THAT EVENING, THERE was a Christmas cookie party being sponsored by the firemen’s auxiliary at Poppy Gold’s historic fire station, but Carlie decided to forgo it to get an early night. So for the first time since Thanksgiving, she left Poppy Gold by 7:00 p.m. She ran in to check on her dad when she got home. He seemed thinner and more tired than ever.
“I’m fine,” he insisted when she mentioned it. “I had a long day, that’s all. You look tired, too.”
Her mom just shook her head. “Are you hungry, dear?”
“Starved,” Carlie admitted, mostly because she knew it would make Leah feel better to feed her.
“I’ll make you something.”
After a hearty salad and sandwich, Carlie climbed the steps to the apartment over her parents’ garage, eager to crawl into bed. But she’d barely closed her eyes when the phone rang.
Groaning, she pressed the button. “Hello?”
“Sorry, it’s Greg on the front desk. We have a call from the Forresters.”
She checked the time. At least it wasn’t 2:00 a.m. “Don’t tell me—they want a cup of tea.”
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind, Greg. What’s the problem?”
“Nicole Forrester is on the other line. She’s quite apologetic and says she doesn’t know your work hours, but hoped you were still at Poppy Gold because of the firehouse party. One of her nieces woke up with a nightmare and keeps crying for you. She told me not to call if you’d left, but I thought...”
“It’s okay. Tell Nicole I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“The girl will probably be asleep again by the time you arrive.”
True enough, but Carlie wouldn’t be able to sleep herself under the circumstances. Maybe it was because of the horrible dreams she’d had when her father was in intensive care and the doctors didn’t know if he’d pull through. It was awful to think of Annie or Beth going through anything similar.
She swiftly prepared her mother’s special sleep concoction in the microwave and poured it into a thermos before driving to the parking area closest to the John Muir Cottage.
Nicole answered the door, her face stressed. “Thank you for coming, Carlie. Luke told me Beth’s nightmares were bad, but I didn’t realize they were like this. I panicked when she kept screaming.”
Carlie followed her up the stairs and saw Beth pushing her father away as she and Nicole went into the girls’ bedroom.
“Hey,” Carlie soothed, sitting on the bed. “What’s up?”
Beth promptly scrambled onto her lap. “Somebody was chasing us.”
Carlie tucked Beth close and gave Annie an encouraging smile. “It’s okay. Nobody is here.”
“But he wanted to hurt Papa,” Beth wailed.
The air seemed to catch in Carlie’s chest. Beth had already lost her mother; now she must be terrified she’d lose her father. But why wouldn’t she want Luke’s reassurance after a nightmare like that?
Lord, nothing about the Forrester family made much sense.
“Your papa isn’t going anywhere. Nobody is trying to hurt him.”
“Are you sure? Promise?”
“I’m sure.”
Yet Carlie winced as the words left her mouth, understanding why her mom had once said that promises were the pitfall of parenting. You wanted to promise your children the world, but you knew that sooner or later one of your heartfelt vows would get broken. Not that Carlie had any reason to think anyone was going to hurt Luke...unless one of the Poppy Gold employees decided they’d had enough of his Grinchy behavior and bashed him with a Christmas wreath.
Annie wiggled closer and leaned against Carlie, as well. “It’s okay, Bethie,” she whispered. She looked worried but composed, and Carlie’s tired brain rambled with the thought that Annie might be more resilient than her outgoing twin.
“Did your papa tell you about the Christmas trees?” Carlie asked.
Beth lifted her head an inch. “Christmas trees?”
“That’s right. You’re each going to have a Christmas tree to decorate right here in your bedroom.”
“Can we keep the lights on when we go to sleep?”
Carlie glanced at Luke and he shrugged. “Of course you can. We can set up a timer to turn them off once you’re asleep. I used to sleep on the couch when I was a little girl, just to be near our Christmas tree. The angel on top was like my guardian angel and I felt warm and safe when she was gazing down at me.”
“Remember, Bethie, Nanny Dacia says Momma is our guardian angel now,” Annie whispered, so softly it was unlikely her father or aunt could hear.
Carlie kissed both girls. “I’m sure she is,” she whispered in return. It was one thing she wasn’t worried about promising.
