Winter Falls (Evergreen Lake: Under the Mistletoe)

Chapter 24

twenty-four

I woke with a start, wondering what it was that I heard. Blinking to clear my sleepy eyes, I looked around, not recognizing where I was.

Unfamiliar sounds came from outside the room, and it slowly dawned on me where I was. I swung my legs off the couch and pushed my fingers through my hair, I needed to wash my face and was glad the bathroom was only a few steps away.

I frowned at the reflection in the mirror. My eyes were heavy, makeup smudged, and my hair, good Lord my hair was a complete disaster. There were times I was glad I had long hair. It was easy to bundle up and get out of the way. Today I did a fat Elsa braid. I washed off yesterday's make up, rinsed my mouth, and wished for a toothbrush.

Excited shouts and laughter from the great room reminded me that Tess and I had decorated last night.

I rushed to get ready, eager to see the excitement on everyone's faces.

It was only 7 AM, but I guess kids woke at the crack of dawn. The smell of coffee hung on the air, as did bacon and toast. To smell such homey goodness made my mouth water. I was hungry. The only thing I’d eaten yesterday were the nibbles while we were baking. Then I remembered I hadn’t checked the casseroles in the oven! I took comfort that someone must have.

The full aroma of breakfast greeted me once the door was open and my stomach growled. The delight I saw on the kids’ and parents’ faces made it all worth it, the drama with Amos, decorating in the middle of the night, and the lack of sleep. This was what it was all about. Giving joy to others.

I noticed the coffee table in front of the couch and the other tables had games on them. Puzzles and board games that hadn't been there the night before. I smiled. I wondered if Amos had brought them in. Maybe our drama last night had an effect on him. A positive one.

My heart sank to see it was still snowing and piled up around the windows. We were going to be stuck here another day.

I followed the scent of coffee into the kitchen, and was shocked to see plates, cutlery, mugs by the coffee pot, and tea cups by the kettle with teabags in a basket.

"Good morning!" I was greeted by a cheery voice and Ellie bounded over to me.

"Morning, what the heck! This is amazing.” I leaned down to pet her. Tess and Asher bustled around the stove and the center island.

"We thought we’d get a start on breakfast for everybody," Asher said. He went to the impressive fridge and took out some cream to bring over to me.

"Thank you." I took it from him after he poured it into a pitcher. "It's like you guys have been in the catering business all your lives. This is fabulous. I might just have to hire you for future events."

I carried my coffee and slid onto a stool at the island.

"I've been around a lot of events," Tess explained. "Being a friend of Beca's meant there were lots of charity parties, balls, and other gatherings I helped with."

She looked at Asher and he at her. Oh! Did I miss something. "Do you guys know each other?" I asked them.

"No, we met last night," he said.

Interesting, probably after I went to bed. Now my curiosity was piqued.

"He surprised the heck out of me when he turned up and dropped an armload of wood in the box. I was almost asleep, and it scared the crap out of me, I might add." She smiled at him.

"That I did, and your scream did the same to me.” He laughed, and I glanced between them. “But it's all good now."

“I never heard a thing,” I said, but clearly, they didn’t hear me. They were in their own little world. Hmmm.

They worked together seamlessly, moving around the kitchen efficiently. Unlike the tension that seemed to follow Amos and me every step of the way. I wondered where he was, but I wasn't going to ask.

"What can I do?" I had a big drink of my coffee and refilled the mug.

"Toast is in the oven keeping warm if you'd like to butter it." Asher cracked a bunch of eggs into a pan, quickly whisking them up into a scramble.

"I can do that." I grabbed a tea towel and took the stack of toast out of the oven.

"We're almost done here. We thought setting everything up on the island was the best bet,” Tess commented, and she pushed a few things around to make room for the platters Asher had in his hands.

Soon those platters were full of bacon, eggs, toast. Tess was stirring a big jug of orange juice and Asher checked the level of the coffee in the urn.

"Where did all this food come from?” I asked.

"There's always food in this house," Asher said. "The freezers are full, so if we're stuck here for a couple days, we won't starve. There'll be some paper plates and cups somewhere in one of the island cupboards. Maybe we could use those so we don't have to worry about washing up later. The kids will have fun, just tossing things into the fireplace."

I did as I was asked, and was so thankful to them for preparing the food and getting everything ready. If only I had woken up earlier I could’ve helped.

"All set to call everybody in for food?" I asked.

"Hang on a sec, let me see if I can find something." Asher went into the mudroom and I heard him give a shout of joy. "Found it." He came back into the kitchen holding a triangle dinner bell high. "This will be loud, but it'll be fun."

He rang the bell, and it echoed in the kitchen and through the house. It was loud. Asher laughed and I thought what a completely different man you are to your brother.

“Come and get it!" he yelled.

The thunder of children's feet running into the kitchen drowned out the bell and Asher put it down. Parents came in behind and glanced at me.

There were ‘good mornings’ all around.

"Please, help yourself. I hope you all had a comfortable night’s sleep and it looks like we won't be going anywhere soon based on this weather. Thank you to Asher and Tess for all their hard work cooking,” I announced.

