Mistletoe and Memories (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #4)

Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Early in the morning, Caroline met Nora and Margo at The Mellow Mug.

They’d agreed to all grab coffee and then go to the Sugar Maple General Store to pick up some things that they needed for the surprise they were putting together for their parents, and Caroline had been happy to do it.

Leon would have a new catalog in as well, and they planned to look through that and see what they could possibly order to make the vision Nora had in her head happen. She had a number of sources as well, but as always, they wanted to keep it all as local as possible. Anything that they could get from somewhere in Evergreen Hollow would just make it that much better.

She was excited to see what they could find, but as she walked into the coffee shop and saw Nora and Margo talking to Melanie as they put in their coffee order, she found that she couldn’t entirely focus.

She’d tried to make a doctor’s appointment with Spencer at the clinic, but after listing off her symptoms, he’d gently suggested she make an appointment with her OB/GYN in Burlington. That particular suggestion had kept her up all night, but she’d made the appointment in the morning. She wasn’t the type to fret, but she felt anxious, and it was hard to not let it show as she walked up to join her sisters.

Caroline waited while Margo put in her order for a maple latte and a cinnamon roll, and Nora ordered a cinnamon dolce.

“I’d like a caramel maple latte,” she said when Melanie glanced over at her. “And maybe a piece of coffeecake.” She wasn’t sure she’d be able to stomach the coffee, but she didn’t want to raise any questions that she wasn’t ready to answer yet by not getting something, and she could at least sip at it.

While they ate their pastries and sipped at the coffee, Nora went over what they had planned so far. They’d managed to get permission to turn the back room of Rockridge Grill into something that would resemble the malt-shop look that it had had when Rhonda and Donovan were dating, and now they just had to start gathering the things they would need to accomplish it.

They walked from the coffee shop to the general store, Caroline still taking the smallest sips of her coffee. It tasted more sweet than usual, and her stomach felt vaguely nauseated, like she wasn’t quite sure if it was settling or not. She’d thought she might have caught a stomach bug, but clearly Spencer had thought that it was something else altogether.

When they opened the door to the general store and walked in, they saw Bethany, Leon’s wife, behind the counter as well, talking to her husband. She was waiting on a client to come back and pick up their dog from its appointment at the grooming salon next door that Bethany owned—she was holding a small black toy poodle in her arms, with a red and green bow clipped into its fur. The small dog yapped as the three women walked in, and Bethany beamed at them, smiling broadly.

“Well, what a nice surprise.” Leon smiled as well, running a hand down his thick, white beard as he looked over at the sisters. “All three Stoker girls in my shop on a Friday morning. What can I help you with?”

“We had a few things we needed to buy,” Nora said. “And we wanted to look through the catalog.”

Leon grinned. “Looking to get a new chandelier?”

Nora sighed, and Caroline couldn’t help chuckling at that. A couple of years ago, right after Nora and Aiden had gotten married, Nora had gotten it into her head that she wanted to throw a big Christmas party in the old Victorian house that they’d bought.

Being the event planner that she was, the space had to be perfect, even if it was her own living room. She’d decided that the perfect centerpiece for the living room was a chandelier that she’d tried to order from one of Leon’s catalogs, only to find out that there was no possible way it would arrive anywhere near on time. Instead, the whole community had come together to DIY one themselves, donating crystals and glass trinkets to make a chandelier that still hung in Nora’s living room.

“No,” Nora assured him with a laugh. “The one I have is perfect. But we’re putting together a surprise for our parents, and we need some decorations.”

“A surprise?” Leon’s smile broadened. “For their anniversary? What kind of surprise?”

“Can you keep a secret?” Margo chimed in. “Both of you?”

“Of course,” Bethany said, nodding. “We both can,” she added, and Leon nodded solemnly.

“Not a word.”

Margo and Nora, alternating, explained the vision they had so far—recreating the malt shop date, and something involving the scavenger hunt that had led their mother to the spot where Donovan had proposed to her in front of the new house. “We’re still working on other ideas,” Nora explained. “But starting there.”

