Small Town Christmas (Blue Harbor Book 4)

by Olivia Miles

  “Daddy! They have hot chocolate! And cookies! And there’s an entire room of pink ornaments! And it all sparkles,” she added, wistfully.

  Phil laughed, and Cora could only look on with interest. This was the child’s father? She tried to remember what the little girl had said. About Thanksgiving. About the dog. About her family situation.

  She glanced back at Phil, who was taking in his daughter’s excited chatter with a look of bewilderment and confusion.

  “Watch the hot cocoa, Georgie,” he urged. “You don’t want to mess up anything in this pretty store.”

  “Oh, I’ll be careful. I already found something I want, too.”

  Phil glanced at Cora with a bemused grin and let his daughter lead him to the back of the store. Cora watched with a quickening of her heart. She couldn’t help it. Tourists came through Blue Harbor all the time. Summer season here was like a Midwest playground. No one had ever caught her attention like this before.

  Before she had time to turn her thoughts back to reality, Georgie was back, holding a stuffed toy in the shape of a reindeer.

  “We’ll take the toy,” Phil said.

  “Of course!” Cora stepped behind the counter, wishing that their visit to the shop wasn’t ending so quickly.

  She took her time wrapping up the package. Georgie had swiped another cookie, not that she minded. She decided to use the opportunity to feel out the situation.

  “Is this your first time in Blue Harbor?” she asked.

  “I used to visit as a kid,” Phil said distractedly. He pulled his wallet from his pocket and retrieved a credit card before changing his mind and pulling out some cash instead.

  “Daddy lives in Chicago,” Georgie informed her.

  Cora hated the way her heart sank. Blue Harbor saw many tourists from Chicago. Her own sister Britt had lived there for years. It was just that Chicago was about half a day’s drive away. And this man, well, he was just a Christmas fantasy, wasn’t he?

  She forced a smile. “Well, if you have a chance, you might want to stop by Buttercream Bakery. My younger sister owns it and she made those delicious cookies you like so much, Georgie. And I happen to know that right now, her store is full of Christmas treats.”

  “Can we, Daddy?” Georgie asked excitedly.

  “I’m not sure we’ll have time while we’re in town, honey,” Phil said, much to Cora’s regret as much as Georgie’s.

  Georgie frowned dramatically and then shifted her stare to the snow globe on the counter. “Is this the wishing ball?” she asked Cora.

  Cora was happy to prolong their visit. She leaned into the counter and waggled her eyebrows, playing along. “It is. Now, it doesn’t play music anymore, but I think that’s because it’s more interested in listening than telling us something.”

  Georgie studied the snowy scene in the globe. “It looks like Blue Harbor.”

  Cora smiled, knowing this was why her mother loved it. “It does.”

  Georgie stood up straight and gave her father a stern look, one that said she meant business. “I know what I want, Daddy. To make up for pizza on Thanksgiving,” she clarified.

  Pizza on Thanksgiving? Cora raised an eyebrow and Phil winced. Adorable. And clearly guilty.

  “I thought this toy was your make-up treat,” he said, motioning the object that Cora was slowly wrapping.

  Georgie shook her head. “This toy is because I can’t have a dog, because you and Mommy live in separate houses and because Mommy’s new husband is allergic.”

  Now it was Phil’s turn to look pink in the cheeks. He flashed Cora a look of apology, but she just smiled and continued her wrapping. Slowly. So slowly.

  “Okay, then, what’ll it be? A trip to the bakery?” Phil’s smile looked a little pained.

  Georgie picked up the snow globe and said, “I want to spend my Christmas break here, in this town in the snow globe. In Blue Harbor.”

  Phil let out a tense laugh and scraped a hand through his hair. “Honey, remember what I said about asking for something within reason? I have business waiting for me in the city.”

  “You’re always working!” Georgie cried. “Even at Christmas!”

  “Christmas is just one day of the year, Georgie.” Phil seemed to stiffen.