Beth sniffed. “We didn’t get to go to the cookie party ’cause we fell asleep.”
“There will be other parties. You can also bake cookies right here in the kitchen.”
“Aunt Nicole and Papa don’t know how.”
“Will you make them with us, Carlie?” Annie begged.
“Oh, yes,” Beth agreed, sitting up straight. “That would be splendiferous.”
Carlie laughed. “Where did you learn that word?”
“From the gardener. He has splendiferous roses, but we can’t touch them because they have thorns and we might get poked.”
“Oh. Well, if it’s okay with your papa, I’ll bake cookies with you sometime next week. But right now you both need to sleep. We’re having a Christmas scavenger hunt tomorrow afternoon and you don’t want to be sleepy during it.”
“Is there a prize, Carlie?” Beth wanted to know, which probably meant she was getting back to normal. She seemed much more competitive than Annie, who appeared to enjoy doing things at her own pace without worrying about what anyone else was doing.
“Yes, there are prizes. So it’s time to settle down for a long winter’s nap.”
Beth hesitated. “Maybe me and Annie can sleep together like when we were little.”
“How about moving your beds together?” Carlie suggested. “Then you’d be close, but still have enough room to stretch your legs.”
“Okay.”
Luke was quiet as the three adults rearranged the furniture so the twin beds were pushed against each other.
Beth still looked tearful and Carlie reached for the small thermos she’d brought. “I made something for you to drink that my mother used to give me when I was a little girl. It’s very special and would help me sleep soundly, all night long.”
She filled two cups and the girls drank the warm milk, smacking their lips at the faintly sweet flavor. They were asleep by the time the blankets were tucked around them. Luke stayed behind while Carlie tiptoed from the bedroom with Nicole.
They walked downstairs and Nicole collapsed onto the couch. “I didn’t think warm milk worked,” she muttered.
“It always did for me.”
“That’s nice. I’m sorry about the ‘baking cookies’ thing. I never learned how to cook. I’ve looked into taking a class, but they’re too advanced. I need to learn the basics first.”
“You’ll be here for over a month. My great-aunt Vera used to teach home economics at the high school and she might be able to give you a few lessons.”
Nicole’s face lit up. “I’d love that. But I’d insist on paying for her time.”
“She’s out of town for a few days, but I’ll give her a call when she gets back.” Carlie pulled out her smartphone and entered a reminder. It had been a weird evening and she didn’t want to forget.
“Is Great-Aunt Vera the originator of your mother’s magic sleep elixir?” Nicole asked.
“I don’t know, but it isn’t complicated—just heat milk and real maple syrup together.”
“That sounds delicious.”
“There’s a little left. I’ll pour you a cup,” Carlie offered, taking out the thermos again.
“I’ll gratefully accept, though I should give it to Luke. I don’t think he slept more than two or three hours last night. He was at the computer working, dealing with emails and contracts or whatever. Not that it’s new—back home I get messages from him at all hours.”
Nicole was sipping the fragrant concoction when Luke appeared. He looked grim and a stab of sympathy went through Carlie. Much as she longed for a family of her own, parenting had its challenges.
“I’ll walk you back to your office,” he said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m headed home and my car isn’t that far away.” There wasn’t any need to explain she’d been in bed when his sister called and was going straight back—he probably wouldn’t care and Nicole would feel bad.
“It’s getting late. I insist.”
The small storm had passed and the stars were bright in the moonless sky. The grass crunched beneath their feet and Carlie figured the maintenance crew already had the snowmakers back at work, laying down new snow. Someone would stay out there all night, keeping watch and making sure everything was ready for early-morning fun.
The Christmas lights on the houses were dark. They went off at 10:00 p.m., while the ones in the park and low bushes in the gardens stayed on all night.
“I take it my sister is responsible for calling you,” Luke said.
“Nicole called the front desk, who called me.”
“Usually Beth wants her nanny, but Dacia has been wanting to visit her family in Ireland, so I gave her a plane ticket and travel funds for Christmas. I guess it was a mistake not to have her come with us.”
At the lighted parking area, Carlie fumbled in her pocket for her keys. She’d forgotten her purse and hoped she wouldn’t get stopped on the way home. Ever since her great-uncle Milt had retired as police chief and his grandson had taken over, the police force was more diligent about giving tickets, rather than issuing verbal warnings.
