The Clause in Christmas Read online

  “It’s a Christmas wreath.” Cassie breezed past him into the hall, realizing her unease around Frank had all but evaporated.

  Frank grumbled under his breath, but shut the door, leaving the wreath in its place.

  “Have you tried my blend yet?” Cassie asked, loosening her scarf as the warmth emanating from the large brick fireplace enveloped her.

  “It wasn’t half bad,” Frank said with a glimmer in his eye.

  “Half bad?” In mock protest, Cassie placed both hands on her hips. “It was nearly perfect, thank you very much! But I was thinking we could try using the same beans and take the temperature to four hundred degrees this time.”

  “You want to go lighter?” Frank furrowed his brow, but after a few moments, the tension released. “That could work. It would balance out the earthiness of the Sumatra.” His eyes brightened with eagerness as he ambled down the hall toward the back porch.

  Stomach fluttering, Cassie followed closely behind. She loved seeing the excitement in his step. Without knowing the details of his ailment, she assumed he had good days and bad.

  Today seemed like a good day.

  Once again, Frank let Cassie take the lead with the roast. When they returned to the kitchen afterward, he made a pot of coffee using Cassie’s original blend from a few days earlier while the new version cooled. Although he kept his back to her as he shuffled about the kitchen, Cassie could have sworn she heard him whistling.

  Taking the seat opposite her, Frank slid a mug across the table.

  Cassie gripped it with both hands, inhaling the aromatic steam as it curled above the rim. “Frank, can I ask you something?”

  “I joined the navy so we could live in a free country.” His lips twitched before he took a sip from his mug.

  Cassie smiled, feeling a little more hopeful after his attempt at humor. “I’m going caroling tonight with a few friends and some folks from town. I’d like you to come with us.”

  The humor drained from Frank’s features and Cassie rushed on. “We’re meeting at the little chapel at the top of the hill before walking to Main Street. Seven o’clock. I can pick you up if you don’t drive.”

  “I drive,” Frank muttered. “But why would I want to do something like that?”

  “Because it’s fun.” Cassie hoped her tone conveyed enough enthusiasm.

  Frank narrowed his eyes. “And that’s the reason you’re going?”

  Cassie shifted under his scrutinizing gaze. She supposed that were half-true. The other half was a little more complicated. But maybe he’d just given her the opportunity she’d been waiting for.

  “That’s part of it,” she said slowly.

  “And the other part?”

  Cassie’s grip tightened around the mug. She’d gone over this conversation a thousand times in her head, but now that she faced it, she didn’t know what to say. “Do you… know why I’m here?” she asked, hoping to lay a foundation for the conversation to follow.

  “To pester an old man?” he teased.

  Cassie couldn’t help a slight grin. “I meant in Poppy Creek.”

  Frank shrugged and took another sip of coffee.

  “I’m here because I inherited my grandmother’s house. Her name was Edith Hayward.” Holding her breath, she waited for his response. But except for an almost imperceptible twitch in his jaw, she saw nothing. “But it wasn’t as simple as I thought,” Cassie continued. “She added a clause in her will. To inherit the house, I have to carry out a different festive task each day until Christmas.” This news elicited a flicker of surprise and Cassie pressed on. “Today I have to go caroling. Turns out, there’s an organized group that goes on the same evening every year. My grandmother used to be one of them. I’m told she had a beautiful voice.”

  “Like a nightingale,” Frank murmured. His eyes widened in shock as though the words had escaped without his consent. The legs of the chair scraped against the hardwood floor as he stood abruptly. Turning his back to her, he refilled his mug from the Moka pot resting on the stove.

  From behind, Cassie caught his shoulders tremble slightly. But when he turned around, his expression remained unreadable.

  After easing himself into the chair, he took a long sip.

  Cassie reached inside her pocket and withdrew the velvet box. “I found something among my grandmother’s belongings last night.” She set it in the center of the table and nudged it toward him. “There’s a note inside. For you.”

  His steely gaze darted to hers, panic settling in his features.

