Mistletoe and Memories (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #4)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Sunday morning, the day of the anniversary festivities had arrived. When Margo got to Caroline’s house, Nora was already there with Madison, looking excited and happy. They were all brimming with excitement. It felt like they’d been planning for so long, and now it was all coming together. They couldn’t wait to see their parents’ reactions when they saw what the three girls had planned for them.

Margo went straight for the coffee pot, glad to see that it was full. Nora was feeding pumpkin spice Cheerios to Madison one at a time, trying to keep her distracted as she sipped her own coffee. As she passed Caroline, Margo smelled peppermint tea, and she gave her older sister a sympathetic smile. Clearly, Caroline was still dealing with the nausea from her pregnancy.

She poured herself a cup of coffee, grinning when she saw that Caroline had gotten peppermint chocolate creamer. It was definitely starting to feel like Christmas.

“All right,” Caroline said, as Margo joined them at the table with her coffee. “Let’s go over the plans for the day, starting with the scavenger hunt.”

“Sounds good.” Nora handed Madison another Cheerio.

“I already got up and did the baking that Mom would normally do this morning. Which made me really miss caffeine,” Caroline added with a laugh. “But as soon as she heads down, she’ll find the note on the oven.” She held up her phone, showing them the note she’d left that they’d all decided on.

Your work for today is already done, but you still deserve a boost of caffeine—you’re going to need it for this adventure!

Margo grinned. “I love it,” she said. “So what comes next after that?”

“After that, the next surprise will be at The Mellow Mug, where there will be a note on her cup that says she needs to go get an outfit. Melanie already has that all under control. And she should know that in Plymouth, there’s still the clothing store where she bought her outfit for her first date with Dad. So when she gets there, there will be a gift card waiting for her. The receipt for that will lead her to Rockridge Grill, for the malt shop surprise.”

“I’m so excited.” Nora bounced Madison on her lap, giving her the last of the Cheerios. “Okay, so we should head up to the inn shortly, right?”

Caroline nodded, and the three girls finished their tea and coffee, all buzzing with excitement to find out how the day would go. They couldn’t wait to see the expressions on Rhonda and Donovan’s faces as they saw the surprises waiting for them.

They all walked up to the inn, feeling like excited teenagers again as they burst into the kitchen to see if Rhonda had found her note. They immediately saw that it was gone from the oven, a clear sign that Rhonda had gotten it.

“Okay!” Nora said happily. “We should go ahead and get to The Mellow Mug, then.”

There was a basket of chocolate mint chip muffins on the counter, and Nora and Margo both grabbed one. “These are amazing,” Nora said, feeding Madison a bite as they headed back out into the crisp, cold morning. “You did such a good job, Caroline.”

Caroline smiled, clearly pleased. Margo refilled her coffee, and followed her sisters out, feeling a swell of happiness as the cold air stung her cheeks.

Not all that long ago, she would have missed out on this special day. But she was here, with her sisters, and with her whole family.

She felt so grateful, as they started the walk down the street, that she’d come home.

That she was back here, in this small, cozy town, with the people who mattered the most to her.

A short walk later, they confirmed with Melanie that Rhonda had gotten the coffee that they’d arranged to leave for her, with a note on it that would say ‘Now that the coffee has done its magic, it’s time for Cinderella to get an outfit for the ball!’

That, of course, would lead Rhonda to her favorite clothing shop in Burlington, a little boutique called ‘Cinderella’s Slipper’, where Rhonda had gotten her outfit for her first date with Donovan. Rhonda had already left, so they would need to get on the road quickly, but they paused to order drinks for the road.

“I would love a peppermint tea,” Caroline told Melanie, after Nora and Margo had both put in coffee orders. Privately, she wondered how on earth Margo managed to put down so much coffee—she was pretty sure that that was her third cup so far. Luckily, just the smell no longer made Caroline feel like she was going to throw up, but all the same, she still couldn’t seem to stomach even decaf. Peppermint tea had seemed to ease the nausea though, and she didn’t want to risk anything ruining the special day. It was important to her—to all of them—that the day go just as they had hoped it would.

Especially as it was still all so up in the air whether or not Rhonda and Donovan would be able to go on their originally planned trip to Malibu. Everything was still arranged as far as Caroline knew, the last time she had asked her mother about it, but she knew there was a good chance that they would simply have to cancel. So it was especially important to her, and to her sisters, that this all work out, so that no matter what happened, there would be good memories surrounding the anniversary this year.

