The Christmas Kiss

by Virginia McCullough

  Later, Mike briefly took the mic only long enough to thank everyone for coming, and then the night closed with “Silent Night.” The chorus sang in perfect harmony, and the crowd found its one voice to match it. He looked into Emma’s eyes, glistening as the volume dropped lower and lower until the song came to an end. When the last bar closed, no one moved. Seconds passed in silence. Emma rested her head on his shoulder. Then, as if someone sent a signal, the din of conversation and laughter broke the hush that had settled over the gathering.

  “Did you want to go say hello to Ruby and Mike?” he asked only because he thought he should.

  “No, not now. I like being back here by ourselves.”

  He took in a deep breath and studied his surroundings. Next Christmas, the crowd would expand even more. Next winter. He’d included himself—with Emma—in that picture of a future night of caroling at the bridge.

  He eyed the farm road, where a few dozen people were heading toward their cars. Within minutes, engines turned over and headlights came on and the atmosphere changed.

  “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. We have a new owl in our treatment cabin.”

  “Really? I hope it’s not too badly hurt.”

  “Lots of cuts and gashes, but he’ll be fine. He’s a screech owl. They’re on the small side,” Parker explained. “A farmer brought him in. His kids saw the owl tangled up in broken fencing.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when they brought the bird in.”

  “Oh, there will be plenty to do. I even had to bandage his feet,” Parker said. “I told the farmer he should bring the kids before Christmas. He was a little afraid to let them come along when he delivered the bird.”

  “He was afraid it might die while you were taking a look?” Emma asked.

  “More or less. Or even before he got to us. But those kids will feel so much better when they visit him on his perch.” He smiled.

  Emma snuggled up to Parker. “I’ll see him tomorrow. I’m excited about it already.”

  “I thought you might be.”

  Emma nodded toward the line of people still leaving the bridge. “I don’t mind being stragglers, but I’m ready to go when you are.” She pivoted toward the edge of the woods where her cane had landed.

  “I’ll get it.” He hurried to retrieve it and handed it to her. Then he held out his arms. “At your service.”

  She lifted her arms, and he picked her up. She leaned in and touched his cheek before tightening her arm around his back. When she kissed him, her lips were surprisingly warm and when she broke the kiss it was only for a second or two. Like him, she wanted another and another after that. Finally, she nuzzled against his shoulders and he started walking. “Keep hanging on tight,” he whispered.

  She lifted her head and lightly tapped his mouth with her index finger. “I have no intention of letting go.”

  * * *

  “IT’S GETTING LATE,” Emma said, taking a sip of wine, “but I don’t care if you don’t.”

  She’d expected Parker to take her up on her invitation to come in for a drink. Now they sat side by side on her couch and chatted about what a great evening they’d had. As if that was all there was to it.

  “I’ve made some decisions,” Parker said, shifting to face her. He smoothed the back of his fingers across her chin and through her hair. She closed her eyes, lost in his light touch, the sound of his breathing and the catch in her throat.

  “Uh, do you want to hear them?”

  She caught his hand in hers. “Okay, now I can concentrate.”

  “This pretty little town has grown on me, you know? It’s grown on Nic, too.”

  “You mean Jackie’s done hinting about great jobs for you in Vermont?” She’d had stomach flutters when he’d mentioned his ex-wife’s texts complete with links to job postings.

  “That’s behind me now.” Parker shook his head. “With any luck, she’s finally finished with her antics that only confuse Nic.” He blew out a breath of air in frustration. “Nic has been anxious lately, and I blame it on Jackie’s mind games.”

  “I’m glad you settled it.”

  He caressed her cheek. “It means I can focus on other things.”

  Like her. She hoped she showed up in his thoughts as much as he visited hers.

  She playfully tilted her head. “Tell me about these other things.”

  He lifted her hand and kissed her palm and pressed it against his cheek. “I wake up thinking about you. You’re in my mind when I go down to the pier and watch the sky light up in the morning. Then I wait for you to show up at the sanctuary to see how our patients are doing. I like watching you with the birds—I know there haven’t been many—”

  “Yet.” She smiled sheepishly. “Oops, sorry I interrupted.”

  “But you’re right—I like your optimism.” He laced his fingers with hers. “Mostly, I think about how I’ve fallen in love with you.”

  He raised his hand as if to ward off an objection, but he needn’t have bothered. She had none.

  “We haven’t known each other that long, but...I like what I know.”

  She scooted closer to him. “Are you going to say something, Emma?” He paused.

  She had so much she wanted to tell him. So many questions about him she wanted to ask. But not now. Emma let out a low chuckle as she ran her index finger over his lips. “Will a simple ‘ditto’ do?”

  “I know it’s early—probably too early—to say this, Emma, but I’m thinking this is for keeps.”

  “Funny how we think alike sometimes.”

  Parker’s smile was sweet and she saw genuine affection in his eyes. “I’m getting used to it.”

  Emma relaxed into his arms and watched the fire, not wanting the night to end but knowing it had to.

