Christmas secret, p.1
Christmas Secret, page 1
Christmas Secret
Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge Book 14
Violet Howe
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, events, and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
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www.violethowe.com
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Cover Design: Elizabeth Mackey
www.elizabethmackeygraphics.com
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Published by Charbar Productions, LLC
(e-v1)
Copyright © 2022 Violet Howe/LM Howe/Charbar Productions, LLC
All rights reserved.
E-ISBN: 978-1-7327269-7-0
P-ISBN: 978-1-7327269-8-7
BN-ISBN: 979-8-8231447-2-8
For all those who choose love when given the choice
Books by Violet Howe
Tales Behind the Veils
Diary of a Single Wedding Planner
Diary of a Wedding Planner in Love
Diary of an Engaged Wedding Planner
Maggie
THE CEDAR CREEK COLLECTION
Cedar Creek Mysteries:
The Ghost in the Curve
The Glow in the Woods
The Phantom in the Footlights
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Cedar Creek Families:
Building Fences
Crossing Paths
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Cedar Creek Suspense:
Whiskey Flight
Bounty Flight
Soul Sisters at Cedar Mountain Lodge
Christmas Sisters
Christmas Hope
Christmas Peace
Christmas Secret
Click here or visit www.violethowe.com to subscribe to Violet’s monthly newsletter for news on upcoming releases, events, sales, and other tidbits.
Or join her Facebook reader group, the UltraViolets, for fun interaction, advance news, exclusive content and giveaways.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Continue The Story…
Also by Violet Howe
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Thank You
Chapter 1
“Madeline Kirby, when are you going to marry me?”
Maddie smiled up at Robert beneath the glow of the streetlamp. The cold November wind had left his cheeks blotched red and his eyes glassy, but his grin was as warm as always.
“Someday I’ll get around to it, I swear,” she said, snuggling tighter into his embrace.
“It’s been two years since you accepted my proposal, my love, and in that time, Travis and Liza have gotten married, Jo and Luke have gotten married, and I’ve lost count of how many grandkids are running around now. I’m starting to think you’re just using me for my handyman skills, and you don’t intend to make me your husband.”
She tossed her head back in laughter. “Your handyman skills? As I recall, that plumber said he’d never seen anyone mess up a DIY bathroom renovation to quite that extent. And do I even need to mention the day you prepped the entire living room for painting and then—”
“No, as a matter of fact, there is no need to mention that.” He chuckled as he planted a kiss on her lips. “Okay, so obviously we both know I’m more suited to management than hands-on execution, but I’m serious. I know we’re committed to each other already and making it official probably shouldn’t be a big deal at our age, but for me, it is. I want to be married to you. I want you to be my wife.”
“I want to be married to you, too! Hence me accepting your proposal and selling my house to move into a condo together. And it’s not that the official part isn’t important to me. The timing just hasn’t worked out so far. But it will. Soon, things will settle down and we’ll pick a date and get something planned.”
The traffic light changed, and the crosswalk timer began to beep its countdown for them to cross the busy street.
“But that’s just it, Maddie.” Robert took her hand as the two of them crossed. “I don’t think things are ever going to settle down. Between both our kids, the grandkids, your mom’s penchant for travel, my job at the lodge, and your volunteer work…it’s non-stop chaos. And I’m not complaining about that. We have very full lives, and we are surrounded by people we love. I’m happy, and I don’t want anything to change. Other than I want us to be married, and I’m not sure how you think there is suddenly going to be a lull in the action for that to happen.”
They stepped onto the sidewalk on the other side of the road and turned to walk toward the restaurant.
“I get what you’re saying, but you have to admit, we’ve had a lot of special circumstances. Downsizing my belongings and getting the house ready to sell to Luke and Jo took a lot of effort, especially since we were basically doing it at the same time I was wrapping up things for my retirement. Neither Hailey nor Jo expected to take in two children each, but I’m thankful they were able to, and who could have predicted Alissa would have four precious babies in a matter of three years? Then with Hailey’s pregnancy, Alissa and Jo starting new businesses, and Stevie expanding the menu at the Fox and the Hound, they’ve needed me to pitch in more with childcare or helping with other odds and ends. Not to mention all the work lifting this mentor program off the ground at the school. One of the reasons I retired was to have more time to volunteer getting that established.”