  It took all of Cora’s might not to comment on that. Christmas was an entire season. She should know. She’d made a business of it.

  “You said you have business here,” Georgie pointed out. “And you said that you would make up Thanksgiving to me. And this is our first Christmas together in a long time! And I don’t have any school or anything because of the move!”

  Phil blinked at his daughter while Cora held her breath at the exchange and pretended to be more interested in the toy she was wrapping.

  “And besides, this is a Christmas wishing ball,” Georgie said, smiling triumphantly. “And the nice lady said that whatever you wish for with this has to come true.”

  Phil flashed a look on Cora. Cora winced and held up her hands. Obviously, her vote was with Georgie, and her motive was only partly ulterior.

  Phil shifted his gaze down to his daughter, a long, hard look that made Cora almost believe he was contemplating it, or thinking of how he could politely untangle himself from this situation without making a scene.

  “I’ll think about it,” he finally said.

  Georgie set the ball back on the counter and collected her parcel. “That means yes,” she whispered.

  Cora managed to keep her facial expression innocent as she collected the money and handed back the change.

  “Come again while you’re in town!” she said, holding Phil’s gaze.

  “Oh, you can bet on it,” he said under his breath, giving her a rueful smile that told her that Georgie might just be right.

  Still, just in case, Cora picked up the ball and closed her eyes and made her own Christmas wish. Maybe there was a little Christmas magic in it, after all.

  *

  Phil decided that the bakery was as good as any place to park himself and Georgie for a while so he could look over the paperwork he’d gathered for his grandparents’ properties. And it earned a few points in the parenting department, too. Right now, he needed all the credit he could get, but staying in Blue Harbor for nearly four weeks was not exactly a great idea.

  Although, it wasn’t necessarily a bad one either. The cottage needed work, or at least someone to arrange it if it was going to sell for what it was worth. A year of neglect had taken its toll; he should have come back sooner, dealt with this last summer, but work kept him from it, and now there was no more room for delay.

  The Buttercream Bakery was just as enchanting as the holiday shop, and nearly as decorated, too. The front door greeted them with a wreath and a jingle, and the counter was lined with a long pine swag. The room was filled with Christmas music, and the smells that one could only associate with the season; even if traditional holidays were not something he had much personal experience with, the sweet spices immediately conjured up images of sitting around a crackling fireplace, or the base of a tree.

  The bakery did not have a tree. There was no room, he quickly assessed, sweeping his gaze over the vibrant establishment which was clearly a popular destination in town. A young woman who was just as pretty as Cora stood behind the counter wearing a red apron and chatting happily to a customer at the head of the line. Georgie already had her nose to the glass of the display case while Phil looked up at the chalkboard menu on the wall, wondering if there was a single item that didn’t contain the word “yuletide,” “Christmas,” or “Noel.” There was no escaping the endless cheer. Not unless he went back to the city.

  He finally decided on a plain black coffee. Georgie, on the other hand, announced to the woman behind the counter that she would like the candy cane cheesecake.

  “You here for the long holiday weekend?” the woman who must clearly be the sister that Cora had mentioned asked with a pleasant smile. Perhaps sensing Phil’s questioning glance, she add
ed, “We get some new faces around here this time of the year. People visiting family…”

  “No family. Not anymore, at least,” Phil added. His grandparents hadn’t lived in Blue Harbor since last winter, not since another stroke had made it too difficult for his grandfather to get by without around-the-clock care; something that was too much for his grandmother to take on. Now they lived in an assisted-living community in the Chicago suburbs. State of the art. He’d seen to it himself. Their only ties to this town were in the physical sense: the lakefront cottage, and the bigger Victorian on Main Street.

  The holiday store, to be exact.

  Cora was the owner of the holiday shop. He should have known it. It wasn’t like these small businesses were teeming with staff. She was there on Thanksgiving Day. That should have been his first clue.

  He supposed he should just be thankful that she didn’t know who he was. Yet.

