Tis the Season

by Jill Sanders

  “I… haven’t talked to them yet.” She sighed. “I supposed I’ll have to, seeing as we have less than two weeks to go.”

  “Come on, let’s go back and get the headboard,” Lilly said. Blake was thankful for the change of subject.

  Loaded down with the headboard and footboard of the bed and three iron bar stools, she drove back up the muddy hill with ease. Parking behind Parker’s truck, she sat looking at the house and decided it was past time to talk to her parents.

  Calling her father first was a must. After all, if she told her mother that her dad had already agreed, she’d probably fall in line.

  “Hi, Daddy.” She smiled and held the cheerful tone.

  “Hi, zucca.” Hearing her father’s nickname for her had her smiling. “Your ears must have been ringing,” he said in his thick accent.

  “Oh?” She leaned back in the car seat.

  “I just got off the phone with your mother. We were planning our trip out there.”

  “That’s why I’m calling…”

  “Is there something wrong?” Her father’s voice filled with concern.

  “No, it’s just… I was hoping the both of you would like to stay here, with…”—she took a deep breath—“me and my new boyfriend.”

  Her father was silent for a while. “What’s this gentlemen’s name.”

  She groaned. “Papa.”

  “What?” He dragged the word out, causing her to sigh.

  “Matthew Jordan,” she finally answered.

  “Jordan?” her father repeated. “What does he do for a living?”

  She’d known it was coming, the string of questions, and had prepared for them.

  “He runs his family business. Are you coming or not?”

  “To Edgeview?” he asked.

  “No, he lives in Pride, a few miles west of Edgeview.”

  “Where would we stay? What is the hotel name?”

  “You’d actually be staying at Matt’s parents’ bed and breakfast,” she answered.

  Again, her father was silent, and she could hear him working on his keyboard. “Pride Bed and Breakfast?” he asked.

  “That’s the one. The cabins are already booked,” she added. “So, are you still coming?”

  “I’ll be there,” her father said after a moment. “Have you talked to your mother?”

  “No, I called you first.”

  “Smart,” her father added. “Call her, tell her I’ll be there. I can’t wait to spend some time with you, zucca.”

  “Me too.” She relaxed until she picked up the cell phone to call her mother.

  “Hello, darling.” Her mother’s voice instantly told Blake that she wasn’t alone.

  “Hi, Mom. I won’t keep you long. There’s been a slight change of plans. Instead of spending the holidays in Edgeview, we’ll be staying in Pride. I’ve already arranged for your stay at the local bed and breakfast. Your cabin is right off the beach, Dad’s is next door. You’ll love it.” She kept rambling since she knew her mother didn’t have the opportunity to argue. “We’ll pick you up from the airport same as scheduled. I hope your shoot goes well today.” She smiled when her mother was silent.

  “Okay, sweetie, we can talk about this later,” she answered.

  “No need, I know you’re busy. Just know that everything has been dealt with. I just got off the phone with Dad and he’s all in.”

  “Your father agrees?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “I can’t wait to see you both in a week.”

  “Okay then, I’ll see you then. Honey, I have to go.”

  “Okay, bye, love you.”

  “Me too,” her mother said before hanging up.

  Blake let out a deep breath and chuckled. She’d pulled it off.

  She convinced Parker and another worker to carry the heavy bed frame upstairs, and she leaned it against the sand-colored walls. Unhappy with the look, she dragged it into the next room, which she’d painted a soft blue color called Iceberg.

  Here, the iron frame fit perfectly. She could imagine a cream comforter and pillows with blue throw pillows as an accent.

  There were two matching nightstands she’d picked out at the barn, and she pulled out her phone to text Lilly and ask her to paint them a blue color instead of the cream she’d requested.

  -Just text me a sample of the blue you want. I’ll get those done by this weekend.

  She scrolled through her notes and found the name of the color blue she wanted and sent a screenshot to Lilly.

