Chapter 36
Maddie
“Maddie Rickter—don’t you dare lift a finger. You’ve been cooking all day. Relax,” Ms. Connor calls to me from the sink.
I let go of the pantry door and pout. “We’re running low on the lemon drop cookies. They’re everyone’s favorite, and the holiday bonfire is just a couple of days away.”
Ms. Connor glances at the kitchen table—plates of cookies, peppermint bark, and fudge covering it end to end.
“I think they’re going to survive, honey.” She gives me a serious look and then a squeeze. “Now rest. Really.”
Christmas is less than a week away. Natalie and Scott are in the living room decorating the inn’s tree, and even Ziddo is sitting next to the table drinking some of Ms. Conner’s famous cocoa with a bowl of Oreshki she made just for him.
Scott’s been practically living here at the inn with his team while they work around the clock planning when they’re not diving.
For a few short hours tonight, they’ve all been able to unwind and enjoy the holiday spirit instead of worrying about an environmental catastrophe.
Everyone’s here, everyone but Nathan and Crystal.
They’re having a party of their own tonight.
I smile. Crystal told me all about her plans, and I saw Nathan washing up at the inn earlier so he could spruce up before he went home.
Nathan’s our Christmas miracle. There’s nothing else I want other than for everyone in our family to stay safe. .. and be happy.
Everything’s just right—for now, anyway. Well, almost.
I wish Wes could have made it tonight. We’re expecting him in a couple of days. Then we’ll have our whole family here with us. My heart squeezes with gratitude. Before I head to the living room, I pack a few lemon-drop cookies in a container to save for Wes.
“Hand me the green one,” Scott calls out to Natalie. She hands him a big, glittery ornament which he hangs near the top of the tree.
“Can we put the star on now, Uncle Scott?” She lifts the star to him. He smiles and takes it. Stretching, he tries to get it on top. A two-step stool has done the trick for everything else, but the tree is nine feet tall.
“F—” He catches himself when he looks down at Natalie. “Can’t quite reach it. I’m going to need to get the big ladder.”
“Here,” Ziddo says, walking up from behind him. Scott steps down and lets Ziddo top the tree. I giggle as I imagine he looks just like Bumble, the abominable snow monster from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
“Thanks,” Scott says. Ziddo nods once and heads back into the kitchen.
Yeah, everything’s perfect.
After everyone else goes to bed, Scott and I sit together in the living room gazing at the sparkling lights on the tree. Resting my head against his chest, I’m dozing off when I hear a soft knock at the door.
Scott jumps up to answer it.
Who’s knocking at eleven o’clock at night?
Scott looks out the peephole and slings it open. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you too, Rickter.”
It’s Wes!
I rush over to him and give him a big hug. “You’re early.”
He squeezes me tightly, ignoring Scott’s glare.
I give him a quick peck on the cheek. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Want a whiskey?” Scott asks. Pouring him a glass before he answers.
“Please. Neat.”
Wes makes himself comfortable on the couch, and I take the chair in front of him. Scott hands Wes the whiskey and walks over to stand next to me.
Wes Harrington. In the flesh. We’ve kept in frequent contact while he’s been in hiding, but even video calls aren’t the same as seeing him in person. His presence is still magnetic.
There was a hot minute I thought we’d never see him again.
For reasons neither of them has fully explained, Garrett has stubbornly held on to his guns making sure Wes stays in hiding.
Relentlessly bullying him with the threat of sharing a doctored video that implies he was culpable for someone’s death.
It’s a little extreme, even for Garrett.
Wes explained to me that a caver had died in a cenote in the Yucatan.
Wes couldn’t save him. Curious if it was someone Garrett was close to, I asked—Wes simply said it wasn’t about the man who died. It was about control.
“Spill it, Wes. Tell us about all your adventures. I’m ready to stay up all night. Start with where the heck you’ve been.”
Turns out he’s been in the Yucatan, planting trees and restoring the Maya Forest Gardens. “You must love it there. Especially to go back after what happened in the cenote.”
“I do. Aside from what happened, it’s the one place on this Earth where I’ve truly been happy.” His face lights up with a memory. “I thought I could get it back.”
Get it back?
I’ll let that comment go for now.
“Okay. Tell us. What are Garrett’s mysterious conditions this time?”
Wes shrugs and laughs. “Surprisingly, they’re easy. He didn’t even have to ask. There’s going to be nooooo problem meeting them,” he spits out. His eyes squint with bitterness. “He told me to stay away from…”
When he glances at the staircase behind me, his face freezes and turns a ghostly white.
I’ve only seen his face like that once before, when I hyperventilated after one of our dives, and he had to save me.
Until now, it was the only time I’ve ever seen fear on Wes Harrington’s face.
His green eyes widen with shock, then narrow.
“What is it?” Worried, I turn toward the staircase.
Sid?
Her hair is styled, and she’s wearing makeup and a red sundress in the middle of the night.
“You know each other?” I turn back. But Wes is gone.
“What the…?” Scott mutters.
The front door slams.
Wow. I turn back to Sid.
“Don’t mind me. I was just coming down to say hello.”
She smiles, but her eyes aren’t smiling.