Chapter Twenty-Two
Being fake cheerful was hard work when all Tilly wanted to do was crawl into a dark corner and cry her eyes out. It was Christmas Eve, the show was about to start in two hours, and she had to narrate the story and lead the Carols by Candlelight.
Her heart had been shattered into a million pieces, and she didn’t have the energy to make it happen.
It was all on the precipice of falling apart, and she didn’t care.
She was in a room full of people eager to get started, and all she wanted to do was go home.
Tilly couldn’t even summon the ability to care that her reputation was about to be ripped to shreds due to her failing at the last minute.
Her soul hurt.
“Tilly-Pilly, what’s wrong?” Chrissy’s soft voice, full of concern, was the last straw, and as much as she didn’t want to, she burst into tears.
Before she had time to comprehend that she’d lost it in front of everyone, Chrissy was ushering her out the side door of the auditorium, where their trek would start.
The air was cold, but not frigid, meaning that tonight would a rare mild night, which was perfect for their show.
It would mean people would be happy to come out and follow them.
“No-noth-nothing’s wrong.” She hiccupped and attempted to get herself under control.
“And I really am Mary, mother of Jesus. Talk to me, Tilly.”
“I’ve failed.”
To Chrissy’s credit, she schooled her features, but Tilly had seen the flash of surprise on her face before she’d masked it. “In what way?”
“I promised to bring a big name in to be the narrator and emcee the Carols by Candlelight, and I couldn’t get one.”
Chrissy nodded. “Okay, well, that’s not too bad. You just do it. It doesn’t matter.”
“I was going to, but now I’m not sure if I can,” she said, her confidence from a couple of nights ago gone. “The judges are looking for something amazing, and having a big name would’ve helped us stand out.”
“Well, we’ll just have to make it unbelievable and amazing, so that we win on our own merit without needing any outside help. I believe in you, Tilly. You’ve done all this work, and you deserve to be the one narrating and leading us around. You know everyone is going to follow you and support you.”
Tilly’s heart swelled with love for her sister. Her unconditional belief in her meant the world and she was right. “I can do this. I will do this.”
“There’s my sister.” Chrissy grabbed both of her hands and squeezed. “It’s going to be absolutely amazing. Everyone in Marietta is going to love it.”
“Thank you.” But there was still one person missing.
The one who’d believed in her from the beginning.
There’d been many times she’d gone to pick up the phone to call him, but she hadn’t.
Stupid pride and the thought that he needed to make the first move, seeing as he was the one who thought the worst of her, had kept her from making the call.
“Always. Now, where’s Zach?” Chrissy asked, passing her a tissue as tears started up again.
“I don’t know,” Tilly admitted and then went on to tell Chrissy everything.
All about Kathryn Lancaster and her connection to Zach.
The stuff he went through and what happened when he saw Rainey’s email.
By the end, her tears had dried, and anger at the situation had reappeared and replaced her sorrow.
“How could he believe that it was all a big trick?” she fumed. “Doesn’t he know me at all?”
“I think there’s a lot of hurt in him that he needs to work out. When he’s had time to cool down, he’ll come and find you.”
No doubt Chrissy meant to make her feel better, but she didn’t.
“It’s too late. It doesn’t matter what he does.
He didn’t trust me, and I’m not sure I can forgive that.
” She straightened her spine and shook off the melancholy because a group of people in an auditorium and her town were counting on her.
“Let’s get inside and get everyone rounded up. We’ve got a show to put on.”
She still wanted Zach. Still wanted to be there when he needed her after a bad shift. Still wanted to hear his laugh. Still wanted to feel his arms wrap around her in a hug that had always made her feel secure and wanted. But that wasn’t going to happen because, apparently, she was the villain.
Tilly marched past her sister, using the determination to keep her going.
An excited buzz filled the room when she walked in.
“What is going on?” Tilly called. The volume died down, and those closest to her smiled as the crowd parted. She blinked twice, not believing what she was seeing.
“Is that . . .?” Chrissy started to ask.
“Yes. I think it is,” Tilly finished on a whisper.
Standing not thirty feet away from her were Zach and his mother. Kathryn Lancaster, the Kathryn Lancaster, was in Marietta.
Zach began to walk toward her. Tilly’s feet were rooted to the spot. Behind her she was aware of Chrissy moving away, and she wanted to grab her sister’s hand for support.
“Tulip,” Zach said softly when he stopped in front of her. The last time she’d seen him, anger had made his brown eyes as dark as night. Now, they were light and open, and she didn’t want to believe what other emotion she saw shining in them. She had to be imagining it.
“Zachary,” she responded, using his full name for the first time. His lips quirked in an endearing smile.
“I’d like you to meet my mother, Kathryn Lancaster, your narrator and emcee for the night.”
No, she must have misheard Zach. No way did he say that Kathryn was taking over the role that Tilly had decided she was going to do. The role that Tilly had wanted Kathryn to fill from the very beginning.
“I’m sorry, what?” She didn’t know if she was disappointed or excited, but it was possible that all her dreams for the event were about to come true.
