Page 88 of The Secret of Emerald Cottage

Chapter Forty-Seven

“We do have a lot to be thankful for,” Miss Lilly said as she raised a toast with her homemade apple cider at the onset of her special Thanksgiving dinner. Molly and Brec, Cat and Chase, and Pastor Dave and Sloan all followed suit. Despite the sunshine streaming through the slider doors on this crisp autumn day, candles flickered amid a homemade centerpiece of gold and scarlet leaves Molly had picked in the woods. In the center she’d arranged a bountiful display of pumpkins and gourds intertwined with vines of bittersweet berries in a long, rustic basket.

Bittersweet. Somehow apropos for this day of thanksgiving, Brec thought, given the hint of melancholy in his aunt’s tone that he knew stemmed from the loss of both Roy and Pete this year. Clinking her glass to both Brec’s and Molly’s on either side, she released a wispy sigh that confirmed her wistful mood. “Not the least of which is the end of this case.”

“Amen to that.” Brec followed his aunt’s lead with a clink all around, thinking he couldn’t agree more. This entire affair had brought a bit of a pall to his aunt, and he didn’t like that one bit. But then, it had also brought him home to her as well, resulting in the restoration of their once-close relationship, something for which he was most grateful.

He turned to tap Molly’s glass on his other side, toasting something else for which he was most grateful. He’d fallen in love for the first time in his sorry life with a woman he didn’t deserve, and he wasn’t about to mess it up. His talk with Molly a few nights ago after her nightmare had given him a clear plan of action to win her heart once and for all. His smile shifted off-center as he reached to clink glasses around the rest of the table, where Sloan sat on the other side with Cat and Chase and their twin boys, Cash and Dec, while Pastor Dave sat at the head.

With God’s help, of course, since my own track record hasn’t been stellar.

Flashing what he hoped was a convincing smile, he toasted with Pastor Dave, Cat and Chase first and then with Sloan, uttering a silent prayer he could get over this jealousy that arose whenever Kennedy looked Molly’s way. He knew he would once Molly committed to only him, of course, but unfortunately, she’d made it crystal clear that wasn’t going to happen till he treated Sloan more decently.

“He’s my friend and I want him to be your friend too.”

Brec buried a sigh over the difficulty of this demand. Not to mention her pleas to read those bloomin’ letters from his dad.

Thus the need for prayer.

Big time.

Picking at the turkey dinner she’d insisted on making, Aunt Lilly glanced around the table with a hint of sadness in her smile. “It’s hard to believe both Pete and Roy sat at this very table just last Thanksgiving,” she said softly, “because I always hated to see them eat alone.”

“I remember.” Pastor Dave’s mood, like Aunt Lilly’s, held a touch of malaise. “I think it was the highlight of Roy’s year, as much as he loved playing dominoes, and mine as well after my parents moved to Hawaii to live with my sister. With my commitments here, suddenly I found myself without family for most of the holidays, but you changed all of that, especially on Thanksgiving.”

“I’m so glad.” With a glaze of moisture in her eyes, Miss Lilly reached to give Pastor Dave’s arm a quick pat. “And I’m especially glad you were able to be here this afternoon, given how tired you must be after your visit with Alan and Marla this week.”

He gave a somber nod. “I wouldn’t have missed your Thanksgiving celebration for the world, Miss Lilly, which is why I made it a top priority to fly home this morning, despite Alan’s arm-twisting to stay.” He hoisted a forkful of dressing with a bright smile that seemed at odds with the melancholy look in his eyes. “It’s tradition, dear lady, and one for which I am most grateful, that you were kind enough to include us lonely bachelors in your holiday dinners.”

“Me too,” Chase said with a grin, bumping Cat’s shoulder with his own, “till this one reeled me in, that is.”

Cat smirked as she cut a piece of turkey. “Well I am the fishing pro in the family after all, Rev, although I did have a little help from above, I suppose.”

“A little?” Miss Lilly almost choked on her turkey. “I pert near wore holes in my great-room rug praying for you two young’uns, just a-waitin’ for you to wake up and smell the coffee.”

Molly wiggled her brows at Cat and Chase. “Mmm … so that’s where those bare spots came from.”

“Ha!” Aunt Lilly spooned cranberries in her mouth and swallowed with a smirk. “You should see the ones on the other side of my bed, girly-girl,” she said with a wink in Brec’s and Sloan’s direction, “worn clear through to the floorboards since you arrived.”

——

Molly’s cheeks immediately pulsed with heat, probably giving the cranberries a run for their money. Avoiding both Brec’s and Sloan’s gazes, she turned her attention to Pastor Dave, desperate to change the subject and more than a little curious about something as well.

“On another note,” she said with a pointed look at Aunt Lilly before turning her attention to Pastor Dave with a smile, “Miss Lilly told us you originally wanted to be a lawyer, but then switched over to Mercer University's School of Theology, which is quite a departure from your original intent.” She lifted a shoulder. “I guess I’m just curious as to why you changed your mind?”

Pastor Dave paused mid-chew, the question apparently catching him by surprise. “Well”—he swallowed his food—“I hated law school for one thing, even though Alan and I were best friends and roommates.” Molly thought she saw a glimmer of pain in his eyes as he took a quick drink, but it was gone so quickly, she wasn’t sure, although a malaise seemed to settle over him like a shroud. “Then Greg disappeared, and suddenly nothing seemed as important to me as the state of a man’s soul. So I …”—he shrugged with a sad smile—“quit law school to pursue God.”

“And every one of your parishioners is forever grateful, including me,” Chase said, handily catching a carrot his one twin threw at the other, popping it into his own mouth without blinking an eye.

“Me too!” Cat and Molly said in unison while Aunt Lilly gave a firm nod of assent and a strong “amen.”

Pastor Dave smiled as he poked at his turkey, as if his appetite had diminished somewhat. “Thank you, all, and I heartily concur.” His smile seemed to fade while he stared at his plate, eyes suddenly distant as if he were face to face with his past. “After Greg disappeared, I … needed something to lean on, and faith turned out to be a good fit.”

Fork in hand, Sloan toyed with his food as he peered at Pastor Dave. “I hope you don’t mind, sir, but I’m curious too. When Greg disappeared, did you and the other boys expect the worst?”

Pastor Dave grunted as he pushed at his mashed potatoes. “Hard not to with the police grilling us like they did, but none of us wanted to believe it. In denial, I guess. Especially since Greg would always talk about following his dream whenever he drank too much, to make fast money up in Alaska with a cousin who was a crabber. We always tried to talk him out of it, of course, because it’s a dangerous job”—he finally looked up with a smile—“not to mention a million miles away.” He sighed, mounding potatoes on his fork, then pausing before he took a bite. “So I think we all just hoped he ran away to Alaska. But deep down I don’t think any of us really believed that.”

One of the twins squealed in delight when the other put a pea up his nose, and the little boys’ giggles helped to ease the tension of the subject as Chase jumped up to remove said pea.