Snowflakes and Surprises (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #2)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Rhett Dawkins was utterly exhausted.

It was ten o’clock at night—the clock on his truck’s dash wouldn’t let him forget it, in bright green numbers—and he’d just arrived in Evergreen Hollow after a long, sometimes hair-raising drive. He wouldn’t normally have chosen to move right in the middle of the holiday season, in the snowy winter, from Cleveland to this small corner of Vermont. But he’d gotten a good opportunity… a job as the newest member of the fire department in the sleepy town, and they’d needed a fresh start.

He glanced in the rear-view mirror as he pulled into the snowy driveway, seeing that Josiah was asleep in the back. The nine-year-old had been a ball of energy for most of the drive, but he’d passed out a few hours ago. Rhett was more than ready to do that himself.

The past few weeks had been chaos. He’d sold his house in Cleveland and wrapped things up with his former job, and then packed up the small U-Haul he’d hitched to the truck and brought his son and all their things to Evergreen Hollow.

The driveway wasn’t cleared, and he steered carefully to a spot in front of the house he’d purchased sight-unseen, with just some photos online and the real estate agent’s advice to go on. The yard was going to need shoveling, that was for sure—something they only had to deal with every few winters in Cleveland—but that was a problem he’d tackle the next day.

“We’re here, buddy,” he said, glancing over his shoulder again to where Jay was stirring. The little boy blinked, adjusting his glasses sleepily, then came wide awake as he saw that they’d finally made it to their new home.

“Snow!” he shouted excitedly, as Rhett climbed down out of the truck and opened the door for Jay.

His son was jumping into the nearest drift immediately, full of energy that Rhett couldn’t possibly comprehend just then. All he wanted was to fall into the nearest bed, but there were still things that needed to be done before he slept.

Thankfully, the house had come furnished, so they wouldn’t have to crash in sleeping bags or on an air mattress for their first night. He might replace some of it eventually, make the house more their own, he thought as he walked around to unlock the back of the U-Haul. But for now, it was one thing he didn’t have to worry about, and that felt like a relief.

It took an hour to unload the bulk of the boxes from the U-Haul. He left some things to deal with in the morning—things that wouldn’t be affected by the cold, but most of it was stacked around their living room by the time Rhett stopped to take a breather.

He looked for his son. Jay was excited about the new house, thank goodness. He’d run circles in the snow for the first half hour, before starting to explore the house while Rhett had unloaded boxes. It was an older house, and as Rhett started to look around, he couldn’t help but start to point out a few fire hazards here and there.

Comes with the job, I guess, he thought wryly to himself, watching his son explore the nooks and crannies in the house as Rhett took a tour of the rooms.

It had the sort of interesting floor plan that older houses tended to have—built-ins and small nooks and things that had some use a hundred years ago, but not so much of one now. But he liked it. It gave the place charm, unlike the rectangle-shaped ranch home he’d owned back in Ohio. There were plenty of charming houses to be had around the Cleveland area, but the one he’d owned with his ex-wife wasn’t one of them.

He grinned indulgently as he watched Jay tear around the house, exclaiming excitedly at each new thing he found.

“I’m going to put my action figures here!” Jay called out, running to one of the boxes marked Jay’s toys , and flopping down onto the floor to open it. He pulled out a handful—a GI Joe, a Spiderman, a Batman and a Batmobile, and ran back to the nook by the stairs, starting to organize them in a diorama that clearly made sense in his nine-year-old mind.

“You just have fun with that,” Rhett said, as he went to go start unpacking some of the things they’d need for the first night. He’d grabbed some freezer meals to get them started until he could go grocery shopping, but they’d still need silverware, and he figured he might as well get some of the dishes and things unpacked. “Maybe get some of your other things unpacked, buddy, and pick out which room you want to be yours. You can have any of them except the first room on the left.

That was the master bedroom, which looked more than spacious enough for one bachelor. There was even a second fireplace in it, smaller than the downstairs one—and he intended to check them both out thoroughly before lighting either one.

The house had gas heating, and the lines had been checked prior to the sale, so they’d be relying on that until he could be sure the fireplaces were safe. There were three other bedrooms upstairs and one other bathroom. The downstairs had a living room, another larger room that would be good as an office, library, or TV room, the kitchen, and then a semi-finished basement.

It was a big house, probably too big for the two of them, but it had come at a good price, and there hadn’t been that many places for sale in Evergreen Hollow. It seemed like when people moved there, they stayed until they passed away, which Rhett thought boded well for the sort of town he’d wanted to move to. Somewhere quiet and stable, with good people, where Jay could be safe and make good friends.

