“Can you believe what we may have found?” Lila said, pulling Eve back to the present.
Brian leaned forward from the back seat. “I tried to ask my gran about William having a daughter, but my gran told me not to be nosy about other people’s business.” He rolled his eyes. “Which, considering who my grandmother is, is ironic.”
“We don’t know for sure if Mary was Williams’ daughter,” Eve pointed out, though her own mind was still reeling from what they’d seen. “All we have right now is a picture of William’s grandmother wearing the same locket that Mia has.” She glanced at Lila. “There could be more than one of those lockets in the world.”
“Very unlikely,” Lila said firmly. “That locket of Mom’s... there’s something not quite right about it.”
“Honey, you’ve seen what’s inside it,” Eve sighed. “Just a picture of your mother and grandmother.”
“I’m telling you there’s a lot more to it than both of you think,” Lila insisted. Her voice grew more animated. “It’s heavier than it should be for its size. The clasp is weird. The ruby sits slightly raised, like there’s something beneath it. And the way Mom never takes it off, ever, even in the shower? That’s not normal attachment to jewelry.”
Eve had to admit Lila had a point about that last part.
“Anyway,” Lila continued, “it distinctly said that the portrait was of William’s grandmother, Isabella Lillian Moore, wearing what became a very distinct Moore family heirloom. Designed and made by Isabella herself.”
“Well, Mia has always said that it was a gift from Mary to her on her eighth birthday,” Eve reminded them. Then she glanced in the mirror at Brian. “Did you find your photo, Brian?”
“No,” Brian said, his eyes darkening. “I know it sounds silly, but... I feel like I’ve lost a part of my dad.”
“It’s not silly at all,” Eve assured him warmly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it will turn up...”
“Aunt Eve,” Lila said suddenly, urgently. “We just shot past the turn.”
“What?” Eve slowed down, checking her mirrors before executing a careful U-turn. “Where?”
“There,” Brian pointed.
Eve turned down what looked less like a road and more like a track carved through dense forest. Trees pressed in on both sides, their branches creating a canopy overhead that blocked out most of the fading evening light.
“Are you sure this is a road?” Eve asked, her hands tightening on the wheel.
They traveled for what felt like forever, the SUV bouncing over ruts and roots, and Eve started to feel genuinely unsure. Had they taken a wrong turn? Was this even the right?—
Suddenly, the thick trees surrounding them on each side opened up, and there were two well-spaced cabins in front of her, lights glowing warmly from their windows.
Relief poured through her.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw David step out of one cabin, flanked by a dog that looked remarkably similar to Brandy from the Inn.
David’s face lit when he saw them, and Eve felt that now-familiar flutter in her chest.
She parked, and they all climbed out.
“You made it,” David said, his smile warm and genuine.
The dog bounded forward, tail wagging.
“This is Chaos,” David said. “You may have met his sister Brandy at the Christmas Inn.”
As if on cue, a couple emerged from the second cabin.
“Hi,” Milly and Dan emerged from the cabin beside David’s. After they all had something to drink in their hands, sitting around a slowly dying fire pit, Eve found herself relaxing despite the strange day they’d had.
“We need some more wood for the fire pit,” Dan said, motioning toward the sorry-looking fire in the fire pit.
“I’ll go get it,” David said.
“I’ll help,” Eve heard herself say.
