Mistletoe Mine (6 page)

“I have last year’s gift, too. Actually, I brought his gifts for the past three years with me, too.”

Now it was Molly’s turn to set down her fork. “You’ve continued to buy him gifts? Even though you weren’t speaking to him?”

“I always thought maybe …” Emma’s voice trailed off. “Well, that doesn’t matter anymore. I’m happy to go to church with you and your father on Christmas Eve, Molly, but I cannot do a traditional family gift exchange. Frankly, I’m a little too emotional right now for that. All right?”

“Sure, Mom.”

Later that night, as she met Charlie and Lori at the hot springs for a nighttime dip, she told them about her parents and their Christmas gifts. “They both continued to buy Christmas gifts for each other despite the fact that they weren’t speaking. Don’t you think that’s significant?”

“You know your parents better than we do,” Charlie said.

Lori sank into the bubbling hot water up to her neck, then looked above to the star-filled sky. “I think it’s significant. I think it shows they still care for each other.”

“I agree,” Molly replied. “I just don’t know what to do about it. They still don’t talk. Not about important stuff, anyway. They talk about the weather. They are polite to each other. It breaks my heart.”

The trio sat quietly as they thought about the issue. After a few minutes, Lori said, “Why don’t you ask my mom and her friends for advice? This sort of thing is right up their alley. They do relationship ‘interventions’ at the drop of a hat.”

Molly glanced at Charlie, silently asking his opinion. He took her hand and said, “I don’t see what it would hurt.”

“Okay,” Molly said. “But I’m running out of time. When do you think I could talk to them?”

“Come for breakfast tomorrow. Eight o’clock. That’s usually the best time to get everyone together. I’ll talk to Mom tonight, and if there is any problem, I’ll text you.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Molly said.

That’s how she’d ended up here in Sarah Reese’s kitchen on the twenty-third of December with Lori, her mom, Ali Timberlake, Sage Rafferty, and Nic Callahan. As Sarah set a coffee cake fresh from the oven in the center of the table, a knock sounded on the door. Sarah waved Celeste Blessing inside.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Celeste said, as she unwrapped a gold knit scarf from around her neck and shrugged out of her coat. As she hung them on a hook in the mudroom, she added, “Charlie’s mother stopped me to inquire about some last-minute arrangements for the rehearsal dinner. So what did I miss?”

“Nothing,” Sarah replied, handing Celeste a steaming mug of coffee. “We haven’t started yet.”

“I just arrived, myself,” Sage added.

“Excellent.” Celeste turned a warm smile toward Molly and said, “So, dear girl, how can we help you?”

“I’m looking for advice. My parents are on the brink of divorce, and I’m pretty sure they’re making a mistake.” She told them about the gifts, then finished by saying, “I think this is wrong. I think they still love each other, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“What happened to bring them to this point?” Sarah asked. “Celeste and I have heard part of it, but why don’t you start at the beginning and give all of us the whole scoop?”

“Okay.” The story poured out of Molly. She told them about her dad and uncle being teammates and how Uncle Frank had been Jared’s best man at his wedding. “Both my folks said that he had a brilliant mind for business. After my Grandpa Stapleton died, they thought bringing Uncle Frank on as the Wildcatter’s business manager was a great idea. It
was
a great idea until Uncle Frank embezzled money from the ranch.”

“Oh, no,” Ali said.

“Yeah. Dad had a horse who could really run, and he got the Wildcatter involved in horse racing. That’s how Uncle Frank caught the gambling bug. Apparently, he lost everything but couldn’t stop gambling, and he eventually stole money—a lot of money—from the Wildcatter accounts. After Dad discovered what was happening, he confronted Uncle Frank. They had a terrible fight, and later that night, my uncle went into the bunkhouse and shot himself.”

Sarah gave Molly a comforting hug. Sage Rafferty said, “Oh, how terrible for your family.”

“It was awful,” Molly said, recalling the phone call she’d received late one winter night. “I was away at school, and my Aunt Shelby called to tell me what happened. My parents were too shook up. They were devastated, both of them. Dad was furious; my mom was totally brokenhearted. Her parents were already gone, and her brother had been her only living relative.”

“That’s what led to their estrangement?” Nic asked.

