Chapter Three
Holly could barely contain her excitement, bouncing on her toes as she scanned the crowd of departing passengers. Her anticipation had Cupid pacing back and forth in front of her and Nick. It had been over two years since she’d seen her mother. When Holly’s aunt Lita had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, Holly’s mom decided to return to the Philippines to care for her. This was the longest Holly had gone without a visit, and her wedding—combined with the holidays—served as the perfect occasion for the mother-daughter reunion.
Nick placed a hand on the small of Holly’s back. “Maybe you shouldn’t have had that second cup of coffee.”
“I don’t think it would have mattered.” Holly pointed. “Oh, there she is.” She stepped forward and waved.
Vivian St. Ives, all four-foot-ten of her, rolled her suitcases toward them. She stopped once to wave, copying how Holly bounced on her heels, before continuing, taking quick steps with her short legs. Even with a huge smile, her face contained barely any wrinkles. She beamed at Holly and Nick with big, brown eyes. Though her dark hair was thinner than Holly remembered, it was still long enough to be twisted into a messy bun.
“Holly, my baby girl.” Despite living in the States for many years, Vivian still had a strong, endearing Filipino accent.
Holly rushed into her mother’s open arms. “Mom, it’s so good to see you.”
As her mom backed out of the embrace, she took Holly’s face in her hands. “You look great. Younger, even. This mountain air is doing you good.” Her gaze went to Nick. “Or maybe it’s love.”
“Hello, Mrs. St. Ives.” Nick bent down to hug her. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
“Call me Vivi,” she insisted. As she withdrew, her heels came down to touch the floor. “Oh, you’re much taller than I expected. Video chats don’t really do people justice.”
Cupid whined, clearly confused by all the hugging.
“Wow,” Vivian exclaimed. “He’s even more beautiful than on the computer.”
“He is a looker,” Nick agreed.
Vivian crouched down and ran her fingers through Cupid’s fur. “And so fluffy .”
Cupid sniffed Vivian’s face and licked her cheek.
Vivian giggled. “That settles it. You’re sleeping in my bed. Then I won’t need such a thick blanket.”
“Come on, Mom. There’ll be plenty of time later for puppy kisses.” Holly took the handle of one of her mother’s suitcases. “Let’s get you to the cabin.”
“Yes. I’ve been dying to see it after all this time.”
Nick took the other suitcase and led them to the parking garage.
It wasn’t until they were on the road and heading toward town that Holly could catch her breath.
“My goodness.” Vivian stared out the side window, a wide smile on her face, taking in the view of the surrounding mountains. “I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen snow. I forgot how gorgeous Silverwood is.”
Holly grinned, reveling in the excitement in her mother’s voice. She always found her upbeat mannerisms and positive attitude infectious, and being around her excitability was one of the things she missed most.
“Is there anything special you want to see while you’re here? I mean, aside from our wedding.” Holly reached over and settled a hand on Nick’s arm as he drove. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact they were getting married in three weeks.
“Well, the wedding is the main event, isn’t it? Other than that, not much.” Vivian leaned forward between Nick’s and Holly’s seats. “But I do want to have a bite at The Gingerbread House and take a look at the art school. And, of course, I can’t wait to go to Silverwood’s famous Christmas Market.”
Holly laughed and exchanged a look with Nick. “Not much, huh?”
“How is the school, by the way?” Vivian asked.
“It’s been going really well.” Delight surged through her. “Emily—Mrs. Weedleman—pops in now and then to see how we’re doing, and I get to work with Lucy every day, which is amazing.”
Vivian clapped her hands. “Tell me how Lucy is. I can’t believe someone I knew as a little girl has a baby now.”
Holly smiled at the thought of her long-time friend. “Lucy is good. You’ll get to see her—and Samantha Grace.”
“Such a lovely name. Sounds like a princess.”
“She can be.” Holly shook her head. “She’s almost one and as stubborn as her mother.”
“Time sure does fly.” Vivian placed a hand on Holly’s shoulder. “I can still remember when you were one.”
Nick glanced at Vivian in the rearview mirror. “I bet she was a handful.”
Vivian chuckled. “You’ve got that right.”
Vivian went silent when Nick flipped the indicator to turn onto the next street. Holly twisted to face her and found her mother’s eyes welling up.
Holly’s brows shot upward. “Mom, are you okay?”
Vivian worried her lip for a moment. “It’s our street.”
“Yeah.”
“Well …” Vivian swallowed. “I haven’t been to the cabin since before your father died.”
Holly’s throat felt thick with tears, and her chest tightened. She reached back, comforted when her mother took her hand.
“Are you going to be okay with this?” Holly asked.
“Yes. Yes, of course. I can practically hear your father saying, ‘It’s about time you went to the cabin. What took you so long?’ He always said Christmas wasn’t the same if we weren’t spending it in Silverwood.”
When the house came into view, Vivian let out a soft “Oh.”
Pure, white snow surrounded the picket fence. A picturesque, one-story cabin was nestled within the place Holly called home. Not just now but for all her childhood holidays. The home Holly’s father had left her in his will.
Nick had barely parked the car before Vivian stepped onto the driveway. She stood there, staring at the structure, until Holly came to her side. Vivian sighed and took Holly’s hand.
Cupid bounded out of the car and sniffed around in the snow before sauntering to the front door, wagging his tail.
“Ready to go in?” Holly asked her mother.
“Yes.” Vivian beamed. “Let’s.”
Nick followed them to the porch while Holly fished the key out of her purse. Once they strode inside, everyone paused in the entranceway.
Vivian’s eyes were glassy as she gazed over the space. Holly couldn’t be sure, but she could swear her mom was holding her breath. Perhaps it was her way of stopping time to fully absorb her return to the cabin. Vivian released a slow sigh and made her way deeper into the house. Nick and Holly exchanged a look as they waited for Vivian to say something.