  As if reading his mind he released her and they stood. “See you tomorrow, early, I hope.”

  She stared into his eyes, such a deep blue in the dim light. The only sound was a log crackling in the fireplace. “You bet you will.”

  “So, for now,” he whispered before lowering his head for a long kiss goodbye.

  He was halfway out the door when she said, “Parker, thanks for convincing me I can dance again.”

  He stepped closer and kissed her cheek. “Be prepared for more of that.”

  She closed the door and leaned against it. He loved her and she loved him back. For keeps.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  PARKER WAITED ON the pier until almost 8:00 a.m. before he made the call.

  He was greeted with a happy hello. In his mind’s eye, he could see Emma’s bright smile. But he skipped the pleasantries. “Nicole’s gone. She sent texts to let me know.”

  “She’s gone to Vermont? To her mother’s?”

  “Right. She lied to me, Em.” It wasn’t the decision itself that hit like a punch, so much as the subterfuge. The sneaking around. The little fibs she had to tell to pull it off.

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Silence. She’d ended the call.

  She hadn’t given him the option to argue, which was his first impulse. Tell her not to drop everything. Who was he kidding? He slipped the phone back in his pocket and stared at the lake. The pier was like a magnet pulling him there to make the call to Emma on a morning so cold he exhaled a dense cloud of white air.

  When he’d come home last night his head was spinning with happiness. He might as well have been a sixteen-year-old asking a girl to go steady. He’d laughed at himself over plodding through the snow, kissing her and not caring who saw them. And they’d danced.

  Now this.

  He clutched the railing and leaned forward, trying to stretch away the tension in his back. One more time he went over the last conversation he had with Nic. Where were the clues, the signs he missed? Now it was like a hard punch that came without warning. He was so
deep in his thoughts, he startled when he heard Emma’s voice calling his name.

  He started toward her and wrapped her in his arms.

  “This is the opposite of what you thought was going on, isn’t it?” Emma asked when she stepped back from the hug but hung on to his hands.

  He nodded. “I thought Jackie had settled things with Nic, made her understand no reconciliation was in the works.” He shook his head sadly. “Nic teased me in her funny sort of way, when I told her I was serious about you.”

  “So she left when we were out together.” The sound Emma made was low, guttural.

  “Exactly. When I got home her car wasn’t there, but I didn’t think anything of it. It’s not like she has a curfew.”

  “And she was supposedly out with friends?”

  “That’s what she said, but...”

  “She waited to leave until she knew you’d be gone long enough for her to slip away.”

  “Right.” He took the phone out of his pocket and brought her text on the screen and tilted it so Emma could see it. “Here it is: need 2 be with mom now. ben may be gone...not sure mom says you refuse 2 look at jobs in vt...still wants to try with u again N.”

  He scrolled down. “Then, after I called, she wrote another: sorry dad...luv u lots...don’t worry.”

  “When did the first text come in?” Emma asked,

  “In the middle of the night. I’d dozed off but woke up to go check for her car. When I didn’t see it I looked at my phone. She timed it all. She knows I usually sleep like a rock. She figured it would be morning before I’d know she hadn’t come home.”

  “She concocted quite a scheme, I’d say. Not something you’d have expected from Nicole.”

  He ran his hand through his hair, reliving the anxious moment when he knew her car wasn’t there.

  Frowning, Emma stared at the screen. “Let’s walk to the building while we chew this over.”

  “Sure. Sorry. You’re getting cold. My fingers are already numb.”

  “What’s next?” Emma asked. “You wait for her to let you know when she gets there?”

  “I left a voice mail telling her to get off the road and check into a hotel. I didn’t want her driving straight through—it’s like a fifteen-hour drive.” He waved the phone. “So far, nothing. I told her to text me when she stops.” He raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “Like she’d listen to me now.”

  “I agree that’s a long drive. At that age, Ruby and I used to do roads trips during our spring breaks. But we switched off driving. I didn’t drive more than half the day alone in the car.”

  “She’s eighteen, Em. Almost nineteen.” He laughed cynically and stopped walking. “She’s invincible. Earlier, I wished she had a dog with her in the car. Even a marshmallow like Peach would make me feel better about my girl on the road at night. It’s so hard not to be Daddy, you know. Daddy could order her home. Dad doesn’t have that sway.”

  Parker stopped and pointed at a stand of birches protected from the wind by surrounding oaks, so snow built up on their branches. “Man, it was like two days ago Nic told me your photos of those birches would make great greeting cards for the sanctuary to sell.”

  “A project for next year.” She leaned against him. “You don’t want to think about that now. You want to figure out what to do.”

  “Not much I can do except wait for her call.” Parker patted his pocket that held his phone. “I hate feeling helpless.”

  “Did you look inside her cabin?” Emma blurted. “What did she take with her?”

  “I... I’m not sure. I opened the door, called her name. I got scared when she didn’t answer, so I wasn’t thinking about that. Her texts sounded so final.” He studied Emma’s expression. “What is it? What are you thinking?”

  “Let’s go into her place,” Emma said. “It’s not snooping, especially if she packed everything up.”

