Mistletoe and Memories (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #4)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

The day after Thanksgiving was bright and wintry, the sun trickling through the maple trees and glinting off the snowfall outside. Despite all the hard work and chaos of the holiday season, Caroline Dawkins couldn’t help but think it was her favorite time of year.

And she was grateful for the chaos.

There had been times when The Mistletoe Inn, the cozy inn that she helped her parents run, hadn’t always been packed to the gills every holiday season. But they’d been steady for the last few years, keeping the inn in the black, and she was glad for it.

She couldn’t think of a single thing to complain about, actually. The day before, for their Thanksgiving dinner, the family table had been more full than ever before. Nora and her husband Aiden had come with their new little one, Madison. Margo had invited her boyfriend, Spencer. and of course she had her own family now, her husband, Rhett, and her stepson, Jay. For the first time in years, all her sisters had been there: the whole family, together for the holiday.

Now that Margo was home for good, they’d get to spend the entire holiday season together this year, from beginning to end.

It meant a lot to her, more than she could really say. For a long time, she’d thought that having them all together in one place for the holidays was a pipe dream that wouldn’t happen again, after her sisters had grown up and drifted away. Nora had been in Boston for years, building her career as an event planner, and Margo had distanced herself even more, traveling the world as a photojournalist and never finding the time to come home. But circumstances had brought them back over the last few years, and they’d both decided to stay, for reasons of their own.

The day had been fun, full of laughter and warmth despite the cold outside, and Caroline had realized once again how much she loved being an aunt to Nora and Aiden’s little one. She’d never had much experience with babies, other than the ones who visited the inn, and she hadn’t been sure how good she would be at filling the role of one of Madison’s aunts. Her only hands-on experience with children was her stepson, Jay—but he was eight.

But it was wonderful. And it had been incredibly special to not only spend the beginning of another holiday season with her parents, but with her sisters as well.

As she sat at the kitchen table, she enjoyed the view out of the back windows of The Mistletoe Inn. She hadn’t yet gotten tired of managing the inn alongside her parents, and she didn’t think she ever would.

Although she had her own little house on the property, which she shared with Rhett and Jay, she still felt every bit at home in the inn as she had all of the years that she’d lived in the little bedroom upstairs that had once been hers. She’d managed it for her entire life by then, alongside Rhonda and Donovan, and before that, she’d helped around the house and assisted her mother with baking and keeping guest ledgers even while she’d been in high school.

She honestly couldn’t imagine there ever having been anything else she would want to do.

Even when it came to the mundane tasks like these, as she scrolled down her laptop screen looking at supplies that she needed to order—salt for the sidewalks and some additional fencing to bolster part of the chicken coop that was beginning to look like it needed repairing—she still found joy in the process.

Thankfully, there was no chance of needing anything for the roof—the past Christmas, the entire Evergreen Hollow community had come together for a fundraiser to help with the emergency purchase of a new roof for the inn.

The sweetest part of it all was that the fundraiser itself had been a joint effort between her and her sisters, and it had been Margo’s idea. She thought of it every time she walked up to the inn and looked at the roof; a labor of love between her family and the community they were a part of.

She clicked over to another webpage, flicking through winter clothes for Jay, and saw an ad for resort clothing pop up. She thought it was funny, at first, seeing sundresses and linen shirts when they were in the first throes of winter, but then she had an idea. She clicked the ad to see if that particular store sold gift cards.

Rhonda and Donovan had told her at dinner the other night that they had plans to go to Malibu in January. They’d gotten married there, once upon a time, and wanted to go back for their wedding anniversary. It would have to be an early Christmas present, so they had time to go shopping, but Caroline thought that a new, summery wardrobe might be something fun for them both, for their trip.

Caroline just knew that she’d inherited her tendency to wear the same plain uniform of jeans and t-shirts or flannels every day from them both; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen either of them go shopping. The last time her father had replaced one of his old flannels, he’d just bought the exact same one again from L.L. Bean, but new.

She thought of the two of them, taking off for their first vacation in years to celebrate their anniversary, and her eyes misted over immediately. She blinked the tears away, surprised at herself. It’s just a trip, she thought, adding the gift cards to the cart and going to check out. She wasn’t sure why she was getting so emotional over her parents going on vacation.

As she put in her credit card information, she heard the sound of hurried footsteps. Margo, her younger sister, breezed into the room—Caroline wasn’t sure Margo ever went anywhere slowly—sniffing the air dramatically.

“Do I smell coffee? I need some, desperately. I’ll never make it through work today without it.” Margo hurried to the counter, her boots clicking against the tile.

