Mistletoe and Memories (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #4)

Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

That evening after dinner, Margo decided to hang out in the living room with Donovan and Rhonda. It was a rare almost-entirely-quiet moment at the inn, since almost all of the guests were out having dinner at Marie’s or Rockridge, or having a drink at the pub. Living at the inn meant that family time without anyone else around was rare, and Margo wanted to enjoy it for the moment.

“I’ll get us some hot cocoa,” Rhonda declared, once Donovan was settled in front of the fireplace with a soft blanket and his slippers, disappearing into the kitchen. As soon as she was out of earshot, Margo turned to her father.

“We’re planning a surprise for Mom for your anniversary,” she whispered. She’d already spilled the beans to Rhonda about Donovan’s half of the surprise, so she thought it was only fair to tell him a little bit about the other part, so he could anticipate it as well. “We have a whole scavenger hunt planned. Starting with her favorite coffee at The Mellow Mug. We want to recreate a bunch of things from your dates, and the day you proposed to her.”

Donovan’s face instantly lit up. “That’s amazing, Margo,” he said sincerely, reaching over to pat her hand. “Your mother is going to love that.”

“The three of us wanted to do something special. Especially since you have this big trip planned and now it’s sort of in question what might happen with it.” Margo bit her lip. “But even before that, we had plans for this. We wanted to be in on the celebrations too.”

Donovan nodded, letting out a breath. “This wasn’t the best time to start feeling under the weather,” he agreed. “It’s awfully sweet for you girls to want to do something for us.”

“Of course we do,” Margo said sincerely. “You mean the world to us, all three of us. And you gave us a great example of what we should expect when we fell in love. We want to celebrate that too.”

Donovan smiled. “I was so excited to propose to your mother,” he said wistfully. “Leon and I worked for ages on this house. I wanted everything to be perfect. The house, the proposal, all of it. I don’t know how I managed to keep it all from her; your mother is smart as a whip. It took a lot of planning, and I still thought she was going to figure it out. And she was so happy that day. One of the best days of our lives, of mine, definitely. And we’ve had a whole lot of good days.”

Margo nodded, listening as he talked. Her father had always been the quiet type, so it was rare he started to share this much. She wanted to soak it all up while she could.

“Everyone wants life to be a fairytale,” Donovan continued, his expression nostalgic. “They all focus on the good times, the perfect moments, and want it all to be that way all the time. The proposals, the wedding days, the day when your kids are born. The days when you’re on those big highs. But it can’t always be the highs, or they wouldn’t feel that good. And even those times don’t always go the way you picture them.”

He patted Margo’s hand again, smiling at her. “Things don’t always go the way you picture them. But life can be beautiful anyway, when you trust the direction it’s going in. Better, even.”

Margo bit her lip. “I never expected to be living back in Evergreen Hollow,” she admitted. “That was definitely never on my radar. I avoided even visiting for so long. I definitely never thought I’d come back here for any length of time, and definitely not to live for good. It all happened so fast too. Like a whirlwind.”

“How are things going with Spencer?” Donovan asked cautiously, and Margo smiled.

“They’re great,” she said seriously. “Really great. He’s patient and kind and I could talk to him for hours. He loves hearing all my stories about my job before, and we think the same about a lot of things. He used to live in a big city, so he gets the parts of it I miss too. At least I think he does, most of the time. But I’m so in love with him. I never thought I’d meet anyone like him, and I feel so lucky that he loves me too,” she said sincerely. “He makes me really happy.”

Donovan smiled. “That’s good,” he said. “I’m glad all three of you girls have found someone who loves you and treats you right. Has this rehash of me and your mother’s engagement given you any ideas, by the way?” he asked teasingly. “The other two already got hitched, you’re the only one left.”

Margo laughed at that, even though she felt a small, swimming sensation of anxiety in her stomach. “I have every intention of leaving the proposing up to him,” she said. Her gaze drifted toward the window as she said it, where she could see that the snow had started to fall again, and then she gasped, jumping up from her chair.

“Look at that!” She walked a few steps toward the window, gesturing at a tree outside. There was a snowy owl perched there, visible just around the corner. “They never come this close to houses. That’s amazing.”

“You’re right.” Donovan pushed himself up a little, peering in the direction of the window. “This one looks like it feels pretty comfortable though.”

Margo watched the owl, marveling at how beautiful it was, sitting there on the branch in the lightly fallen snow, illuminated a little by the Christmas lights outside. And then, as she watched the bird, an idea sprang into her head.

She retreated to her chair, grabbing the notepad she always kept close by to scribble it down. She’d felt like the usual holiday articles weren’t quite enough, but now she had an idea to spice them up, to add something different to what she’d described to Spencer as the ‘same old, same old.’

The snowy owl had done it. She’d hunt the town spots where they usually were, she thought, and create a whole spread about them. She’d take pictures, like she used to, and talk Sabrina into letting her do a feature.

It was exactly the burst of energy that she needed.