Chapter 12
JACK
Jack, Holly, and Logan stood at the front desk, going over the supply list one more time. The inn bustled with activity around them. Voices carried down from upstairs where the volunteer crew was already at work. Hammers, saws, and the sound of people working together toward a common goal.
It should have filled Jack with hope. Instead, it felt like a countdown to an inevitable disaster.
“We need three more sheets of plywood,” Logan said, checking his list. “Extra wood stain to match the existing floors. Window glazing compound. And Holly, what did you say about hardware?”
“The brass fixtures we ordered came in yesterday,” Holly said, but her voice lacked its usual energy. “They’re in the workshop. But we’ll need mounting brackets for the curtain rods in all three rooms.”
Jack watched them both, trying to maintain optimism and keep moving forward, even though they all knew the truth. Charlie had until the end of the day to find a solution. If she couldn’t, none of this mattered.
“I’ll head into St. Augustine now,” Logan said. “I should be back in two hours, maybe less if traffic’s light.”
“Wait,” Holly said suddenly. “I need a few things for the antique dresser. And we need mirrors for the other rooms. I had something specific in mind, but...” She glanced between Logan and Jack, clearly torn.
Jack could see the conflict on her face. She wanted to go pick out exactly the right pieces, but she also knew every pair of hands was crucial upstairs.
“Go with Logan,” Jack told her, deciding for her. “I’ve got this. I’d rather you two get it all right in one go instead of having to make multiple trips.”
Holly looked at him for a long moment, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Keep your chin up,” she whispered. “This is not over yet, Jack.”
Jack managed a tight smile as he watched them leave through the front door. He wanted to believe her words. Wanted to have her faith that somehow, miraculously, Charlie would find a way out of this impossible situation.
But he couldn’t shake the memory of the last time he’d gone up against Victor Martin. He’d thought he’d found a way back then, too. A legal loophole, a technicality, something that would protect his business in Charleston. And he’d lost everything anyway.
Victor didn’t just win. He crushed you completely. Made sure you had nothing left to fight with.
“Jack, sweetheart?”
His mother’s voice pulled him from his dark thoughts. He turned to see Julie coming in from the door that led to their private residence. The house was his great-great-grandfather’s, built alongside the inn. The house where Jack had grown up, where Jane had spent her childhood.
Their house.
The realization hit him with crushing force. Losing the inn meant losing their home too. Where would his mother go? Where would any of them go?
“Are you okay, honey?” Julie asked, her shrewd eyes taking him in with that motherly perception that saw too much.
Jack remembered suddenly that there was something he’d been meaning to talk to his mother about. Something that had been nagging at him since Charlie and Logan had started investigating the mystery benefactor.
“Mom, can I have a word with you? In the office?” Jack pointed to the door.
Julie’s eyebrows shot up. “Is it that serious?”
“I think it might be,” Jack said, leading her toward his office. He closed the door behind them, giving them privacy from the activity throughout the inn.
“I’m glad we’re taking the time,” Julie said as she settled into one of the chairs in front of his desk. “There’s something I need to tell you as well. It’s time you knew something.”
Jack sat in the chair beside her rather than behind his desk. This felt too personal, too important for the barrier of furniture between them.
“What do I need to know?” Jack asked, though a tingling sensation had started creeping through his nervous system. His instincts were going on high alert.
Does she know that I know it’s her paying off the inn’s loans? He wondered. Is she the secret benefactor after all?
“You start,” Julie encouraged. “You did call this meeting.”
“No, you go first,” Jack said. Something about her body language was setting off alarm bells. “What do I need to know?”
Julie looked uncomfortable and shifted in her seat. In all his years, Jack had rarely seen his mother look uncertain. Julie Christmas was unflappable. Strong. Direct. Seeing her fidget like this sent his concern into overdrive.
“Now, I know saying this won’t matter,” Julie started, her voice careful. “But honey, know that what I did, I did for you and Jane.”
“Okay,” Jack said slowly, watching her.
“I know you’re going to be furious. And Jane.
..” Julie clenched her jaw and closed her eyes for a moment.
“Well, I don’t know how she’s going to take this.
But again, I’m telling you this as a mother and grandmother.
” Her eyes met his, fierce and determined.
“You know that everything I’ve ever done was only to protect you and Jane.
