Chapter
TWENTY-ONE
Christmas Eve night fell over Ocean Avenue. The multicolored lights continued to twinkle through the dark, but the shops and cafés closed up, and the seats emptied as people returned home to spend the rest of the evening with their families. The performers celebrated with a short backstage party of cookies, hot cocoa, and Sugar Rush treats before they, too, began heading back home.
“Thank you, Miss Julia!” The pig-tailed cherub threw her arms around Julia’s waist.
Julia bent to embrace the little girl. “You did an awesome job, Maggie. All of you did. I hope you keep dancing.”
She hugged all the other Wee Tinsel Dancers and waved as their parents carted them out to their cars. A petite, elderly woman wearing a bright red suit embellished with a holly-berry corsage came toward her from the front of the stage.
Julia’s spine stiffened automatically. “Hello, Minnie.”
“Julia, that was spectacular.”
Julia blinked, not sure if she was more surprised by the compliment or the fact that Minnie had gotten her name right. “Thank you so much.”
“The best Deck the Halls we’ve had.” Minnie patted Julia’s arm. “Everyone will be talking about it for months. And we have an opening on the Holiday Festival committee for next year, so I do hope you’ll consider our nomination.”
Julia demurred with a polite, “I’ll think about it. Thank you for the vote of confidence.”
Minnie patted her arm again and headed toward the stage doors. Julia collected her coat and handbag from a storage locker. If she’d pleased Minnie the Pitbull, then the event really had been a success.
“Nice work.” Marco approached, his thick-lashed eyes fatigued but his smile as wide as ever. “You did it.”
“We did it,” Julia corrected. “I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done.”
“Are you still mad at me?” he asked.
“No. In fact, you might find a surprise in your next paycheck. Don’t tell anyone I said that.”
“Never.” Marco grinned at her and started toward the door.
“Marco.”
He turned.
“Merry Christmas,” Julia said. “Take the next week off. I’ll see you in the new year.”
“This…” He waved a hand around as if to encompass all of her, “…is a fabulous look on you, Miss Julia.”
She smiled. He waved and did a little hop and a skip out the stage door.
Julia checked her phone, pleased to see a message from Gail that baby Emma Jane had been born an hour ago, a healthy seven pounds, ten ounces. Both mother and daughter were doing beautifully, and Grandma was over the moon.
Julia sent her congratulations and best wishes, then pulled on her coat and walked out to the dark, empty stage. An increasingly cold wind swept in from the ocean, and the fog had thickened to the point that it blurred the streetlights.
Exhilaration still sparkled like glitter in her blood. She stopped in the middle of the stage, her gaze sweeping over the empty seats and deserted sidewalks. A lone figure sat in the middle of the seats, his presence as welcome and comforting to her as a crackling fire on a snowy night.
Julia started down the stage steps. He stood and walked toward her. They met halfway. Warren’s warm brown gaze seemed to drink her in, though he kept his hands in his coat pockets as if he weren’t sure whether or not he should touch her.
“You’re amazing,” he said, his voice rough with emotion.
“I still can’t believe I did that.”
“I can.”
Of course he could. He’d always believed in her, even when the world had tossed her around like a ship on the sea.
“Where are the kids?” she asked.
“They all went home. They knew you’d be tired and said they would see you tomorrow.”
Tomorrow was Christmas Day. For the first time since she’d returned to Indigo Bay, there would be no big family celebration.
She and Warren returned to her house. Silence and darkness filled the room, unrelieved by any bright Christmas decorations. Julia stripped out of her gown and showered before putting on a cotton nightgown and crawling into bed beside Warren.
Though uncertainty still hung over them like a cloud, his body was so warm and solid that she drifted into an easy sleep. She woke still nestled against his side and shifted to look at him.
“Merry Christmas.” He brushed his lips across her forehead.
I love you.
Still the words stuck in her throat. They wouldn’t be her Christmas gift to him this year.
She pressed her face to his chest. Despite the success of Deck the Halls, a hollow feeling still opened inside her. “I wish it was the same as always.”
“Things change, Jules. Life changes. Sometimes in bad ways, sometimes in good. This is good. We’re good.”
But they couldn’t be good if there would always be a wedge between them and Warren’s children. Warren and Rebecca’s children.
“I’m going to New York tomorrow morning for my meeting with Evermore,” Julia said. “I think the time apart will be good for us all. I guess we won’t see each other until after the new year.”
“I’m not going on the climb.”
She looked up at him. “Not because of me. I refuse to be the one stopping you.”
“No. Just bad circumstances.” He ran his hand over her hair. “It’s okay. There’ll be another chance next year.”
But would there? Wasn’t that what life was about—grabbing what you could while it was there? Because there might not be another chance.
“What are the circumstances?” she asked.
His jaw tightened. He pulled away from her and sat on the edge of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees. “Bad attacks of vertigo. Ringing and pressure in my ears. No diagnosis, but the doctor ruled out any serious conditions. Unfortunately if I have an attack on the damned climb… I can’t risk it. Not when there are four other guys with me. I won’t.”
Julia’s heart squeezed painfully. Though she couldn’t deny her relief that he wouldn’t risk the arduous, dangerous expedition, she hated that he had to contend with the disappointment and, knowing him, the feeling that he’d somehow failed.
She rose to her knees and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “I’m so sorry.”
He patted her arm. “Well, it’s Christmas Day. Let’s make eggnog waffles or something ridiculous like that.”
Julia kissed the back of his neck before he stood and headed out of the room. She went to her computer at the desk in her bedroom and did some internet searching. She printed out a few pages and brought them to Warren, who was making a pot of coffee in the kitchen.
“Remember those acupressure classes you took to help with my migraines?” She spread the printouts on the counter. “Looks like acupressure can help treat vertigo and dizziness too. There’s one point below your wrist called pericardium six.”
Warren glanced at the papers, his eyebrows lifting. “But does the acupressure actually help your migraines?”
“To a degree, yes.” She took his arm and found the pericardium six point. “Right here. There’s also a point between your eyebrows and one at the back of your neck. The next time you have an attack, we’ll try these and see if they help.”
“Good idea. Thanks.”
Pleased that she was able to offer a small suggestion considering all he’d done for her, Julia stacked the papers and set them by her handbag as a reminder to look around for an acupressure class she could take.
“Why don’t I stay here for the next week instead of going to New York?” she suggested casually as he handed her a cup of coffee. The Matterhorn climb was scheduled for the week after Christmas, and she suspected the forthcoming days would be rough on him—being home while his friends completed the expedition.
“I can reschedule my appointment with Peck,” she continued.
Warren sent her a mildly stern look. “You’re going to New York. You’ve worked hard for this, and you’re not giving it up for my sake.”
“But I—”
“Ho ho ho!”
A male voice suddenly broke through the house. Sleigh bells jangled. A cacophony of voices burst into the kitchen as the front door opened.
Julia startled, her heart leaping. Her six nephews stomped into the foyer, all wearing Santa hats and red-and green striped scarves. They held green wreaths, boughs tied with ribbon, stockings stuffed with goodies, and—at the forefront—Tyler and Spencer carried a small decorated Christmas tree.
“What in the world…?” Julia stared at them.
“Since things got a little derailed this year, we figured we wouldn’t have Christmas as usual,” Luke said.
“And we’ve been feeling bad after Dad gave us that lecture about all the work you were doing,” Carson explained. “So we decided to bring Christmas to you instead.”
Julia’s heart flooded with warmth. Beside her, she felt Warren smile.
“Thank you,” she told the boys. “I love you all so much.”
“And a good thing too,” Tyler said. “But there’s no way you’re finding the pickle.”