  -Nice, okay, I’ll let you know when it’s all done. We hired someone at the store to fill in for me while I’m working on all this. I’m a boss!

  -LOL, congrats!

  It was hard to explain, but Blake had never really had close friends. The way she’d been raised, she’d always kept people at arm’s length. But with Lilly and Riley, things were different. She didn’t have to try very hard. She had more in common with Lilly than the younger Riley, but still, after the ordeal they’d gone through that day in their store, they had bonded more than she had with anyone else.

  She felt closer to them than she did with her mother at times.

  “That looks nice.” Parker stood in the doorway. “With the new carpet that we’ll be installing in a few days… real nice.”

  “Thank you.” She turned to him. “How’s the wife and baby?”

  He smiled. “Ready to pop at any minute.” He glanced down at his phone. “Waiting for the call is the worst. Staying busy is helping though.”

  “I’ll bet.” She smiled.

  “You know, we’re buying a house,” he added. “Sara wanted me to talk to you about hiring you to help decorate it. I’ve told her about all you’ve done around here.”

  “You and Lilly and Corey.” She sighed. “Sounds like the Jordans are singlehandedly keeping me in business.” She chuckled.

  “That’s what they do, they suck you in,” he said with a smile.

  “Where is the house?” she asked.

  “It’s next door to her folks’ place and to Parker and Sara’s land.” He glanced out the massive windows and nodded. “Views like this.” He smiled.

  “Sounds wonderful. When are you moving in?”

  “A week before Christmas, but we won’t start decorating it until after the New Year. I have some minor things I want to change about the place first, when I have time.”

  “I bet you’re busy with the new baby coming and all.” She smiled when his eyes turned soft.

  “Yeah…” He shook his head. “Still can’t believe it, I’ll be a dad soon.” He chuckled.

  She laughed. “Busy month.”

  “Busy year. It seems like just yesterday when I met Sara for the first time.” He sighed. “Knocked my socks off.”

  She laughed. “I’ll want to meet with you and Sara to get a better feel for what you want after you move in. You know, get a feel for your style and the home.”

  Parker glanced around the room. “This. We like this style. It’s perfect.”

  She smiled. “Still, I’ll want to talk to your wife about the nursery.”

  “Okay.” He walked forward and pulled out his phone. “There, I shared her contact with you. Call or text, she’d been going crazy texting me images all week long.”

  As he stood there, his phone chimed. “See?” He held up the phone and showed her an image of a large swing on a white-washed front porch.

  She smiled and noted it. “Forward me them if you want. I’ll have her text me instead of you from now on.”

  “Thank you. I’d better get back to work. We should be done in the bathroom by tomorrow. Then it’s carpet time up here.” He glanced to the bed frame. “I can’t wait to see the finished product.”

  “Thanks,” she said and watched him walk out.

  She still had a bedroom and the bathrooms to paint, not to mention tackling the layers of wallpaper in the nursery.”

  When her phone chimed, she glanced at Matt’s text.

  -Do you have time
to run an errand?

  She glanced around and thought about it.

  -Sure

  -Great, I’ll pick you up.

  -Okay. Let me clean up. I was digging through a barn all morning.

  -Sounds good. Half an hour? Did you find anything good?

  -Yes, to both. See you soon

  She made her way downstairs and stepped into their private room. She had yet to put blinds or curtains up in the bay window, so when she saw the figure standing there, she was shocked at how solid the woman looked. It was on the tip of her tongue to apologize and step out of the room when she realized it was Emogene.

  She no longer felt fear when she saw the woman, only sadness.

  “Hi,” she said, gaining the woman’s attention.

  When she turned towards Blake, she knew something had changed. There was hope behind the woman’s eyes. “You’ve found her?”

  “We’re looking,” she replied.

  “Soon,” Emogene said before she disappeared.

  Shaking the mood off, she quickly changed and went out to wait for Matt in the front of the house.

  “Where are we going?” she asked when she climbed into the Jeep.

