In the morning, gifts were exchanged: a warm robe for Grandma, a gorgeous alpaca sweater for Maddie. For the men: new chest waders for Joe to wear in the cranberry bogs; a kayak for Rafe to explore the ponds and the creeks; and a top-of-the-line PFD (“Personal Flotation Device,” Rafe explained) for Stephen, so he could accompany his grandson on salt water boating adventures. Santa had also left stockings filled with edible and non-edible carefully selected small gifts for everyone.
Then Rafe handed his mother a special package: the photo Joe had taken of Rafe and Maddie on their first Cranberry Day. It was framed and ready for a place of honor on the mantel.
With presents now shared, and the Christmas tree twinkling, they crowded around the table and savored Grandma’s cranberry bread, roasted chestnuts, and hot cocoa. Which was what they were doing when a knock came on the front door.
“Get your coats,” Joe said after he opened the door that Grandma still didn’t like to lock. “It’s time for a short walk.”
Maddie knew what was coming next.
They donned their coats over their pajamas; it took Grandma a minute to zip hers over her new robe. At Maddie’s suggestion, they changed out of their slippers into shoes, then went out the door. Whoever had done the knocking was no longer there.
They followed Joe around to the back of the cottage and up the slope toward the small pine grove that led to the parking area. Rex—the secret knocker—was there, arms folded, leaning against his vehicle. Next to him stood Orson, Grandma’s 1950 F-1 Ford pickup that glistened bright red now,with gleaming black bumpers and running boards, and a shiny new chrome grill. A huge green bow adorned its roof.
“Oh!” Grandma squealed. “He’s finished!”
Without a word, Rex handed Grandma the keys.
“Grandma?” Rafe exclaimed. “Is this your truck?”
She shook her head and moved next to him, her little frame looking tinier next to his tall, sturdy one. “No,” she said, her voice cracking. “Orson is yours now. Merry Christmas, grandson. And Happy Early Graduation.”
Rafe’s blue eyes grew wide and quickly filled with tears. He raised a hand and pressed his fingers to his mouth—apparently, he couldn’t speak. So he leaned down and wrapped Grandma in one of his hugs.
And Maddie’s heart was full.
At that point, she figured everyone was crying or trying not to, but it was hard to tell through her own tears. The wordmomentouscame to mind.
After a few minutes, Rafe insisted they go for a ride. He and Grandma settled inside the cab; Joe climbed into Orson’s bed in case of mechanical failure, and Stephen joined him—not that the political science professor knew diddly about drive shafts or pistons.
“I guess Rafe is happy,” Rex said after the others left and he and Maddie wandered down to the beach. The air was still and silent, except for the rhythmic lap of the gentle waves of Vineyard Sound against the shore. Rex slipped his hand around hers; the gesture felt as natural to her as waking up in the morning.
“That’s an understatement,” she replied with a quiet smile. Then she moved closer. “I have a gift for you back at the cottage.” Because there had been little to do while she and Grandma Nancy had waited at Rex’s cabin for the cottage renovations to be finished, Maddie had convinced Grandma to teach her to knit. The result was a chunky, soft, powder-bluethrow made of alpaca yarn; she hinted that it was something they might enjoy together.
“Oh?” he asked. “Well, as it happens, I have your gift right here.”
They stopped walking; he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. A strip of sparkling silver ribbon had been looped and twisted into a bow and tied around the wrapping of white coated paper. She looked up at him, bit her lip, and quickly opened the box. Inside, cocooned in shiny silver paper, sat a silver bangle bracelet that showcased a polished oval piece of wampum framed in sterling. Without thinking, Maddie touched one of her earrings.
“The earrings,” she said. “The bracelet is almost the same.”
“I noticed,” he said, leaning toward her for a closer look. “I hope it doesn’t mean that I have competition.”
Maddie laughed. “They were my mother’s.”
“I confess,” he said with a sly grin. “Your grandmother told me about them. She helped me pick out the bracelet so it would be a close match.”
Slipping it around her wrist, Maddie then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “I love it. You are amazing, Rex Winsted.”
He pulled her into a soft embrace and said, “As are you, Madelyn Clarke.”
Chapter 11
Astorm was due on New Year’s Eve—snow or ice, maybe both, or so the weather folks predicted. Maddie reviewed the guest list: Joe (not that family should be considered a guest); Rex, of course; Kevin and Taylor; Maddie’s mother’s childhood friend Evelyn, along with Evelyn’s son, Brandon (who was also Maddie’s attorney), and Brandon’s husband, Jeremy; Lisa and her husband, Mickey (from down the hill); and Francine and Jonas, who was Taylor’s son and therefore Kevin’s stepson and Rex’s nephew. Luckily, Francine’s assistant at the Inn, a girl named Lucy, whom Maddie hadn’t met yet, was home from college for the holidays and said she’d stay on Chappy, cover for Francine at the Inn, and babysit Francine and Jonas’s little kids. With Rafe and Stephen, Grandma and Maddie, the number totaled fifteen. Maddie wasn’t sure if fifteen adults would fit into the cottage all at once. She’d asked Rex if he would bring a few folding chairs from somewhere (the restaurant? The Inn? It didn’t matter). He said sure. Of course, he’d already offered to cater the party, but Maddie had declined.
“Bring one appetizer and maybe one dessert,” she said. “Grandma and I will do the rest. I need to try my hand at entertainingfor the first time in my life.” When she and Owen were married, he insisted that their parties were catered; he said that way, if anything failed, their guests would have others to blame and not her. Later, social functions at the college always were on the campus and the food service folks provided an elaborate array of hors d’oeuvres that tended to taste the same. But Maddie had been off the entertaining hook there, too.
Still radiating with the happy buzz of Christmas, Grandma eagerly helped Maddie plan the menu and pick out music for party ambience—a “playlist,” Rafe called it, and said he’d sync it to his laptop, which would be easier than pulling discs in and out of Grandma’s CD player. Grandma didn’t argue; after all, she’d been teaching him to make her traditional baskets, and he’d been chauffeuring her around in reborn Orson, and it was clear she was convinced that he could do no wrong.
Rafe also ran countless errands for party items, as did Joe and Stephen. Incredibly, everyone finished their tasks before the sun went down at four thirty on New Year’s Eve. Even more incredible, the potential storm had traveled out to sea, so Maddie didn’t have to wonder if she could freeze the cream cheese and shrimp dip, the baked brie with cranberries, and the pecan-stuffed mushrooms, or if the residents of the cottage would spend days surviving on nothing but.
