Jingle All the Way

by Debbie Macomber

  “Think it’s time we head home,” Stan said, motioning toward Rosie. He lifted his daughter into his arms while Rose helped get her daughter into her coat. The little one barely stirred.

  “I don’t want to go,” Russell whined. “I want to stay here and hear more about the rainforest.”

  “And you will,” Everly promised. “I’ll be here all the way until the New Year. We’ll go on a sleigh ride and build a snow fort and challenge your uncles to a snowball fight.”

  Russell nodded enthusiastically. “You promise?”

  “I do,” she said, as he hugged tight around her waist.

  Everly kissed the top of his head. “Now head on home and get lots of sleep and I’ll print out some of the other photos I have from the Amazon.” She knew he’d be excited when he saw the giant lily pads and some of the other photos Asher had sent through Dropbox.

  Rose and her family left and not ten minutes later, Lily appeared carrying a platter of traditional Christmas candies, the very ones they’d cooked with their grandmother and mother through the years. Everly was heartened by the way her family was going above and beyond to make sure she knew she was welcome.

  “Is that Grandma Ruth’s fudge?” she asked.

  “Is there any other?” Lily teased.

  “And her divinity.” Everly’s weakness. “I have dreams about this divinity.”

  “If you’d come home more, you could have your fill.”

  “Be quiet and give me a hug,” Everly said, as she placed the platter in the middle of the kitchen table. The two embraced, rocking back and forth with sisterly affection. As teens they’d barely been able to tolerate each other. Now they saw each other infrequently and their teenage squabbles didn’t seem to matter.

  “Where are Jason and the boys?” their mother asked, about Lily’s husband and sons.

  “Cub Scouts,” she said, and then looked to Everly. “Jason’s the scout leader or he’d be here. You’ll get a chance to see them all long before Christmas.”

  “Russell talked me into building a snow fort so he could challenge Uncle Jeff and John to a snowball fight. I want your boys on our team.” She couldn’t throw worth a darn, but her nephew didn’t know that.

  The smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen as the three women sat around the table and chatted. Everly caught up with her sister and the family news. Jason worked for the fire department as a paramedic, and Lily worked part-time at the bakery.

  When her two sisters had married young, Everly, intent on getting a college education, had assumed they were making a big mistake. Rose quit after her freshman year of college and then entered cosmetology school. Lily got her Liberal Arts degree before marrying. At the time it’d boggled Everly’s mind that they hadn’t been interested in continuing their education and all the opportunities that it would afford them.

  By marrying young, neither of her sisters had experienced life. They’d both been eager to settle down and start their families. Rose and Lily were smart, achieving good grades in school, and could have gotten into any school they wanted to. Rose had met Stan while she was a college freshman and married only after finishing her cosmetology course. Lily married her high school sweetheart, the very boy she’d gone with to her junior and senior proms.

  Everly had always felt like they had lost out on opportunities for independence and career success, but seeing and hearing about their lives with their families, she realized she was the one who’d lost out. She didn’t regret her career; she enjoyed her work, but she’d allowed her drive and ambition to rule her life. She’d closed herself off from experiences and relationships in order to focus on the next innovation, the next opportunity. It was eye-opening to realize she’d cheated herself.

  “You’re really going to stay until the new year?” Lily pressed.

  “I really am.”

  “What about Easy Home?”

  Reaching for a second piece of fudge, Everly relaxed against the back of the kitchen chair. “The company will survive with or without me.”

  Her mother and Lily exchanged glances.

  “What?” Everly asked, savoring the chocolate flavor of the fudge. Her grandmother’s recipe called for cocoa and condensed milk and was a family favorite.

  “You’re different, Daisy,” Lily said. “What changed?”

  She hesitated, unsure how much to say, and then decided this was her family and it was useless to keep a secret from them. “While on the cruise, I had the chance to reassess a few of the choices I’ve made. It was enlightening, to say the least. My priorities have been out of whack. It was time to set them straight.”

  Lily sat up and shared a quick look with their mother. “You came up with this all on your own?”

  She nodded.

  “Was there a man involved?”

  Her shock must have shown, because her sister nodded knowingly. Swallowing tightly, Everly forced a smile, which she was sure looked pitifully sad. “I’d prefer not to talk about it.”

  Her mother was instantly sympathetic. “Oh, sweetie, did he break your heart?”

  “Mom, please.” Everly tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling for fear the tears that welled in her eyes would spill down her cheeks. Since her return, Everly hadn’t shed a tear. Now they flooded her eyes.

  “I’m the foolish one to put credence on a shipboard romance,” she whispered through the tightness in her throat. “He doesn’t want me.”

  Silence followed as if neither her mother nor her sister believed any man wouldn’t want Everly.

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”

  Everly wiped the moisture from her face. “I’ll survive. This isn’t the first time I’ve been disappointed, and it won’t be the last. Now, please, can we talk about something else?”

