For some reason Dahlia and Mags both looked at Rose. As usual. After all, she was the reason Lillian had made the trip. “Mom came to see us,” she said, watching Sassy’s face for a reaction.
A look of utter hopefulness widened their aunt’s eyes. “Lillian is here? Oh, that’s wonderful—”
“She didn’t stay.” It hurt Rose to say it, to deliver the news that brought a sad slant to Sassy’s mouth. “She flew out here because wanted me to come home with her. So, I would be with Gregory over Christmas.”
“I see.” Sassy backed to the overstuffed chair across from the couch, sitting with a slump in her shoulders. “But you didn’t go.”
“No.” Rose reclaimed her seat next to Mags. “I promised you I’d stay. I promised my sisters I would stay.” Selfish or not, no part of her wanted to go back to Savannah right now. She needed to be here. It was time for them to hear Sassy’s story, to make up for too many years of silence. “Why didn’t you tell us about Colt’s father?” she asked gently.
“Mom said he went to jail,” Dahlia added. “That he’s the reason we stopped coming to see you.”
“Was he dangerous?” Mags asked.
“No.” Sassy shook her head sadly. “Oh, dear. I should’ve told you. Especially after you met Colt. But I suppose I didn’t think it was important anymore. Robert passed away a few years ago, after all. And I didn’t want to relive all of the pain again.”
The revelation sunk Rose’s heart. “It is important though. The man must’ve been a big part of your life.” No matter what he’d done, she could see the strength of Sassy’s feelings for him welling up in her aunt’s eyes.
Sassy looked at each of them in turn and then inhaled deeply. “Robert moved here shortly after his wife passed away. Colt was only five years old at the time.” She looked down at her hands as though the memories were pressing in. “They came to the inn for a place to stay while they looked for a home to buy. I didn’t know it, but Robert was running from his past.”
Rose shared a look with Mags and then Dahlia. She’d assumed Larry had been the love of her aunt’s life, the reason she’d never married anyone else, but the emotion in her aunt’s eyes, the waver in her voice made it clear how much she cared for Robert.
“Your mother never liked him,” their aunt went on. “She refused to let you girls be around him, but Colt…well, he spent a lot of time here and you girls played with him sometimes.”
“I knew it.” Mags scooted to the edge of the couch. “He looked so familiar.”
“Yes.” Sassy’s sad gaze landed on Rose. “He loved playing with all you girls, but he especially liked you, Rose.” She laughed a little. “I think he was drawn to your imagination, if you want the truth. The poor boy had had such a difficult reality. And you were always coming up with games and stories that helped him escape.”
“Mom told me about the flowers.” The words left a bitter, metallic taste in her mouth. It must’ve crushed him to see flowers he’d picked dumped in the trash like that. A kind gesture completely disregarded like it was worthless.
“Lillian has never had much grace for anyone,” Sassy said, staring into the fire.
That was putting it mildly. Once again, Rose forced herself to keep her mouth shut so her aunt could continue.
“Why didn’t she like Colt though?” Dahlia asked. “Heck, if you didn’t even know the details about his past, why didn’t she like Robert?”
Their aunt gave a helpless shrug. “They weren’t her kind of people. Robert did odd jobs around town. He didn’t have any money. She thought he was freeloading while he lived here, I guess. But he always paid rent. And he helped me keep things up around here. He had a good heart.” She closed her eyes as though seeing him again. “He used to hike miles up in those hills just to pick me a bouquet of the mountain bluebells I loved. And at night we’d take long walks up to a stream a mile past the pond. Colt would fish and Robert always brought his guitar so he could sing to us.”
“His past caught up with him though,” Rose prompted. Patience had never been her virtue. She had to know. She had to understand how their mother could’ve cut Sassy out of their lives for so long.
