Molly rushed into the kitchen. “Mom, Dad wants to speak to you!”
Emma looked up from her laptop. Mark had called to speak to the twins. They enjoyed their regular catch-ups, often talking for more than an hour. Emma was pleased they were getting to know each other, even though Mark hadn’t seen the twins since they started first grade.
She took the phone from Molly and held her hand over the mouthpiece. “Remember to empty the dishwasher.”
“Oh, Mom. Do I have to?”
“There’s no point batting those big blue eyes at me. The answer is yes.”
“But Dylan hasn’t done anything.”
“He tidied up the kitchen.”
Molly let out an agonized breath. “Can Snowflake help me?”
“As long as your kitten doesn’t end up in the dishwasher, that’s fine. I’ll help you as soon as I’ve finished speaking to your dad.”
As Molly raced out of the room to find Snowflake, Emma held the phone to her ear.
“Hi, Mark. How are you?”
“I’m doing okay. I wanted to let you know I’ve accepted the job in Bigfork.”
The last time they’d spoken, Mark had told her about the job. At that stage, he didn’t know whether he wanted to move so far away from his cabins in Colorado. “That’s good. Did the owners send you photos of where you’ll be living?”
“They arrived yesterday. The cabin is twice as big as where I am now and has a huge workshop. It will be perfect for my sculpting.”
“It sounds nice. When do you move?”
“At the beginning of December. If you’d like to bring Molly and Dylan for a visit, you’re more than welcome.”
“They’d like that. Let me know which weekend works for you and I’ll do my best to be there.”
“I will.”
Even though she hadn’t spent a lot of time with Mark since Jack found him, she had a feeling he had something else on his mind. So instead of telling him what the twins were doing at school, she waited.
Mark took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I broke our agreement when I flew to Sapphire Bay. It won’t happen again.”
Emma’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t expected him to apologize. “It will take time for everyone to get used to the new arrangements.”
“You should be angry with me.”
“To be honest, I was a bit angry. But what good would that do?” Emma said softly. “I know you love the twins. Not seeing them for five years doesn’t change that. Just call me when you want to visit them outside of your scheduled visits. I’ll do what I can to make it work.”
“That’s more generous than I deserve. Did Jack tell you he came to Evergreen?”
Emma frowned. “No. When was he there?”
“A few days ago. He reminded me about our agreement.”
Jack must have stopped at Evergreen on his way to Manhattan. Emma couldn’t understand why he’d want to see Mark in person. He could have easily spoken to him on the phone. And why on earth had he gone there without talking to her first?
“He also told me how much you mean to him.” Mark’s voice had lowered to a whisper. “I hope you have a happy life together.”
Emma heard the regret in Mark’s voice. It tore at her heart. Even though they were adults, they were just as emotionally fragile as Molly and Dylan. “I hope my relationship with Jack works out, too. He’s an important person in our lives.”
She didn’t want to end their conversation there, so she forced a smile onto her face. Hopefully, it gave her voice an extra boost of positivity. “I took some photos of Dylan and Molly while they were helping me cook dinner. They looked cute with their aprons tied around their waists and big spoons in their hands. I’ll email them to you.”
“I’d appreciate it. I’d better go. It’s getting late and you’ll have things you want to do.”
This time, Emma’s smile was genuine. “You’re saving me from helping Molly load the dishwasher. But you’re right, I’d better go. She asked if Snowflake could help her.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“That’s what I thought, too. Have a good night.”
“You, too.”
After Emma ended the call, she stared at the phone. She was meeting Jack tomorrow for coffee. That would be soon enough to talk about his visit to Evergreen. For now, she had a kitchen to clean and a kitten who might need rescuing.
And then she’d go and see what Dylan was doing.
“I ordered you a cappuccino and a lemon and honey muffin.”
Emma sat in the seat opposite Jack. “Thanks. I’m sorry I’m late. I had to spend some extra time with a client.”
“Don’t worry about it. I checked a few emails while I was waiting. How was your morning?”
“Interesting. A man I’ve never met before called me about designing his website. He’s a friend of Noah’s.”
“Does it look as though it will be an interesting job?”
Emma smiled. “It’s going to be amazing. He’s a talent scout for a record company. The story he wants his website to tell is different from anything else I’ve seen.”