  “Of course.”

  They all made a determined effort to move on and avoid talking about the one subject, the one person, Everly couldn’t seem to forget.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Asher was forced to admit it. He was miserable. He hated that Daisy had learned about the ship’s two-week maintenance break. The hurt and disappointment in her eyes when she realized he’d purposely withheld the information made his chest ache. He couldn’t get the image of her shock out of his mind.

  Foolishly, Asher assumed that once Daisy returned to the States, he’d be able to move on within a day or two. He didn’t expect he’d be able to forget her, at least not right away, of course. It made sense that it would take time, time he was willing to wait out.

  He had plans for the maintenance break. Plans to relax and explore a region of the rainforest interior he’d not been to before. His itinerary was set, but ultimately he couldn’t dig up the enthusiasm to make the journey and at the last minute had bowed out and stayed behind.

  A few days after Christmas he would be back on the river with a load of fresh passengers, eager for adventure and to learn and explore. Meeting a new slate of guests would help distract him and help take his mind off Daisy.

  He would never be able to think of her as Everly. To him, she would always be Daisy. Everly was that dedicated business executive who had worked herself into a frazzle. Daisy was the lovable, klutzy, adorable…He stopped, finding himself doing it again: thinking of her and the closeness they’d shared.

  Gritting his teeth to the point that his jaw ached, he forced her from his mind. Whatever she chose to call herself was of no concern to him.

  Restless and bored, Asher ventured into town, found an Internet café, and wrote a long, newsy email to his parents, copying his brother. He mentioned his last cruise and went on about a woman he’d met and some of what had happened to her. Rereading his email, he realized nearly everything he’d written in one way or another was related to Daisy. He erased nearly all of it and sent a much condensed version.

  It wasn’t long before
his mother responded.

  Honestly, Asher, how long before you’re ready to settle down? First it was Antarctica, then it was the Amazon. Your father and I barely see you. Don’t you think it’s time you found a good woman, settled down, and gave your father and me grandchildren?

  Asher read her short message and groaned. His mother was right, and he knew it. Most men his age had settled into marriage and were raising a family. But it wasn’t like he was able to pluck a wife off a tree. Choosing a partner and settling into marriage was a major life decision and not to be taken lightly. His lifestyle wasn’t conducive to marriage. If he hadn’t met Daisy, he would have brushed off his mother’s comments. Instead, Daisy stood before him front and center in his mind like a song whose lyrics kept running through his head. The effort to forget her grew more difficult every day, every minute.

  If she followed through with her plans, she’d be back on the farm with her family in Indiana and enjoying time with her siblings. A smile slowly came over him as he leaned back in the chair at the Internet café and pictured Daisy. He saw her in the barn dressed in jeans and a red flannel shirt, chewing on a long piece of hay.

  Mentally kicking himself, he tightened his jaw and his resolve. He was acting like a lovesick teenager; the sensation was new and uncomfortable. If Santa was granting wishes, then he’d put in his request to find a compromise that would bring them together in a way in which neither of them had to give up such a big part of themselves.

  Asher missed her far more than he thought was possible. The depth of his feelings didn’t make sense. By nature, Asher was practical. Practical and mature. No one would ever think to describe him as impulsive. Yet when it came to Daisy, it felt like his head was in the clouds. Since meeting her, he had become someone he didn’t recognize. It seemed impossible that in such a short time span, Daisy had taken over his mind despite his best effort to be rid of her.

  He was angry with her.

  Angry with himself.

  She should never have pushed him.

  She should have listened and quietly walked away. He’d told her this was a dead-end romance. She should have believed him. Not Daisy; she’d called him a coward. The insult struck deep and painful. He couldn’t forget the proud tilt of her head as she sat in the cab as it drove away.

  She hadn’t looked back. Not even once.

  * * *

  —

  Later that night, unable to sleep, Asher stared at the ceiling of his quarters while he struggled to chase Daisy from his mind. Every time he closed his eyes she was there, taunting him, claiming he was a weakling.

  As if looking to punish himself, he reached for his phone and brought up the one photo he’d taken of her when she was on the Zodiac with a fishing pole in her hand, smiling at him, her eyes bright and alive. A dozen times he’d gone to delete that shot, and each time he found he couldn’t make himself do it. It was as if he needed a way to make himself even more depressed.

  The only one he could think to talk to was his brother. While Daniel might be ten years older, they were alike in almost every way. Both were logical, rational; both, for the most part, were studious and a little awkward socially. Asher knew his brother was the one who would best understand this situation and advise him.

  He hesitated, knowing that the call would likely wake Daniel, but he decided to risk it anyway. His brother picked up on the second ring.

  “Asher? I hope you realize what time it is.”

  “I do.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “For the most part, yes.”

  “Which tells me you need to talk.”