After a pause, Sassy seemed to collect herself. “Robert robbed a bank. It happened a long time before he moved to Juniper Springs. There were a few others in on the robbery with him. More seasoned criminals. One of them shot and killed a teller.” Her eyes pleaded with them to understand. “But Robert never intended for that to happen. His wife was sick, and they couldn’t afford treatment. The medical bills were stacking up, and he was desperate.” A tear trickled down her cheek. “He finally told me. Five years after they’d moved here permanently. By then, I was already in love with him and his mistakes didn’t matter to me.”
For once, Rose couldn’t speak. The world she’d grown up in had largely been black and white, thanks to their mother. Bad people robbed banks. But there was no room for empathy in that worldview. Since she’d left home, Rose had learned to see the gray areas. If one of her sisters was dying and they had no money, no options, she could see herself robbing a bank.
“He always regretted what he’d done,” Sassy murmured. “And he made me promise that I would take care of Colt if anything ever happened to him. I don’t know how the police finally found him. Colt was fourteen when they came knocking.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “Sometimes I wonder if he didn’t call them outright and tell them where he was. The more time passed, the more the guilt got to him.”
Mags and Dahlia sat in a stunned silence, seemingly as captivated as Rose. “You never married him?” she asked with a breath of disbelief.
“No.” Sassy used a blanket hanging on the back of the chair to dab her eyes. “Robert was afraid it would ruin me if they ever came for him. I knew they’d take him away if they ever found him, so I went through the process to become Cole’s foster parent. And he lived with me until he left for college.”
“What happened to Robert?” Mags asked tearfully.
Even Rose had started to feel the thickness of emotion in her throat.
“He passed away serving his sentence.” Sassy’s voice hardly hovered above a whisper. “Heart attack. He was only in his sixties.” Their aunt seemed to sit up straighter, fortifying herself with strength. “I know it might not seem like it, but Robert was a good man. We wrote letters every week the whole time he was in prison, and I knew his heart. We used to dream about the things we would do together once he’d served his time. We had a bucket list. He would research places he wanted to visit and write to me about them. I think it gave him something to focus on.”
Rose wiped away a tear. How tragic. Her aunt had lost the love of her life twice. “I’m so sorry.” She couldn’t imagine what Sassy must’ve gone through. And not having her sister—her family—to go through it with her must have only made it more devastating. “I can’t believe Mom would let that come between you. All those years.”
“I suspect she thought she was protecting you girls,” Sassy said kindly. “But Robert never would’ve hurt a soul. He may not have had money or a big beautiful home like your father, but he had a kindness about him. A thoughtfulness. Lillian never saw it in him, but I always did.”
Anger built a rising pressure in Rose’s chest. “Looking past the surface isn’t exactly one of Mom’s strengths.” That’s why Lillian was so desperate for Rose to marry Gregory. Because on the outside they would have everything that seemed to make up the perfect life—money and prestige and luxurious things.
Except she didn’t want that. Not any of it. She wanted the kind of love and passion and devotion she saw in her aunt’s eyes right now. She wanted a kind of love that changed her, that made her a better person. That wasn’t what she had with Gregory. And she didn’t know if they ever would.
“Do you have pictures of Robert?” Mags asked.
“Why, yes.” Sassy rose from the chair and hurried to the old trunk underneath the window. She carefully opened it and withdrew a photo al
bum. They all squeezed onto the couch to get a look.
“He was quite handsome,” Dahlia murmured, resting her head on Rose’s shoulders as they looked through Sassy’s memories.
“He was,” their aunt agreed, brushing her finger over one of the pictures. “And he could sing, too. His voice…” She smiled and sighed at the same time. “He sounded like John Denver.”
Rose studied the pictures of the man standing next to her aunt. Colt had his father’s features. The three of them looked like a family and their love for each other was evident in the photographs. “I’m sorry we didn’t know Robert.”
Sassy squeezed her hand. “I am, too. He would’ve loved you girls. He always said he wanted more children, but he was too afraid of what would happen.” Their aunt turned the page. “Oh, this was one of the letters he wrote me. About going to the Grand Canyon. Neither of us had ever been, and he dreamed of seeing it in person.”