  “The Hotel.” He pulled out of the driveway.

  “A hotel?” She frowned. “What hotel?”

  He chuckled. “No, not a hotel, The Hotel. It’s a retirement home just outside of Edgeview.”

  “Okay?” she hinted to get more information.

  “Aunt Lacey came through for us. She found Anna Beth,” he said, smiling over at her.

  “What?” She sat up a little. “Seriously?”

  He nodded. “Her name has changed and here’s the kicker—she was raised by her maternal grandparents.”

  “How…” She tilted her head. “If she was taken, how did her maternal grandparents raise her?”

  “That’s what I’m hoping we will find out.” He smiled.

  They drove for almost half an hour before the turn-off halfway to Edgeview. It was strange, but she had no desire to return to her small apartment anymore.

  Maybe it was because Butters was back at the big house or maybe it was because she knew that she’d be crawling into bed with Matt each night. Either way, home had shifted to Pride instead of Edgeview in the past two weeks, and she was perfectly happy about it.

  Matt parked the Jeep along a small road of what appeared to be an old town. There were buildings lining the main strip. Glancing around, she spotted The Hotel in large gold letters on one of the buildings.

  The well-maintained place looked like an old high school instead of a retirement home. Blake had always assumed that retirement homes had old people sitting around the front of the building, knitting or reading. Here, there were potted flowers and a small well-groomed lawn.

  “Come on, let’s go in. I called ahead of time and they are expecting us,” Matt said, helping her out of the Jeep.

  They walked through the double doors and approached the lobby desk. A woman stood behind the counter wearing a cream nurse’s outfit.

  There were several sofas in the main area with flower arrangements all around. The place smelled like flowers instead of like a nursing home.

  Matt talked with the woman, who nodded to the elevators. “Marg will meet you on the second floor and show you to Mrs. Anna.” She smiled at them.

  They made their way to the elevator and when they stepped out on the second level, they entered the heart of the nursing home. Here, activities were in full swing.

  As they approached the nurses’ station, Blake watched as a group of retirees played bingo while another painted in front of large windows that overlooked the Pacific coast.

  “We’re here to see Anna Willis?” Matt asked the nurse.

  “Yes, Mr. Jordan?” she asked.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “This is Blake Shelby.” He nodded to her and then took her hand.

  “Mrs. Anna is expecting you. She’s in there.” She motioned towards a large room filled with people. “The woman at the corner in the wheelchair, painting, in the yellow.”

  They both turned and looked. “Thank you,” Matt said as they made their way across the room.

  “Anna Willis?” Matt said softly.

  The older woman, who appeared to be in her late eighties, glanced up at them.

  “There you are.” She smiled up at them. “It’s about time.” She set her paint brush down. “Now, let’s get out of this joint.” She started rolling her chair towards the doorway.

  “Um,” Matt said, standing back. “I’m Matt…”

  “Yes.” The woman waved him away with a wrinkled hand. “I know, they told me all about you two. Moved into my old family home.” She smiled. “Come on outside.” She leaned closer. “Do either of you have a smoke?” She whispered it and glanced around.

  “N… no.” Matt shook his head. “Sorry.”

  “Oh well, I can still enjoy a break from all the old people.” She smiled. “My body may be failing, but my mind is still sharp. Half the people in there think they’re on a vacation.” She sighed. “Poor souls, I wish I could faze it out like that.” She was silent for a moment. “Come on then, indulge an old lady on her deathbed.”

  They followed Anna out some back doors onto a beautiful stone patio that would be surrounded by greenery in the spring and summertime. Now, however, the space had melted snow and dead bushes. Still, the view of the ocean below was breathtaking.

  “So, are you seeing my parents?” she asked after she motioned for them to sit under an awning on a bench.

  “Yes,” Matt admitted quickly.

  Anna sighed. “I had always avoided going up to the house.”

  “You know about them?” Blake asked. Anna’s eyes moved to hers.