“I understand all that,” Robert said. “I fully support your efforts with the mentor program. I know it’s important to you to be there for your mom and your girls when they need you, and I love and respect your dedication to family. Again, I’m not saying you need to change what you’re doing. Not at all. I’m just being realistic when I say there isn’t going to be a time that you’re not needed for one reason or another.”
“You’re right. I know. I just haven’t been able to wrap my head around planning a wedding when I’ve been so busy with everything else. Maybe after the holidays, I’ll talk to the girls and see when they all might be free. We’ll need to wait until summer when Nick and the older grandkids are out of school. I know Hailey won’t be ready to travel with the baby any time soon. We’ll need to touch base with Travis and figure out what would work with his and Liza’s schedule. Mom and Royce have already booked a cruise for next summer that we’ll need to work around, but I’m not sure about the dates.”
“Summer is so far away.” Robert stopped walking, taking both her hands in his as he turned to face her. “What if we cut out all the stress of planning a wedding that fits in everyone’s schedules and do something smaller? Let’s go away. Just the two of us. Someplace warm, or warmer than here anyway. I’m thinking maybe Hawaii. We could get married on the beach while the sun sets over the water. Let’s do it! Let’s elope.”
“What? Elope?” She stared at him in disbelief that he’d even suggest such a thing. “Robert, we can’t elope! My mother would kill me if I got married without her there.”
“So, invite your mom and Royce. They can be our witnesses. It shouldn’t be hard to find out what the marriage license requirements are in Hawaii and to find someone to perform the ceremony. What could be more romantic than you and me standing with our toes in the sand and the palm trees swaying overhead? Okay, so granted, I’m not sure how romantic it might be with your mom and Royce there, but I’m sure we could find a way to make it work.”
Maddie paused, biting down on her lip as she considered his suggestion. She’d always wanted to visit Hawaii, and it would be romantic to be married there—without Mom and Royce. The image was so vivid in her mind she could almost hear the waves crashing, smell the salt in the air, feel the breeze swaying the palm trees, and see the orange glow of the sun as a backdrop as they pledged their lives to one another. Perhaps a candlelight dinner on the beach afterward. Maybe they’d even have a romantic villa like the one they’d stayed in on their trip to Costa Rica, but with electricity this time!
It did sound nice, but what about their family and friends?
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine doing something so important without my girls involved. Don’t you want Travis there? Don’t you think he’d want to be there? I’m sure Jo, Stevie, Alissa, and Hailey would. I don’t want anyone to feel left out.”
“We can still celebrate with everyone when we get home. We’ll plan a big reception for the summer when everyone can be here.”
“Have a reception in the summer for a ceremony in January?”
“Sure! Why not? We don’t have to follow any conventional rules. We can do whatever works for us. And it doesn’t have to be Hawaii. I tossed that out there because this Florida nati ve is freezing in all this snow. I’ll go wherever you’d like. It’s been a while since we had an adventure.”
She moved closer so she could wrap her arms around his neck. “Oh, sweetie. I would love to go on another adventure with you. But eloping? I don’t know. I pictured having all our kids and grandkids with us when we tied the knot. I think I’d be sad if they weren’t there.”
He smiled as he bent to kiss her. “All right then, they’ll be there, and we’ll have it when we can have it. C’mon, let’s get going. I was serious about freezing out here.”
They resumed their walk in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.
Maddie felt horrible for putting him off yet again. Time after time, they’d discussed moving forward with wedding plans, and every time, she’d postponed for one reason or another. It wasn’t at all that she didn’t want to marry him. In her heart, she felt like they were married already, and she had no doubts whatsoever that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Robert.
It had just never seemed the right time to have a wedding, especially with the crazy schedules everyone had been juggling for the past couple of years.
She supposed it could be nice to run off and get married by themselves, but she worried it would hurt feelings and that she’d regret not having everyone there. At the same time, it was Robert’s wedding too, and she didn’t want to ignore what mattered to him to pursue her own wants.
“How about this?” Maddie asked as they approached the restaurant. “Let me send a group text to the girls and ask about their spring break plans for the ones with school children. Maybe if the others are available, we could pull something together for then. That’s a little sooner.”
He held the door open for her, and before he could respond, Maddie had spotted her mother and Royce already inside waiting.
The wedding discussion was shelved for the night as the four of them talked and laughed together, but the topic was ever present in the back of Maddie’s mind. Once they’d finished dinner and wished Claire and Royce well for their trip to Florida the next day, Maddie broached the subject again.
“Would you really rather just take off to Hawaii?” she asked as they walked arm-in-arm back to Robert’s car. “It doesn’t matter to you if Travis and the girls are there?”
