Page 39 of The Clause in Christmas
When he didn’t receive an answer after waiting several minutes, he turned to go. But soft music emanating from somewhere near the back of the house made Luke pause.
Suddenly hopeful, Luke rounded the exterior of the cottage, his eagerness spurring him up the back steps with unnecessary speed. Knocking in rhythm to the song, Luke peered through the window in the doorframe, squinting past the thin layer of frost forming on the glass.
The blurry figure inside made no move to answer the door, and Luke’s hand stilled, concern rippling through him. Using the sleeve of his jacket, he wiped some of the moisture from the window, and as Cassie’s hunched form came into view, his heart lurched.
Cassie cradled her face in her palms as she leaned over the stove, her shoulders trembling.
Luke didn’t deliberate. His hand instinctively coiled around the doorknob, and finding it turned easily, he pushed his way inside.
In three steady strides, Luke had dumped his belongings on the counter and enveloped Cassie in his arms. For several moments, he didn’t move or speak; he simply held her close, letting her tears dampen the soft wool of his coat.
When her sobs began to subside, he tilted her head back, brushing a damp curl from her cheek. “Cass, what happened?”
Her lip quivered as she met his gaze, tears pooling in her beautiful green eyes. Without a word, she pointed to the Christmas Calendar.
Luke hated to let her go, but the urge to find the cause of her distress drove him to the Calendar. He scanned the page, looking for something that might have triggered Cassie’s tears. Other than a recipe for mulled wine, he didn’t see anything unusual. He glanced up, searching her face. “I’m not sure what I’m looking for…”
She sniffled, swiping at her red-rimmed eyes with the back of her hand. “I have to make mulled wine.” Hiccup. “But I don’t… I can’t…”
Her breathing came in short, ragged breaths, and Luke could sense another sob building in her chest. Closing the Calendar, he rushed to her side. “Hey, it’s okay. You made it. It’s done.” One arm wrapped tightly around her, Luke used the other to switch off the burner. The spicy, syrupy mixture had started to bubble and spurt, splattering against the stove top.
“But…” Cassie stammered. “Don’t I have to…” She shuddered before she finished her sentence, but Luke knew what she meant.
“The Calendar says tomakemulled wine. It doesn’t say anything about drinking it.” Luke immediately felt Cassie’s shoulders relax.
She hiccupped again, a faint smile playing about her lips. “Leave it to a lawyer to find the loophole.”
Luke chuckled softly. Now that the crisis appeared to be over, he savored the blissful feeling of holding Cassie in his arms. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently.
“You mean about why I’m such a mess?” She smiled through her tears.
Without thinking, he brushed one away, gently grazing her cheek with his thumb. Their eyes met, and Luke saw such tenderness in her expression, he had to swallow against the temptation to kiss away her tears. “Let’s sit down.”
Settled side by side on the couch, wrapped in a thick quilt made soft and supple from several decades of use, Cassie shared, “I’ve never had alcohol before. Not even beer or hard cider.” She glanced down, toying with a loose thread. “Growing up, my mom was…” Her features strained as if saying the words out loud brought her physical pain.
“An alcoholic?” Luke supplied kindly.
Cassie nodded. “She still is. Although, when I met her for lunch today, she expressed interest in rehab.”
“Cass, that’s amazing!” Luke squeezed her hand.
Cassie smiled, although it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It sounds funny, but my mom is actually the reason I love coffee so much.”
Luke cocked his head to the side, trying to work out the connection.
“After one of her… episodes,” Cassie said, staring down at their fingers intertwined in her lap, “coffee was the only thing that would sober her up. And onreallybad days, when she refused regular coffee, I’d have to get creative to entice her.” A soft, wistful expression blanketed her features. “She liked a variation of Turkish coffee the best. I’d grind the beans really fine, then boil them in sugar water until they settled in the bottom of the pan. Then I’d pour the sweetened coffee into a mug with heavy cream. She’d gulp it down in buckets.”
“How young were you when this started?” Luke asked, not sure he could bear the answer. The thought of Cassie as a child, dealing with something so grown up, tore at his heart.
She shrugged, tucking a dark curl behind her ear. “For as long as I can remember, really.”
Her bottom lip trembled again, and Luke draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her against him. “Hey. What do you say we make a pot of coffee and watch another Christmas movie? I brought popcorn.”
“Won’t the caffeine keep you up all night?’ Cassie asked, although her voice already sounded brighter.
“What kind of holiday season would it be without pulling an all-nighter once or twice?” Luke teased, coaxing a genuine smile from her lips.
“Okay,” she said, straightening. “I’d like that.”