  “Yes, ever since I found out who I really was.” She smiled.

  “Who… what happened?” Matt asked leaning forward.

  Anna shifted in her wheelchair.

  “It was my first birthday.” She turned her eyes to the water below. “My parents had a large party to celebrate.” She turned to them. “That night, I went missing.” Matt nodded, hinting for her to go on. “It wasn’t until my tenth birthday that they found out who I was. By then, both of my parents were gone. My mother…”—Blake watched as a tear fell down the woman’s fragile cheek—“had been killed that same night I was taken. They tried to frame my father. The theory was he’d killed me, disposed of my body, then went back and, during the time when everyone from the party was out looking for me, killed my mother. But there were witnesses who swore under oath that they were with my father when they heard my mother scream.”

  Blake felt a shiver down her spine. “Was she… did she die in the master bedroom?”

  Anna nodded. “My grandmother told me that they found her body by the windows.”

  Again, Blake shivered, and Matt reached over to take her hand.

  “Go on,” he said. “What happened?”

  “Well, thanks to the witnesses, my father was acquitted. Still, he spent almost a year searching for the murderer of his wife and child. They both died, thinking I was already gone.” She wiped the tear from her face. “My grandparents took me in when they finally found me. They raised me and loved me.” She smiled. “Still, part of me misses the love that I know my parents had for me.”

  “What happened to you?” Blake asked. “Who took you?”

  “An uninvited party guest, an ex-employee, snuck in the house, went up to my nursery, took me from my crib and left. She raised me as hers, having fooled her husband into believing she had adopted me. I was raised in Portland until I was ten.”

  “How did your family find you?” Matt asked.

  “They didn’t. I broke my arm.” She smiled. “My mother, or the woman who had taken me, took me to the hospital in Portland. The temporary doctor that was filling in for the local doctor, whose wife had had a baby, saw me and instantly recognized me. It was a Dr. Stephens.” She smiled and Matt squeezed Blake’s hand. “He told me he knew instantly
because I was a spitting image of my mother.” She smiled. “He called the police and before he had the cast on me, they were there. The rest… is a longer story. The woman who had raised me was charged with my real mother’s murder.”

  “Why don’t more people around town know this story?” Blake asked her.

  The older woman shrugged her shoulders. “I’m an introvert. For years I was the center of the town’s gossip. I moved away after graduation, married, had my own family, then moved back when they sent me here because I was too much trouble to deal with.” She sighed heavily.

  Blake could see the weariness in the woman’s eyes and reached over to touch her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

  Anna smiled at her. “Knowing that my parents died believing I was gone is painful, but knowing that they wander that big house up there waiting for me”—she smiled—“fills me with peace. When it’s my time to go, we’ll all be together again. I just know it.”

  Chapter 13

  Matt drove in the direction of the highway, but instead of turning towards Pride, he turned the other way and headed towards Edgeview.

  “I need a break after that,” he said softly.

  “Yes,” she agreed. “Me too.”

  “How about dinner?” he asked. “There’s a couple good places in town.”

  “What about Li’s?” Blake asked. “I could use some sushi about now.” She leaned her head back, then sat up quickly. “My god, now I sound like my mother.”

  He chuckled and reached for her hand. “Sushi sounds great.” He knew the place and headed across town.

  They parked and entered the almost-packed place and ended up waiting a few minutes for a spot at the bar.

  They watched the masters build their food, and the atmosphere lightened their mood. Soon, both of them were laughing and joking with the chef, whom Blake apparently knew.

  “When is your mother coming back to visit?” the man had asked.

  “Christmas.” Blake smiled and glanced over at him. “She’ll be staying with us in Pride though.”

  Matt took her hand under the table and felt warmth spread up his arm.

  “Are you in Pride?” Li the owner of the place asked.

  “For now.” Blake smiled at him, then leaned on the counter. “But I’m sure my mother will demand a visit up here before she leaves.”