“It’s not that it doesn’t matter to me,” Robert said, shivering against a cold burst of wind. “Of course, I’d rather have them there. But realistically, they all have their own lives and their own schedules. I think we’ve already seen over the last two years how difficult it is to pull everyone together at the same time, but I’m certainly not opposed to trying. Like I said before, I know it’s important to you, so I’m willing to go along with whatever you choose.”
“But I don’t want you just to go along with it, and I don’t want it to be all about my choice. I want it to be your choice, too. It’s your wedding just as much as it is mine.”
“The most important part of the wedding to me is the part where I get to be your husband. The rest of it doesn’t matter as much to me as it does to you. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, love. I’ll work on being more patient and biding my time without complaint.”
She frowned, wishing she could think of a solution that would ensure no one felt slighted, unheard, or left out. Especially her husband-to-be.
Chapter 2
“C’mere, sweetheart. Sit with Nana while your mommy makes our lunch.” Maddie scooped up little Joe and set him in her lap.
“You okay?” Stevie asked as she slid the pan into the preheated oven. “You seem a little down today.”
“I’m fine. I didn’t sleep well last night.” Maddie handed Joe the green crayon, but he shook his head and reached for the blue.
Stevie frowned as she poured the olive oil into the bowl. “Is your back acting up again?”
“No, thank goodness. It’s been fine since that last visit to the chiropractor.”
Maddie used the green crayon to shade in the grass on the coloring book picture as Joe colored the sky a bright cornflower blue. “Do you ever regret you and Jackson getting married the way you did?”
“What?” Stevie stopped whisking as she started at Maddie with her brow furrowed in confusion.
“I don’t mean do you regret marrying Jackson. I mean do you ever wish you’d done the big wedding with everyone there when the two of you said your vows for the first time?”
“Oh.” Stevie cocked her head to the side as she considered the question. “No. Can’t say that I do. I think the way we did it was perfect for us. Why?”
“Robert wants to elope.”
“How fun! Where are you going?”
“Nowhere. Not yet, anyway. He brought it up last night. The poor man has been postponed one time too many, so he wants us to run off and get married.”
“It’s actually not a bad idea.” Stevie paused whisking to add more garlic. “Without all the hoopla, it would be less stress, for sure.”
“I suppose you’re right, but what if I want the hoopla? I want all of you girls with me. I want to spend the night dancing with everyone. I want to see my grandkids wearing cute little dresses and tiny suits. I want people to give sappy toasts and eat too much cake.”
“So, throw a party and do all that after you come back from your elopement.”
“That’s what Robert ’s suggesting.” Maddie frowned as she thought of getting married in some remote location away from her family. “That wouldn’t bother you? You wouldn’t be upset if we got married without you?”
“No.” Stevie gave a soft chuckle as she drizzled the dressing over the salads. “It’s the two of you getting married. The rest of us are just bystanders. I’d love to be there, of course, but if you want to go off on some romantic adventure and get hitched, I’m all for it. As long as I still get to make a cake for the party you have when you get back.”
Maddie took the purple crayon Joe offered her and began to absently color in the top of the mushroom as he’d directed.
She wondered if her other girls would have the same reaction.
“I know you’re right, of course,” she said to Stevie. “We’re making our vows to each other, so it shouldn’t matter if anyone else is there with us. I just never pictured that way.”
“So, did you tell him you don’t want to elope?”
“Yes. I said I’d rather have all of you with us.”
“And is he okay with that? With waiting until it can happen?”
“He said he was,” Maddie said with a shrug as she set the crayon down. “He said he’d leave it up to me and work on being less impatient.”
“But now, you’re unsettled.”
“Yes. I can’t stop thinking that it’s his wedding too, and I wonder if maybe I’m being a bit too stuck in my own way of thinking here. I don’t want to start our marriage off being inconsiderate of his feelings.”
Joe nudged Maddie and handed her the yellow crayon. “Now ‘dis one.”
Maddie took the yellow with a smile and began to color the rest of the mushroom with it as Stevie divided the salad onto plates.
“Where does Robert want to go?”
“He suggested Hawaii, but he said he’d go anywhere.”
“Nice!” Stevie eyes widened with an appreciative grin. “Tell Robert if you don’t want to go, Jackson, Joe, and I will be happy to go to Hawaii with him.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to go to Hawaii. It’s not even that I don’t want to get married there. I’m sure it would be lovely.”
