A Christmas to Cherish (A Festive Christmas #4)

Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

“ B e careful how you dig,” Henry instructed. “We don’t know how deep or shallow the hole is.”

Jack and Kyle exchanged a quick look and leaned against their shovels. A heartbeat later, darkness settled around the world as the eclipse blocked out the sun entirely, and the path beneath their feet emerged, catching a few particles of light from above. Emma lowered herself onto her knees, even as the cold rose to greet her, and used her phone to illuminate the rest of the path.

“It’s under the tombstone,” she whispered, pointing a finger directly ahead. “Just like we suspected.”

Wordlessly, Jack rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Opposite him, Kyle did the same, the two of them throwing dirt over their shoulders. A short while later, there was a bang , and they both stopped. Marley and Jules lurched forward and peered into the hole in the ground, their eyes wide with wonder and disbelief.

Emma forced herself to her feet and stood next to them.

The hole was only a few inches deep and had a couple of items with strange markings around them. When she peered closer, she made out a small wooden box with intricate carvings along the side. Slowly, she leaned forward and plucked the box out of the ground. Then, she held it up to the light, and several pairs of eyes turned to her, expectant and waiting.

It looked similar to her grandfather’s chest, but it was smaller than anticipated.

Emma ran her fingers along the smooth edges, and when it made a small clicking sound, she let out a startled gasp. She held the box away from her as it shuddered for a few seconds. As soon as it stopped, she crossed over to where her father sat and laid it on his lap. Henry released a shaky breath, took Emma’s hand, and squeezed. Marie reached for his other hand, and Emma could’ve sworn she saw a slight tremor pass through her.

After all that research and digging, it felt surreal to have gotten to that point, to realize her father was right.

It wasn’t the treasure she was expecting, but a part of Emma wondered if it was what they needed, nonetheless.

“It’s really small,” Marley commented. “I hope you find what you’re looking for in there.”

Emma glanced over her shoulder and nodded at her friend.

Jules came to stand next to her, and they stood opposite Marie, who peered over Henry’s shoulder. For a long moment, Henry murmured unintelligibly and traced the outside of the box over and over. He sucked in a harsh breath, tucked the box against his chest, and curved his body around it.

Little by little, bright yellow light was beginning to come back.

The eclipse began to wane, and still, Henry sat there, holding the box as if it were the most precious thing in the world. Finally, when a few more minutes had passed, he sat up straighter and propped the box open. No one wanted to rush him, not during a moment that was years in the making.

Her father deserved to savor it, but impatience welled up inside Emma.

She resisted the urge to fidget, and her eyes darted around the park, taking in the foliage all covered in white and the smell of snow lingering in the air.

Finally, Henry took out a few of the scrolls and handed them to Marie, who unrolled them after a brief hesitation.

Henry removed what looked like an astrolabe turning it over and over in his hand.

“I’ve only ever heard about these,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t think they actually existed. I can’t believe he managed to find it.”

Emma knelt down beside her father and placed a hand on his lap. “What is it?”

“It was used in ancient times for celestial navigation. It was thought to be lost over the years,” Henry replied without looking at her. “I can’t believe we found it.”

The two of them exchanged a quick look before Emma took the scrolls from her mother’s outstretched hand. She laid them down on Henry’s lap, and in silence, they peered at them, the words in front of her swimming in and out of focus as her heart raced.

“This is going to change things,” Henry realized in a choked voice. “We need to call someone and tell them about this.”

“I guess Grandpa dedicated a lot of time and effort to this.” Emma rose to her feet and tucked the scrolls and astrolabe back into the box. She snapped it shut. “Should we keep this at the library for safekeeping?”

Henry shook his head and snatched the box out of her hand. “Now that we’ve finally found it, I’m not letting this out of my sight. The future of astronomy could depend on it.”

Emma chuckled and patted his back. “Okay, just don’t store it in the attic.”

Henry flashed her the barest hint of a smile. “That we can agree on.”

“You need to rest,” Marie scolded before gesturing to Kyle to help her with the wheelchair. “That’s enough excitement for today.”

Together, the two of them wheeled Henry off, with Jules trailing beside him, smiling as her grandfather spoke a million miles a minute.

Marley came to stand next to Emma and squeezed her shoulders. “You did good. I’m sure you must be proud.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you and Jack.”

Marley waved her comment away. “You would’ve been just fine. Anyway, I have to get going. They need me at the library.”