“Oh my God.” Rose stared at the magazine clipping. “That’s what you have to do.” She clasped her aunt’s hands in hers. “You have to go to the Grand Canyon! And to the other places he wrote you about.” She flipped through a few more pages in the book. There were more magazine clippings included with his letters. “Banff! Denali! New York City!” There was no reason Sassy couldn’t go to all those places. “That could be your next adventure.”
Sassy studied a picture of Times Square, a slow smile taking over her face. “Why, yes. I guess it could be. All these years I haven’t even touched the inheritance my parents left me. Maybe it’s time…”
“I love it,” Dally sang. “What a perfect way to honor his memory.”
“Yes,” their aunt agreed. “And maybe Colt would like to go with me to some of those places. It means a lot to share him with you.”
“I’m sure he would.” Rose had seen his care toward Sassy. He’d likely go to watch out for her. “How did Colt handle it all back then?” She couldn’t imagine what it must’ve been like for him to lose his father twice. First to prison and then permanently.
Their aunt seemed to think for a moment. “Colt has always had a certain strength about him,” she finally said. “If you want the truth, I think he puts his head down and just marches through. He never said much about his father after he left, even to me. But he did always make sure to tell me how grateful he was for everything I did.”
Rose nodded, thinking back to the look on his face when he’d seen their mother step out of the car. His memories of her family likely weren’t fond ones. But they’d had a moment together on that ladder, her and Colt. And when she’d redecorated the tree. There’d been…a connection. Maybe they could build on that. “I need to run out for a bit.” She stood. By now, Colt had probably taken the dog to the vet and figured out whether she was chipped. She could try to catch up with him at the hardware store so she could clear the air with him after her mother’s impromptu visit. Now that she knew his history, she understood why he’d been so skittish with her.
“Yes, my dear.” Sassy stood, too. “I should get some dinner going for us anyway. I’m making stew tonight.”
“Mags and I will help.” Dahlia scooted past them while Rose put on her coat.
“I won’t be long,” she promised.
Sassy simply smiled. “Tell Colt I said hello, will you?”
Her aunt was too sharp for her own good. “I will.” She slipped out the door into the frigid night and crunched through the snow to her rental car. While she drove to the hardware store, she admired how the Christmas lights lining the shops on Main Street glowed beneath a new dusting of snow. It had been so long since she’d felt a glow inside of her during the holiday season. There was always too much to do—the parties and the shopping and the events. But here things were simpler, quieter. There were more opportunities to pause and enjoy the little things.
At the edge of Main Street, she slowed the car, finding a prime parking spot in front of Colt’s store. Letting the engine run, she sat and watched him through the windows. He stood behind the counter next to the cash register while the dog lay on a cushy pillow a few feet away. Zipping her coat all the way to her chin, Rose climbed out of the car and ducked inside the hardware store. “Hi there.”
Colt turned as though surprised to see her. “Hey.”
She walked to the counter. As far as she could tell there were no customers in the store, which was just as well. “I see you still have our friend with you.” She leaned over to pat the dog’s head.
“Yeah.” Colt busied himself with something on the laptop in front of him as though he didn’t want to look at her. “I took her in to see the vet. She’s not chipped, unfortunately.”
“So, you think she was abandoned?” Rose pushed off the floor. “Right before the holidays?”
“Not sure yet.” He continued to stare at the screen. “I already posted some signs around town, but so far everyone I’ve talked to doesn’t recognize her or know where she came from.” Judging from his grim frown, he didn’t expect to find the owner.
Poor thing. “I guess I can keep her until we know more.” Rose stood up and leaned into the counter.
That seemed to catch his attention. He finally looked away from the screen. “You?”
“Sure. Thanks to her I’m warming up to the idea of spending more time with dogs.” At least the adorable white fluffy dog variety. “I’m sure Sassy won’t mind. I can take care of her, let her sleep in my room.” The dog rubbed her head against her leg as though she understood everything Rose had said. “I think I’ll name her Marigold.”
