We would eat our holiday meal tonight here as a family. Wesley had built two long benches for our dining table so that we would all be able to gather together.

  “I’ll make sure they know it needs to dry first,” I said to June as I put the pie in the oven and hurried to the front door.

  By the time I arrived, Wesley had managed to get the tree to the porch steps. He lifted it upright and grabbed the trunk in the middle, then shook it to get the snow off the branches. I shivered in the cold air, having come out without my shawl or coat.

  “Do you like the one we chose?” Wesley asked.

  “It’s large,” I said. “Will it fit?” The tree was as tall as Wesley.

  “Yes, yes, Sister. It’s just the right size.”

  I backed up as Wesley brought the tree up the stairs and leaned it against the wall. The scent of fir needles and pitch filled my nose.

  “I’ll nail some boards to the bottom for a stand.” Wesley took off his cap. “I worked up a sweat getting it here.”

  Gus and Sadie trudged up the stairs to stand beside me. She wore a knit cap, mittens, and a red coat. Her cheeks and nose were pink from the cold. Since we’d come here, she’d filled out and no longer looked as if a good wind would blow her away from me. “We didn’t have to go far to find it,” Sadie said.

  “Just to the edge of the woods,” Wesley said.

  “When can we decorate?” Sadie asked at the same moment Gus decided to shake all the snow from his body.

  “Gus, you’re making a mess,” I said, laughing. “As soon as the tree dries a bit, we can bring it in.”

  For most of December, we’d been working on ornaments for our first family Christmas. Wesley had coerced delicate twigs into crosses and stars. Sadie and I had cut tissue paper into snowflakes. Lillian, in front of her own fire, had knitted red yarn into miniature stockings and wreathes. Mollie had strung red berries I’d collected in the fall.

  Luckily, the men had been able to finish Dax and Mollie’s cottage by the first snow. They’d wanted a small one-bedroom without a second story, and the work was quick with three men working together. When spring came, they would help Dax build planting beds and fences to keep out the deer.

  “Come inside for now. June’s made hot chili for lunch. Everyone’s coming over at four to decorate the tree before our Christmas Eve feast.”

  “And presents?” Sadie asked.

  All over the house, I’d hidden surprises for Christmas morning. A set of paints for Sadie and a book of birds of the Northeast, her latest fascination. For Wesley, I’d ordered a new pair of leather driving gloves. We’d had a new coat made for Rose cut from soft pink wool. I’d found a beautiful scarf for Lillian. Wesley had ordered a spy glass for Roland to match the one we had.

  Dax and Mollie arrived first, carrying two wrapped packages.

  “I thought we said no gifts,” I said, dismayed.

  “Don’t fuss, now,” Mollie said. “It’s just a few trinkets for the lass.”

  “You’ll spoil her,” I said.

  “All the more reason to have a baby,” Mollie said.

  Dax caught my eye, and we laughed. “My wife needs more to do.”

  “I’m growing fat as a piglet in retirement,” Mollie said. “There’s nothing to keep me from cooking and eating all day.”

  “You are not growing fat,” I said. Anyway, I had an idea about what she could do to keep busy. I was going to propose the idea at dinner.

  Lillian and Rose, who had brought presents earlier, arrived with a bowl of smashed potatoes and a basket of rolls. Last year, Sadie and I had shared a few slices of bread and two potatoes. It was hard to believe that was only a year ago.

  “Merry Christmas, beautiful Luci,” Rose said.

  “Same to you.” I kissed her and helped her out of her coat. Since moving in with Lillian, she’d lost the haunted look in her eyes. Roland and Wesley had promised to build her a cottage in the spring. She’d confided in me that she liked being with Lillian, even though she worried she was in the way of the newlyweds. Lillian had said nothing of the sort to me. In fact, she loved having Rose there, not only for the company and the running of the house but because it had given them a second chance to know each other. Also, Lillian was going to have a baby. Only I knew. She’d told me just yesterday and had asked me to keep it secret so she could announce it at Christmas Eve dinner.