Emma frowned. “Are you sure? Do you want me to drive you there?”

Marley smiled and took a few steps back. “No, I can walk. I need the exercise. See you later, Jack.”

In all of the commotion, Emma had almost forgotten he was still there.

Jack was always there.

Even when they were kids, he’d been there on the sidelines for as long as she could remember, and it had taken her far too long to realize what it meant.

What he meant.

When Marley disappeared, Jack came to stand next to her, and they looked up at the trees together.

Little by little, the shadows receded, and the midafternoon sun emerged, brighter than before. Emma’s chest felt heavy as she lowered herself onto the grass and tightened the coat around her shoulders. Then, she lifted the collar and rubbed her hands together. Emma wasn’t ready to go home and deal with the aftermath.

Not yet.

Her parents and the research were still going to be there while she took a few moments to gather herself.

After a long pause, Jack lowered himself onto the ground beside her, their shoulders brushing.

It felt like old times.

Emma almost expected him to reach for his backpack and pull out a textbook.

She almost wished he would because she didn’t know how to fill the silence.

Not when she kept replaying her conversation with Henry on a loop inside her head. She wanted to believe things would be different, but she wasn’t sure how.

How was she supposed to get past the fact they’d had so little faith in her that they felt the need to lie to get her home?

How was she supposed to feel about the fact her mother had known for days and gone along with it?

Her entire trip felt like a lie, shrouded in deception and deceit.

Jules was the only reason she hadn’t ripped into her parents further.

And Jack was the reason she was sitting up straight, trying to remind herself how to breathe.

“You know, I’ve seen your parents do a lot of crazy things, but I have to admit, this one’s right up there…”

Emma snorted. “You mean worse than when my mom decided to organize a field trip to the set of one of her newest movies?”

Jack stretched his legs out in front of him and twisted to face her. “I thought that was fun.”

Emma looked over at him and smiled. “That’s because you’re nice. You’ve always been an optimist, trying to see the good in people. But I think it was more about trying to get me to be popular than anything else.”

Jack bumped his shoulder against hers and grinned. “Bobby Lee did notice you that week.”

“Only because he wanted to get tickets to the premiere,” Emma grumbled with a sigh. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for giving him a piece of your mind.”

Jack threw his hands up in the air and laughed. “Hey, I’m not the one who punched him to get my point across.”

Emma’s smile grew wider. “I think that was the first and last time I got into trouble for something like that. My mom was so angry with me, and I remember my dad being so disappointed…”

All her life, she had felt like she was always one step behind, never quite keeping up with them.

She’d never measured up.

But she’d clung to the belief that someday, somehow, she’d finally become someone worthy of their respect, of their admiration.

Being a lawyer hadn’t changed that.

If anything, it had set them back.

All of the glitz, the big office, and the accolades had amounted to nothing.

She was still little, lanky Emma Sullivan, living in the shadows of her mother’s glory and her father’s ambition.

“If it helps at all, I think your parents are proud of you. I just don’t think they know how to show it.”

Emma stood and ran a hand over her face. “Yeah, well, tricking me into coming back here isn’t the way to do it.”

Jack rose to his feet and peeled off his jacket to hand to her. “It’s not, but now that you’re here, you can all start working on your issues.”

Emma offered him a grateful smile and tried not to inhale when the smell of him enveloped her, cocooning her in his warmth. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

Jack held his hand out, and she took it, marveling at how strong and warm it still felt. “Well, for starters, you can go home and talk to them. I know you didn’t have much of a chance earlier, but I guess you need to decide what you want to do next.”

Emma clung to his hand as she fell into step beside him. “I guess so. Do you think we’re ever going to have that talk?”

Jack smiled and tucked her into his side. “We will. We’ve got time, Emma. I’m not worried. I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk. For now, you’ve got some things you need to figure out.”

Emma squeezed his hand and lapsed into silence.

Jack wouldn’t wait forever, nor did she have the right to ask him to.

But she needed to see this through to the end, whether she decided to leave or not.

Given how much time and effort she had poured into the whole thing, she had to help her father make sense of her grandfather’s findings.

It wasn’t the kind of miracle she’d prayed for, and she had no idea if anything helped when it came to the foreclosure notice, but she had to believe things would work out.

Emma hadn’t come this far only to be deterred now.

Jack was going to have to wait just a little while longer.