“Um, if Beth is afraid for your safety, why doesn’t she cry for you when she’s had one of her nightmares?” Carlie couldn’t resist asking.
“I have no idea. The girls don’t even know the details of how their mother died. I didn’t think it was fair to burden them with it.”
“Maybe their imagination is conjuring something worse.”
“What could be worse than knowing she was shot in the back by a sniper while trying to rescue another soldier?” Luke said harshly. “There’s so much crap on the internet about us, I dread the day they start looking things up about their mother. Have you ever lost someone to senseless violence?”
“No,” Carlie admitted. “Though I’ve seen senseless death. It isn’t the same as what you’ve gone through, but one of my aunts died of pneumonia a few years ago. She wasn’t elderly or chronically sick—she was vital and healthy. And when I was a kid, my uncle Tate was killed in a navy jet crash. He left a wife and two sons. They weren’t much older than Annie and Beth at the time.”
* * *
IN THE BACK of his mind, Luke noted Carlie wasn’t wearing the same coat as earlier and that her long hair was loosely contained in a French braid. Most likely it meant she’d already gone home, only to be called back to Poppy Gold. He regretted that she’d been inconvenienced, but was too exhausted to deal with anything else at the moment.
“All death is senseless,” he muttered.
“I can’t argue with that.” Carlie stuck her key into the lock of a small white sedan and Luke frowned.
“This is your car?”
“Yup.” She patted the roof as if patting a loyal dog. “I need new batteries for the electronic keys, but other than that, everything works well.”
He was astonished. Judging from the styling, the vehicle was at least a decade old and couldn’t have been top-of-the-line when it was new. “I thought everyone in small towns drove trucks and SUVs.”
“Not quite. Anyhow, while I grew up in Glimmer Creek, I only moved back a year ago in August. Before that, I lived in the San Francisco area. Small cars are best there.”
“What brought you home?”
Her expression closed. “Several things, including getting a job with Poppy Gold. It’s late. I’d better go, and I’m sure you want to check on the girls.”
Her face was softly illuminated by the old-style streetlights and he put his hands in his pockets, fighting the urge to kiss her, which was both insane and inappropriate. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course. I hope you can all get some sleep now.”
She slid behind the steering wheel and Luke stepped back, watching as she closed the door and drove away.
It was understandable why the twins found Carlie so appealing; she represented the fun things Poppy Gold had to offer. He was drawn to her, too, for purely masculine reasons. Yet acting on that wouldn’t be right. Erika’s loss was too fresh and raw and nobody could ever take her place—for him or his daughters.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, Luke went back to work on his computer while the girls were studying with their tutor, but for the first time in ages, he found it hard to focus on his business concerns. Maybe the holiday atmosphere was affecting him. Stock quotes and contracts and evaluating prospective acquisitions were dull compared to Christmas caroling and other things to do.
Nicole had returned from taking a walk and he told her he was going out to stretch his own legs.
There was energy in the air at Poppy Gold, a suppressed excitement related to all the lights and decorations and activities. Austin was nice at Christmas, but it couldn’t compete with a place that threw itself into the holidays with the passion of Santa’s elves.
From what Luke had been able to tell, the whole community of Glimmer Creek participated. Some of the activities were in other parts of town, such as the memorial hall and large community church, but a good many were at Poppy Gold, with locals invited to participate along with guests.
To Luke’s surprise, his restless feet took him to Old City Hall and through the rotunda toward Carlie’s office. It wasn’t a good idea considering his impulse to kiss her the night before, but he also wasn’t an adolescent boy, confused by surging hormones. While they were unlikely to become friends, they could probably manage to have a cup of coffee together.
“How about a break?” he inquired at Carlie’s door. “The girls are studying with their tutor and I needed to get away from the computer. You could introduce me to Sarah’s bakery, or whatever it’s called. My treat.”
“I’m pretty busy.”
“Surely you’re entitled to a coffee break. We can go as acquaintances, not activities director and Poppy Gold guest.”
She regarded him warily. “What does that mean?”
“It’s an invitation to speak your mind. I appreciate people being honest with me, without worrying about good public relations.”