The girls all piled into Caroline’s Subaru—Caroline with her tea, Margo with a maple latte, and Nora with her favorite cinnamon bun latte. Madison was buckled in the back, next to Nora, who had a small plastic bag with more of the Cheerios to keep Madison happy on the drive.

They turned the Christmas music up, enjoying the snowy scenery as they drove to Burlington, their spirits higher than any of them had felt in weeks. Even the knowledge that she still had yet to tell Rhett about the baby couldn’t bring her down, with how perfect the day was going so far. And Nora seemed to be in high spirits too, even as tired as she clearly was. They’d all been waiting for this day, and it seemed to supersede any of their other worries.

“How is the newspaper article going?” Caroline asked Margo as she drove, and Margo grinned.

“Great. I got some amazing pictures of the owls. And it’s really made me excited to work on articles for the paper again, thinking about what other topics I could pitch to Sabrina. Other landmarks, or wildlife spots that I could write about.” Margo took a sip of her maple latte, speaking faster as she got more and more excited. “I’ll admit I was starting to get restless, it’s been a year, and I felt like I didn’t really know what I was going to do here. But now I’m starting to feel excited again. Like I have something to focus on.”

“That’s really good,” Caroline said sincerely. “You need things like that. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have something you’re passionate about. Nora has her event planning that she’s made work here, and I have the inn.” She looked over at Margo, smiling. “You should have something like that too. And there’s no reason to feel bad, just because you’re restless. Maybe you could even do some freelancing,” she suggested. “Write some articles or take photos that would have you taking short trips and then coming back to turn in the projects remotely. That way you could travel, and still be here with us.”

“I’ve definitely thought about that. And Spencer would encourage it, I’m sure.”

Caroline smiled, thinking of what she knew, and the ring that Spencer was still holding onto. She had no idea when Spencer planned to give it to Margo, but she was glad to hear that Margo was feeling better about staying put in Evergreen Hollow. “Did you talk to Spencer about all of that?” she asked. “About the articles, and feeling better?” When Margo nodded, Caroline let out a breath of relief. She had started to worry, and she knew Nora had too. But it was clear that Margo had just needed to find a better groove, and it seemed that was happening—and that she and Spencer were on the same page about it all.

They arrived in Burlington, and Caroline parked, the three girls and Madison heading for Cinderella’s Slipper. They walked, bundled up, down the cobblestone street to the small, white-painted building with blue shutters, a brisk, cold breeze blowing snowflakes around them in large swirls.

The minute they walked inside the warm shop, they saw Rhonda talking to the owner, a gray-haired woman dressed in a long skirt and fisherman’s wool sweater, her glasses on a pearl chain around her neck. “There they are!” the woman called out, and Caroline smiled.

“Hi, Beatrice,” she said, holding open the door for Nora and Margo to follow her in. “Did you give it to her yet?”

“Give me what?” Rhonda asked, at the same moment that Beatrice responded.

“Not yet. I was waiting on you girls.” She pushed a small gold envelope over to Rhonda, who looked confusedly at her daughters before opening the envelope to find the gift card nestled inside.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that!” Rhonda exclaimed, looking at the three girls, but it was clear from the smile on her face that she was thoroughly excited. “Oh my gosh, I haven’t been shopping in so long.”

“We know,” Caroline said with a laugh. “Which is exactly why we planned this. You need the perfect outfit for the rest of what we have planned!”

“What’s that?” Rhonda asked, setting the gift card back down. “I have to have some idea if I’m going to pick out an outfit, right?”

“You’re not finding out our secrets that easily,” Margo said, grinning at her mother. “But I will say you should pick out something nice. Something you’d wear out for the evening, but not too fancy. Something?—”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Nora chimed in. “You’ll give it away! Just try on a bunch of stuff you like,” she added. “And then we’ll tell you what we think. Since we know what you’re going to wear it for.”

The three girls sat down in the plush vintage chairs arranged outside of the dressing rooms, waiting for their mother to do her shopping. Rhonda bustled back and forth, adding items to the dressing room until she finally went in to try them on.

