Happiness for H: A Christmas to Remember
December 19Emily heard voices as she wandered into the kitchen looking for her first cup of coffee of the morning. Horatio and her grandmother were seated at the kitchen island, the remnants of waffles on their plates.
"Good morning, Emily." Her grandmother greeted her. "Would you like some breakfast? There are a few more waffles in the oven warming if you're interested."
"Just coffee at the moment, Grandma. I'll nibble in a little while." She poured a cup and perched on a stool near Horatio. He was already handing her the half' n' half, as he said,
"Good morning Emily." He looked at Grandma Estin and smiled. "So, what's the secret to her not waking up on the wrong side of the bed?"
"Let her sleep in as long as she likes. If you don't wake her, she can't be cross with you. Or, send Ghost in to get her. She never gets cross with him."
The white shepherd lifted his head at the sound of his name. Deciding no one was going to slip him any more waffle pieces, he put his head back down on his paws.
As she sipped her second cup of coffee and nibbled on a waffle, talk turned to what was on the schedule for the day.
"I'd like to go into Grand Marais to finish my Christmas shopping," Grandma Estin said.
"I thought about that too. Maybe we can go together if Ivy will be here to answer the phone and take care of any questions. We only have 3 cabins with guests right now."
"Why don't I drive and we can all go together?" Horatio suggested.
Emily looked at him and asked,
"Keeping tabs on me Lieutenant?"
"No," he sipped his coffee. "Remember what we talked about Emily. Until I can figure out why Josh would want you away from Miami, I don't want you going out alone. Calleigh questioned Mrs. Jenson and learned that 5 of Josh's acquaintances were in Miami in September. She and Eric have names and were trying to get some photographs together. I may be able to recognize someone. If I do, I'll need to get in touch with local law enforcement."
Grandma practically snorted.
"Good luck with that Horatio. I'll go get ready then. Shall we say we plan on 10:00?"
After she left the kitchen, he turned to Emily who had taken a sudden interest in soaking the syrup up on her plate with the last of her waffle.
"Emily, I also want to spend the day with you. It would be nice to put all this … unpleasantness behind us, but we have to deal with it. So, let's enjoy the day together and let me worry about Josh, okay?"
Emily looked at him, and said,
"I'd like that Horatio." She held her breath as he reached over and tucked some stray strands of her dark golden hair behind her ear.
They spent the rest of the morning in Grand Marais, splitting up to do their shopping and meeting up with Grandma Estin again for lunch at the Blue Water Café. Several people came over to say hello, no doubt curious about the red-haired man seated with Emily. Grandma Estin took great pleasure introducing Horatio, saying that he was a friend from Miami. It was almost 2:00 when they had loaded up the packages in Horatio's rental and headed down to the lodge. They were greeted by a very enthusiastic Ghost when they arrived.
"Did you miss us? I'll take you for a walk in a little bit. It's a beautiful day." Emily told him, rubbing his furry neck. He responded by licking her face. She looked up to find Horatio watching her closely.
"You know, that reminds me. I haven't had a chance to kiss you, Emily."
"Well, maybe you should remedy that state of affairs – later this evening." Emily said breathlessly, then slipped away from him with her packages.
That evening at dinner, Horatio learned about another Christmas tradition in the Estin family. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was going to be on TV and that meant watching it in PJ's with Christmas cookies and hot cider. By 6:55 pm, Grandma Estin, Horatio, and Emily were comfortably settled on the sofa, plate of cut-out sugar cookies and steaming mugs of cider on the coffee table in front of them. A fire burned brightly in the fireplace and the 7 ft pine was aglow with twinkling lights.
As the story unfolded, Horatio could hear Emily reciting the lines softly as she watched it. When she sat back after setting her empty cider mug on the coffee table, she found Horatio's arm draped around her shoulders. When she looked at him, he merely smiled and settled her against him. He was surprised to see her eyes bright with tears by the time it was over. At his questioning look, Emily said quietly,
"Linus reciting the Christmas story always brings tears to my eyes and the end when Charlie Brown sees his tree they've decorated. I don't know why." Before he could say anything,
Grandma Estin announced that she was going to have an early night.
"I'll do the locking up before I go to bed." Emily said.
"Thank you Emily. Don't you children stay up too late." She wished them goodnight and headed off to the kitchen to make a bedtime-toddy, turning off the one lamp on the way out of the room.
A second holiday special came on the screen. Emily reached for the remote, asking Horatio,
"How about some music instead?" He nodded and she found a channel that played holiday tunes. Before she could return to her original place by his side, she found Horatio drawing her back to rest against his chest, his arms around her. She closed her eyes and tried to still the trembling that was racing through her body at his touch. If he was surprised at her reaction, he didn't say anything. Soothingly, he stroked her wrists with his thumbs. Emily lost track of time as she rested against him. Eventually, she became aware of his voice,
"Emily, did you fall asleep?" Opening her eyes and moving her head on his shoulder to look up at him in the dim light, she said,
"No, Horatio. I … I …" she couldn't finish her thought as she found herself drowning in those blue eyes.
"I seem to remember the promise of a kiss mentioned earlier this afternoon," he said softly, his eyes going to her mouth. Emily could only nod, her hands sliding up his chest to rest near his shoulders. She found herself unable to move as she watched him dip his head closer to her, asking,
"May I kiss you, Emily?"
"Yes," it came out on a sigh and Emily's fingers tightened on his shoulders as she felt the gentle brush of his lips against hers. Ghost had been curled up on his bed near the side of the sofa and now he decided it might be a good time to see what Emily and Horatio were doing. He whined and got no response from either human. He was about to nudge his mistress with his cold nose, when he heard a noise outside. Worming his way past the couple on the couch, he bounded into the kitchen, barking all the while.
At the sound of Ghost's sudden barking, Emily jerked away from Horatio and tried to get up.
"What is it Emily?"
"Ghost. Something is outside. I've got to go see."
"Mmmm… maybe it's just a deer or a bear. You said they wander into the yard."
"Yes, but that's not his wild animal bark. That's more like someone is on my property bark." That caught his attention and he almost dumped Emily on the floor as he stood up.
"Stay here Emily." And he was down the hall, with Emily close on his heels.
TBC