“Man, that seems like ages ago,” Leon reminisced. “I still remember how hard it was to keep that house a secret. Your mama is a smart lady. And she always knew your father real well. It was hard to not let on that it was for her, especially when Donovan kept needing to ask her questions about things she liked. He always phrased it as wanting to hear what she thought about the projects he was working on, curious about her opinions, all of that. But I’m surprised she didn’t catch on. I guess she just didn’t imagine he’d build her a house from scratch.” Leon grinned. “Donovan might not seem like it, but he’s real determined when he sets his mind to something.”

“That’s so romantic,” Margo sighed, as she and Nora flipped through the catalog, with Caroline peering over their shoulders.

“Those glasses would work really well,” Caroline said, pointing out a set of old-fashioned milkshake glasses. “And look at the striped straws.”

They made a list of everything that they wanted, handing it to Leon as Nora pulled out her credit card to pay for the purchases. They divided it up, and Margo and Caroline both said they would send her their portion of what they owed.

“Should all be here in about a week,” Leon said. “I’m curious to see what you girls do with it.”

“I need to get going,” Caroline said, waving to her sisters. “I have that appointment in Burlington. But I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Sounds good,” both Nora and Margo chimed in, waving back. “See you later.”

One of the detriments of getting very little sleep, Nora thought as she got back home, was that everything tired her out. Much more than it used to. Once upon a time—not all that long ago, even though it felt like it—going out for coffee and a little shopping with her sisters would have energized her. Now she was wondering if Madison might take a long enough nap for Nora to get one in too.

Aiden had said he would go in to work late so that Nora could have the morning to herself, and she was grateful for it. Even with the coffee she’d had, she managed to just give him a quick kiss goodbye, before taking Madison upstairs to put her in her crib, in the hopes that they could both get a small nap in. Now the baby was sleeping soundly, and she tiptoed carefully out of the room, making a beeline for her own bedroom as soon as she was out in the hall.

She was just about to flop down atop the bed and close her eyes for a minute when her cell phone started to buzz.

Nora rolled over, about to silence it, when she saw Caroline’s name on the screen. She reached to answer it instead, knowing Caroline wouldn’t call unless something was up. Caroline had never been the type to just call and chat, she’d send a text if it was a casual conversation. And Nora knew she’d had the appointment in Burlington that afternoon.

“Hello?” She settled onto her back as she answered it, closing her eyes anyway for just a second. She wasn’t entirely sure that she wouldn’t doze off just from that.

“Nora. Mom just called. Dad is having trouble with his heart again. Spencer wants him to go up to the hospital in Burlington, so he’s headed there now. I’m about to drive over.” There was the sound of boots crunching in snow, and the beep of Caroline unlocking her car.

Nora sat up, fully awake. “I’ll grab Madison and meet you there,” she said quickly. “I’ll let Aiden know.”

She hurriedly texted Aiden as she jumped up, wincing when she had to wake Madison up from her nap. The baby started to cry as Nora got her into her warm clothes and tiny boots, clearly frustrated at having been woken up when she’d finally decided to sleep.

“I know, baby,” Nora crooned, feeling like she was fighting back tears herself. She was so tired, and everything felt overwhelming. That, combined with the new worry for Donovan, made her feel as if she wanted to sit down on the nursery floor and start crying too. But she knew that would only make matters worse.

Her phone buzzed again, with a text from Aiden telling her to drive safe, and to let him know if she needed him to head up to Burlington too. She typed out a quick response and an ‘I love you,’ and hurried out to the car, starting it so it would warm up while she got Madison into her car seat.

The drive wasn’t actually all that long, but it felt as if it took forever. Nora felt jittery and anxious the entire way, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. The monotony of the drive lulled Madison back into her nap, which was a relief, but Nora knew she would be cranky as soon as they got to the hospital and Nora had to wake her up again. She couldn’t really blame her.