While you both may never forgive me, I can live with that.
Because if I had to, I would do it again.
I won’t apologize for what I did. I will apologize for not telling you, though. ”
“Mom,” Jack said, his heart filling with concern. Whatever this was, it was clearly affecting her deeply. “It’s okay. I know.”
Julie’s eyes widened, and her face went pale. “So that viper did tell you?”
Wait, what? Jack’s mind screeched to a halt. “I don’t understand. Did Pamela find out you’re the secret benefactor that’s been paying off the inn’s debt?”
His heart lurched with a new fear. What did she do to my mother? His protective instincts were roaring to life. “Mom, did Pamela threaten you?”
“What?” Julie looked genuinely confused. “I...” Her eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean, secret benefactor?”
“Come on, Mom,” Jack said. “I know it’s you. I know you’ve been using the money Dad left you to pay off the inn’s debt.”
“No!” Julie said vehemently, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Someone’s been paying off the inn’s debt?” Anger sparked in her eyes, quickly replaced by understanding. “William!” she said through gritted teeth.
“No, it’s not William,” Jack said, now thoroughly confused. “I thought so at first, too, but it’s not him. So I assumed it was you.”
“No, sweetheart, it’s not me,” Julie told him firmly. “Are you absolutely sure it’s not William?”
“It’s not,” Jack assured her, frowning. “Wait, what were you talking about then? What do I need to know if it’s not about the secret benefactor?”
Julie closed her eyes for a few moments, composing herself. When she opened them again, her expression was resolute. “While I could possibly help reduce a minuscule portion of the debt, there is no way I have the funds to pay it off completely.”
“Okay,” Jack said, alarm creeping into his voice.
As far as he knew, his father and mother had over half a million dollars saved.
Money his mother hadn’t touched since his father died ten years ago.
“Mom, what is going on? You and Dad have over half a million dollars saved. You should have quite a substantial savings right now.”
“It’s not as much as you think,” Julie said quietly. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Wait a minute,” Jack said, a terrible feeling starting to build. “You said, ‘Did the viper tell me?’ His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Tell me what, Mom?”
“Like I was saying,” Julie told him, drawing her shoulders up and sitting primly, “I did what I did for my son and granddaughter.”
The feeling of dread inside Jack increased exponentially. “What did you do, Mom?”
“It wasn’t just me. It was a decision your father and I both made,” Julie told him, her voice steady despite the emotion Jack could see in her eyes. “And it was worth every penny.”
“Just tell me!” It took everything Jack had not to explode. Right now, he was on the edge of losing everything. And now his mother and father had a dark secret involving him and Jane. A secret that his ex-wife apparently knew about.
“Thirty years ago, Pamela was going to use Jane to extort the inn from us,” Julie blurted out.
The words hit Jack like a physical blow. He stared at his mother, unable to process what he’d just heard.
“I overheard her speaking to Victor on the phone,” Julie continued, the words coming faster now as if she needed to get them all out.
“After not being able to get her father declared insane and take over his company, she was coming after the inn. This was going to be Victor’s first real estate development project. ”
“What?” Jack felt like that was the only word he knew right now as his world started to tilt.
“It was not long after your father’s first heart attack,” Julie told him. “He was still in the hospital, and we didn’t know how severe it was yet. You and Pamela had just separated, and she was moving out of the suite you three shared upstairs. The one Holly, Charlie, and Trinity are in now.”
“I know where we lived while I was trying to get on my feet after college, Mom,” Jack said, his voice coming out harsher than he intended. His mind was reeling. “Why or even how would she use Jane? She’d already agreed I could have full custody of Jane.”
“She changed her mind when your father nearly died,” Julie said, her voice hardening. “She realized that when James was gone, you’d inherit the inn, not me. You’re the Christmas bloodline.”
Julie swallowed hard. “She told Victor that the one thing you loved more than the inn and your family was Jane. That you would do anything to keep her, and the custody papers hadn’t been drawn up yet.
” Her eyes flashed with disgust and anger.
“She laughed and said, ‘Trust me, Jack won’t want his little brat growing up as a Martin and calling Victor Daddy.’“
Rage flooded through Jack, hot and immediate. The blood pounded in his ears. “You’ve kept this from me for all these years.”