“Yes. I think so, anyway. I came home for the funeral, and they acted okay. But something else must have happened, because the next time I came home, they hardly talked to each other. Not long after that, Mom left to go on tour, and she never came home.”

Celeste sipped her coffee, then set down her mug. “But you truly believe they are still in love?”

“I do! I do think they love each other, but neither one has been willing to make the first move to make things right again.”

“I almost hate to ask,” Sarah said, “but what about that gorgeous Italian who came to your graduation with your mother?”

“That’s Nicco. He and Mom aren’t together. He’s her manager, that’s all.” When she saw Nic and Ali share a doubting glance, she added, “It’s true. I asked my mom. She said she still considers herself a married woman and she’s never been unfaithful to Dad. She doesn’t lie to me.”

“What about your dad?” Lori asked. “Does he have a girlfriend?”

“No. He doesn’t do anything but work. I don’t think he’s left the Wildcatter a dozen times since my uncle died. I think they came real close to losing the ranch.”

“Well, then.” Celeste drummed her fingers against the tabletop. “I think we should help this marriage heal, don’t you, my friends?”

“Absolutely,” Ali replied. “I know from personal experience that marriages can survive rough spots and end up stronger and happier than ever before.”

“Cool,” Nic said. “Another intervention.” She winked at Molly and added, “They’ve come to be a habit of ours.”

Sage took a bite of coffee cake, then gestured with her fork as she said, “Since they’re not spending time together, I guess that would be our task.”

“We could lock them in the basement at Angel’s Rest together,” Sarah suggested. “That worked for Nic and Gabe.”

Nic’s smile went smug. “It was very romantic.”

“I’m afraid we have too many people in residence now,” Celeste said. “Someone would be certain to let them out.”

“Locking them in together someplace is a great idea, though,” Sage agreed.

Molly’s mouth gaped, and she looked at Lori. “Your mom and her friends are awesome.”

“I know,” Lori replied.

“What about your restaurant, Ali?” Sarah asked. “Is your basement a possibility?”

Ali’s teeth nibbled her bottom lip as she thought it over. “As a last resort, maybe. It would depend on the timing. I have a lot of prep work for the food for the wedding reception.”

“I don’t think we’ll need it,” Celeste said, sitting up straight. A delighted smile spread across her face. “I think if our handyman at Angel’s Rest could find time to do a little prep work, I have the perfect place in mind.”

Sage asked, “What can my husband do to help? I’m volunteering him right now.”

“I just love teamwork,” Nic added. “And I love Celeste’s plans. Her plan A-for-Angel was a rousing success. What do you have in mind this time?”

Celeste picked a piece of pecan off the coffee cake and popped it into her mouth. “Plan B, of course.”

“Plan B for Bride?” Lori asked.

“Almost. I’m thinking plan B for …” Celeste paused dramatically, then made a flourishing gesture with her hands toward Molly and spoke triumphantly: “Bridezilla!”

* * *

“What in the world happened to my sweet, laid-back, I-don’t-care-as-long-as-the-people-I-love-are-here bride-to-be daughter?” Emma asked Jared as they left Ali Timberlake’s restaurant on Christmas Eve after making the final arrangements for the reception meal. “She’s like a different person.”

“She is acting a bit … high-strung,” he conceded.

“High-strung? High-strung!” Emma lifted her face toward the sky. “She’s a raving lunatic! Why in the world would she think it’s okay to change the flower arrangements less than a week before the wedding? Maybe if we were in Denver, but we’re not! We’re in Eternity Springs! You know, I adore Lori Reese. I truly do. But why in the world did she think it was a good idea to suggest to our daughter that she needed mistletoe as part of her decorations at this late date?”

“It’s annoying, I’ll agree.”

Emma was still fuming twenty minutes later when Jared pulled his car into one of the remote parking lots at Angel’s Rest. “Where are we going? I didn’t listen to Celeste since Molly was in the middle of her manicotti meltdown.”

“That way.” He pointed in the direction of a tree-lined path that led toward the mountain rising behind Angel’s Rest.

“Where does it lead?”

“An abandoned mine.”

Emma pursed her lips. “And we are walking toward an abandoned mine why?”