  Sadie came running up to hug Rose and then Lillian. “The tree’s here already,” Sadie said.

  “Isn’t it exciting?” Lillian’s cheeks glowed from the cold.

  “Where’s Roland?” Wesley asked as he hung up her coat.

  “He’s on his way. He only just got home and wanted to clean up a bit. He opened the shop early so he could close and get home before dark. He didn’t want to miss out on any last-minute shoppers.”

  June came out from the kitchen with a tray of hot toddies for the adults and a cup of cider for Sadie.

  “Is it time yet?” Sadie hopped from one foot by the tree. We’d set it near the window seat to keep if far away from the fire.

  “Yes, it’s time,” I said.

  Sadie hung the ornaments on the bottom of the tree, while Lillian focused on the top. Mollie supervised what went where. Rose and I sat together on the window seat and watched. The men chatted by the fire, not paying much attention to us.

  “I had a letter from Mother,” Lillian said.

  “Really?” I asked. None of us had heard from her since the day we left. “What did she say?”

  “She married the artist, and the estate has been sold. She’s having the piano sent to me.”

  “That’s nice for you,” Rose said. “You’ve missed it so.”

  “And for us,” Sadie said. “Now we’ll have music.”

  “Be careful, little Sadie.” Lillian pointed at her with one of the knitted ornaments. “I’ll be giving you lessons.”

  “I’d rather listen,” Sadie said, quite seriously.

  They continued chatting about favorite Christmas hymns and how next year we could have Lillian play for us. We’d also have a baby added to the family. I could hardly wait for Rose to learn of the baby that was coming.

  “Quite a thing, isn’t it?” Rose asked me. “That we’re here.”

  I patted her hand. “It’s a miracle, if you want to know the truth.”

  We were all seated around the table, Wesley and I on either end. I’d insisted that June sit with us for our meal, even though she’d protested. She seemed happy sitting between Mollie and Lillian. I hoped she wasn’t too homesick for her family. She wasn’t the kind to ever say a negative word, so I couldn’t be sure.

  “Shall we pray?” I asked.

  “Yes, I’ll do the honors,” Wesley said.

  We took one another’s hands. I held Sadie’s small warm hand in my own and Rose’s strong one in the other. We bowed our heads.

  “Thank you, Lord, for the food we are about to receive,” Wesley said. “And that we’re all together, warm and healthy. Our hearts are full and thankful.”

  A chorus of amens followed, and then we began to pass the food around. When all the plates were full, Lillian raised her glass. “I have something to say.”

  Everyone turned to look at her. She and Roland were sitting across from each other on either side of Wesley. She fixed her gaze on her husband. “I’m happy to announce that Roland and I will be having a baby right around May, if my calculations are accurate.”

  Roland’s expression went blank, as if someone had punched him. Thankfully, in the next moment, he broke into a grin. “I’m going to be a father?”

  Lillian beamed back at him. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  Roland leapt up from the end of the bench and crossed over to pull his wife up from her seat to hug her and then twirl her around.

  “Be careful,” Mollie said. “She has a baby in there.”

  Roland set Lillian back on her feet and kissed her before escorting her back to the end of the bench.

  Wesley clapped his best friend on the shoulder. “Congratulations, brother.”

  “Does this mean I’m an aunt to the baby?” Sadie asked. “Or a cousin?”

  Lillian laughed. “In this family, who knows? Let’s just say cousin, since you’re only five.”

  “Six,” Sadie said. “Remember, my birthday was last week.”

  “Right, excuse me,” Lillian said. “I forgot.”

  I snuck a glance at Rose. She was dabbing at her eyes with a napkin.

  “What do you think, Mama?” Wesley asked her. “Is this a good Christmas gift?”

  “I’m going to be a grandmother,” Rose said. “A dream come true.”

  “You’ll be a great one, Mama Rose,” Roland said.

  “Another chance,” Rose said. “And to think I’m here with you all. It’s . . . just . . . there are no words.”