The house had been an estate sale, held onto by the prior owner’s kids and sold after their mother had passed away. She hadn’t passed away in the house, which he was glad for he reflected, as he put away dishes and pulled out two Hungry Man meals for himself and Jay. That would have been a little too creepy, in such an old house.

It was quiet, he thought, as he turned the oven on and slid their dinners inside. Quieter even than the suburbs outside of Cleveland had been. He could hear the rustling of the trees behind the house and the faint echo of the wind, and he found it soothing. He liked the quiet, after so much turmoil and upheaval.

“Jay!” he called out when the dinners were ready. “Come eat! Then we’ve got to get you to bed, little man.”

Jay came running, hopping up onto one of the chairs at the worn dining table. Everything in the house felt worn and well-loved, and Rhett wondered how much of it he really would replace, as they sat down to their food. He kind of liked the idea of keeping a lot of it, of giving it a second life with his little family. There were probably a lot of memories in this house, with this furniture, and he didn’t feel inclined to toss it all and replace it with new things.

That was the point of living somewhere like this, he thought. Enjoying things as they were, rather than needing something bright and shiny. Enjoying the history of it, and the slow-moving pace of things.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Jay asked excitedly, shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth. The dinner definitely wasn’t up to Rhett’s usual standards, but his son didn’t seem to notice.

“Well, I figured we’d do a little more unpacking.” Rhett saw his son’s face fall, and he chuckled. “And then we’ll go outside and explore. Maybe make a snowman.”

“A snowball fight?” Jay looked at his father hopefully, and Rhett shrugged, laughing.

“Why not? It’s been a while since you’ve seen a heavy snow, and not one this good. But this is every winter from here on out, bud.”

“Good.” Jay’s enthusiasm was palpable, and Rhett smiled. He was glad to see that his son was happy to be here. It had been a hard few months, and he’d been worried about picking up and moving, whether or not the upheaval would be bad for Jay. He loved his son, and he only wanted the best for him. But now, it seemed clear that he’d made the right choice.

Despite his son’s seemingly boundless energy, he could see Jay getting sleepy again as he finished his barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn—such as it was. Rhett got up and cleared off the plastic trays, tossing them in the recycling and making a mental note of incidental things they’d need for the kitchen as he did. “Upstairs, little man,” he said, guiding his son toward the stairs and grabbing the bedding for Jay’s room as he did.

It didn’t take long to make up the twin bed, and by the time Rhett got Jay’s Spiderman nightlight plugged in, his son was already asleep. He tucked him in, feeling a tug in his chest as he did, seeing Jay curled up and happy in his new room. Things were coming together better than he could have hoped.

With Jay asleep, he finally had a moment to breathe. He walked back downstairs, once again marveling at how quiet it all was. It felt peaceful, and a smile curved his mouth as he walked to the fridge and reached for one of the beers he’d put in there to cool, picked up when he’d grabbed the freezer meals for himself and Jay. He popped the lid off, crossing through the cardboard box-filled living room to look out of the picture window in the living room, across the snowy landscape.

Evergreen Hollow was a beautiful place. He’d found a beautiful house. It felt like he’d made the right decision to bring Jay here from Cleveland, but it hadn’t been an easy one. The custody battle with his ex-wife had been grueling, and getting full custody of Jay had felt nearly impossible at times. Natalie hadn’t wanted him to move away with their son. But Rhett had argued that the same thing that had pulled them apart—her career as a lawyer—had been the same reason that Jay was better off spending the bulk of the time with him.

He was able to provide something more stable, simple as that. Natalie was constantly busy, working eighty or ninety-hour weeks at her firm, and determined to make partner. Her drive and intelligence and energetic way of living her life had drawn him to her at first—and Jay certainly seemed to have gotten that endless well of energy from his mother, Rhett reflected wryly. But in the end, it had also been what ended their marriage.

He’d thought she’d slow down after the first few years, after she’d proven herself, when she was no longer a junior lawyer with the sort of hours that demanded of her. He’d been willing to be patient. And she’d said she wanted a family, just like he had.

She loved Jay, he didn’t doubt that. But having a child had made her feel tied down, restricted. All through her pregnancy, she’d been frustrated by the sickness, the way it made her feel, the limitations it put on her. She’d been itching to get back to work after her maternity leave. She hadn’t been happy about buying their house. She preferred to rent, enjoying the ability to pick up and leave when a lease ended if they wanted to. But she’d also been firm about the kind of house they’d picked out: a new construction ranch without any of the charm that Rhett had hoped for.