“Marigold.” Colt gave the dog a critical look as though he wasn’t sure it fit.
“All the girls in my family have flower names,” she informed him. “So, Marigold it is.”
“You know we still might find her owner, right?” He shut the laptop, giving her his full attention.
“I know.” But, in the meantime, it would be good for her. “I’m sure it’s a lot of work, but I’d like to take her.” She’d never been afraid of hard work and, besides, her heart broke for Marigold. Being abandoned right before Christmas? That shouldn’t happen to anyone.
“Okay.” Colt was giving her a thoughtful look. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” Now that they had that out of the way, Rose changed the subject. “Based on how quickly you left the inn earlier, I’m assuming you remember my mother.” She couldn’t pretend she didn’t know what happened all those years ago. It would be better to get it all out.
Colt simply stared at her as though trying to gauge how much she’d heard. He had to realize she would find out the history sooner or later.
“I’m not like her, you know,” Rose said. Looking into his eyes, she understood so much more about Colt. “I never would’ve thrown away flowers. I love them too much. The truth is, my mother has never been all that nice to me either.”
His lips hinted at a smile. “So, not much has changed then.”
“Not a whole lot.” At least on her mother’s side. Rose would like to think she was changing though. “I’m sorry I don’t remember hanging out with you back then. Sassy said we were friends.”
“I guess we were.” His eyebrows shot up. “Even back then you were pretty nosy though.”
That made her laugh. She would never deny that she was interested in the details of people’s lives. She preferred to think of it as caring. “Well, maybe we could be friends again someday.”
“Friends.” Colt seemed to consider the word carefully. “Maybe.”
There you had it. They were making progress. “Did you recognize me that first day I was in town? In the park?”
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “Not at first, but then you got this look on your face. Just like you used to when you were eight years old and someone tried to boss you around. Your nose got all scrunched. That’s when I knew it was you.”
What could she say? She’d never been able to hide her feelings well. Rose checked the clock on the wall. “Looks like it’s about closi
ng time.”
Colt scanned the streets outside. “I guess so.”
“Sassy’s making us dinner. You should come.” She hesitated. “Unless you have something better to do.”
“I don’t, but that’s okay,” he said awkwardly. “I’m not gonna crash your family time.”
“Come on,” she pushed. “You’re part of Sassy’s family. Besides, we can introduce Aunt Sassy to Marigold. Maybe she knows who the dog belongs to.”
Colt might be strong and silent and a little grumpy sometimes, but he needed family, too.
Chapter Twenty-One
Magnolia
More sprinkles! We need more sprinkles!” Patrick shook the jar of crystallized sugar over the frosted cupcakes.
Mags leaned over the island in the center of Sassy’s kitchen. “Ohhh, those look perfect.” Sure, they might have a good two inches of sprinkles layered on, but the pride in the little boy’s eyes was unmistakable. “You’re a natural,” she told the boy. “If becoming a race car driver doesn’t work out, you could always be a baker.”
The boy’s eyes grew rounder. “Really? You fink so?”
“You’re better than me and I’m a grown up,” his mother insisted, watching from the other side of the island. Baby Lola was neatly swaddled against her chest in a brightly colored carrier that looked complicated, but if Lola was any indication it was also comfortable. She turned to Mags. “I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that you’ve saved his birthday. This is all he’s been talking about since the day we met you in the store.”
“Well you two saved the day for me, too.” She wasn’t exaggerating either. After the disastrous phone call with Eric, and then the confrontation with their mother yesterday, she’d been walking around with a rock sitting dead center in her chest. Typically, she needed days to prepare for a visit with Lillian but she hadn’t even had five minutes to brace herself. Shockingly, her mother’s disapproval had been directed at Rose for once. That honor usually belonged to her, the wayward daughter who had little in common with the woman who gave her life. She’d never been quite pretty enough or polished enough or interested in the debates and school theater productions her mother wanted her to pursue.
Home for the Holidays Page 19