Carlie regarded him for a long moment. “How can I turn that down?”
They went up the pedestrian shopping street and around the corner into an attractive building from which emanated the enticing scents of chocolate, spices and baking bread.
“I hope they serve Poppy Gold coffee,” Luke said. He’d quickly become addicted to the blend and had discovered it was carried at the town’s general store on the pedestrian shopping street. When he’d learned they took mail orders, he’d promptly arranged for monthly shipments to Texas.
“I’m sure they do. Hey, Aurelia,” Carlie greeted the girl behind the counter. “This is Luke. He’s a guest at Poppy Gold and wanted to see the source of his breakfasts.”
The young woman smiled. “What can I get for you, Luke?”
“A tall cup of Poppy Gold coffee to start. Carlie?”
“The same. Also an apricot-banana muffin.”
The bakery cases were filled with creations that looked delicious. Luke didn’t want his daughters eating too many sweets, but it was Christmas, so he ordered a pound of cranberry-chocolate fudge, two boxes of assorted cookies and a second muffin.
At a café table in the corner, he pushed one of the cookie boxes toward Carlie. “These are for your staff.”
“I’ll put it in the Old City Hall employee break room. We keep a coffeepot going there 24/7.” She poured cream into her cup and absently stirred the mixture.
Luke ate a bite of muffin and was pleasantly surprised; it was moist and chunks of dried apricot provided a tangy contrast to the banana flavor. “This isn’t bad.”
“Sarah is a whiz in the kitchen.”
“You know her well?”
“She’s one of my cousins. Same as Aurelia at the front counter. A lot of the people around Glimmer Creek are related in one way or another.”
“I can’t imagine having that much family.”
“You don’t have any cousins or aunts and uncles?”
“No, and I barely remember any of my grandparents. I believe they’re still living, but they cut ties with my mother and father before Nicole came along.”
“For heaven’s sake, why?”
“All four of my grandparents are nose-to-the-grindstone type of people and didn’t approve of Mom and Dad’s frivolous lifestyle.”
Carlie looked confused. “If that’s how they felt, why were trust funds set up?”
“Those were established when they were born.” Luke shifted his feet under the café table. He wasn’t accustomed to confiding in anyone. Even with Erika it had been difficult since she was gone so much. Nicole would have been a logical person, but she was younger and he wanted to protect her.
Carlie was silent as she fiddled with her cup. Luke knew he should be grateful she hadn’t asked another question, yet a part of him wanted to know what she was thinking.
“Do you know your grandparents?” he prompted.
“Sure. On my mother’s side, Grandpa is the senior pastor at the Glimmer Creek Community Church and Grandma is a retired town mayor. My dad’s parents own the small hardware store in town. I grew up with Sunday lunch alternating between the two families. And there would be these huge cousin sleepovers during the summer where we’d make ice cream and s’mores or have picnics down by the creek. We’re more like siblings than cousins.”
Luke had never experienced the kind of family closeness Carlie had known growing up. He couldn’t even envision what it would be like.
Probably oppressive.
He cleared his throat. “By the way, you seemed stressed when I stopped by your office. Is something up?”
Carlie shrugged. “I’m just a little concerned about my father. How was Beth this morning?” she asked, clearly eager to change the subject, which made him want to pursue it even more.
“Fine. You’d never know anything had happened. I hope she didn’t disturb anyone else.”
“I doubt it.” Carlie fished a pen from her pocket and began sketching on a paper napkin. “This is the layout of your suite. The house was enlarged several times and the section where you’re staying is almost a separate wing. There must be four walls between the twins’ room and one of the other suites’ bedrooms.”
“That’s good to know. So, what’s going on with your father?”
Irritation flashed through Carlie’s blue eyes. “If you must know, Dad is a highway worker. A year ago this last summer, a guy in a pricey car decided he was too busy and important to obey the law. He took a shortcut through a construction zone to get around slow-moving traffic. Dad was hit and spent two weeks in intensive care. The damage was considerable and he’s still in pain most of the time.”
“Is that why you moved back here from San Francisco?”
* * *
CARLIE BLINKED.
