Mistletoe and Memories (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #4)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Nora glanced out of the darkened window as she carefully laid Madison in her crib, barely breathing to keep from waking her as she set the baby down. She tip-toed out of the dark room, careful not to bump anything, and silently shut the door behind her, thankful to have a carpenter husband who kept all the hinges in the house very well oiled.

She didn’t breathe until she was successfully down the hall, and then she let it out all at once, running a hand through her hair just as she realized that she’d had it in a ponytail. She let out another, frustrated breath, tugging it loose and rearranging her hair in a messy bun atop her head as she headed downstairs.

Lately, Madison had been having a hard time going down for the night. She seemed to want to stay up with her parents, but then she was cranky the next morning, fussing and crying, and Nora was exhausted. At the moment, all she wanted was to drop onto the couch and not move for as long as possible.

Aiden was just coming in the front door as she walked into the living room, and she smiled faintly at him. “Do you want some apple cider?” she asked, walking over to give him a hug. “Cold or hot, it won’t take long to warm it up.”

He shook his head, returning the hug and then retreating to the couch. “I’m too tired to even drink anything,” he said, sinking down onto one side of it. Nora sat down next to him, leaning her head back against the back of the sofa. She knew Aiden was just as exhausted as she was. Work had been relentless for him lately, which was mostly a good thing—with the new baby, they could use the extra income. There were always a million things that needed a carpenter right before winter, to make sure houses, sheds, barns and outbuildings could make it through the snow until spring. Jobs would still come in through the winter, things that needed repair from the weather, but it would be the slowest season. Nora knew Aiden was doing everything he could to make sure they were well ahead before that part of the year hit.

The adjustment of having a five-month-old, on top of that, was wearing on him as much as it was her.

She wanted to ask him about his day, but she felt too tired to form words, and from the look on his face, he was too exhausted to tell her. They sat there in companionable silence for a little while instead, before Nora finally sighed, leaning against his shoulder.

“Are you hungry?” she ventured, and Aiden shook his head.

“Nah, the owner of the house that we finished up on tonight had takeout for the crew from Rockridge. Nice of him. So we ate before we headed back. I thought you’d be happy about that—less to do tonight.”

“I’ll send the leftovers with you for lunch tomorrow, then.” She let out another sigh, and she felt Aiden turn, pressing a kiss against her hair.

“I’m going to go upstairs. Quietly ,” he added, with a tired laugh. “Don’t hurry up, just relax for a little while, okay? You look as beat as I am. Maybe more so.”

Nora nodded. “I might read for a little while.” She turned, giving him a quick kiss, before Aiden stood up and headed for the stairs to go up to their room.

She was just about to sink back into the couch and reach for her book when she heard the front door open, and two sets of footsteps walking in. She pushed herself up, startled, just in time to see Caroline and Margo walking in, dusting their boots off and setting them in the entryway.

“Shh!” she hissed, pressing an urgent finger against her lips. “Don’t wake the baby.”

“We won’t,” Caroline said quietly. She tucked her boots against the shoe rack in the entryway and took off her coat.

“We have something exciting to tell you though!” Margo chimed in. “Something very important to discuss.”

Nora let out a groan, resting her cheek against the back of the couch. “Can it wait? I want to know, but I’m exhausted. Really exhausted.”

“You just have to listen,” Margo said cheerfully. “Do you have any more of that apple cider? I’ll heat some up for all of us.”

Nora nodded, sinking back into the couch without further refusal. She knew Margo was just about impossible to dissuade once she got an idea in her head that she was excited about. “Okay,” she said tiredly, as Caroline came to join her on the couch and Margo disappeared into the kitchen.

“Where’s Aiden?” Caroline asked curiously, seating herself on one side of the couch.

“He already went to bed.” Nora gave her a lopsided smile. “But he probably won’t be asleep for long, since Madison will undoubtedly be awake in an hour or so.”

“Trouble sleeping?” Caroline asked curiously, and Nora nodded.

“She can’t stand to miss out on things,” she said with a tired laugh. “Wants to stay up twenty-four/seven. And as a result, she’s so cranky all of the time. As am I,” Nora admitted. “I’m finding out I don’t do so well on a very small amount of sleep.”

“I don’t think anyone does,” Caroline said with a laugh. “I need my eight hours.”

“Well, with an eight-year-old, that’s probably no trouble.”

“Oh, don’t be so sure.” Caroline shook her head. “Once Jay gets up and starts running in and out of the house and slamming doors, it’s hard to sleep through all of that.”

Margo walked back in a moment later, balancing three hot mugs of apple cider with a cinnamon stick in each. “Mom’s reminding me of all her tricks,” she said proudly, setting the mugs down. “The cinnamon stick in apple cider is one of my favorites.”

Nora gratefully took the apple cider, while Caroline got up to stoke the fire a bit, until it was leaping merrily in the fireplace. “So, what’s this thing we need to talk about?” she asked, feeling a little refreshed from the cider.

“I had an idea to do an early anniversary celebration for Mom and Dad,” Margo said, perching in the armchair next to the couch. “They’re going on that vacation to Malibu, but I thought we could do something special for them too. Especially now that we’re all back home, I thought it would be sweet. So we can all celebrate together before they go to California.”

“That is a really good idea,” Nora agreed. “I love that! And you know I love planning a good party.”

“Oh, I do,” Margo assured her.

“I found this too.” Caroline reached into her bag and slipped out a leather-backed book. “It’s a photo album I found in the attic of the inn. There are a bunch of pictures of Mom and Dad in it, from just before they got married.” She flipped it open, thumbing through the photos as the two sisters leaned over on opposite sides, looking at the pictures of skiing and snowball fights and even a photo of them in Newport on the beach.

“This one is from Rockridge Grill, way back in the day,” Caroline said, pointing to one of the photos at the bottom of the page.

“Ooh, it had like an old fifties malt shop vibe then,” Margo said, studying the photo. “It’s so cute.”

“So were they,” Nora said with a smile.

“I think it would be fun if we could recreate this,” Caroline said, tapping the photo. “I want to talk to Jonathan Keller, the chef there. I think he might let us convert and decorate the back room, so we can recreate that date for them.”

“That’s a perfect idea!” Margo said enthusiastically. “But I think that we should think of more surprises too. I’ll try to subtly pry for some ideas without giving it away.”

“You think you can be subtle?” Caroline asked with a laugh, and Margo elbowed her.

“More subtle than you.”

“That’s true,” Nora agreed. “And I love all of these ideas. I’ll do whatever I can to help, but…” She yawned, widely enough that she thought her jaw might pop. “I’m so exhausted. I need to go to sleep.”

“Okay, we’ll leave you be.” Margo collected the mugs to take back into the kitchen and rinse them out, and then both girls hugged Nora, telling her they’d talk soon. Nora waved goodbye to them, carefully shutting the door and locking it in hopes that she’d make it upstairs to bed in peace.

But just as she flipped the lock, she heard Madison start to cry from upstairs.