“This place belonged to his parents.” With a small smile, Vivian ran her hand along the fireplace mantle. “He helped his father—your grandfather—redo the floors. I think that’s where his love of carpentry stemmed from.”
Vivian let out a laugh, seeming lost in memories. “I can remember when we first brought you here, Holly. You’d just started walking, and your father was paranoid that you’d somehow get hurt. He went to a lot of trouble babyproofing every room. He did everything to keep you safe, and after all that, he had the sense of humor to accuse me of being overprotective.”
Though a pang of sorrow squeezed at her heart, Holly gave her mother a soft smile.
Vivian turned to Nick. “Holly learned to paint here, you know?”
“Is that right?” Nick prompted.
“Her father was repainting some furniture, and when he wasn’t looking, little five-year-old Holly picked up his paintbrush and gave everything in sight a fresh coat of white paint.”
A blush warmed Holly’s cheeks.
Vivian chuckled. “But instead of getting mad, my Jake saw the sparkle in her eyes and bought her some fingerpaints and a big block of paper. She spent hours with those paints. We went through them in two days and had to get her more.”
Holly gave her a sideways smile. “I’d like to think I’ve blossomed artistically since then.”
Vivian laid a hand on Holly’s arm. “You sure have.”
“I agree.” Nick crossed his arms and lifted his chin.
Vivian made her way over to the seven-foot tree in the living room, decorated with ornaments she and Holly’s father had bought when they were newlyweds.
“Jake always loved a good Christmas tree.” Vivian gently caressed one of the branches. “And this tree is gorgeous.”
Holly touched Nick’s arm. “Nick picked it out for you.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Vivian turned to Nick. “You work on a tree farm.”
“He owns it, Mom.” Holly looked between her mom and Nick.
Nick wrapped his arm around Holly’s waist, waggling his brows once. “She’s right, though. I work on it, too.”
Vivian winked. “I like him. He’s clever.”
“Mom, you should come take a look at the sleigh.” Holly indicated toward the garage with her head.
“Yes, let’s take a look.” Vivian straightened her blouse. “Tell me again how your father saved the Christmas festival tree decorating contest.”
Though they shared the story many times over video calls, Nick began telling it again. “We entered the state tree decorating contest to win the grand prize.”
“Nick’s father needed the money to cover the treatment of his Wilson’s disease,” Holly added.
“That’s the copper buildup in the body, right?” Vivian asked.
“Yeah.” Holly gestured for her mother to follow as she made her way to the door that led to the garage. “The whole town was in on it.”
“But the night before the judges arrived,” Nick continued, “a storm knocked down the beautiful, fully decorated, twenty-five-foot Christmas tree right into one of the festival stands.”
“It caught fire.” Holly opened the connecting door. “But Nick extinguished it.”
Vivian and Nick entered the garage, and Holly and Cupid followed.
“So we needed a new tree,” Nick went on.
“We drove through the dangerous storm to Nick’s farm,” Holly said.
“And we got a new tree. But my truck got stuck in the snow.”
“There was no cell reception.” Holly waved her hands back and forth.
Nick shook his head. “We were in a pickle.”
“But Dad’s sleigh was in the back of his truck.” Holly gestured at the tarped form in front of them.
“It was big enough to transport the new tree in the snow.” Nick stuffed his fists in his pockets. “All that was missing was a team of dogs to pull it.”
Holly smiled. “So I got Cupid to howl to call his siblings to come to the rescue.”
Vivian chuckled. “And there were nine of them, all named after the reindeer from the song?”
“Yep,” Holly answered.
Vivian clapped her hands together once. “That’s incredible.”
“And they saved the day.” Nick snaked an arm around Holly.
“And we won the contest.” Holly looked up at Nick with a grin.
Cupid barked as if wanting to add to the story.
Vivian patted Nick’s shoulder. “Your father’s a lucky man to have people in his life who love him so much.”
“He is, indeed.” Nick beamed.
“Well?” Vivian nudged him with her elbow. “Let’s see it.”
Nick pulled the tarp off the giant form in the middle of the garage, unveiling the handcrafted sleigh Jake St. Ives had spent years mastering.
Vivian’s hands flew to her face, and she pressed her palms against her cheeks. “It’s even more beautiful than I remember.” She ran her fingers along the side and patted the thick, red cushion—spacious enough for two adults—on the front bench. “It’s bigger than I recall, too.”
Cupid moved beside her, sniffing the sleigh.
Holly admired the perfectly sanded curves and polished rails.
Vivian faced her, tears pricking her eyes. “Your father loved working on this.” She stopped as her voice caught in her throat.
Holly placed an arm around her mother’s shoulders and squeezed.
Vivian’s smile turned into a lengthy yawn. She tried to stifle it with her hand, but there was no stopping it.
“Oh, Mom. You’re exhausted. It’s the middle of the night in the Philippines. You must be all mixed up.”
“It’s just a bit of jetlag. I’ve survived worse than missing a bit of beauty sleep.”
Holly shook her head. “Why don’t you lie down? We can catch up more after you’ve rested.”
Vivian waved her concerns away with an exaggerated flick of her hand. “That reminds me, Holly, dear. I have something for you.”
“That’s sweet, Mom, but I think it should wait until after you deal with your sleep deprivation. I’ve fixed up my old room for you. I hope that’s okay.”
“Okay, okay. Fine.” Vivian rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at the corners of her lips anyway.
“I wish you a nice rest.” Nick held open the door that led back inside. “We can take you to The Gingerbread House tomorrow if you’d like.”
“I’d love that.”