No. She couldn’t think about that. Couldn’t go down that road.
The walls slammed back up, familiar and almost comforting in their solidity.
Gabe’s gaze found hers across the carriage, and their eyes held for a moment too long. Something passed between them. Recognition of shared pain. Understanding of what it meant to lose everything and still have to keep breathing, keep walking, keep pretending to be whole.
Both of them looked away quickly. It was too much. Too raw. Too close to things neither of them was ready to examine.
Jane focused on Maddy’s sleeping face. Safer there. Less likely to crack open the carefully maintained walls around her heart.
The carriage pulled up where it had started as the last light faded from the western sky. Trinity woke as they stopped, blinking sleepily up at her father.
“Are we back already?” she asked, her voice heavy with sleep.
Gabe smiled. “Already. Come on, sleepyhead.”
Trinity gently woke Maddy, who stretched and yawned before gathering her things. Both girls were practically bouncing again despite having been asleep moments before, excitement about their sleepover chasing away any lingering tiredness.
“We’re staying at your house!” Trinity squealed to Maddy as they walked toward the car.
“I know! We can watch Christmas movies, make popcorn, and stay up late!” Maddy’s enthusiasm matched Trinity’s perfectly.
Jane carefully extracted herself from Maddy’s weight, immediately missing the warmth even as she was grateful for the distance.
She automatically climbed into the driver’s seat. Once Gabe had settled the girls in the back, he climbed into the passenger seat. Twenty minutes later, they were pulling into the Christmas Inn’s parking lot.
Isabella and Christopher waited at the entrance, and Jane felt a pang seeing them. They both looked tired but happy. Flour still dusted Isabella’s sleeve, and Christopher’s hair was disheveled, but they stood close together with their shoulders touching. They fit naturally, like pieces of a puzzle that had found their match.
“How was it?” Isabella asked as the group approached.
“Amazing!” both girls chorused.
“The battery in my car died,” Isabella explained with an apologetic expression. “Christopher’s borrowing Charlie’s car to take us to my house.” She turned toChristopher with a grateful smile, and he returned it with something warm and intimate that made Jane look away.
That private moment wasn’t meant for her eyes.
Holly rushed down the stairs carrying Trinity’s overnight bag. “Almost forgot this!” She laughed and handed it to Gabe.
Chaos erupted as the girls hugged everyone, thank yous flying in all directions.
“Best night ever!” Maddy declared.
“The best!” Trinity agreed enthusiastically.
Jane stood trapped in the middle of it all, wanting to leave but not wanting to be rude. Holly’s arrival with the bag was the perfect excuse.
“Goodnight, everyone, and thank you for a wonderful evening,” Jane said quickly, already moving toward the door that led to the family’s private quarters.
Her eyes met Gabe’s briefly. His expression was unreadable, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. But then Trinity grabbed his attention.
“Dad, did you pack my toothbrush?”
The contact broke, and Jane took advantage of the distraction. She slipped away quickly toward the door connecting the inn to the family house.
Behind her, she could hear laughter and the girls’ excitedvoices. Christopher said something that made Isabella laugh, the sound warm and genuine. Normal sounds. Family sounds.
Everything Jane had lost.
Jane stepped through the door into the private hallway, and the door closed behind her with a soft click. The silence hit her like a physical blow. Sudden and absolute and suffocating.