  Phil was saved from having to further explain when a boisterous woman with bouncy blond curls and a necklace made of Christmas lights that flashed on and off, along with the matching earrings, burst in through a side doorway and said, “Maddie! Amelia’s run out of flour next door and was wondering if we can borrow a pound or two?”

  Phil glanced at the sign over the open doorway—Firefly Café—and back to the woman, who was giving him the once-over, and not so subtly. Both of their attention was pulled by a loud clearing of someone’s throat.

  Maddie gave Phil a look of apology and handed him his change, which he promptly dropped into the tip jar. From the looks of Georgie’s treat, towered high with whipped cream and crushed candy canes, he suddenly wished he had indulged himself, but then, he was not in Blue Harbor for fun or festive cheer.

  He was here on a mission. One which was probably going to be a little less clear cut than he had first hoped.

  “Go ahead and help yourself, Candy,” the woman—Maddie—said. “My sister Amelia runs the café,” she explained to him as the blond-haired woman disappeared through a side door. “Candy…well…she helps.”

  The hesitancy in her tone made Phil smile. “I’ll have to check it out.”

  Maddie brightened. “Oh, it’s a great place for dinner or lunch! Even won a state contest for one of the recipes!”

  Phil took note of this. The kitchen situation at his grandparents’ house was vintage at best, and Georgie would only eat so much frozen pizza. “Thanks, we might check it out later.”

  He settled into a table near the window, with a view of Lake Huron and beyond it, Evening Island. He smiled, his mind travelling back to another place and time, when he used to splash in the very water that was now cold and still or watch ferries cross to the island on long, summer days.

  “I used to fish out there,” he told his daughter now, musing over those carefree days.

  “In a boat and everything?” Georgie shoveled a large piece of cheesecake into her mouth.

  Phil nodded. He hadn’t thought of that little motor boat in a long time. It wasn’t much, and couldn’t handle the days where the waves crashed against the shoreline, but it was small and manageable, and fun, he thought with sudden nostalgia.

  He wondered what had ever happened to that boat. He regretted now that he’d never brought Georgie up here one summer to try it out.

  Or Michelle. Maybe if he had, things would have turned out differently. Maybe she wouldn’t have married Arthur, the accountant. Maybe she wouldn’t have moved his daughter halfway across the country.

  His gut tightened when he thought of their current circumstances. It was easy to blame his ex, but soon, she’d be moving Georgie back to the Midwest, because Art had a new job in Indiana. Then the only person he’d have to blame for his strained relationship with his daughter was himself.

  “How’s your reindeer?” he asked, motioning to the stuffed toy that was still hooked in the crook of Georgie’s arm.

  “He likes this bakery,” she told him. She eagerly took another bite of her cupcake. “He likes this town. He thinks it would be much better to stay here than to go back to your apartment.”

  Phil frowned. “What’s wrong with my apartment?” After the divorce, he’d downsized into a two-bedroom condo in one of Chicago’s busier neighborhoods, where he could walk to his office and grab dinner from one of a hundred restaurants on the way home.

  “You know, Daddy! It’s sort of…sad.” Georgie looked unfazed at this assessment as she continued to happily eat her treat.

  Sad? Phil ran a hand over his chin. He supposed Georgie was right. He hadn’t gotten around to decorating it much. Didn’t see much reason to, really. But now, he realized that while functional, it might not be very inviting. Gray walls. A gray sofa. He never did get around to hanging artwork.

  “Tell you what,” he said, grinning. “When we get back, you can help me pick out a tree.”

  This was the first time since he and Michelle had split that he had four full weeks with Georgie, and that was only because Georgie’s private school was closed for the term, and Georgie would be starting her new school in Indiana in January. Because Michelle was busy packing the house and needed him to help out “for once.”

  And because come January, Phil would be overseas, heading up their new European office. This time over the holidays would make up for all the time he’d be missing.

  He let out a slow breath. Told himself for the hundredth time that it was what it was. That despite what Michelle said that he’d been a good father. Paid for the best schools, bought the best gifts, took her to the best restaurants.