That energy and drive he’d fallen in love with, he’d realized too late, had also been a difficulty with settling down. With living an ordered, stable life, instead of a chaotic one. Natalie liked to feel as if their life could change at any moment. As if they could move anywhere, go anywhere, do anything if the opportunity presented itself. She liked traveling for work, and offered to take every opportunity to go to conferences or travel out of town for the firm. And all Rhett had wanted was a calm, routine, stable family life for themselves and their son.

It had been the truest case of irreconcilable differences a couple could have, he thought. Even their marriage counselor had said it couldn’t be fixed. They were different people who realized it too late. And he’d felt a little bad, leaving with Jay—but their son needed stability. A safe, happy, comfortable place to grow up in. He hadn’t been sure of where that would be—but then he’d found the job listing for a firefighter in Evergreen Hollow, and he’d taken it. Now they were here.

He had so much on his mind. He finished the beer, feeling as if he’d gone past the point of falling asleep of exhaustion, and was now to the point of being wired. He looked out at the lightly falling snow as he disposed of the beer bottle, running his hand through his hair. It was hitting him, now that they’d arrived and he’d managed to slow down, that he was really and truly starting over.

But he was determined to make the best of it and to make their first holiday season in their new home a good one.

Writing down his thoughts had always helped him sort them out since the divorce—something the counselor had suggested and he’d taken to. The house was silent, Jay fully asleep, and this was the sort of place where he didn’t have to worry about leaving the house for a little bit with Jay asleep upstairs. Exactly the sort of place he’d wanted to live.

Rhett grabbed a notebook out of one of the open boxes, threw on his heavy jacket, and headed outside. It was cold, his nose and cheeks instantly feeling pink from the frigid air, but the street past their house was well-lit. He started walking, feeling invigorated in the cold air, enjoying the sound of the snow crunching under his boots. There was very little noise, just the wind and the rustling of trees, and he looked up at the sky, enjoying being able to see the vast expanse of stars.

He was so caught up in it that he ended up walking further than he had meant to. He didn’t realize it, lost in thought, until he noticed a massive, snow-covered tree, with a bench underneath the branches. It looked like a nice place to sit and write, and Rhett went over to it, dusting off the snow and opening his notebook as he sat down.

For a little while, under the warm glow of the nearby streetlamp, he just wrote. He got all of it out, all the things he was thinking and had no one to discuss them with any longer. He wrote about his concerns about being the sort of man he wanted to be, both for himself and for his son, about wanting to raise a good family, about hoping that the career he’d chosen and the place he’d chosen to do it in could contribute something more to the world around him. He described how he wanted this fresh start to be—wonderful, filled with happiness, with peace, and all the things that felt as if they’d been missing for some time now.

The sound of an owl hooting startled him out of his thoughts. He realized with a start that he’d been gone longer than he’d planned, setting the notebook down momentarily, he looked at his watch. Even though Jay was asleep, the house safe, he felt a momentary jab of anxiety and leapt up from the bench.

Quickly, he hurried back toward the house, feeling that he needed to be back with his son—just in case he woke up or was scared, on the first night in a new place.

Without realizing it, he left the notebook behind on the bench.

Sunday morning, Caroline bundled up and went for a walk to The Mellow Mug to meet her best friend, Audrey Felder. She’d started trying to do more things like this since Nora had come home and they’d reconciled, taking time for herself to do something like getting coffee with a friend.

She and Audrey had been best friends nearly their whole lives, since grade school. She couldn’t remember a time any longer when they hadn’t been friends. She’d stayed in Evergreen Hollow just as Caroline had, except while Caroline had devoted herself to helping her parents run the inn, Audrey had married her high-school sweetheart right after graduation. Her husband, Ted, had become the town’s dentist, and once Audrey had their first child, she’d settled right in as a stay-at-home mom.

Caroline spotted Audrey the moment she walked into the warm, coffee-and-cinnamon-scented shop. Audrey was sitting at one of the tables in front of the windows, with a steaming mug and a Danish already in front of her, watching the foot traffic outside. She’d had the same look for as long as Caroline could remember—just as Caroline herself had—soft sweaters, glasses, mom jeans, with her blonde hair cut into an easily maintained bob. Caroline had always felt understood by Audrey. Even if Caroline didn’t have a husband and kids, both she and Audrey put all their energy into their families. For Caroline, that meant her parents and the inn, for Audrey, that meant her own family.

Audrey waved to Caroline as she went to the counter, ordering a vanilla latte and a cinnamon crunch scone. She took the mug and plate to the table, sitting down across from Audrey. “How are things?” Caroline asked, breathing in the scent of the coffee as she took a sip. Melanie’s lattes were the best that could possibly be had anywhere, she was convinced of that.

