Page 84 of One Last Gift

I’ve thought long and hard about how to do this, and in the end, tradition seemed right. So here’s the thing. If you want to, I’ve got one more Christmas treasure hunt for you to do. But unlike Tom’s, this one has only one clue, and there’s no secret of what’s at the other end: me. The choice is yours. If you solve it, if you come, then I’ll be waiting. And if not…Well, I guess I know your answer.

Sam

Sam. His name reverberated around her mind as she read it one more time, and the tingle in her fingertips spread along her arms, straight to her chest.

“He’s…” She hitched in a breath and looked up at Josh and Hazel. “It’s Sam. He wants me to…follow a clue.” She stared at them both, dumbfounded. “How…How is this even possible? How did he know I’m here?” Probably not the most important thing to focus on right now, but her head felt fuzzy and her heart was ratcheting up speed, making it difficult to think.

Hazel and Josh exchanged a look—a look that very clearly suggested they were in on something that she was not.

“Well,” Hazel said slowly, “I may have given him a little hint.”

“You told him?” God, why was her voice so squeaky?

“Yes. The treasure hunt was all his idea, though,” she said quickly. “I just gave him a little helping hand.”

Cassie let that settle for a moment, then looked at Josh. “And you knew too?”

“We may have…discussed it. So?” He leaned forward. “What’s the clue?”

Cassie frowned. “There isn’t…” But she saw, then, another small piece of paper in the envelope, and slipped it out.

If you want to see me, all you have to do is ask.

P.S. Rhyming was Tom’s thing.

Cassie’s stomach lurched. That was so like him. She could hear his voice, a hint of playfulness in it, see that crooked smile. But it wasn’t helpful in the slightest.

“What?” she snapped. “That’s…” She thrust the clue into Hazel’s hand, and Josh read it over her shoulder. “What the hell does that mean? All I have to do is ask? What am I supposed to do, ring him?” She directed the question at Hazel. If she’d been in on this whole thing, then she’d know the answer.

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure if I should…”

“Hazel,” Cassie said warningly.

Hazel leveled a look at her. “Ask, Cassie.”

“But I…” She stopped, took in the expression on Hazel’s face, and her heart did another overexuberant beat. “You? You know where he is? He really roped you in, didn’t he?” She pulled a hand through her hair, trying to calm her own damn body down so she could think, process.

“He rang me,” Hazel said calmly. “I think he was worried that you’d…Well, that you’d react a bit how you’re reacting now, if he got in touch directly.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m not—”

“He’s scared, Cassie. I think he’s scared of facing you, if you walk away from him again.”

Her fingertips thrummed and she laced them together in her lap to keep them still. She closed her eyes, allowed the noise of the restaurant to fade away. Thought of Sam’s face, of the intensity in his voice, trying to tell her he loved her. Of the realization she’d come to in September, when she’d tried to see him, the sickening feeling she’d had as she’d walked away from him, leaving him with Jessica. Jessica.

She opened her eyes, looked at Hazel. “But he was with…”

“No,” Hazel said, knowing immediately what Cassie was referring to. “He wasn’t. He’s not.”

Cassie let that roll through her, the fact that she’d jumped so instantly to the wrong conclusion. Hazel was still looking at her, waiting. “Where is he?” Cassie whispered, and Hazel’s grin was instantaneous.

“I knew you’d pick right! I never doubted you.”

Josh raised a hand. “I did.”

Hazel gave him a small slap on the arm. “Stop it.” She grabbed her handbag off the floor, rummaged through it, then produced a key, which she handed over to Cassie.

Cassie frowned as she took it. “Is this supposed to be the answer? Because this could be for anywhere!” A hint of panic was creeping into her voice now. Panic, she knew, that was coming from the thought that she might not get it, she might not make it to him, and he’d leave, and that would be it, really it, this time.