“Oh, that’s right!” The epiphany moment for Pastor Clemons came quickly, a soft smile touching his lips. “Your father could never let that go. I had many conversations with him overthe years, hoping he’d find peace. You were blessed. Mistakes happen, and he should enjoy God's love and gifts, though they come in strange moments, but he would never listen.”
“Yup, that was my father—stubborn and proud.”
“Well, he is at rest now with the Lord. Don’t worry yourself. He always loved you despite your strained relationship.”
His words resonated with Angela, and she knew she could speak freely as long as her comments were respectful and necessary. “I don’t know, maybe, but it hurt him the most.” Angela pointed her finger at Steven as he walked toward them.
“Steven. Is he in trouble?”
“More like troubled. No father all these years, no real man, not even Grandpa, takes its toll. I've tried to play both roles all these years and do right, but I think it wasn’t enough. He’s been a handful since he was ten, when I caught him smoking a cigarette some older kid gave him.”
“Ah.” The pastor looked thoughtful for a moment. “The good Lord helps us when we’re in need. Perhaps you and Steven will find what you're searching for back here in Mistletoe Harbor.”
There were no words, nothing she could say in response, when all she wanted was to get the matter over with so she could return home to Chicago and get back to her life. It felt good to be home, with no lack of love for her hometown, but the difficult feelings and memories of her father and Evander haunted her mind almost every second of the day.
“Maybe. Well, thank you, Father, for this. Having the burial here, where he went to church, means a lot to us.”
“Oddly, he never had a will. We spoke once or twice, but being beside your mother, he will find peace. He never had one after she passed. And you are welcome to use the hall next door afterwards. It will make things easier.”
“Thank you. Eve, you can’t climb in that fountain. It's not a bathtub.
His gentle, amused voice reached her as Angela moved to scoop Eve out of the fountain. “Of course.”
“You’ll be soaked to the bone, and it's too cold out here to be doing that. Come on.”
The air had grown colder since her arrival, and navigating back to the house was tricky as the grey skies darkened with what appeared to be snow. “I hope the next few days hold out, but one never knows in Mistletoe Harbor.”
“Maybe it will snow for Grandpa's burial,” Eve’s voice called from the backseat, where she sat looking out the window beside her older brother.
“Grandpa wouldn’t want snow. He always said he hated it.”
“And yet he continued to live in Mistletoe Harbor, Maine?” Steven asked, giving her a questioning look.
Angela didn’t know how to respond. “We live in Chicago, so explain that. Sometimes you don’t like certain things about where you live, and yet, you still live there.”
“You don’t like Chicago?” Steven seemed more curious than usual, even though his head was turned toward the window.
“I love Chicago and snow. I don’t mind it, well, not most of the time.” They’d pulled into the driveway. Before she had come to a full stop and completely shut off the engine, the back doors opened and the kids flew out, leaving the doors wide open.
“Wait, Eve, you have to?—”
Feeling the cold bite at her sweater-covered back, she cringed. "Ugh, that’s what I hate about Maine and Chicago—not being prepared!”
By the time she’d gotten out of the car, closing the back doors was no longer an option. “Oh no! Sadie! You have to get out of the car! We are not going for a car ride, come on! Max, don’t you dare!”
The Bernese mountain dog, which was nearly as big as a moose, could barely fit in the back seat and dove headfirst in, barking happily.
“Oh no, come on, guys!”
The front door was wide open, and Eve was standing there smiling. Charlie, Brownie, and Willow followed Max out the door, wagging their tails. “Ginger, you're the smart one staying inside, and I don’t blame you!”
The copper-colored poodle mix wagged her tail happily next to Eve, barking back in return.
Turning to admire the circus sideshow of dogs piled into the back seat of her car, Angela groaned. “Now what?”
Four
“Take them for a drive.” Steven stood behind Eve, looking just as amused as she was.