She put Madison in a baby sling strapped to her front as soon as she got her out, maneuvering carefully along the snowy sidewalks to the hospital doors. She found Caroline, Margo, and Spencer all sitting in the waiting room, and Caroline stood up as soon as she saw Nora, crossing the room to meet her.

“Mom is in back, in the room with Dad,” Caroline said. “It’s been a while, but they said they’ll try to update us soon.”

Nora nodded, sinking down into one of the chairs across from Margo and Spencer. Madison made a hiccupping noise that sounded like she might start crying, and Nora held her breath for a second, but then Madison relaxed against her again. Nora let out a sigh, glad that Madison had settled down, for now, at least. The car ride seemed to have soothed her.

“They don’t seem too worried,” Margo said, leaning forward so she could talk quietly. “They ran some tests. And they want to keep him here for a couple of days, just to watch him.”

Nora glanced at Spencer, but his face betrayed nothing. “That doesn’t sound good,” she said hesitantly, and Margo pressed her lips together.

“I know. I’m worried too. But they said this is all normal for a heart-related scare, and that it’s probably nothing serious.”

“It is normal for them to be extra-cautious when it comes to heart problems,” Spencer added calmly. “So I wouldn’t worry until one of the doctors says there’s cause for concern. Right now, it does seem like they’re just being careful.”

Nora nodded, still worried, but a little calmed by Spencer’s attitude. Caroline seemed tense too, and as one of the nurses came out to tell Margo and Spencer that they could go back to see Donovan, Nora glanced over at her older sister.

“Are you holding up okay?” she asked, and Caroline nodded. But Nora still thought that she seemed shaken. “Are you sure?” She hesitated. “It was convenient you were here for your doctor’s appointment today. You were able to just already be here when they brought him in. I’m sure that was a big relief for Mom?—”

Nora broke off, her mouth dropping open as she saw Caroline’s eyes fill with tears. She didn’t think she’d ever seen her older sister cry before. She was sure Caroline must have, at some point, but it just wasn’t something Caroline did.

“Caroline?” She blinked, unsure of what to say. “He’s going to be okay. You heard Spencer, they’re just being cautious.”

“It’s not that.” Caroline wiped at her eyes. “It’s my appointment. I…” She hesitated, looking down?”

“What?” Nora’s voice rose a little, panicked that something was wrong with her sister too, and Madison let out a whine. She quickly smoothed her hand over her daughter’s head, urging her to settle down again.

Caroline glanced at the baby. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered, looking something between uncertain and terrified. “We definitely weren’t trying to—I don’t know how Rhett is going to feel about it,” she admitted in a rush. “We didn’t have any plans to have children, and we have such a good thing going with Jay. Routines, a good rhythm, everything is great. And now it’s going to be all shaken up. I don’t know if Rhett is going to be upset about changing it all up so unexpectedly. I don’t even know if he wants more kids. We never even thought about trying.”

She threw her hands up partway and let them fall back onto her knees, looking more lost than Nora had ever imagined her older sister could look.

Nora reached out, putting her hand over Caroline’s as she rocked Madison back and forth.

“He’s going to be thrilled,” she said gently. “And I know I look like a wreck all of the time,” she added with a laugh, “but babies are a blessing. Mom always said that, and I didn’t believe it until I had Madison, but it’s true. And even though sometimes I feel like I’m falling apart at the seams, I really am happy.”

“I know.” Caroline frowned, wiping a hand across her eyes. “It’s not that—I just don’t know how Rhett is going to feel. And it’s a shock.”

Nora nodded. “Of course it is. But you need to tell him,” she said gently. “He’ll be thrilled, I promise.”

Caroline let out a breath. “I will,” she said. “But for now, let’s keep it between us. There’s a lot going on right now, and I want it to be right.”

“I won’t tell a soul,” Nora promised, still holding her sister’s hand, as they sat there together in the waiting room.