Page 52 of The Christmas Keepsake
Savannah pulled her into a tight hug, rubbing soothing circles on her back. “You don’t have to do everything alone. Lean on the people who love you. Let us help you figure things out.”
For a moment, Mallory allowed herself to sink into the embrace. Then she pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Not right now. I need to go for a drive. That’s how I clear my head. I just… I need to be alone for a little while.”
Savannah’s face creased with worry. “I don’t think you should be alone right now. Not when you’re so upset. Let me call Hollis.”
“No. No, I just need some time.” Mallory was already heading toward the front door, grabbing her purse on the nearby hook along with her keys. “I’ll be fine. I just need some air and some space to think,” she called behind her.
“Mallory!”
Mallory didn’t stop to respond. Instead, she pushed through the theater doors, welcomed by the cool air against her hot cheeks. She fumbled with her keys, her hands shaking as she unlocked the car door.
Part of her knew Savannah was right. She should call Hollis, or Maddie, or anyone. She shouldn’t be alone right now.
But the larger part of her, the part that had been taking care of everyone else for so long, couldn’t bear the thought of being vulnerable or admitting she couldn’t handle it all.
With a shaky breath, she slid into the driver’s seat and turned the ignition. She needed to drive, to feel the road beneath her tires, to lose herself in the familiar rhythm of the town she loved so much. She needed to figure out her next move, but there wasn’t one.
She was so tired of being strong, of being the one everyone else leaned on. Just once, she wanted to be the one who could fall apart, who could ask for help without feeling like a failure.
But old habits die hard.
The sun began to set as she drove aimlessly through the streets of Bloom, finally pulling her car into Eleanor Collins’s driveway. Savannah’s great-aunt Eleanor had a Little Free Library in the backyard for the community to enjoy, buried in the center of a lush garden. It had always brought Mallory peace, so if there was any peace to be found today, maybe she’d find it here.
Mallory parked, grabbed her purse with Nan’s journal inside, and walked along the stepping-stone path. Her phone buzzed inside her purse, but she ignored it. She wanted to ignore everything in her current life and instead go back in time. Way back. She wanted to disappear into Nan’s story and leave her own behind—at least for the moment.
Chapter Sixteen
Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art.
—Claude Debussy
Hollis stared at his phone’s screen for a long moment, reading and rereading the text from Mallory.
Mallory:Theater rehearsal is canceled for tonight.
It was in a group chat for all the cast ofSanta, Baby.The last time he’d spoken to Mal, rehearsal was still on. In fact, there was no room for cancellations. Not with the shortened schedule. What was going on?
One of the hired employees for the tree farm slapped a hand across Hollis’s shoulder as he stepped up beside him. “Hey, bro. Why the long face? Another dog out there that you want to take in?”
Hollis glanced over at Damian, who’d been a seasonal worker for Pop’s farm for the last two years. “There’s always another dog. But no, that’s not what I’m looking at.” He shook the phone in his hand. “Rehearsal is canceled for tonight.”
“Shouldn’t you be cheering?” Damian would never sign up to take a part in a play. He’d spent a few years at the local boys home before turning eighteen. He was still taking the hard knocks that life hadhanded him and turning them into lessons that would eventually mold him into a central part of this community.
“It’s not like Mal to cancel. Something must be wrong.” Was it Nan? Was Nan sick? “I need to call her,” Hollis told Damian. “You got this?” he asked, referring to the farm. The lot wasn’t busy right now, and the boys knew how to tag and carry the trees up to the front for transportation.
“Yeah. Sure. Between the five of us, we’ll be okay without you, big guy.” Damian grinned. “Go call your girl.”
Hollis would have normally found a teenager talking to him like that amusing, but right now he was too worried. Hollis had been accused of having a “sky-is-falling” mentality. The next shoe was always about to drop with him because of the way he’d grown up. His gut didn’t lie though, and his gut was signaling hard.
He pulled up Mallory’s contact in his phone and tapped to place the call. “Come on, Mal. Pick up, pick up, pick up.” When the call went straight to voicemail, he tapped the screen again. And again. After the third unsuccessful attempt at reaching her, he called Memory Oaks.
“Hey, Francis. Just checking on Nan today. Is she okay?”
“Oh, yes. She’s doing great, Hollis. She just loves sitting in front of that tree in the community room. All the residents love it. The lights are so calming.”
Hollis was relieved that Nan was well, but that didn’t explain where Mallory was and why she’d canceled rehearsal. “Have you seen Mallory there by chance?”
“Today? No, not yet. Should I be expecting her?” Francis asked. “I think she’s having rehearsals at the theater tonight, isn’t she?”
