High Country Christmas

by Cynthia Thomason

  “Sorry to have to tell you, but all that knowledge is not going to get you out of trouble. Let’s go to my office.”

  Once they were seated in Ava’s office, the tension only increased.

  Sawyer scowled. “So what’s my punishment?”

  “Are you aware that tobacco in any of its forms is strictly forbidden on this campus?”

  “I read the book of rules you gave me, all six boring pages. But I had a partial pack left, and I figured why should it go to waste?”

  “This will result in disciplinary action, Sawyer.”

  The girl didn’t flinch. “What will you do, deny my smoking privileges?”

  Ava felt her internal thermometer rise. Stay calm, she warned herself as her desktop intercom buzzed. “What is it, SherryLynn?”

  “Someone’s on the phone for you, Ava. His name is Noah Walsh. He’s Sawyer’s...”

  “I know who he is.”

  “He says it’s important.”

  Still frustrated with Sawyer, Ava said, “Put the call through.”

  Panic flooded Sawyer’s eyes. She waved her hands frantically and mouthed the words, “Don’t tell him.” With a quick slash of her index finger across her throat, she added, “He’ll kill me.”

  “Good morning, Noah,” Ava said.

  “Where is my daughter? I’ve been trying to reach her for the last twenty-four hours.”

  “Coincidentally she’s standing right here in front of my desk,” Ava said, her voice even.

  Her statement was met with a sigh of relief. “Please put me on speaker,” he said.

  Ava did as he asked. Noah’s voice was low and hoarse, an indication of his obvious stress. “Are you playing games with your cell phone again, Sawyer? Because if you are I’ll take it away from you...that’s if the warden at that school hasn’t already done so.”

  “I didn’t take her phone,” Ava said. “She’s not allowed to have it on in class. Perhaps...”

  “Was she in class at eleven o’clock last night?”

  “Well, no, of course not.”

  “Sawyer?”

  “Sorry, Dad. I might have ignored a couple of your calls. I haven’t been in the get-a-lecture mood lately.” She looked at Ava. “Though it seems I’m getting one anyway.”

  “I don’t want to hear about your moods, Sawyer. Did it occur to you that I might have something important to tell you?”

  “Like you’re going away again, or you’re shipping me home to another one of your coven of housekeepers?”

  Noah didn’t respond for a moment. “I’m not shipping you anywhere. But yes, I am going on a work trip. There’s a storm brewing in the Atlantic, an early winter wind event. I’ve got to be there.”

  “Figures. Bye.”

  “Thanks for your concern. And while we’re on the subject of lectures, what are you being lectured about in Ava’s office? What did you do?”

  “Nothing. It was all a big misunderstanding.”

  “I’m sure it was.” Another pause. “Ava? The truth, please.”

  Sawyer gave Ava a pleading look, but Ava couldn’t lie to a parent. Besides, she needed to know if Sawyer might have more cigarettes hidden somewhere. “The cottage parent caught Sawyer smoking, Noah.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh? That’s all you have to say? Do you know where she might have gotten the cigarettes?”

  “Gee, I’m not sure,” he said. “Maybe from the faculty lounge?”

  Sawyer sputtered with surprised amusement.

  “This isn’t a laughing matter, Noah,” Ava said. “Tobacco is forbidden anywhere on campus, and use of it is a serious infraction.”

  He breathed deeply. “Right. I know. Sawyer is aware of my opinion on smoking, and she also knows that I will punish her for even thinking of taking up that habit.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Ava said.

  “And, Sawyer, remember to leave the dang cell phone on. When I’m away, I like to know I can get a hold of you.”

  Ava looked at Sawyer who gave her response via a severe pout. “Okay, Dad, geez!”

  “I’ve got things to do,” Noah said. “Heading out right away to the Outer Banks. Anything else you need to tell me, Ava?”

  “No, I guess not.” And then she recalled her plan to invite Sawyer to the Cahill home on Sunday. She should tell him now since he was leaving town anyway. “Oh, there is one other thing.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I was going to suggest to Sawyer that she come out to my family’s home in the country for Sunday dinner. My mother always has plenty of food and welcomes the company. My brothers and their families will be there, and maybe another relative or two.”