  There were no words to describe my joy, so I understood what she felt but could not say. After Lillian’s happy news, we all dug into our meal, laughing and talking. When we’d stuffed ourselves, I asked Sadie to take Gus outside for a potty break. “Afterward, we’ll open presents.”

  She squealed and ran out of the room, with Gus at her heels.

  “We have something exciting to share with you, but we wanted to tell you about it without Sadie being here,” I said. “Wesley and I, along with Roland and Lillian, have come up with an idea—a way to give back for how fortunate we are. We’re opening a home for unwed mothers. Only, unlike the nunnery, we’re going to do it the right way. They’ll be provided a place to live and give birth but with the understanding that it’s their choice about whether or not they keep the baby or give it up for adoption.”

  “In addition, we’ll provide them the opportunity to learn skills while they’re there,” Wesley said. “Ways for them to support themselves if they decide to keep the child. Or, if they have no family to go back to.”

  “How would you do this?” Rose asked softly.

  “Each of the young ladies would be assigned a role when they arrive: cooking, laundry, maid, dining hall, seamstress, nurse, typing, gardening, depending on their interests and aptitude. After the baby’s born, they would have a skill they could use. We’ve hired a doctor and a nurse, who have agreed to work for us full-time. They’ll take care of the girls but also teach medical skills to any who want to be nurses or home-care providers.”

  “How will you fund this?” Mollie asked.

  “We’ve lined up a few benefactors,” Wesley said. “Through contacts from school.”

  “We pulled in some favors,” Roland said. “And got in touch with some wealthy widows who are sympathetic to the cause.”

  “Also, because the girls will work while they’re there, it requires less than it otherwise would,” I said.

  “I’m donating the land and building,” Wesley said. “We’re drawing up plans now to start in the spring.”

  “What about the other skills?” Mollie asked. “Who would teach them those?”

  Wesley flashed her his best smile. “That’s where you come in.”

  “Me?”

  “Who better qualified than you to teach domestic skills? You could train them in proper housekeeping etiquette for working for wealthy families, as an example,” Wesley said. “Or how to set a proper table.”

  “All the forks,” Lillian said as she smiled at me.

  “Or how to keep the books for a household,” I said. “And manage a wine cellar. We’re hoping that, over time, our school will develop a reputation and people will want to hire the girls simply because they know they’re well trained.”

  “Also, we’ve hired a head cook,” Wesley said. “I’ve been in touch with Mrs. Walker, and she’s agreed to come.”

  “I’m going to teach sewing,” June said. “But only the kind where they need to learn to sew for themselves.”

  “There’s a seamstress in town who said she is willing to take an apprentice.”

  “We’re hoping Dax will teach gardening,” I said. “As a skill for either their own use or for a job.”

  “I’d be happy to,” Dax said.

  “We want to help young women who are in the situation I was in,” I said. “Alone with a baby and no skills.”

  “Or like you, Mama,” Wesley said. “Not given the chance to keep your children.”

  “We’re still looking for a typing and shorthand teacher,” I said. “But Lillian’s agreed to help us find someone from her friends at school.”

  Dax looked from one of us to the other. “I couldn’t be prouder than I am right now.”

  “We learned kindness from you,” Wesley said. “It’s us who should be thanking you.”

  Christmas morning, I woke early. Instead of jumping up as I often did, I remained in bed for a few minutes, luxuriating in the warmth trapped beneath the down comforter. Wesley slept on his side facing away from me. I curled myself around him. He caught hold of my arm and pulled it close to his chest, then returned to the steady breathing of sleep. For a few minutes, I listened to the sound of his breathing and felt his heartbeat against my arm.

  Then I scooted away from him, disentangling my arm and moving to my side of the bed. I shivered in the cold room as I reached for my robe. As quietly as I could, I tiptoed out of the room in my stocking feet. The Maine winters were bitter, and even newlyweds wore socks to bed. I peeked in on Sadie. She was still sound asleep, but Gus lifted his head. He must have been hungry because he decided to follow me down to the kitchen.