  “Don’t worry,” Cassie assured him. “I didn’t read it. But I did see what’s inside the box.”

  Frank still hadn’t made a move toward it, his knuckles whitening as he gripped his mug.

  “Frank,” Cassie said gently. “What happened between you and my grandmother?”

  Cassie waited in patient silence as Frank stared intently into his coffee as though he’d lost something.

  When he finally spoke, he sounded miles away. “You two are a lot alike, you know. Passionate. Strong-willed. Full of life and adventure.” He traced the rim of the mug with his finger, pausing at a small chip. “Your grandmother liked to pave her own way in life. It was one of the things I loved about her.” He paused, the creases in his brow deepening.

  Cassie leaned forward, enrapt with every word.

  “But then I was deployed overseas, and I called off the engagement.”

  “Why?”

  Frank shut his eyes against the painful memory, and when they finally drifted open, they gleamed with unshed tears. “Fear can make a person do foolish things.”

  “Fear of dying?”

  With a look of sadness, he shook his head. “Fear of pain.”

  With bated breath, Cassie waited for Frank to explain.

  “Your grandmother was like an exotic creature.” The creases in his forehead diminished as he gazed into the distance. “Beautiful and wild. I didn’t know if…”

  The faint tapping of a branch against the kitchen window finished his thought.

  Cassie scooted toward the edge of the chair. “If she would wait for you?” she concluded, the pieces finally coming together in her mind.

  With an anguished expression, Frank nodded. “I didn’t know if I could survive the war only to die of a broken heart.”

  They sat in silence, the howl of the wind echoing Frank’s sorrow.

  As she mulled over his words, Cassie realized that, in a way, Frank had fulfilled his own prophecy. And now he lived each day with regret wrapped around him like Jacob Marley’s chains.

  Fear can make a person do foolish things… like not living their life.

  Reaching across the table, Cassie opened the box, revealing the note tucked inside with the ring. “Neither of us can go back in time,” she said softly. “But we can go forward.”

  Her own eyes shimmering with tears, Cassie placed a hand on Frank’s forearm and gently squeezed. “I really hope you come tonight.”

  With that, Cassie left Frank alone with his thoughts.

  And the note.

  Luke gazed at Cassie with fondness as she scanned the church parking lot.

  “I don’t think he’s coming,” Cassie said with a disappointed sigh.

  “There’s still time.” Luke joined her in surveying the crowd of carolers.

  Eliza and his mom passed out baked goods while Penny and Dolores helped Sadie serve her famous hot chocolate. Ben and a group of friends played a rambunctious game of tag, their shouts and laughter carrying into the crisp night air.

  Soon, another sound joined the cacophony. The thundering rumble of a car engine.

  Dumbfounded, Luke gawked as a mint-condition 1951 Chevy convertible crested the hill. The deep, glittering purple color reminded him of sunlight shimmering through a glass bottle of grape soda.

  Luke admired the smooth lines and gentle curves of the stunning classic as it parked at the end of a long line of less impressive vehicles.

  Frank Barrie, clothed i
n a long tweed coat and gray fedora, slid from the driver’s seat.

  “He came!” Cassie cheered with delight.

  Searching the unfamiliar faces, Frank remained by his car, tall and proud like a statue of a soldier.

  Cassie rushed toward him, smothering him in an unrestrained hug.

  Luke grinned as Frank’s eyes widened in surprise before he awkwardly patted her back.

  “She’s pretty special, isn’t she?”

  The sound of his mother’s voice by his side startled Luke, but he instantly softened. “She sure is.” His gaze never left Cassie as she looped her arm through Frank’s and led him toward the gathering, introducing him to a few people along the way.

  “To think,” Maggie continued, “Frank has lived in Poppy Creek all these years, and it took an outsider to draw him from his shell.”

  Luke paused at the term outsider. Sure, Cassie had started out that way. But somehow, the description no longer fit.

  “Did she tell you she’s going to stay?” Maggie asked softly.

  Jerking his head, Luke gaped at his mother. “How do you know? Did she tell you that?”