  “Okay. If Sawyer wants to go, that’s fine with me.”

  “So if you need to speak to her on Sunday, she’ll be with me.”

  “Seems safe enough,” he said. “Chances are I won’t be back by Sunday, so again, Sawyer, leave the cell phone on.”

  Ava took her phone off speaker mode. “So you’re going to the Outer Banks?” she asked Noah, though she knew his whereabouts were hardly her business.

  “Yep. Big windstorm predicted. I’ve got to have a crew there in case cell service is lost, which it probably will be. MaxiCom has to be ready.”

  She recalled the details he’d given her about his job, the risks involved. “Take care of yourself,” she said. “We... I mean Sawyer will be anxious to hear from you when your work is done.”

  “Yeah, right. She’ll be on pins and needles. Anyway, take good care of my kid. Somebody has to.”

  “Of course. It’s what I do.” Maybe once he left Holly River, he would just keep going and return to Chapel Hill, where he could resume his life.

  The realization that she might never see him again brought an unfamiliar ache of emptiness to Ava’s stomach, not unlike the pang of guilt she felt six years ago. But why should she feel regret? She hadn’t known him before that one night. He’d left without giving her a phone number or address. And, he’d been married. Yes, she had a big secret that she would never tell him, but otherwise, he should mean nothing to her. Except, strangely another connection now existed between them. Now they were connected through Sawyer and both father and daughter needed guidance.

  The only sentiment she should be feeling for either Walsh family member was sympathy and a desire to help, not this sudden sense of loss that Noah was going away.

  “I suppose that’s it, then,” she said. “You can keep up with Sawyer’s activities by contacting her cottage parents.”

  “Are you saying I can’t contact you?”

  “I didn’t mean that. Naturally you can. I just thought it would be easier...”

  “Frankly, Ava, nothing about this whole situation seems easy. But I get that. I’m not so easy myself. And by the way, thanks for having Sawyer out to your family home. I hope she enjoys herself with all you Cahills.”

  “Goodbye, Noah.”

  Ava hung up the phone. She’d almost forgotten that Sawyer was in the room.

  “You see?” Sawyer said. “So typical. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”

  For a moment Ava struggled to connect the dots between what she’d just heard from Noah and what Sawyer said. “What do you mean? Why do you think that?”

  “Did you hear? There’s probably a storm brewing in the Atlantic, and he’s got to be the one in the thick of it. Does he think about anyone else’s welfare? No. He’s got to be the first to climb a stupid tower to restore cell service as if the president is going to give him a medal or something.”

  For the first time Ava heard something in Sawyer’s voice that confirmed everything she’d believed about the girl. Sawyer didn’t hate her father. She was afraid for him. “He’s performing a service,” she said. “What he’s doing is important.”

  “Yeah,
like he was performing a service when he flew missions over Iraq. Like he’s helping the world when he drives eighty miles an hour on that stupid motorcycle or races his speedboat in competitions on Lake Alfred.” Sawyer huffed an indignant breath. “You can believe what you want, Ava, but I know my father. He’s a dumba— Sorry, stupid thrill seeker who only cares about his own stuff.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, Sawyer.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll get over it. I always do.”

  Only she didn’t, and Ava now understood. “Do you want to go to my home on Sunday? You’ll enjoy it.”

  “Sure. Why not? Can I go back to class now?”

  “Yes. We’ll discuss your punishment for the cigarettes later. I have to go back to Charlie.”

  “Great.” Sawyer started to leave, but stopped and turned around. “You need to pay attention to that kid, Ava,” she said.

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, he’s always losing things, and the rest of us have to go around finding them, like his shoes this morning.”

  “He’s only five, Sawyer,” Ava explained.

  “I get that, but his mind always seems to be wandering. Sometimes I sit with him at supper and all he does is push his food around. And he always leaves things behind.” Sawyer sighed. “I’m just sayin’...he seems distracted a lot.”