“When will you start?”
“In three weeks.”
The waitress brought their order across to their table.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. If you need anything else, just ask.”
Emma waited until Jack’s sandwich and coffee were in front of him before cutting her muffin in half. “This looks delicious.”
Jack smiled. “The coffee at this café is the best in Sapphire Bay. I had lunch with Granddad yesterday. He wants you to know how much he enjoyed Mabel’s book launch.”
“I’m glad he could make it. It’s hard to believe he’s eighty-one.”
“Sometimes I forget, too.”
Emma took a sip of coffee. If she didn’t tell Jack that she knew he’d been to Evergreen, she’d have another sleepless night. “Mark called the twins yesterday.”
Jack cleared his throat. “Is he okay?”
“He’s accepted the job at the resort in Bigfork.”
“Good for him. I hope it lives up to his expectations.”
“I’m sure it will. He told me you saw him a few days ago.”
Jack carefully placed his coffee cup on the table. “I didn’t tell you I was going to Evergreen because I knew what you’d say.”
“Did it sound anything like, ‘I can look after myself’?”
“It sounded similar,” Jack muttered.
“Just for the record, I don’t need looking after.”
“You’ve told me that before.”
“You haven’t been listening.”
Jack sighed. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Emma broke off a piece of muffin and left it on the side of the plate. “I’m more than okay. I was surprised when Mark turned up unexpectedly, but it wasn’t the end of the world.”
“Not this time. What if he does it again?”
“Then that would be different. My lawyer told me to call her if Mark didn’t follow the parental agreement. Having said that, I want to thank you. I don’t know what else you said to Mark, but it worked. He apologized for coming to Sapphire Bay and for not telling me he wanted to see the twins. I didn’t expect an apology, but it was appreciated.”
“Will you let him see more of Molly and Dylan when he’s living in Bigfork?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see how the visits go. Promise me that next time you have an overwhelming urge to protect me or the twins, you’ll tell me. You might be surprised by my answer.”
Jack’s eyebrows rose. “Does that mean you’ll let me help you?”
“Only if you catch me at a vulnerable moment.” Emma grinned. “But be warned. They don’t come along too often.”
“I’ll remember.” Jack lifted his coffee cup off the table. “To friendship and love, and everything in between.”
Emma tapped her cup against Jack’s. “That sounds like a good toast to me. Are you looking forward to the Santa Claus parade and night market this Saturday?”
“I am. Do you still want me to look after Molly and Dylan?”
Emma nodded. “That would be great. I have to be on call to fix any problems. Hopefully, there won’t be too many.”
“At least you don’t have to worry about the twins. After Granddad has finished playing Santa, we’ll join Noah and Cassie. There will be plenty of people around them to keep Molly and Dylan amused.
Emma knew who the stallholders and food vendors were. Dylan and Molly would have no issue keeping themselves amused—especially when all their favorite foods were on one street.
She just hoped the first Christmas events went according to plan. If anything major happened, five thousand ticket holders wouldn’t be amused. And neither would Emma.
“Can you believe it’s only three days until the first Christmas event?” Pastor John asked.
Emma sighed. “The time has gone by so quickly. I’m glad everything is on track for the Santa Claus parade and the night market.”
Bailey placed her cup of coffee on Emma’s kitchen table. “I visited each of the stores on Main Street. Everyone’s displays look incredible. And I’ve got to say, the miniature Christmas trees outside each store are stunning.”
“Wait until tonight,” Kylie said. “When everyone turns on their fairy lights, the whole street will be magical.”
Emma looked down at her spreadsheet. For the last hour, the entire fundraising committee had gone through each of this weekend’s events line by line, double checking that every task had been completed.
“Talking about magical, the snow machine truck will be in Sapphire Bay at four o’clock on Saturday afternoon. The driver said it would take no more than an hour to fill Main Street with thick, white snow.”
John turned to the next page of tasks. “It’s just as well there aren’t any horrible chemicals in the compound. The last thing we need is everyone getting red, itchy rashes.”
“What about when it melts?” Bailey asked.
“I can answer that one,” Kylie said. “It’s totally biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and won’t leave any stains or marks on the sidewalk. Or that’s what the company told us.”