There was a pair of rust-colored corduroy boot-cut pants with a cream-colored cashmere sweater that Rhonda was sure would go perfectly with a pair of boots that she hadn’t worn in a long time, and a cranberry-colored knit sweater dress that Nora was absolutely in love with. Margo was a huge fan of a butterfly-print black shirt dress with a wide belt, and Caroline liked a pair of flattering dark jeans that Rhonda found, paired with a dark green angora sweater.

The outfit that they all agreed was perfect though, was a gray and green plaid calf-length skirt with an asymmetrical hem, a dark red cashmere sweater, and a wide braided black belt. “That’s really flattering,” Nora said when Rhonda stepped out. “You look like a catalog model for a New England fashion magazine.”

“And the hem is fun,” Margo added, still looking wistfully at the butterfly dress.

“And it’s comfortable.” Caroline watched her mother turn in a circle. “Beautiful and comfy, the best of both worlds.”

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out, wanting to make sure that it was nothing to do with Jay or the inn. With children and a business, she reflected, she didn’t really ever get to completely turn her phone off. Rhett and Aiden had both promised to stop in to the inn throughout the day to make sure that nothing was on fire—literally or figuratively—but she still felt like she needed to make sure.

Instead, she saw Jonathan’s name pop up on the screen. She winced, holding up a finger to let the others know she’d be right back as she got up and hurried to the front door to answer the call.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, and she heard Jonathan sigh on the other end.

“Not exactly. There’s a problem with the room you girls wanted to use for your parents’ surprise tonight. Someone should probably come by and take a look.”

Caroline let out a breath, rubbing her temples. “Okay,” she said finally. “I’m in Burlington, but I’ll head that way. I’ll be there in just a little bit.”

She hung up the phone, going back to where Nora and Margo were waiting for Rhonda to come out of the dressing room. “I have to go,” she said. “But just keep having fun and stick to the plan. I’ll touch base with you guys in a little while.”

Nora frowned. “Is everything okay?”

“Something with the room at Rockridge,” she said, lowering her voice. “But I’m going to go handle it. I’ll make sure everything is set for tonight. Just make sure Mom has a good afternoon.”

“We can definitely do that,” Nora assured her. “Let me know when you know what’s going on.”

“I will,” Caroline promised. “Just ride back with Mom.”

She headed out to get her car, a little disappointed that she was going to miss out on part of the afternoon. But none of that mattered as long as the day went off without a hitch—or at least with as little of a hitch as possible.

The Christmas music on the radio helped lift her spirits as she drove back to Evergreen Hollow and Rockridge Grill. It was still a beautiful drive, and after all, the day was about Rhonda having a good time. Whatever she and her sisters had to do to smooth out any wrinkles to make sure that happened, that was what they’d do.

She parked and walked into Rockridge Grill. She could smell the spiced scent of burgers from the lunch special, and her stomach growled as she walked up to the counter. A moment later, Jonathan came out, his expression sympathetic.

“A back window broke,” he said, pointing to the room. “I guess one of the tree branches back there got too weighted down with snow and went through the glass. I should have looked at it,” he said apologetically. “But no one’s used that room in so long, I didn’t even think about something like that happening. But there’s no way it can be repaired in time for that dinner this evening. We can clean up the glass, but the cold is coming through, and it’s going to look pretty bad all taped and boarded up until the repairman can come.”

“No, we don’t want that.” Caroline sighed. Nora would have a fit if her perfectly decorated aesthetic for the room was marred with a boarded-up window, and she didn’t want that for her parents’ special dinner either. And the cold was too much of a problem too, especially with Donovan already not feeling well.

“I’ll figure something out,” she said firmly. She was going to make the surprise work, no matter what. “I’ll go talk to Leon,” she added. “He’ll have an idea, I’m sure. And then I’ll come back and collect the stuff from the room, if that’s okay?”

“Sure thing,” Jonathan said. “And I’ll go put together a to-go box for you, to make up for it. I’ve got thyme and rosemary-spiced burgers today, with homemade mustard and a goat cheese spread. And house fries with garlic aioli. How does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect,” Caroline said, her stomach rumbling slightly to remind her that she hadn’t eaten since the muffin she’d picked at this morning. She just hoped she could keep it down.

She also hoped that Leon had a solution. As assured as she’d wanted to sound, she wasn’t entirely certain that something could be done this late in the game.

But they would figure something out. Nothing was going to ruin the day.