  “I hope she didn’t,” he said. “She and a couple new friends are always thrifting these days. I thought she was having fun fixing up her cabin.”

  “She was. That’s not your imagination.”

  When they got to the cabin, he glanced at Emma, who’d hung back a few feet. He turned the knob. As he predicted, the cabin wasn’t locked. Neither of them locked their cabins very often. He pushed the door open and switched on the closest lamp. Puzzled, he said, “Her computer is gone, but the pictures are still on the wall.”

  Emma went deeper into the room just as he checked behind the screen blocking Nicole’s bed from view. “She took the quilt you gave her. And her pillow.”

  “But only some of her clothes.” Emma stared into the half-empty closet. “It’s kind of mixed.”

  He brushed his hand over the shelf of textbooks and notebooks. “She left those. She had her last final a couple of days ago.” He sighed. “I thought she liked her classes at Neville.”

  “She did, Parker, she did,” Emma insisted. “Don’t second-guess yourself. We all saw it.”

  Parker nodded. “She was a big fan of yours. I thought...”

  Emma turned away so she wasn’t looking at him. “Maybe you moving on with me wasn’t as easy for her as we thought...or hoped.”

  “Now she thinks Ben left her mom—”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Emma interrupted. “Let’s wait and see what’s really going on. Seems Nicole doesn’t know one way or the other.”

  “Unless...”

  “What?”

  “Unless she’s not being honest with me.” He scoffed. “Or maybe it’s Jackie who’s manipulating her. My ex wasn’t always such a master game player, either.” Parker needed to get out of his daughter’s space. It only confused him, made him doubt himself and his decisions. He rubbed his hand across his forehead. “Let’s check on our newest patient. And say hello to the crow, too.”

  When they went inside the cabin, he flipped the electric heater on low. He uncovered the owl, who spread one wing. “Chipper today, aren’t you?” he said.

  He and Emma sat side by side on the bench letting the owl get used to the light streaming through the window. The clear sky in Bluestone River gave him little comfort, though. He got out his phone. “I’m checking the weather again for storms out east,” he said. “It’s not a great time of year for a long drive.”

  Emma covered his hand with hers. “Nicole has good sense. She knows to get off the road in the snow.”

  Annoyed, he freed his hand and waited for the screen to show the weather in the northeast.

  “Uh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make light of your concern.”

  “Driving in snow is new for her.” He knew he was being unfair. His words. His tone. They were off, but he couldn’t help it. “She’s only had experience driving in North Carolina. On the coast, where snow is a novelty.”

  “You’re right. My mistake.”

  “I’m worried about her driving through mountains in the snow...if it snows.” His nerves were raw. Overwhelmed by his mixed up emotions, he couldn’t figure out the simple weather forecast displayed on his screen. Besides, he couldn’t pinpoint where she was, anyway.

  He got up from the bench and braced his boot on the edge of the low platform where the bird pen sat. With his back to Emma, he said, “She and Jackie have had their mother-daughter drama, but I thought...” he searched for the words “...oh, I’m not sure what I thought.”

  “Speaking of Jackie, have you texted her?”

  Parker shook his head. “I will soon, though. I really wanted to talk with Nic first.”

  “It may be small comfort, but no matter what she’s up to right now, anyone can see how much Nic loves her dad. And I know how much you want her to be here with you.”

  “You’re right. It’s small comfort.” His whole body was jumpy. He turned to Emma. “I thought you got it. It’s not about wanting her to be with me. She’s not a little ki
d. She’s an adult. Soon to be completely on her own.”

  “Parker, I didn’t mean—”

  Agitated with the situation and with Emma, Parker didn’t have the energy to hear her out. “I’m upset because of what Jackie’s been doing with Nic. And with me.”

  Emma had no response. But why would she? He more or less shut her down. And he couldn’t help himself.

  “I’m obviously confusing the situation,” Emma said. “I’m not helping to make this any easier on you. And I get it. You’re not sure what to do now.”

  “Like I told you there’s nothing for me to do.”

  “Maybe Jackie isn’t playing games, Parker. You told me you had wanted to fix your marriage. Now your ex-wife is finding jobs for you, hinting her boyfriend is gone.” She shrugged. “Somehow, she enticed Nic up there. Four days before Christmas. Maybe this is her way of finally trying.”

  “Maybe. If I took a job in Vermont, Nic would come, too. She knows our daughter wouldn’t feel as torn if we were in the same place.”

  Emma stood, but kept her distance. She looked beyond him to the owl on the perch. “So, you can’t say Jackie’s wrong about that.”

  Something was way off, knocking his thoughts all over the place. “What is this, Em? It sounds like you’re taking her side. Are you inviting me to go back to my ex-wife?”

  “Are you kidding? I’ve been falling in love with you since the day I twirled my cane and pointed it at you a few feet from where we’re standing.” She closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. “But something has you thrown. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

  “Like I said, Nic doesn’t make a habit of lying. And slinking away in the night isn’t her style. Or so I thought.”