  So Sawyer had noticed it, too.

  She’d love to give a lot more attention to Charlie. It’s why she’d given up a corporate job in Charlotte to run the school. It’s why she woke up every morning and went to sleep every night thinking about the baby she’d given up for adoption. It’s why she ached to tell Charlie the truth. But not now. Not while he was so vulnerable. And not while the one therapist Ava had confided in advised against it.

  Ava followed Sawyer from the office and returned to the library. Charlie had moved on to another book, and she stood quietly for a while just taking in the wonder of this precious boy. If she had to say, Ava would claim that Charlie looked more like Jace than anyone else in her family. But no doubt, he had Ava’s eyes, so blue, so wide, so needing to trust a world that had let him down.

  Someday, Ava, she told herself. When the time is right.

  CHAPTER SIX

  SUNDAY MORNING DAWNED with a crisp fall breeze and a bright sun. Ava looked forward to dinners with her family though her mother never ceased to remind her that she was living in a cramped apartment on the Sawtooth campus when she could have had her old room back in the sprawling farmhouse. Lately, however, Cora Cahill had stopped pestering her daughter about her life choices, accepting that Ava would do what she wanted. “You always have, sweetheart,” Cora would say.

  Ava planned to pick Sawyer up at her cottage and bring her to the farm. She hoped Sawyer liked heaps of Italian food, today’s fare. Who didn’t? Lasagna and spaghetti were always a safe choice to feed a dozen people. Noah Walsh wouldn’t be there, and Ava kept telling herself to be grateful that his work had taken him away. After all, she and Noah were as different as two people could be. The risk taker versus the responsible. She’d known that from the first, but that fateful night he’d been exciting, unique, exhibiting a kind of charm that she’d never encountered before.

  At one o’clock, driving her mini SUV, Ava swung by the cottage where Sawyer and Charlie lived. She couldn’t wait to bring Charlie to the farm. But it was too soon. Cora had instincts that were almost scary. She would be certain to notice those blue eyes, that thick straight hair so like Ava’s, the strong jaw like Jace’s.

  Sawyer came outside almost immediately and climbed into the car.

  “Everything okay?” Ava asked. The girl’s look of disbelief was her answer. “I guess not.” She headed down the sweeping drive to the main street that would take them to Hidden Valley Road in fifteen minutes.

  Ava had the car heater on low as they zoomed past the trees now bare of their autumn splendor. Soon the branches would be covered in snow. While beautiful, it was a stark reminder of the long, bitter winters in the mountains. Still, a white Christmas Eve would be the perfect setting for the wedding at Crestview Barn, where her brother Jace would be joined forever to Kayla McAllister.

  Jace had found his happiness in Kayla and Nathan, the son he’d only just met a few months ago. Now they would share a future bright with family companionship and, perhaps, more children. They might end up as happy as her brother Carter with the love of his life, Miranda; Miranda’s daughter, Emily; and the child they were expecting in the spring. Ava, the oldest of the three, was still alone. She’d never married. She’d never even come close. She wondered now if, like bad luck, happiness might also come in threes. If so, could it soon be her turn?

  If only she could reconcile the problems at the paper mill their father had owned and managed for so many years. After Raymond Cahill’s death almost two years ago, the family had assumed the profits from the mill would keep Cora comfortable for the rest of her days. But Rudy Cahill, Raymond’s brother and current head of the mill, seemed never to be around when Ava wanted to question him about the mill’s financial stability. She had invited Rudy and his wife to the family dinner today, but they had declined. They always did.

  “Enough is enough, Uncle Rudy,” she said under her breath. “I’m showing up this week, and I’m going to get some questions answered.”

  Before they reached the house, Ava passed a car coming the other direction. She recognized Gladys Kirshner at the wheel. No one else was in the car, so Ava figured she must have dropped Robert off and left, apparently not yet ready to be with Cora in a social setting. Unfortunate, but understandable, Ava thought.