“Oh, you know.” Audrey waved a hand, letting out a small sigh. “Teenagers. I’m glad to get out of the house and have a breather for a minute. They’re driving me a little batty.”

“I can imagine.” Caroline had known Audrey’s two kids, Kara and Bennett, for a long time. They were fourteen and sixteen now, respectively, and she could only imagine the challenges that Audrey had to manage. “What’s going on with them?”

Audrey took another sip of her coffee, cutting a bite off the cherry and cheese Danish in front of her before answering.

“Kara is getting frustrated with seeing all the fun new freedoms her older brother gets, him being sixteen now and all. He has his driver’s license…” She shuddered a little, shaking her head. “And I think Kara is a little jealous of all the time he and Ted spend together now, learning to drive. We’ve pretty much let him have the use of the old sedan—within reason—and Kara can’t appreciate being the age she is.”

Audrey let out a sigh, taking a bite of her Danish. “She wants to grow up faster, and I keep trying to get her to understand that she doesn’t want to rush it. Growing up will come in time. She keeps trying to hurry it along, but before she knows it, she’ll be like us. In our forties, missing being young and without so many responsibilities. She’s just not there yet. And it’s causing some strain, between her and her brother, and between me and her.”

“I can understand that.” Caroline broke off a piece of her scone. “Comparisons between siblings can be rough. It can really damage a relationship. Look at Margo, Nora, and me.”

Audrey nodded sympathetically. “You’re the oldest. That was always a lot of pressure on you.”

“It was. I think I’m only just now realizing how much. And I’ve always been different from my sisters. I never even considered leaving Evergreen Hollow, but they couldn’t wait to get out. It drove a rift between Nora and me for a long time. Since she came back, we’ve found that we have more in common than we used to think, but Margo…” Caroline shook her head. “I miss her, but I don’t think she’ll ever come back. She has too much wanderlust. But I wonder if being so rootless really makes her happy.”

“It’s so complicated. Sometimes I’m glad I was an only child.” Audrey laughed, reaching for her coffee.

“It’s special, having siblings though. Once you get older and past all those stresses and strains.” Caroline sighed. “It just takes time. Be patient with them. And try to find ways to remind them of what they have in common. Things that can bring them together, rather than letting them get too far apart. But also make sure to celebrate those things that are different about them, make sure they know you appreciate them both. I think I felt like all my work with the inn was just expected of me, as the oldest, for a long time. It’s better now, but it really made me feel weighed down by it.”

Audrey nodded, considering.

“That’s good advice,” she said finally, grinning. “I’m impressed, honestly. You’d make a great mom.”

Caroline chuckled, rolling her eyes a little as she took another sip of her coffee.

“It’s a little late for that,” she pointed out. “And anyway, where on earth would I find the time? The inn is practically my child.”

Audrey got a mischievous glint in her eye that Caroline recognized all too well.

“Don’t you remember that guy in high school that you had a crush on? He was handsome, had that gorgeous dark hair, and was in such good shape. You were head over heels for him. So you can’t tell me that you’ve never been a romantic. You didn’t used to have any trouble picturing yourself falling in love.”

Caroline shook her head. “That’s silly,” she said firmly. “It was one thing to imagine finding a handsome, dark-haired man that was just my type back in high school —I used to dream of finding my Prince Charming back then.”

But no one actually gets their dream, she thought to herself, reaching for her coffee again.

She didn’t want to say it out loud, but while Ted had been Audrey’s high-school sweetheart and they were happy, she knew Audrey hadn’t fantasized about marrying a dentist.

She didn’t know if Aiden was Nora’s dream guy, or if he was just what she’d been attracted to at this point in her life. It wasn’t really the sort of thing they talked about.

But she knew high school fantasies were just that, and should be left back there where they belonged.

“Anyway,” she continued, picking at her scone. “I’m getting older. Even if I do ever end up with anyone, he’ll be old and gray by the time we’re married, just like I will be. It’s just something I’ve come to terms with.”

“You’re not over the hill already!” Audrey exclaimed. “You hardly have any gray in your hair,” she added teasingly. “It’s way too soon to be talking like that.”

It made Caroline smile, despite herself. She enjoyed this, laughing and bantering with her friend, and she was glad that she’d started to make time for it.

A little voice in the back of her head whispered that maybe Audrey was right. That maybe it wasn’t too late to give up on her dream of finding romance with a handsome man.

But she dismissed it, almost as soon as it flickered through her thoughts.

She hadn’t been a dreamer for a very long time.