Zach entered her personal space, his fingers brushing lightly against hers, where they rested by her side. “Mom is here, and she’s excited to be part of your production.”
“But . . . I don’t understand. How?”
“It’s a Christmas miracle, Tulip.” He curled a piece of stray hair from her ponytail behind her ear. A shiver racked her, and it wasn’t from the rush of cold air from someone walking through the door.
“I’m looking for a Tilly Bloom?” a male voice boomed around the room.
Zach took her by the shoulders and turned her gently. Two men and a woman stood just at the entrance of the auditorium. Somehow she found her voice. “I’m Tilly Bloom.”
One of the men, who wore a thick parka and glasses, held out his hand. “Hello, I’m Gerald Sanders. This is Larry Munsey and Priscilla Garside. We’re the judges for the Light Up Montana contest.”
“Oh! Hi, welcome. We’re just getting everything ready to get on the road.” Tilly had no idea if that was true or not, but it had to be getting close.
“Excellent, we’ll leave you to it and wait outside. We just wanted to let you know that we were here. I know you’ll want to give everyone a pep talk,” Gerald said before indicating his fellow judges to precede him out of the area.
The moment the door closed behind them, the chatter started again. Tilly looked around at everyone wearing huge smiles. People were looking at Kathryn in awe.
“How?” she asked Zach again.
“Long story,” he murmured. “It’s almost time. You should do what the judges said. Talk to everyone.”
“But your mom? What’s going on with that?
” Tilly knew she needed to say a few words to everyone.
Thank them for willing to be part of this event.
For being there for her without question.
But she needed some answers. “How is she standing here in Marietta when you accused me of—” She couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice, and she wasn’t going to try to.
“I’m so sorry, Tulip. I made accusations that had no place being made. It was . . . my insecurities.”
“Did you call her?” she asked softly.
Zach shook his head. “No, she hired a private investigator and found me. She was worried about me.”
Kathryn had come to him. “That was brave of her.”
A self-deprecating smile lifted the corners of Zach’s mouth. “I know.” He hesitated, then added quietly, “We talked. Really talked. Like we should’ve done months ago.”
“I’m glad.” And she was. He looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. But what did that mean for her? His being here with his mom was big, but what did it all mean?
“I looked at everything I’d done, and how I’d treated you, the woman I love. I was disgusted with myself. Can you forgive me, Tulip? Can you forgive me for being an ass and for all the things I said?”
He loves me.
He was standing in front of her, laying himself bare. And his mother was just off to the side, along with a crowd of people who were watching them intently. She caught Chrissy’s gaze as her sister blinked away tears and gave her a slight nod. Ryder stood behind her, his hand on his wife’s shoulder.
“You love me?” she whispered.
This time when he smiled, it reached his eyes, crinkling the corners. “I do. With my whole heart. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
Tilly didn’t need to hear anything else. She launched herself at him, and he caught her. For endless seconds, she poured all that she was feeling into a kiss. She pulled away and smiled up at him. “I love you too, Zach, and I forgive you.”
They stared at each other for a few more seconds, in the glow of first love announcements, until someone slow-clapped their hands, breaking the spell.
“I hate to be a party pooper, but we have a show to put on,” Chrissy declared, as she sniffed loudly.
Tilly laughed. “Yes, we do, but . . .” Her focus shifted to where Zach’s mom stood. Tears trickled down the woman’s cheeks, but Kathryn wiped them away and crossed to Tilly and Zach.
“I’m here to do whatever you need me to do. Zach gave me a rundown of what was happening, along with the script for the show. I’m ready to go. But if you’ve made other arrangements for someone else to do it, then I’m okay with that too.”
“I had planned to do it,” she murmured.
“Then I’ll happily walk beside you and let you do it all,” Kathryn said.
Was she about to let her dream for this event go? And for the one person she had truly wanted to be a part of this event to walk away from it?
“This is what you want, Tilly,” Zach said. “It’s what I want too.”
There it was, his acceptance of Kathryn’s presence, both in the show and in his life.
She didn’t need to be the one to tell the story. It had never been part of her plan for the event. What she did know was that she could have done it. It was time to bring her whole vision to life. “Thank you, Kathryn. That will be wonderful. I really appreciate your doing this.”
“Anything for my future daughter-in-law,” she said.
Future daughter-in-law?
There was so much Tilly wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the time.
“Maybe not right now, but soon,” Zach said as if he could read her mind.
“All right, then.” Tilly turned to everyone.
“I’m not going to go on and on because, well, we’re running out of time and need to get started.
I want to thank you all for believing in me and believing in this live-action traveling Nativity play.
You’ve worked so hard, and I’m so proud of you all. Have fun. Let’s do this!”
Everyone cheered and clapped and then made their way to the front door of the auditorium, in their respective positions. Chrissy and Ryder were leading the parade.
Maybe, just maybe, they’d win the contest. After all, the rest of her Christmas miracle had come true. She’d found love when she hadn’t even been looking for it. Winning would be the icing on the cake.