A Christmas to Cherish (A Festive Christmas #4)

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

“ H ow many cups of coffee have you had?”

Marley was still fidgeting when she swung her gaze back to Emma, her smile stretching from ear to ear. “About three so far.”

With a slight shake of her head, Emma plucked the empty cup out of her hands and set it down on the nearest table. “Okay, I think you should lay off the coffee for a bit. We need to focus.”

Marley pushed her glasses up her nose. “We do, but this is all just so interesting. It’s the most exciting thing to happen to me in a while.”

Emma patted her back. “You definitely need to get out more.”

“Once the mystery is solved, we can go out.” Marley waved her comment away and gestured to the photographs and letters spread over the table. “Thanks for letting me make copies of those, by the way. The past few days, I’ve been up late into the night, researching, and my friend got in touch with another friend of hers.”

“And?”

Marley glanced around the half-empty library, bathed in the soft glow of the early morning light, and shifted closer. She dropped her voice a whole octave, and Emma strained to hear her. “You were right about the letters. They’re written in some kind of code. I thought we wouldn’t be able to crack it without any kind of guide from your grandpa, but I was wrong.”

Emma’s pulse quickened. “So, your friend was able to decode it?”

Marley rolled up the sleeve of her pullover and glanced down at her watch. “She should be emailing me soon. She just had a bit of a hard time with the phrasing. Your grandfather loved a good mystery.”

Emma’s lips lifted into a half-smile. “Sounds like him.”

Even though he’d died when she was eight years old, all of her memories of him were of a spry and lively man with silver hair, a spring in his step, and a mischievous smile. Whenever he’d watch her, he’d always make it a point to turn everything into an educational moment, and he used to have Emma eating from the palms of his hands.

She’d loved every minute of it.

Without him to stoke the flames of curiosity, life had gotten a little quiet.

Now, she was starting to remember what it was like—the thrill and rush of uncovering adventures and mysteries long since forgotten.

Even the fact that this would have a personal impact on her family didn’t deter her.

If anything, it made her more determined than ever.

Maybe whatever you find out will help you decide what to do about Boston.

“Hey.”

Marley made a squeaking sound as she spun on her heel, hands flying to her chest. “You can’t just sneak up on people like that.”

Jack offered Emma a quick smile and then raised an eyebrow. “You told me to come.”

Marley cleared her throat and stood up straighter. “Did you bring the stuff?”

Jack took off the backpack and unzipped it. “It’s all here.”

Emma peered into the bag, frowning at the packs of chips and frozen drinks. “What’s all this for?”

“I have no idea how long we’re going to be here,” Marley whispered, peering around once more. “So, I thought sustenance was in order.”

Jack swung the backpack over his shoulder again and smiled. “I hope it’s okay she told me. You know I can’t resist a good mystery.”

Emma gave him a small smile and said nothing.

Jack was already having a potent effect on her, especially when standing close enough for her to inhale his woodsy cologne. She wanted to put her head in the crook of his neck and have him wrap his arms around her, just like he used to.

Like they were back in high school—the world at their feet.

Frowning, Emma shifted away from him, putting as much distance between them as possible as she bent down to skim through the papers. Marley and Jack flanked her on either side, and they all lapsed into silence. When Marley’s phone buzzed, she took it out of her pocket and placed it in the center of the table. All three of them peered at the email and waited.

“The room in the back,” Marley realized a little too loudly, earning a few disgruntled looks from the other librarians. She gave them a sheepish smile and lowered her voice. “There’s this room in the back of the library. The door is usually shut. I thought it was some kind of storage area, but I think that’s the one the letters are referring to.”

Emma’s brows drew together. “Why would my grandpa’s letters be referring to a hidden room in the library?”

“Only one way to find out.” Jack stepped back and made a sweeping hand gesture. “After you, ladies.”

In silence, Marley took the lead, striding past the aisles with her head held high. Jack walked behind Emma, and she was painfully aware of every step he took, every breath that reverberated inside her head.

She was aware of him in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Not since Jules’s father.

You haven’t done anything, Emma. This isn’t a betrayal. This is only a few friends working together, just like old times.

But Jules’s father had been gone so long that Emma had almost forgotten this giddiness—like the butterflies in her stomach would burst right out of her.

At the far end of the library, Marley stopped to pat the pockets of her skirt. She pulled out a large, old-looking key and shoved it into the hole.

Marley was practically jumping with excitement. “I’ve always wondered what this key was for. Now, we get to find out.”

It turned with a slight click and a groaning sound. Marley’s tongue darted between her teeth as she reached a hand inside and patted the walls.