“I spoke with six other event organizers who have used the artificial snow. They were all impressed and didn’t have any issues with it.” Emma took a quick sip of coffee before looking at the next line on the spreadsheet. “The Mothers’ Motorcycle Club arrives in Sapphire Bay on Saturday afternoon. I invited them to my place for coffee and something to eat. After they’ve pulled Santa’s sleigh down Main Street, they’ll drive south until they find somewhere to stay for the night.”
John looked up from reading the spreadsheet. “If they change their mind and want to stay in Sapphire Bay, let me know. The Welcome Center is usually full, but we could ask the members of our church if they could look after them.”
“That would be great, thanks.” Emma made a note on the side of the spreadsheet and moved to the next item. “All the stallholders and businesses along Main Street are ready for the night market. The food vendors are excited and, for everyone with a sweet tooth, Brooke has created a special limited edition fudge for the fundraiser. I’ve added a pre-order link to our website.”
Kylie picked up her phone. “I’m on the website now. The fudge is called Christmas Hope. It looks yummy.” She turned the phone around so everyone could see the photo.
The creamy white chocolate bars were filled to overflowing with cranberries, green cherries, and soft, gooey marshmallow. Just looking at the photo made Emma’s mouth water.
“My mom and sisters would love the fudge,” Bailey said. “I’ll order some after our meeting.”
Emma had a feeling Bailey wouldn’t be the only person in the room making sure they didn’t miss out. “Well, that covers this weekend’s events. Does anyone have anything else they want to talk about?”
“I do.” John opened a large folder he’d brought with him. “We’ve collected more than a thousand Christmas wishes from people who responded to the Facebook post. What do we want to do with them?”
Kylie read the sheets of paper John handed to her. “Can we help some more people?”
“We could, but it takes a lot of time,” Emma said.
Bailey looked up from the list she was reading. “You’ve already helped some people. But this number of requests would be a full-time job for a team of people, not just one or two. We almost need a separate Christmas wish committee.”
John sighed. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that. I’m trying to limit the number of committees we have in the church. Administering them is a big job.”
Kylie glanced at Bailey. “John’s right. It’s the behind-the-scenes work that takes a lot of time. But the committee doesn’t need to be associated with the church.”
“The same group of people who manage the Christmas events could look after the Christmas wishes.” John pointed to their spreadsheet. “Next year’s program will be less time-consuming to organize because we already have the project plans and we’ll know what works and what doesn’t.”
Kylie nodded. “If everyone’s happy to combine the Christmas program with the Christmas wishes, what do you think about making more wishes come true this year? Even if we only help a few more people, it would be better than nothing.”
Emma smiled at the excitement on her friends’ faces. “I’d like to keep going. Toby was so overwhelmed with the bicycle that it made me want to help someone else.”
“I’m in,” Bailey said.
John gathered the papers in front of him. “I can’t do a lot of hours, but I’d like to help, too.”
Emma smiled. “It’s a unanimous decision—we’re going to make more Christmas wishes come true. The only other thing we need is a name for our group. Does anyone have a suggestion that doesn’t include the word, committee?”
Kylie tapped her pen on the table. “What about Santa’s Elves? They make gifts and give them to the children who have asked for them. It ties in with the wishes theme.”
“It’s better than Rudolph’s Secret Helpers,” Bailey said with a grin.
“I know,” Emma exclaimed. “Why don’t we combine Kylie and Bailey’s ideas? We could call ourselves Santa’s Secret Helpers.”
John stared thoughtfully across the table. “I like it. As long as you don’t expect me to wear red tights and a short green tunic, I vote for the combined suggestion.”
Emma looked at Bailey. “Are you happy to call our group, Santa’s Secret Helpers?”
“Absolutely. But how secret are we talking? Can we tell our families and friends what we’re doing?”
John frowned. “We could tell everyone we’re organizing the Christmas events, but I wouldn’t mention the wishes. We’d be inundated with requests for help.”
“If someone realizes what we’re doing, we could say we’re delivering the wishes on behalf of someone else,” Emma said.
Bailey leaned forward. “Or let people’s wishes come true without them knowing who helped them.”
John smiled. “Now that we have a name, why do I feel more excited about what we’re doing?”
“Because it’s a secret,” Kylie said. “And everyone loves a good secret.”
And this one, Emma knew, was one of the best secrets of all.