The Holiday Secret. Kathryn Springer
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Название: The Holiday Secret
Автор: Kathryn Springer
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
isbn: 9781474097543
isbn:
Carter glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see the woman standing next to Anna’s twins lift her face toward the sky. The scarf slipped a few inches and Carter almost stomped on the brake, which would have made him responsible for a massive pileup of reindeer and musical instruments he would have been hard-pressed to explain to his supervisor.
Several people in the crowd shifted position, blocking Carter’s view, but he knew he hadn’t been imagining things. A delicate profile. A swatch of hair as dark and glossy as a coffee bean.
Ellery. Incognito.
Carter’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Why had she brought Bea to the parade?
A question you’d probably know the answer to if you’d listened to your mom’s voice mail, an inner voice chided.
But Carter had been helping a young mother locate the car keys her toddler had tossed in a snowbank a few minutes before the parade started and then a guy had tried to drive around the barricade...
Now he wished he’d taken the time.
It wasn’t that Carter didn’t trust his mom’s judgment. He did. What he didn’t trust was the tiny spark of something that flickered to life whenever Ellery was nearby. Like finding an ember in the ashes of a fire you thought had been stamped out.
He’d been burned once before, though, when he’d listened to his heart and not his head.
“Look, Miss El’ry.” Bea’s voice dropped to an almost reverent whisper as they strolled down one of the snowy paths fanning out from the pavilion after the parade. “Ponies!”
Ellery followed the little girl’s gaze to a sleigh parked under a nearby lamppost. She smiled at the description. Not ponies, but a matched pair of coal-black Friesians. The team stood shoulder to shoulder, their breath creating plumes of frost in the air. The bearded driver, clad in a buffalo-check flannel shirt and bib overalls, resembled the lumberjacks in the sepia photographs on display in Karen’s gathering room.
Ellery was about to suggest they walk over and say hello, but Bea had already changed direction. Ellery’s feet almost slid out from under her as she struggled to keep up.
The driver flicked the brim of his wool cap when they approached. “Good evening, ladies. Stanley Potter at your service. Are you ready for a little jaunt around the park?”
Bea clapped her hands over her mouth and the only sound that slipped out was a tiny squeak.
Ellery laughed. “I think that means yes.”
“Up you go, then.” Stanley held out a gloved hand and helped them onto a narrow wooden bench behind the driver’s seat. “Diamond and Opal will be happy to take you on a scenic tour of the town.”
He clicked his tongue and the team lurched forward, the rows of tiny silver bells attached to their leather harnesses playing a merry tune.
She studied the storefronts as the sleigh turned onto main street, hoping to see her brothers’ last name on one of the signs. Ellery’s brief online search before she’d left home hadn’t yielded any clues as to what her brothers did for a living, nor did they show up on any of the popular social media sites.
But then again, Ellery didn’t, either. Her parents had stressed the importance of connecting with people face-to-face and encouraged Ellery to do the same.
But what if there’d been more to it than that? What if they’d been afraid that her biological family would somehow find her?
Even as the thought sprang into Ellery’s head, it felt like a betrayal.
Lord, I’m questioning everything these days...
“Whoa!”
Ellery grabbed Bea’s hand as Stanley pulled back on the reins.
The team tossed their heads in response to the abrupt command but obeyed. The center of the street seemed like an unusual place to stop, so Ellery leaned forward.
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure,” came the cheerful response. “We’ve never been pulled over before.”
Pulled over?
Ellery twisted around. Felt her stomach drop all the way down to the toes of her boots when she saw Carter’s lean frame unfold from the driver’s seat of the squad car.
Karen had assured Ellery that she would let Carter know about the change in plans, but apparently, he hadn’t received the memo.
Bea, whose gaze had been riveted on the horses, let out a squeal of delight when she saw the man striding toward them.
“We saw you in the parade, Daddy!” Bea said, pride shining in her eyes. “Can I go with you next time? Hannah got to ride on a float with her daddy.”
“I’m afraid it’s against the rules, sweetheart,” Carter explained. “You have to have a badge like mine to ride in the squad car.”
Bea deflated against the seat. “Okay.”
Ellery saw something flash in Carter’s eyes. Guilt? Regret?
Life, Ellery had learned in the past year, was too short for either one. Bea might not be able to ride in the squad car, but that didn’t mean father and daughter still couldn’t make another special memory.
And just like that, her mission changed.
Ellery’s father, a renowned neurosurgeon, had worked long hours and been on call, too, so her parents had had to be creative and flexible when it came to spending time together. Ellery treasured those memories even more now that they were gone.
“Maybe your daddy can ride with us in the sleigh,” she heard herself say.
Carter’s expression was much easier to read this time.
Disbelief.
In for a penny, in for a pound, as Ellery’s mother used to say. “When are you off duty?”
“Five minutes ago,” Carter admitted slowly, eyes narrowing on her face as if he was searching for an ulterior motive behind the question.
Ellery preferred to think of it as taking advantage of a memory-making opportunity.
“Mr. Stanley won’t mind, Daddy!” Bea was already scooting over to make room on the bench. “It’ll be fun!”
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