A single bulb illuminated the small room, which only had one window a few feet above the ground. It had a row of shelves on one side and a few glass enclosures scattered throughout.

In a daze, Emma stepped forward, feeling like she was floating, until she stood before one of the propped-open leather books. She pressed her face to the glass, and her heart jumped into her throat.

“These…these are all…”

“Your grandfather’s things,” Marley finished in a hushed voice. “He must’ve donated them to the library at some point.”

Emma traced the glass with the tip of her index finger. “I don’t understand.”

“The letters said there was a box or something inside the hidden room…” Marley trailed off and wandered around, peeking under and over the enclosures with a bright gleam in her eyes. “It’s got to be around here somewhere.”

“Look at this.” Jack was behind the bookshelf, shining his phone into the darkness. “There’s some kind of chest back here.”

Emma wandered over to him and peered into the darkness. “You’re right. I see it.”

“Here, let’s shift the bookshelf forward a little.”

Grunting, all three of them yanked and tugged until the bookshelf screeched forward, the sound echoing back to them. Marley’s eyes widened as she glanced over at the door and waited. When no one came, Jack squeezed himself behind the bookshelf and coughed. He returned with a wooden chest, setting it on the floor and pointing the phone’s flashlight at it.

It had a few intricate carvings on the side and a small lock on the latch.

Emma sank to her knees and tugged on the lock, a startled gasp falling from her lips when a false drawer in the bottom came free. Slowly, she drew it open, her eyes watering when a puff of dust rose to greet her. She waved a hand in front of her face and waited for her vision to settle. As soon as it did, she saw a few rolled-up pieces of paper and more letters in her grandfather’s familiar handwriting.

She held her breath as she reached in and took them out.

Marley pulled out a packet of gloves from her pocket. In silence, the three snapped them on and held their findings up to the light.

“Maps,” Emma breathed, pausing to rise to her feet. “These look like maps. I wonder what they’re for.”

“And there are more coded messages here,” Jack whispered, drifting closer to her. “Think your friend would be willing to help a little longer?”

Marley had her phone in her hands, fingers typing furiously. “Already ahead of you. I’m messaging her now.”

Emma blew out a breath. “We should leave this in the library where they’re properly preserved. I can take the chest back home.”

“There’s an old camera in the back. It’s used to document and photograph old documents, but we haven’t used it in a while.” Marley tapped her chin. “I’m going to see if I can find it.”

Jack’s eyes were on the side of her face. “Do you think your grandpa left clues to help dig up the treasure?”

Emma spun around to meet his gaze. “I don’t know, but Marley is right. This is exciting.”

And it felt just like old times—especially when Marley returned with the camera, and the two of them hung back, exchanging small smiles.

They stayed in that room for a while, theorizing and mapping out scenarios about the kind of historical treasures they could unearth and the impact it could have on Rockport as a whole.

For the first time since coming back to Rockport, Emma was comfortable in her own skin.

It didn’t feel like she was trying to force a round peg into a square hole.

Being back with Jack and Marley felt good—right, even—and she wanted to hold on to the feeling forever. But when Jack’s phone rang, and a voice drifted closer, calling out for Marley, the magic dissipated, forcing them to file out of the hidden room.

As Emma walked back to her car, her earlier giddiness was starting to fade away too, replaced with a cold, hard knot in the center of her stomach.

One that felt eerily familiar.

She didn’t want to leave Jack and Marley again, not with how devastating leaving was the first time. It had nearly killed her to walk away from them, and she knew they’d felt the impact as deeply as she had, especially with how close they’d all been.

You can’t pretend that nothing has changed, like the three of you are still kids in high school with a whole future to look forward to.

Things had changed.

She had changed.

Her life in Boston wasn’t what she’d envisioned for herself, and she spent a lot of nights questioning her path, but it was the life she’d chosen.

She’d worked hard for it, and Jules had a whole year of university left.

Emma couldn’t just drop everything on a whim and move back to Rockport to try and recapture the nostalgia and magic of her youth.

Her parents deserved better, and so did her friends.

After everything she’d sacrificed, all the late nights and endless tears, she owed it to herself to make sure she came back for the right reasons.

If she came back at all.

So, things aren’t going great at the firm. So what? You can’t just up and leave because you’re not where you want to be. You’ve worked too hard.

Walking away from the firm now was as good as throwing the towel in and turning her back on her career once and for all.

Emma couldn’t bring herself to do that, not just yet.

When she got into the car and turned the key in the ignition, Emma realized she couldn’t make a decision until she saw the mystery through to the end.

No matter where it took her or what harsh truths she’d have to stomach about herself and her family.