  When she pulled in front of the farmhouse, Ava realized her mother had taken the Christmas decorations from the attic. White lights hung from the porch eaves. A Snowy Mountain wreath was on the front door. She wondered who had helped her mother put up these things. Probably Carter who seemed to be full of Christmas spirit this year.

  Ava recognized every car in front of the house. Going inside, she found Jace, Kayla, Nathan, Carter, Miranda and Emily, Robert, who stood closely by Jace, and of course Cora. Everyone welcomed Sawyer as Ava knew they would. Sawyer was almost congenial. She even agreed to play a board game with Em, Nathan and Robert. Ava wondered how Noah, with his dry sense of humor and chip on his shoulder would have fit in.

  “She seems like a sweet little thing,” Cora said when the two of them were alone in the kitchen taking care of final preparations. The others, wearing heavier jackets than usual, braved the outside with bottles of beer or mugs of hot chocolate, and sat by a fire pit in the open air.

  “She’s doing quite well at the school actually,” Ava said, smiling at Cora’s reference to “sweet little thing.” Cora didn’t know she’d uttered a profound exaggeration.

  Always the concerned social worker, Miranda entered and asked, “Is this the girl who ran away from home?”

  Ava indicated that yes, Sawyer was the runaway. She wasn’t surprised that Carter had told his wife about the incident.

  “I understand she has at least one parent.”

  “She has a father, but he’s not home all the time. His work takes him away a lot.” Just mentioning Noah made the image of his face spring into her mind. No denying he was a handsome man. He had been six years ago, and he still was. And she wondered how he was doing now that the worst of the storm had past. The weather on the Atlantic coast had been dreadful. She hoped he was safe.

  “Is he a caring man, at least during the times he’s with his daughter?” asked Miranda.

  Ava wasn’t sure how to answer. “He is, but they have problems, mostly with communicating.” Though Ava trusted Miranda, she didn’t feel free to discuss the specific issues between father and daughter. Instead she smiled at Cora. “Remember what it was like to have teenagers, Mom?”

  Cora chuckled. “A crisis every day, and most times I felt like I didn’t have a clue how to deal wit
h them.”

  “And we turned out okay,” Ava said. “Sawyer will, too.”

  “So what do you think of Sawyer’s father?” Miranda asked.

  That was the million-dollar question. “He’s...different. He’s...”

  Kayla entered the kitchen. “He’s a hunk according to Jace. Kind of a biker type, right?”

  “A biker type?” Cora said. “You mean he rides a big ol’ motorcycle right through the middle of peaceful towns?”

  “No, nothing like that, Mama,” Ava said.

  “When did Jace meet him?” Cora asked, the question laced with suspicion.

  “Now, Mama, don’t make anything of this. It was a chance meeting when I was talking with the father. You know I meet lots of parents.”

  “Of course you do,” Kayla said. “But do you always meet them over coffee at the Holly River Café?” She began shredding lettuce into a huge salad bowl. “Believe me, I think it’s great. Jace and I both wish you’d find someone special.”

  “And this fella might be him?” Cora said.

  “No, Mama. I just told you not to make anything of this, and here you are, practically accusing me of having a boyfriend.”

  “Well, Kayla’s right,” Cora added. “Hate to say it, Ava, but you’re thirty-six years old. And if you’d like to have a family of your own, you’d better take finding someone a bit more seriously.”

  “Mama, stop it. This man isn’t anyone I would consider seriously. He just happened to be in the café when I was. That’s all there is to it.”

  Cora smiled. “Okay. I’m not sure I would choose a biker fella for you anyway.”

  “Lots of good guys ride motorcycles,” Miranda said. She winked at Ava. “It’s not like he rides with an outlaw group, right?”

  “I don’t know what he does!” Ava said, her patience wearing thin. Good grief, you’d think at thirty-six, she already had one foot in the grave. “I’m trying to help his daughter, not him. Can we please change the subject?”

  “Here’s a change,” Cora said, handing Ava a stack of twelve plates. “Set these on the table, please, and come back for the silverware.”