Page 4 of Meet Me at the Christmas Cottage (Jonathon Island #6)

Chapter Two

I f you’re planning on breaking Dad’s heart, don’t bother coming back at all.

Jonah’s older sister Amy’s words came back to him. Not that they had ever left since their call two years ago. Whether or not his decision would break their father’s heart was yet to be discovered. He had listened to his sister and stayed away. Until now.

“Are you sure you want me to drop you here? Ferry doesn’t run until morning, if it even runs in this storm. The snow is really starting to come down.” The raspy voice of his Uber driver cut through his thoughts.

As if to prove the man’s point, the wind picked up, depositing snow drifts a little faster. A bit of white stuff, or the fact the ferry didn’t run overnight, wasn’t going to stop Jonah. He was going to get home to surprise his family.

“I’ll be fine.” Jonah stepped out of the car, grabbing his suitcase and backpack out of the trunk.

The Uber driver leaned across the console of his car to look at Jonah through the open window. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay, wait a few minutes, just to make sure you get off the docks?”

“I’ll be fine,” Jonah repeated, shrugging into his backpack and pulling his black stocking cap further over his ears.

In truth, he didn’t have an entire plan yet. The original plan had him arriving nine hours earlier for the last ferry of the day, but thanks to the weather over Atlanta and employee shortages…he was now on the wrong side of Lake Huron, staring through the snow in the direction of Jonathon Island.

“Whatever.” The Uber driver shook his head and peeled out of the parking lot, slushy snow kicking up from the tires.

Glancing at the time on his phone, Jonah grimaced.

He really didn’t want to have to ask for someone to pick him up.

His sister Holland had mentioned she’d gotten a boat over the summer, but she would have it docked by now.

Besides, he didn’t want to call anyone in his family.

He wanted to show up, sneak in, and surprise everyone.

Mom and Dad should be there at least. Last he’d heard, they planned on parking their RV and spending all of December on island.

In theory, the surprise would make the conversation with his dad go smoother. There would be no breaking of hearts. Hopefully.

Using his teeth, Jonah took a glove off so he could scroll the contacts in his phone, landing on Hunter Barrett’s name. A friend from high school he hadn’t seen or talked to since his last visit, but Jonah knew he’d be there in a pinch. Before he could change his mind, Jonah shot off a quick text.

Jonah

Hey, man. Sorry this is last minute, but I’m standing on the docks and it looks like I missed the last ferry. Would you be able to come grab me?

Jonah stared at his phone, waiting for dots to appear, indicating his friend was responding.

Two minutes later, they popped up. Jonah’s shoulders relaxed.

Truth was, if he couldn’t get a ride to the island tonight, he’d have to hike over to the Bayside Inn in Port Joseph and wait until the ferry started running in the morning.

But with the snow coming down as hard as it was already, Jonah had to agree with the Uber driver—he didn’t know for sure that the ferry would be an option by morning. He’d rather get there tonight.

Hunter

Ha! Just missed it. Hang tight, we’ll get you here.

Jonah pushed out a breath. He could always count on Hunter.

Shaking off the snow and folding his arm across his chest, Jonah stood under the small partition at the end of the dock and waited for his ride home.

Almost an hour later, certain he was frozen to his bones, Jonah heard the chugging motor of a boat. It sounded a bit bigger than the MasterCraft he knew Hunter to have. Five minutes later, he realized why it sounded different. It wasn’t Hunter’s boat.

A head poked out of the captain’s cabin. “Hunter said a major needed a ride home!”

“Cody? What are you doing here? Where’s Hunter?” Cody Hart was closer in age to Holland’s twenty-five years—and she was ten years younger than Jonah—but Jonathon Island was small enough that the families who had been here forever, like the Whites and the Harts, were friendly. “What are you doing?”

Last time Jonah had been home, Cody had been working on his dad’s fishing boat. Since then, he’d lost his best friend in a tragic accident but gained a very serious girlfriend in Mia Franklin, if Holland’s gossip could be believed.