She was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a loose, soft-looking charcoal gray sweater that slid off one shoulder, her dark blonde hair in a heavy braid that fell over one side, and clunky Docs. She’d been living in Caroline’s old room since she moved back last Christmas, and Caroline was glad that she’d moved out with Rhett by then, so that Margo could have the space. Nora and Margo’s childhood rooms had long since been converted to additional guest rooms, over the years.

Caroline let out a slow breath as Margo poured herself a cup of coffee, going to the refrigerator to get creamer.

“Oh, Mom got the pumpkin spice kind,” she said excitedly, plucking it out and pouring a healthy amount into her cup. “That was sweet of her.” She grabbed a spoon, glancing up at Caroline, her smile faltering as she did. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Caroline said, although she could feel that her eyes were still damp. “Just managing all the beginning-of-holiday chaos.”

Margo’s frown deepened, her eyes narrowing as she looked at her sister. “You look like you’re about to cry,” she said suspiciously. “I’ve never seen you cry. I didn’t think you even had tear ducts.”

“You don’t have to be that dramatic about it,” Caroline said exasperatedly.

“So you were about to cry.” Margo pounced immediately. “Seriously though, what’s going on? Do you need more coffee?”

She held up her mug, her voice teasing, but there was clear concern in it as well.

“No one should let you be caffeinated,” Caroline groused. She wiped her eyes on her sweater sleeve, shaking her head. “I’ve just been feeling emotional, I guess. Maybe it’s everyone being home from the beginning of the holidays to the end this year, for the first time. Maybe it’s just me getting older.” She laughed self-consciously. “But I was thinking about our parents going off for their anniversary, and I got all misty-eyed.” She shrugged. “Who knows why?”

“Hmm.” Margo pursed her lips, taking a sip of her coffee. “Actually, I have an idea. A great one, really.”

“You think all your ideas are great.” Caroline laughed, finishing her purchase of the gift cards before switching back to adding more sidewalk salt to the other cart.

Margo shrugged, gulping down more coffee. “I came up with the fundraiser idea for last year,” she pointed out.

“That’s true.” Caroline finished adding the last few items that they needed, including a new power strip for the outdoor lighting, and clicked buy . “That was a really good idea.”

“Right. So what if we did something special for Mom and Dad here, before they go on their trip? We could make it really special and nostalgic, and I bet they would really appreciate it. Something we can all share in before they go on vacation.”

It was a great idea, and Caroline found herself smiling as soon as she heard it. “I really like that,” she said, and Margo beamed.

“Perfect! We’ll have to tell Nora right away, and then we can get to planning. She’s going to love it, you know how much she loves planning absolutely anything.”

“She does,” Caroline agreed, closing her laptop and pushing it to one side as she watched Margo pour a second cup of coffee into a thermos mug from The Mellow Mug, then dose it heavily with pumpkin spice creamer. She hadn’t tried the new brand that Rhonda had picked up yet, and another cup of coffee did sound good. She got up, heading for the counter, just as Margo put the lid of hers on and started for the door.

“I’ve got to run, I’m going to be late for work at The Gazette !” Margo looped her arm around Caroline’s waist, giving her a quick side hug as she hurried by, disappearing out of the kitchen as the heavy thud of her boots reached the front door, and Caroline heard it slam.

She started to pour herself a cup of coffee, just in time to nearly jump out of her skin as the back door slammed open, almost in chorus with the front door doing the same as Margo left. Jay skidded through the kitchen—with muddy shoes, Caroline noticed with a sigh—bundled up heavily in his coat and snow boots.

“Some of my friends want to go sledding!” he called out, coming to a panting halt. “Can I go?”

Caroline smiled. The holiday break had just started, and already Jay was out from morning to night, spending time racing around the town with his friends. She knew Rhett was glad he’d made such good friends here; Rhett had worried about that, when he’d moved himself and Jay to Evergreen Hollow from Cleveland, a couple of years prior.

“Of course,” she told him. “But don’t lose another beanie, okay? You’re going through those like crazy.”

“I won’t,” Jay assured her, and then darted back out into the backyard, leaving as quickly as he’d rushed in.

Caroline smiled after him, leaning back against the counter as she finished pouring her coffee and added a tiny bit of the creamer. She took a sip, breathing in the fragrant steam—but for some reason, as the first taste hit her, she felt a flare of nausea, her stomach turning sour.

She frowned, setting the coffee back down. She rarely got sick, and she’d never had any problems drinking coffee before, no matter how strongly it was brewed. But she was a little stressed, with the chaotic beginnings of the season, and emotional over her parents’ anniversary for some reason that she couldn’t entirely place.

That’s all it is, she told herself as she poured herself a cup of iced tea instead and went back to the table to finish her work. Just stress, and too many emotions.