Though it might be a shot in the dark, Luke’s question hinted at a perceptiveness she hadn’t expected. She’d chosen to come back to Glimmer Creek to help her parents, but she also hadn’t wanted to stay at her old job, running into her ex-fiancé constantly.
“Partly,” she said carefully. “Dad is stiff-necked, but I try to take care of things around the house that he has trouble with now—mowing, weeding, cutting back brush, that type of thing.”
“You don’t have a brother to take care of it?”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s a chauvinistic question. I have two younger brothers who are away at graduate school, but I’m just as capable of assisting my folks as Quinn and Russ. More capable. I used to help with the yard as a kid, but they wouldn’t do it unless they got paid. When this all happened, their suggestion was to hire a gardening service, which would have galled Dad.”
Luke frowned. “What about the rest of your family? Don’t they help out?”
Carlie made a scoffing sound. “You mean, isn’t there a big strong guy who’s willing to come over and do a man’s work? You sound like a Neanderthal, masquerading as a twenty-first-century guy.”
Luke choked on his coffee.
Okay, she should have been more tactful, but he had invited her to be honest and his old-fashioned attitude didn’t make sense. He’d married a soldier, so she would have expected him to be modern in his views about women. Of course, maybe losing his wife had made him regress to caveman attitudes.
“The family would love to help with whatever needs doing,” she said when Luke had stopped coughing, “but it’s better to handle it my own way. I just told Dad that working on the yard was therapy for me after...”
“After what?”
Her cheeks heated. “Some of my plans for the future changed, that’s all.”
Having her wedding canceled just hours before it was supposed to take place wasn’t a secret, but she didn’t want Luke Forrester to know those kinds of details about her. It might be hypocritical since his life was splashed all over the internet, but she wasn’t a high-profile businessperson and wanted her privacy.
Derek was a sore point, anyhow.
Her mom had tried to get her to open up about it a few times, but what could be said? I made a terrible error in judgment and wish I’d never met him? Or how about, I trusted the wrong man and now I’m paying for my mistake?
Even if she didn’t love Derek any longer, she was still angry at him. Dozens of her family members had come to a Sonoma Valley vineyard for her wedding, only to be told it wasn’t going to take place. She’d insisted they turn the reception into a party and not let a single morsel of food or drop of champagne and punch go to waste, but inside she’d been mortified.
Taking a deep breath, Carlie focused on Luke. “How often does Beth have nightmares?”
“It’s unpredictable. It sounds illogical, but they’re more frequent lately,” he admitted. “You’d think they would taper off with time. That’s partly why I made a last-minute decision to go away for Christmas, hoping the change would do the girls some good.”
Carlie broke off a piece of muffin and rolled it around her plate. “I had terrible dreams when my dad was in the hospital,” she said slowly. “I know it isn’t the same as what Annie and Beth have been through, but I understand what it’s like to feel the world is falling apart. And I’m an adult, not a six-year-old child.”
Luke’s mouth twisted as if there was something he wanted to say, but couldn’t.
“At least you’re doing what you can to help your daughters,” Carlie murmured. “You aren’t ignoring their problems.”
“It doesn’t seem like enough.”
“Probably because you can’t fix the unfixable.”
“I guess. My wife had a favorite quote, ‘Life isn’t fair, it’s just fairer than death.’ I don’t think I truly understood it until she was gone.”
“That’s from The Princess Bride novel by William Goldman. Right at the end.”
“Erika didn’t read many novels, so she must have heard it from someone.”
Carlie finished her coffee, unsure how to respond. She wasn’t sure she agreed with William Goldman, who’d ended his novel in a different way from the movie. Life often wasn’t fair, but neither was death, and they couldn’t be compared. You just had to do your best.
She glanced at her watch. Her team members took the lead on various activities, but they had staggered days off during the week and Tim Mahoney had called in sick. Because of that, she still had things to finish for the scavenger hunt he’d planned for that afternoon.
“I’m really sorry, but I have to go,” she said finally. “Thanks for the cookies. I’ll put a note on the box, saying they’re from you. For future reference, Sarah has a few lunch items available here at the bakery, not just sweets. Her sandwiches and quiche are delicious.”
She hurried away before Luke could suggest walking with her. She didn’t know what he’d had in mind by inviting her for coffee, but it was better to keep things professional for everybody’s sake.