“Looks like I’m your ride to the island. Hunter’s at his engagement party, so he sent me to pick you up.” Cody’s grin could be seen from where Jonah stood on the dock.

“Engagement party? Aw, man. I’m sorry to pull you away from that.” He hadn’t realized Hunter and Daisy had gotten engaged. Although, the last time he’d chatted with his sister Mika Beth, she had mentioned they were getting close.

“No worries, man. I’m glad to be your ride.”

“Well, in that case, permission to come aboard?” It took everything in Jonah to keep his voice from shaking. He needed to get out of the cold and somewhere warm.

“You’d better hurry before you turn into a full-out icicle. I’d have a hard time explaining that one to your mom.”

“Thanks so much for doing this, Cody.”

The man nodded, scratching a thumb at his stubble as he expertly steered the boat away from the dock toward Jonathon Island. Toward home. “Of course.”

Jonah dropped his suitcase to the floor with a thud and tugged his backpack from his shoulders before propping it up against the wall.

The captain’s cabin may have been small, but it was clean and warmed by a small space heater.

Not the warmest, but it sure beat standing in a snowstorm.

“How have you been? How’s Mia and her kids? ”

“Doing good. The kids are growing like weeds.”

Jonah nodded his thanks as he accepted a cup of coffee Cody offered. “How old are they now?”

“Finn’s five and Maggie’s three. I think Maggie talks more than Finn.” Cody smiled. “They’re really great.”

What Jonah wouldn’t give to raise a family on Jonathon Island—just like his parents before him. That had been the plan—get through med school and ten years in the Army, then take over his dad’s practice, but now…

“What about you?” Cody asked, and Jonah was glad for the question. “How’s the Army life treating you? Keeping you busy, I guess. I haven’t seen you back island side for…” He trailed off.

“Two and a half years.” Too long. But with the extra deployments and throwing everything into not coming home and having what-if conversations, it’d just gotten away from him.

Cody let out a low whistle. “The town’s sure gone through an upgrade since you were last here.” He set his coffee mug down and put both hands on the wheel, ready to guide the boat into the dock slip. “Everyone will be so excited to see you. It’s a little unexpected, though, yeah? Your family?—”

“My family’s thrilled I’m back.” At least, they would be once he arrived. Until he had the conversation with his dad that Amy had said would break his heart. Please, don’t let him be too disappointed…

Cody shrugged. “Cool. I’m sure it’s nice to be home.”

Jonah grunted in response. He was excited to see everyone—really, he was—but it had been so long.

The last time he had been home, Holland, his youngest sister, had just started talking with their parents about purchasing their childhood home.

George and Renee White had started dreaming about RVing around the US when his dad retired from his medical practice, which had finally happened earlier this year.

Amy, Mika Beth, and Halle had just signed the papers for their wedding planning business.

Yes, there had been the weekly FaceTime calls, but it wasn’t the same.

So much had happened in two and a half years.

So much he had missed out on, and he had no one to blame except for himself.

“I’ll tie her off.” Jonah slipped outside, the frigid air stealing any thoughts of his family.

He sucked in a deep breath. Being back on Jonathon Island felt like being home, a feeling he hadn’t realized he’d been missing. After grabbing the ropes from the dock, Jonah secured the boat.

“Man, thanks again.” Back in the captain’s cabin, Jonah shouldered his backpack and hefted his suitcase up and over the side of the boat. “I really appreciate you giving me a ride, especially since I pulled you away from the party.” Jonah grabbed Cody’s hand in a firm shake.

“Sure thing. It’s nothing. Glad I could help.” Cody tugged his black beanie further onto his head and walked with Jonah to the end of the dock. He hooked a thumb toward the shops downtown. “Want to come back to the party with me? I’m sure everyone would love to see you.”

The snow still fell softly on the island, and he wanted to stretch his legs. See the island again at his own pace. “Nah, I’m just going to head home. Thanks, man.”