  “She may have accepted my job offer.”

  Scooping his mother off the ground, Luke twirled her around. “Thank you! Thank you!”

  Tilting her head back, Maggie laughed. “Don’t thank me. We all want her to stay. Though maybe not as much as you.” She patted his cheek as he set her back down. “I’m so happy for you, son.”

  Her hazel eyes shone, mirroring the joy in his own heart. But Luke immediately sobered. “You know, just because she’s staying doesn’t mean it’s for me.”

  “Maybe not entirely,” Maggie admitted. “But I see the way she looks at you. Many years may have passed since your father and I first fell in love, but I can still recognize the signs.”

  Luke glanced down at the pitted asphalt, feeling the familiar tightness in his throat. “I still miss him.”

  Maggie gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “Me, too. There are still times I forget he’s gone. I’ll turn to tell him something, and then reality comes rushing back. Other times, his absence is so strong, my heart hurts almost as much as the day we lost him.”

  Luke nodded wordlessly. The day he’d helped Cassie decorate the cottage, he’d known she was special. And the first person he’d wanted to tell was his dad.

  Maggie sniffled, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. “Your father would be very proud of you, Luke.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” Luke offered a faint smile, but Maggie shook her head.

  “Let me finish.” Gripping his hand, she met Luke’s gaze with purpose. “He’d be proud because of who you are. As parents, we try our best to teach you what we know. But it’s when you become your own person, the man God created you to be, that a parent is truly proud.” She shook her head, smiling through her tears. “Lord knows I loved your father. But the world only needed one Leonard Davis. And it got the best one. Now it needs the best version of Luke Davis.”

  Overwhelmed with emotion, Luke didn’t know what to say. But before he could respond, the stirring sound of “O Holy Night” filled the clear, starlit sky as the carolers began their descent down the hill toward Main Street.

  Maggie’s breath caught in her throat as she clutched Luke’s hand.

  Beaming down at his mother, Luke wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  His heart full, Luke lifted his voice to join the others in singing his father’s favorite song, glimpsing Cassie at the top of the hill.

  Arm in arm with Frank, she glanced over her shoulder and caught his eye. Her lips spread into an inviting smile as she held out her hand for him.

  The moonlight cast a silvery glow across her face, and Luke took a mental snapshot of the moment.

  The moment he received his father’s blessing.

  Chapter 25

  Cassie wasn’t sure if she walked or floated into Thistle & Thorn. After spending the evening caroling with Luke, Frank, and so many others who’d become dear friends, her heart felt more airborne than Santa’s sleigh. And when she’d read the day’s activity—Buy Someone a Christmas Present—Cassie knew exactly what she wanted. And if one place on earth would have it, it would be Penny’s peculiar store.

  “Hi, Cassie.” Penny set the vintage camera back on the shelf, tossing the dust rag over her shoulder. “What brings you by? Did you come back for the green dress?”

  “I wish.” Cassie sighed, her longing gaze traveling to the goddess-worthy gown. If she could afford it, she wouldn’t hesitate to claim it as her own. But as it was, buying a present for Luke would be a stretch on her dwindling bank account.

  “Then what can I help you find?” Penny asked.

  Running a restless hand through her hair, Cassie hesitated. She should tell Penny what she was looking for. Otherwise it could take all day to find it. But even though the significance of the gift would be lost on anyone but Luke, Cassie felt too shy to share. “I’ll just take a look around, if that’s okay?”

  “Of course!” With a bright smile, Penny tugged the rag off her shoulder, ready to resume her work. “There’s a whole lot more in back that I haven’t sorted through yet. Feel free to take a look if you don’t find what you want out here.”

  “Thanks, I will.” Smiling gratefully, Cassie began her search.

  As she explored the eclectic shop, Cassie marveled at how Penny had managed to create an atmosphere both chaotic and calm. There didn’t seem to be any clear organization and yet, everything appeared to be exactly where it belonged. Christmas carols resonated from a crackling gramophone, and the evocative scents of aged leather and spicy pipe tobacco lulled her into a dreamy state, making the minutes tick by like seconds.