There was a chorus of thank yous, and the parents corralled their children into family groups to go down the buffet line. It was all very organized, and soon people were leaving to find spots to sit with their plates full.

"You guys’ turn now," I said once everybody had left and found a place to eat.

Asher and Tess made their plates and wandered off together, leaving me in the kitchen alone. I made a bacon sandwich, and carried it with a fresh cup of coffee to the office. I hadn’t seen Amos yet and while I ate my sandwich, wondered where he’d slept and if he was he still upset?

The memory of our kiss haunted me. Would it be the only one we’d ever share? If it was, then I didn’t think another could ever match it.

I tried not to be sad about it, but it was difficult. I was beginning to accept just how much I’d grown to like Amos over these last few days. There was no doubt the foundation for that had been fully established with my teenage crush on him. I knew it was growing into much more than a crush.

I sighed and decided I’d better make myself useful. Sandwich and coffee finished, I went to the kitchen and started cleaning up. Asher and Tess had done enough. It was my turn.

Amos had come into the kitchen about 5:30 AM to make coffee. He wasn't surprised to see all the decorations up on the main floor. Nostalgia hit him hard. This was how it had looked when he was young and his mother had decked out the house.

He walked through the rooms, noticing Asher and a woman, Tess he thought her name was, leaning against each other on the sofa asleep. He didn't want to wake them so he went back to the kitchen, put his coffee in a to-go cup, and left.

There was one more thing he needed to do. Hunkering down into his coat and pulling his scarf over his face against the brutal slashing of snow, he went to the barn.

After feeding the horses and Jack, he finished his coffee. What he needed was in the tool room. He took down a saw, some rope, and left out the back way.

While he warned everybody else not to leave the house because it was easy to get lost and lose your bearings, Amos had something he needed to do whether it was treacherous or not. He didn't have to go far to find what he was looking for.

In the trees, the wind and snow wasn't as strong, so he was able to find the perfect tree.

He knocked the snow off it, and Jack began diving into the piles around the base. Getting down on one knee, Amos scooped out the snow so he could get a good angle to cut the trunk with the saw. It was a large tree that would fit perfectly in front of the window of the great room. The trunk was thick and soon he cut through it and it fell over.

Amos trimmed off some lower branches and tossed them aside, which Jack picked up, and in his excitement jumped around tossing the stick in the air and catching it.

Amos smiled at him while he lashed rope around the trunk so he could haul it back.

“C’mon, boy, stay close.” Amos leaned into the onslaught of snow, some of it now ice pellets, and headed back to the house.

The closer he got, the more excited he grew. It was unfamiliar and wonderful, and he embraced it. He couldn’t wait to see the look on the kids’ faces, but more important was Holly. He smiled, imagining her happiness when she saw the tree. He was sure she thought him a Scrooge and he wanted to change her opinion.

Trudging through the snow, he thought back over the years. When had he become Scrooge?

It had grown gradually, other things taking priority over Christmas. His mother had brought the magic of Christmas into the house and with her gone, it simply wasn’t the same. When he saw the decorations this morning, he’d been deeply moved. Holly had that same knack he remembered his mother having.

The house emerged through the miasma of snow and on the back deck he propped the tree up, pounded it a few times on the ground so all the snow fell off. It needed to sit for a minute in the mudroom to melt the rest of it before decorating.

The aroma of bacon, coffee, and toast greeted him when he opened the door. He knew Mrs. Carter was not here, so he wondered who cooked. His mouth watered. One thing Mrs. Carter didn’t do was breakfast, he was up far too early for her to worry about it. She’d argued with him but he assured her it wasn’t necessary.

It had been a long time since he walked in this door to the aroma of breakfast. And he liked it. Another thing he acknowledged the house had been missing.

He lifted the tall tree easily, the top brushing against the high ceiling. He didn't want to cut off the peak, because it was for the Christmas star. He hoped it was in the boxes he’d brought up last night. He manhandled the tree to rest against the wall.

"What on earth?" It was Holly, her voice sweeping over him like sweet musical notes.

He looked around the edge of the tree and smiled at her. “Merry Christmas.” The shocked but happy look on her face delighted him.

"Amos." His name fell from her lips and what he wanted to do was scoop her in his arms and kiss her.

"I hope you like it." His voice was soft, and her eyes brightened. He wasn't sure if it was delight, or happy tears, but he was moved by her response. He swelled with pleasure that he’d made another person happy. It felt like a new experience for him.

She pushed through the branches that took up most of the mudroom and came to him.

"I love it. So will the kids."

He looked down at her and with his free arm, circled her shoulder and hugged her to him.

"The tree is for you." He watched surprise light her eyes and that alone made all the memories of the previous empty years better.

"Me? Why me?" Her gaze searched his.

"Because I knew you wanted one, even though you didn't tell me, I knew."

Her smile widened, as did his heart. She wound her arms around his neck and clung to him, whispering thank you. He let the tree go so he could return the hug, holding her for what seemed an eternity. As they were enfolded in each other arms, the branches of the spruce tree embraced them with the heady scent of spruce and Christmas.

And there was no other place he wanted to be.