  I’d instructed June to sleep in and that I would get the fires started. I started a fire in the hearth and in the cookstove.

  “Come on, boy. Go out and then I’ll give you some breakfast.” I opened the kitchen door, and he ran outside, traipsing through snow that reached his belly.

  I left the door open an inch. He knew how to open it fully with his paw. I scooped coffee into the percolator and set it on the stove. My husband liked his coffee first thing.

  Gus pushed open the door and sauntered in, looking up at me with pleading eyes. “I know, you’re hungry.”

  I put food in his bowl and set it near the stove so he would be warm.

  He scarfed it all down in what seemed like two bites.

  “You eat too fast. Don’t you want to savor it?” I asked him.

  He wagged his tail as if that would get him a second breakfast.

  I tossed together a pan of biscuits using fresh butter we’d gotten from a local farmer. While they baked, I fried up bacon slices. The smell, no matter how many mornings we were blessed with it, made my mouth water. Such abundance. I hoped I’d never take it for granted.

  When the bacon and biscuits were done, I covered them with towels. We would eat when everyone was up. It was Christmas, after all. I poured a cup of coffee, then went out to the front room and sat on the window seat to watch the snow fall. On mornings such as this, the ocean and horizon were a study of grays and whites. The only sounds were the crashing of the waves onto the shore, until the creak of the stairs told me Wesley was awake.

  I turned from the window as he crossed the room toward me. My stomach fluttered at the sight of him, as it always did.

  “Merry Christmas, my love.” He hadn’t yet shaved and was dressed in a flannel shirt and the denim pants he wore for his morning chores. I was perfectly capable of bringing in firewood or shoveling the walkways, but he wouldn’t have it.

  “Merry Christmas.” I smiled up at him and waited for his kiss. In our cottage by the sea, we were creatures of habit already.

  He left me to grab a cup of coffee. I heard his familiar movements in the kitchen—the rattle of the coffee pot, an opening of a drawer to get a spoon, the clank of it against the cup as he stirred. He liked his coffee with a teaspoon of sugar. I smiled to myself. These small daily rituals added up to a happy life. One neither of us took for granted. I didn’t think we ever would.

  Wesley joined me, spreading his legs out long and entangling them with mine so that we were bookends on the window seat.

  “I’ve dreamt of this moment since the first time I ever saw you,” he said. “Just like this.”

  “That’s the difference between you and me. I never had enough hope to dream of such a happy life. To me, hope was dangerous.”

  “Perhaps I hoped with enough conviction for the both of us.”

  “Perhaps you did.”

  And so we stayed thus, watching the snow fall and waiting for Sadie and Gus to scamper down the stairs. I hadn’t known until Wesley had come back to me that my heart could feel actually swollen with love.

  “I knew it would be this way. If I could only find my way back to you.”

  “Tomorrow finally came.”

  A pairing of souls could not be kept apart. No matter how hard the world, love would find its way. Even to a girl like me. One simply had to keep living, breathing, carrying on until tomorrow came.

  Also by Tess Thompson

  CLIFFSIDE BAY

  * * *

  Traded: Brody and Kara

  Deleted: Jackson and Maggie

  Jaded: Zane and Honor

  Marred: Kyle and Violet

  Tainted: Lance and Mary

  Cliffside Bay Christmas, The Season of Cats and Babies (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Tainted)

  Missed: Rafael and Lisa

  Cliffside Bay Christmas Wedding (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Missed)

  Healed: Stone and Pepper

  Chateau Wedding (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Healed)

  Scarred: Trey and Autumn

  Jilted: Nico and Sophie

  Kissed (Cliffside Bay Novella to be read after Jilted)

  Departed: David and Sara

  Cliffside Bay Bundle, Books 1,2,3

  * * *

  BLUE MOUNTAIN SERIES

  * * *

  Blue Midnight

  Blue Moon

  Blue Ink

  Blue String