They said their goodbyes, and Jonah headed down the boardwalk, taking Marina Way up to Blueberry Boulevard, the snow falling harder by the time he reached the corner of Main Street. Probably made more sense to explore the new and improved downtown in the light of day.

He hightailed it past Blueberry Hill Park and Rose Road, turning west on Poppy Place, where he finally approached home.

At least, the home he’d grown up in. He supposed it wasn’t his home any longer.

It belonged to Holland, the youngest White and the one with the biggest house since she’d bought it from their parents a year and a half ago with the inheritance money she’d received from their grandpa.

His other three sisters lived in a house they rented together on the mainland, and he still didn’t understand why they didn’t relocate to the island and move in with Holland.

Her bills had to be through the roof. Or maybe she still had enough inheritance to cover those as well.

The house didn’t look anything like it had when Jonah was growing up in it.

Holland had put her mark on it in more ways than one.

Gone was the dingy-brown siding that had graced the upper level of the house.

Instead, a rich dark-gray siding took its place.

At least she had kept the white stones surrounding the base of the home.

Holland had done a fantastic job with the renovations on the outside of the house—on the inside, too, from what he had seen via their video calls.

To top it all off, she’d cut the costs of the renovations because she’d done most of it herself—with their dad’s help, but still.

The youngest White had all the talent. It didn’t matter if she worked as a freelance photographer or self-taught handywoman.

The lack of lights on inside the house did surprise Jonah, however. He’d assumed everyone would have already gathered together.

When was the last time he’d talked with anyone in his family?

Only a few weeks maybe, but he could have sworn the last time they talked, they’d been raving about how everyone would be coming in the week before Christmas—Mom and Dad for the entire month.

And what was with no Christmas decorations?

For all her classy, upscale taste in designing, Holland had a soft spot for the tacky Christmas blow-ups on the front lawn, but she hadn’t even hung Christmas lights this year.

Frowning, Jonah found the hide-a-key under a ceramic frog garden ornament thing. The only ornament in the perfectly manicured beds. Jonah would need to talk to Holland about the safety of hiding the key under the only thing that looked like a hide-a-key. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

Scents of cinnamon and citrus warmed him as he slipped the key in the lock, letting himself in before closing the door behind him with barely a click.

He could hear a movie playing in the living room.

It sounded like… Star Wars ? How long had Jonah tried to talk Holland into a Star Wars marathon?

She had insisted that particular franchise was highly overrated.

Not to mention, from Thanksgiving on, Holland very adamantly listened to only Christmas music and watched only Christmas classics or Hallmark specials. Maybe she’d turned over a new leaf.

He set his bags down quietly next to the kitchen bar so as not to wake up his sister, who had fallen asleep on the couch. The TV flashed a commercial for toothpaste in the dark room. Dark, because for some reason, Holland hadn’t gone all Elf on her house and decorated for Christmas.

And why was she asleep on the couch instead of at Daisy and Hunter’s engagement party—where he assumed the rest of his family was?

Was she sick? Maybe he should just make his way upstairs and be there when everyone woke up in the morning—surprise!

But where was the fun in that? No, he was going for the Jonah White entrance.

One that would end in screams and rolling-on-the-floor laughing.

He would tackle his baby sister in a hug.

Yep. She’d kill him.

It’d be worth it to hear her scream.

In a classic Holland move, his sister had completely covered herself in blankets and pillows. This surprise awakening was her own fault. She should have fallen asleep in her own bed.

He crept toward the couch.

Three…

Oh, the look on Holland’s face when she woke up and found him there.

Two…

This would be the best hello in White history. It would trump the time Holland and his sisters had driven all night to see him in Norfolk years ago for his birthday.

One…

Jonah sucked in a deep breath and, as loud and deep as he could make his voice, declared, “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!”

The person on the couch—a woman with dark-brown hair instead of his sister’s blonde—sat up, took one look at him, and let out a bloodcurdling scream.