had finally been able to breathe.

With a slight shake of her head, she stopped in front of the snacks.

“This isn’t how it was supposed to happen,” Marie said, her voice rising toward the end. “You were supposed to come back. You were supposed to work here.”

“Oh, well, I’m sorry I didn’t stick to the plan.”

Marie’s hand darted out, but Emma stepped out of her grasp and frowned. “Sweetheart, please. We just want what’s best for you, and we don’t understand why you’re making these choices. Do you really want to raise a child in the city? Rockport is much nicer…”

Emma raked a hand through her hair. “Are you more upset over the fact I chose to be a lawyer or the fact I didn’t end up with Jack?”

Marie sighed and glanced over at Henry, who sat in an armchair by the window, staring out at the snow. “Henry, please.”

“Your mother is just concerned that you’ve lost your way and turned your back on your roots.”

Emma’s stomach tightened. “You want to talk about roots, really? Because the two of you are just a model of stability? That’s rich.”

Henry’s eyes flashed as he stood up and towered over his daughter. “There’s no need to take that tone with us.”

Emma’s phone rang, bringing her back to the present with a jolt and earning a few withering looks from a group of elderly women standing nearby. Hastily, she fished it out of her pocket and pressed it to her ear.

Jules sounded out of breath. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. You still at the supermarket?”

“Yeah, I thought I’d pick up a few things to snack on while we’re at the inn,” Emma replied, pausing to switch the phone to her other ear. “Do you want me to come outside and meet you?”

“No need. I’ll be there soon,” Jules said, her voice rising in excitement. “I can’t wait to see Grandma and Grandpa tomorrow.”

Emma’s mouth turned to ash. “I’m sure they’ll be very happy to see you.”

Provided they didn’t rip into Emma first.

When Jules came in a short while later in a puffer jacket and combat boots, her face flushed with color, some of the knots in Emma’s stomach loosened. The two spent the next hour wandering through the aisles while people whispered and Christmas classics played in the background. Once they walked out, arm in arm, a strange chill raced up Emma’s spine and stayed with her as they checked into the Beech Tree Bed and Breakfast.

That night, while Jules dozed peacefully on the bed next to hers, Emma stared up at the ceiling and tried to imagine all the ways the visit could go wrong.

At least Jules was there to help cushion the fall.

A part of her felt guilty for dragging Jules back into the line of fire, despite its necessity.

Emma could only pray she was making the right decision for both their sakes.