  After she’d looped around the store several times, only stopping to admire the gown twice, Cassie’s search came up empty.

  “Penny?” Cassie interrupted the tall redhead as she dusted an odd chess set of exquisite marble sculptures featuring cats on one side and dogs on the other. “You mentioned looking in the back…”

  “Yes! Please do!” Penny’s copper eyes shone with delight. “I love it when customers peruse the back room. It’s like sending someone on a treasure hunt.”

  Cassie smiled. She already felt a little bit like Indiana Jones. But as she followed Penny’s graceful stride, her pulse quickened with anticipation.

  Ceremoniously pulling aside a heavy brocade curtain, Penny revealed an enormous back room bursting with antiques and collectables of every sort.

  Immediately overwhelmed, Cassie swallowed, wondering if was too late to change her mind.

  “Incredible, isn’t it?” Penny gushed, clearly misreading Cassie’s shock for awe. “You never know what hidden gem you’ll uncover.”

  Finding her voice, Cassie asked, “Do you collect all of this yourself?”

  “Not always. I do a fair amount of scavenging myself. But a lot of stuff is dropped off, too. Sometimes in huge shipments when someone passes away and family members don’t want to bother with an estate sale. I’ll give them a price, sight unseen, and they’ll unload everything in here.”

  “You pay for it without knowing what it is?” Cassie asked. “What if it’s worthless junk?”

  “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” Penny winked, then laughed. “Besides, that’s half the fun in what I do. Sometimes, in a shipment of seemingly ordinary things, you find something extraordinary.”

  Cassie’s heart fluttered at Penny’s romanticized explanation.

  “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Happy hunting.”

  With a swish of the curtain, Penny disappeared, leaving Cassie alone in the jungle of doodads and thingamabobs.

  Inhaling deeply, Cassie noticed the air smelled mustier than out front, and the bronzed glow from the antique light fixtures cast an otherworldly sheen about the room.

  Thirty minutes into her exploration, Cassie began to feel a little claustrophobic. But as she turned to find her way out of the maze of objects, Cas
sie froze.

  There, tucked away on a cluttered shelf, sat the very item she’d been searching for.

  An authentic cuckoo clock.

  Nostalgia washed over Luke as he glanced around the office where he’d spent so much of his life. First, visiting his father at work. Then, when it became his own space.

  Since his father’s passing, Luke tried to keep the essence of the office the same, merely adding a few items of furniture he’d crafted himself. But the layout and design remained exactly as his father left it—homey and inviting.

  Leonard Davis believed a law office should evoke calm rather than anxiety. He wanted his clients to feel as though they were entering his own living room, not a stuffy reception area. Especially if they had to discuss something painful like the death of a loved one. That meant setting up his practice in a location with enough square footage to accommodate an oversized sofa, a few chairs, shelves filled with books and boardgames, a table for refreshments, and, of course, a large Christmas tree during the holiday season.

  The private office space wasn’t small, either. Luke had more than enough room for his expansive desk, two leather club chairs, and an entire wall of bookcases and filing cabinets. But his favorite feature of the room was a window seat that overlooked the courtyard. Luke would sit there for hours reading or doing his homework after school. Just thinking about selling the space left an emptiness in the pit of his stomach.

  “Hey! Anybody home?” Jack’s loud bellow interrupted Luke’s thoughts.

  Striding back into the reception area, Luke asked, “Did we have an appointment today?”

  “Do we ever?” Jack laughed, heading straight for the cookie jar.

  “Good point. Remind me to talk to my secretary about that.”

  “Ha!” Jack stuffed an entire gingersnap into his mouth, mumbling, “If you ever get one. The closest you’ve got is Dolores. Where is she, by the way? I kind of miss getting the evil eye from Banjo when I visit.”

  Luke chuckled. “She’s at another one of Harriet Parker’s knitting circles. Apparently, they’re trying to make a hundred blankets for the homeless shelter by Christmas. What brings you by?”