  Shuffling noises followed, and Asher suspected his brother was climbing out of bed and finding a spot in the house where they could talk without waking his wife, Kylie. After a few moments, Daniel asked. “Okay, what’s up?”

  Unsure where to start, Asher asked his brother a question. “Tell me what happened when you met Kylie.”

  “What? Why are you asking me about that? What’s my wife got to do with anything?”

  “I need to know how you felt, you know, when you first met her.”

  “Well,” he mumbled, as if rummaging through his memories.

  Asher could picture his brother sitting back with his hand braced against his forehead, giving the question consideration.

  “I was a resident at the time, working crazy hours at the hospital. I walked into the parking garage and found her name and phone number on my windshield.”

  “What?” This sounded nothing like the woman Asher knew. “She made a play for you?”

  “No, that’s not anything Kylie would do. I didn’t notice it at the time, but my front headlight on the driver’s side was broken. Kylie had pulled out of the parking spot across from me and inadvertently hit my car.”

  “So that’s why she left you her name and phone number.”

  “Yes. She’d been visiting her father at the hospital and had been upset and wasn’t paying attention.”

  “How is it you never told me this before?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “No, I suppose not. Go on. You noticed the broken headlight, realized why she’d left her name and number, called her, and the two of you met?”

  “I did call, and I thanked her for her honesty. She didn’t want to report the accident to her insurance company and said she’d pay for the damage herself.”

  That was decent of her. “I want to know what you felt when you met her,” Asher pressed.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Were you attracted to her? Did she make you weak in the knees? That sort of thing?”

  Daniel made a humming sound, as if reviewing the first meeting with the woman who was to become his wife and the mother of his children. “Not at first, but later.”

  This conversation wasn’t helping the way Asher thought it would. “But you clearly were attracted to her, right?”

  “Of course. What guy wouldn’t be?”

  Still not helpful. “But you saw her again after she paid for the repairs to your car?”

  “Yes, I ran into her at the hospital. She was visiting her father again and things weren’t going well. She was in tears. I felt badly for her. Because she knew I was a resident heart surgeon, she asked my advice, sort of a second opinion on the best options for her dad. I reviewed her father’s chart and then sat with her and her mother and explained that I wouldn’t do anything differently than the treatment he was currently receiving. Asher, why all these questions?”

  “I’ve met someone,” he said, smiling involuntarily as he said it. Daisy wasn’t just someone; she was way above that. The problem was he didn’t know what he would or should do about his feelings.

  “It’s about time. That’s great; tell me about her.”

  “I intend to, but first I need some information from you.”

  “Sure. Anything.”

  This was better, and Asher relaxed. “At what point did you realize you and Kylie were meant to be together?”

  “At what point?” Daniel said, as if repeating the question aloud would help him find the answer. “Well, I was definitely interested from the first. Not only was Kylie beautiful, I appreciated her honesty. She cared deeply about her father and family, and that appealed to me as well.”

  “Daisy is close to her family, too.”

  “Daisy is the name of the woman you seem reluctant to mention?”

  “I will talk about her, but first I want to hear about you and Kylie. How soon after you met did you ask her out on a date?”

  “A while.”

  “A while,” Asher repeated. Just the way his brother spoke told him there was more to the story than what Daniel was saying. “Can you explain that?”

  “If you must know, Kylie had recently gotten out of a yearlong relationship and was gun-shy. When
I first asked her out, she refused. I never was much good at this dating business and figured since she turned me down that she wasn’t interested.”

  Asher knew none of this and found it enlightening. His brother had struck out in the beginning with Kylie. At least Daisy had seemed as attracted to him as he was to her, which was encouraging.

  “How long was it before you asked her again?”

  “I didn’t. She contacted me.”

  “So, she changed her mind?”

  “She did, but it was a full year later,” Daniel continued. “Kylie sent me a text. Her father had died due to complications with his heart. Following losing her dad, she moved in with her mother, helping Donna ease into widowhood. After a year she moved back into her own apartment. Then one day she saw a car the same model and color as mine, the one she’d backed into, and remembered me. She regretted turning down my dinner invite and reached out. I texted back and we exchanged a few messages over the next couple days. She told me about her dad’s passing and asked if I was still interested in meeting for dinner.”

  “Which you were, obviously.”

  “More than she would ever have guessed. I’d thought about her a dozen times over that year and wondered if I’d been more persistent if matters would have worked out differently. I kept beating myself up over not trying again.”

  “How long after that first date did you decide you wanted to marry her?” Asher asked, getting to the point of their conversation.

  “Not long. Three months, if that.”

  “Three months,” Asher repeated slowly.

  “Okay, three weeks. Make that three days.”

  Now Asher was smiling. His brother had quickly recognized that Kylie was the one for him. It made Asher wonder if he had let the woman who could be his future walk away. Her parting words rang in his ears like an echo, that he was pushing away the woman who would love him with her whole being. He sucked in a breath, more uncertain now than ever.