“It’s not exactly abandoned. Celeste says it’s actually a natural cave that miners expanded. She reclaimed it for storage—said she had engineers look it over, so it’s safe. Apparently, she has some Christmas decorations there that she decided not to use at Angel’s Rest. Including a whole bunch of mistletoe harvested from the forest.”

“Oh,” Emma replied, relieved. “I was afraid she’d have us tromping through the snow harvesting the stuff ourselves. Do you have any idea why she was so adamant that you and I get the mistletoe instead of somebody else?”

“Nope. I was going to ask you the same question.”

Emma had a sneaking suspicion as to their daughter’s motives, but she wasn’t about to voice it. No way in heaven would she bring up the subject of kissing beneath the mistletoe to Jared Stapleton. Not when she was about to walk into a small, dark place with him in order to retrieve said plants.

Jared grabbed a flashlight from his car and led the way along the path. An inch of new snow had fallen overnight, and as they approached the trail, Emma noted that they were not the first people who had traveled this direction today. She spied three distinct sets of boot prints. At least she didn’t see any bear tracks.

They didn’t speak as they hiked up the gently sloping path, though the mood between the two of them was comfortable and companionable. When was the last time she’d felt this at ease with Jared? Not since that horrible night when they’d fought so bitterly, for sure. In that instant, Emma decided she was glad that Molly had insisted on this family time before the wedding.

The aroma of juniper and pine swirled in the gentle breeze. Movement off to her right caught Emma’s attention, and she smiled in delight to see a fox spiriting through the woods.

Jared’s voice broke the stillness of the forest. “Emma, do you think she’s having second thoughts about going through with the wedding?”

The question put a damper on her enjoyment of the hike. She considered the idea, then shook her head. “I don’t think so, but honestly, I don’t know what’s going on in her brain.”

“What will we do if she wants to call it off?”

Emma shrugged. “It’s her life. Her decision to make. But I don’t think that will happen, Jared. She loves Charlie.”

His vaporized breath floated on the crisp mountain air with a note of bitterness to it. “Love doesn’t necessarily keep a female from doing something stupid, now, does it?”

Well
. That verbal arrow had come flying out of nowhere, hadn’t it? Her spine went stiff, and she stared straight ahead, not responding to the barbed question. A moment later, Jared surprised her by saying, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that like it sounded.”

Emma acknowledged the rare apology with a nod. “I think we’re witnessing a full-blown case of bridal jitters. Molly will calm down.”

“I sure hope so. She’s driving me crazy.” At that point, he paused and gestured up the trail. “Looks like we’ve arrived.”

Emma saw a large wooden door sitting on wheeled tracks that passed in front of a shadowed opening in the mountainside. “I admit I find it a bit strange that Celeste would use a mountain cave for storage. What’s wrong with the basement?”

“Maybe it’s full,” Jared replied, shrugging. He switched on his flashlight. “She’s a strange sort of woman. I like her, though.”

“Me, too.”

Jared led the way into the cave, with Emma following a little closer than before. She wasn’t claustrophobic or anything. She just wasn’t one hundred percent sure that they weren’t invading something’s home. Her husband must have had a similar thought, because he shined the flashlight all around the chamber.

The natural cave was larger than she had expected. Better equipped, too, she realized, when he flipped a switch and electric lights lit the space. The far wall was boarded up with
Danger—Mine Entrance—No Admittance
signs hung on either side of a wall of metal shelving filled with boxes and baskets and … mistletoe. Lots and lots of mistletoe.

“It’s everywhere,” Jared said, staring above him.

Emma followed the path of his gaze to a latticework of rafters hung with dozens of sprigs of mistletoe, wrapped and hanging by strips of red velvet ribbon. “Somebody went to a lot of work.”

“How much of this do you think she’ll want?”

“Knowing Molly, most of it. I think we should—” Emma broke off abruptly when she spied the tray holding a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and an envelope with the words
Mom and Dad
penned across the front in Molly’s handwriting. “Uh-oh.”

“What?”

Before she could answer, a loud screeching sound filled the chamber, and natural light disappeared. Emma’s and Jared’s heads whipped toward the entrance … where the door was slamming shut.

“What the hell?” Jared exclaimed. In two steps, he was at the door, yanking back on the handle … to no avail.

At that point, Emma knew for sure. This had been one whole elaborate setup. She marched over to the envelope and grabbed it. “That little sneak.”