  But it sat as hollow as the feeling that he’d been a good son. That he’d been top of his class, been accepted to the best colleges, and ran a successful private-equity firm. And that somehow, it still wasn’t enough.

  Georgie was shaking her head now. “I don’t want to celebrate Christmas in Chicago. I want to stay here.”

  “What about the museums we were going to visit?” he asked. Technically, his assistant usually took her to the museums because work pulled him away, but he didn’t see the point in highlighting that just now.

  “I’m bored of museums,” she reminded him, giving a dramatic pout.

  He couldn’t argue with her there. They’d bored him as a kid too, but his parents had still dragged him along—well, with the nanny. Now, he understood why they had done it. Education was important to him. Always had been. It was what set him up in life, for a good job, for a steady income, for success.

  Where had it all gotten him, he wondered now, looking at his daughter, thinking of what Michelle had told him the day she’d ended their marriage. All he cared about was work, she’d said. And it had cost him his family.

  Only this year, maybe it didn’t have to. His staff was back at the office; they’d be working right up to the holiday, of course. He had his computer, his cell, and he could set up a home office from the dining room that obviously saw no other real use. It would be good training for the months and years ahead when he’d be setting up their European office, communicating remotely with the main branch in Chicago. But he wasn’t in the mindset of taking time off work—not even for Christmas.

  And that was something that his ex had never let him forget.

  “Okay, if your mom agrees with it, we can stay here. But only until Christmas Day,” he warned, barely believing the words that were coming out of his mouth. Good grief, was he really going to do this? Normally he’d be back at work the day after Thanksgiving. If he was being honest with himself, he was usually at the office on Thanksgiving.

  His hands felt clammy when he considered his decision. Four weeks was a long time away from the office, with the days he had already missed. But four weeks as a single parent was an even bigger challenge. It might be easier here in Blue Harbor, really. His other game plan was to bring Georgie into the office most days, teach her about business, maybe have his assistant take her skating or shopping or to look at the store windows on Michigan Avenue. At least here she could play outside, build a snowman. Do all the simp
le things that could only be found in this town.

  Georgie whooped in excitement and stood up to fling her arms around his neck. “Oh, thank you, Daddy. This is going to be the best Christmas ever.”

  The best Christmas ever, huh? He certainly didn’t know how to fulfill such a giant expectation, but he’d committed, and for now, at least, Georgie was happy. He knew that Michelle wouldn’t protest—if anything, she’d be surprised that he was willing to take the time away from the office. He could hear it now, and his lip curled at the imaginary conversation. But he had the time off—even if he rarely took a day in the past, not even for Georgie’s Kindergarten graduation, which had been the breaking point in their marriage.

  And if he wanted to get his grandparents’ properties cleaned up and ready for an easy sale, he’d have to put in some time and effort.

  And something told him that despite her friendly disposition, Cora over at the Christmas shop wasn’t going to make this easy for him in the slightest.

  3

  It was a tradition in the Conway family growing up that the day after Thanksgiving, they would trek into town to pick out a tree fresh from the lot—usually accompanied by an argument over which one was best.

  Now that they were older, and each running their own businesses, that tradition had to be pushed off to Sunday afternoon, since Amelia closed Firefly Café early each Sunday and Maddie had followed suit when she opened the bakery.

  Harbor Holidays was still open on Sunday—this was her biggest sales weekend of the year, after all—and Cora checked the clock now to see that she was finally going to be able to turn the sign on the door in ten minutes. Even with Natalie’s help, she hadn’t sat down all day, or stopped for lunch, and the promise of warm hot chocolate, buttery cookies, and leftover turkey and cranberry sandwiches on toasted herb bread made her stomach rumble.

  Loudly.

  She laughed as a customer gave her a curious glance, and then added another ornament to their basket. It was one of Cora’s favorites, and new this season. A frosted icicle that was part of her “White Christmas” tree, where everything was snowy and sparkly.