Epilogue
Esther
It wasn’t quite clear which news traveled faster—that Theo Silver was moving back to Spruce Hill, or that the only remaining member of the McNulty family had tried to kill me. Even the bustle of the last few days before Christmas couldn’t quell the furor of gossip flying through town.
Those invitations we’d feared never actually materialized, aside from one for a New Year’s Eve gathering at Sofia’s place. When we told her we’d see how we were feeling after Christmas, she just yanked us both into a warm hug and left us with a teary smile.
Still, we weren’t entirely without plans for the holidays. Theo asked if I was open to inviting Alex, Isabella, and Dominic over for a small celebration, and I enthusiastically agreed.
The three of them were driving out to Rochester to see her family on Christmas Day, so we scheduled our little get-together for Christmas Eve.
Theo laughed at me for trying to toddler-proof the house as much as possible before their arrival, but I caught him moving a side table with sharp corners into the basement before they arrived.
When I tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile, he only winked at me.
The day after the incident, Theo helped me string Christmas lights throughout the guest house with reckless abandon while we ate the lemon cake I’d made straight off the serving plate.
The day after that, we turned our attention to the main house, hauling boxes of decorations from the basement.
The artificial tree we put up in the living room was so tall that even Theo had to stand on a step stool to put the star on top.
I cooed and Theo groaned over every handmade ornament his mother had saved from his childhood.
We’d just added a final ornament to the tree when the doorbell rang. For a beat, we stared at each other, then I followed him toward the front door. In all the times I’d been to the house, I’d never come in that way. We always used the side door by the driveway.
When Theo opened the door, he kept me behind him as though there was still some threat out there.
I knew there wasn’t—Detective Hanson had told us they’d tracked the prepaid phone to Drew McNulty and found another half dozen doctored photos on his laptop at home—but for once, I didn’t mind letting Theo step between me and the unknown.
Except…on the other side of the threshold were my parents, holding a prettily wrapped box with a golden bow on top of it.
I shifted out from behind Theo and stared at them in surprise. For a second, I thought he might tell them to get the hell off his porch, but they were looking back at us with such contrition that we were both startled into silence.
“We’re sorry,” my mother said softly, blinking back tears. “So sorry. My beautiful girl.”
I was frozen in place, barely aware of Theo’s hand settling against the small of my back in a wordless show of support. As I looked back and forth between my parents, wondering what the hell was happening, my dad held out the gift.
“We didn’t understand what you were dealing with back then, Esther. That’s no excuse for turning you away, and I will regret it until my dying day. But we love you. I never thought my job might put you at risk, and I can’t—”
When he broke off, choking on the words, I shook my head. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I heard about what happened to that boy’s family. I should have realized there was danger and shielded you from it.”
Theo glanced down at me before asking, “Do you want to come in?”
“No, no. We didn’t mean to intrude, but we wanted to bring this over. It’s for the two of you,” he said, waiting until Theo took the box from him.
“Merry Christmas, both of you,” my mom said. She put her hand on my father’s arm, but her gaze snagged on mine and she added, “If you’re willing, we’ll arrange a time to get together someday. If not, we understand.”
They moved back down the steps and along the walk, shoulders curled forward and heads bowed. I’d never seen either one of them look so defeated, so small. The image tugged at my heart.
“Merry Christmas,” I called out just before they reached their car. They both turned in surprise and smiled before getting in.
Theo waited until they were gone to close the door. He lifted one hand to my cheek, the other holding the gift. “Do you want to open it?”
“Not yet,” I replied. I took it from him and returned to the living room to tuck it under the tree.
We managed to keep ourselves busy with decorating the entire first floor of the house until Alex and his crew arrived for an early dinner on Christmas Eve.
Toni made herself scarce the second Dominic’s little feet hit the kitchen floor.
After a relaxed meal of homemade pizza, we moved our little group into the living room to watch Dominic inspect every ornament within reach.
I knelt beside the little boy, showing him the most indestructible ones I could find.
It was impossibly beautiful. From a life of solitude, I’d suddenly become part of a family, surrounded by people who cared about me.
My gaze landed on Theo, sitting across from his brother and Isabelle. Though he was mid-conversation, his eyes caught mine and his lips curved into a soft smile before he returned his attention to what Alex was saying.
Dominic had just torn the wrapping paper from our gift to him, a shiny red tricycle, when the sound of the side door opening broke through the chaos of Christmas music and laughter.
Theo squeezed my shoulder as he started to stand, but the faces that appeared in the doorway caused him to drop back onto the couch beside me. An incredulous laugh slipped past his lips and his arm tightened around me as we watched his parents walk into the room with armfuls of gifts.
“Well, isn’t this a cozy little scene!” Anita cried as Lou dropped down onto the floor beside Dominic, who threw his chubby arms around the older man. Alex and Theo rose to embrace their mother, but over Theo’s shoulder, she caught my eye and winked.
One thing was certain—I would never again underestimate a member of the Silver family.