Page 74 of Tis The Season for Secrets
She nearly knocked over a tower of books as she opened the bathroom door and winced as one landed on the wooden floor, not wanting to wake up her mom. It seemed both her parents had a love of books.
Abruptly, the kitchen door opened and Eloise, wearing yellow rollers in her hair, popped her head through. “You’re up! I just finished brewing a pot of coffee.”
“I should call Will. I meant to before I fell asleep,” Juliet said, knowing how worried he’d be. Still, she was surprised he hadn’t turned up last night. He had to have known where she’d gone.
“Don’t worry, I already got through to him.” The smell of pastries drifted down the hall. Juliet’s stomach rumbled,reminding her she hadn’t had dinner last night. “Wash up and come eat. I left some stuff for you in the cupboard under the sink. There’s a spare toothbrush, and I hung one of my old wrap dresses on the door with some tights that should fit you. All the woman in the Frost family were blessed with wide hips, so I didn’t think my jeans would fit. But I could get a pair for you to try,” Eloise said excitedly, already heading for the stairs.
“The dress is fine! Thank you,” Juliet said, trying to disperse the nervous energy.
Eloise halted. “Alright. I’ll pop upstairs and finish getting ready. You take your time down here.”
Juliet,dressed in her mom’s floral wrap dress, sipped her sweetened coffee. Having breakfast here felt all too surreal. She wasn’t sure if her mom was nervous, but she kept looking to the kitchen door as though she was waiting for something.
Juliet was reaching for another croissant when the doorbell rang.
“That must be Will,” Eloise said, getting up from the round table.
Juliet waited for a moment in the kitchen, but the sound of multiple voices told her Will wasn’t alone. She put her candy-cane-printed napkin on the table and went to the front door. Over her mom’s shoulder, she saw a man and woman in what she estimated to be their late forties, and standing behind them, Will.
“Juliet Frost, you need to come with us,” requested the man. From their stony expressions, saying no wasn’t an option.
“Juliet, please, come with me,” Will echoed, and the pair separated to let him through. Her brows pulled together at his neutral expression. This wasn’t the Will she knew.
“I don’t understand. Can we talk first?” Juliet inched closer to Will, wanting to tell him she’d signed the paperwork.
However, his cool expression didn’t waver. “The Klaus is waiting with the council at the town hall. All will be explained soon.”
His flat tone felt wrong. It was the first time she felt that Yule could be the opposite of how she’d been treated thus far. Juliet looked at her mom, who stared at the two escorts with Will as though she wasn’t all that surprised to see them.
“I’m going with her,” she said, already grabbing their coats. “Put this on.”
“That would be best.” Will nodded, gesturing for them both to leave the house.
The two suits walked ahead with Eloise, and she could hear them talking in hushed animated tones, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Will remained at Juliet’s side, silent and distant. She reached for his hand, but he shook his head.What the hell is going on?
“Can you tell me what’s going on? Did the council find out? Are we in trouble? Did my dad report us?” She pulled the thick collar of her coat tight around her neck as she followed him through the town square.
“You’ll find out when we get to the town hall. Maybe you should’ve thought before you used the Frost bell and left without a word.”
He was pissed, no denying it, and she couldn’t blame him. She’d been so wrapped up in her reunion with Eloise, she’d never thought to call Will and tell him she was okay, and safe. Her heart sank as she realised how worried he must have been,especially when she’d promised him last time that she wouldn’t run off again. She broken her promise the first chance she’d got.
She reached into her pocket and slipped the bell into his hand, not wanting to be caught with it. “I’m so sorry, but I didn’t know if I’d ever get the chance again. I didn’t mean to worry you; I just got so caught up. I didn’t plan this.”
Will simply put the bell in his pocket and stared straight ahead.
“I feel like we’re being arrested,” Juliet muttered as her mom fell back to them.
“Don’t worry, I brought the papers with me. We’re in this together,” Eloise assured her, taking her hand. The gesture felt foreign, but right now she really needed the support. She knew she’d been wrong to take the bell, but surely Will had known that she’d go to her mom’s house?
In the early morning, the town was eerily quiet, doing nothing to quell the anxiety twisting her stomach. She wished Will would forgive her, just until they got through whatever the hell this was, but she wouldn’t apologise for one of the best nights of her life. Meeting her mom and realising how much she’d always loved Juliet, if even at a distance, after all these years was worth any punishment.
The two escorts halted at the top of the stone steps on either side of tall double doors to the town hall. Waiting for them to open the doors, Juliet clutched her mom’s hand, readying herself for whatever she was about to face.
It was the smell that greeted her first. As she focused on the high ceiling and the gathering of people inside, her breath was taken away by the breakfast feast to rival any she’d ever seen on the long table at the centre of the hall.
“WELCOME TO YULE!” The deafening cheer of those in the room made her tear up. Then she saw the banner hanging around the wooden beams.
Welcome home Juliet!
