It started out as rain, then hail, and by the time they were four hours into the drive, the temperature had dropped enough that big, fat, fluffy flakes had begun to drift down from the overcast sky. It didn’t take long before it began to stick, coating the grass in the median almost immediately once it began to fall.
The more the snow began to pile up, the slower the traffic went. If it wasn’t for Tessa taking his hand and holding it loosely in hers as the cars crept down the highway, keeping him calm and content, Lucas might’ve gotten a workout honking his horn and offering the other drivers a one-finger salute.
It was a relief when they could finally turn off the road, heading toward Hamlet.
A car or two blasted their horns behind him, either concerned that he was spinning out or taking a road that wasn’t really a road. He ignored them. Most highway travelers had no clue of the hidden town they would find if they just drove down the dirt street, bounced over the cobblestone road, bypassed the gaping maw of the gulley, and headed toward the mountains.
Hamlet was its own best kept secret. Lucas liked it that way, too.
Tessa perked up a little once they passed the welcome sign. Her grip on his hand tightened, and he could sense her nerves as they came to life. It was one thing for Tessa to come up with the idea to return to the scene of the crime; it was another entirely to actually do it.
Her shoulders tensed as she leaned forward in her seat, testing the limits of the belt that kept her strapped in. Lucas could only imagine the thoughts that were running through her head. They both came to the same conclusion that what happened in Hamlet was, for them, a necessary evil. They did what they had to and, once they were settled in together in Dayton, promised they would put it behind them.
Lucas did so easily. Tessa… not so much. It was far simpler for her to pretend it never happened—but how could she when he was driving her right back to the place it all happened?
The snow piled up quickly in Hamlet. Lucas knew that from a lifetime of experience. Only three cars in the whole village had attachable plows and the men who drove them never went out until the snow finally stopped falling.
Feigning that the three inches on the ground made it difficult to control the Mustang, Lucas lowered his speed to a mere crawl.
Then, as casually as he could, he said, “It might be too dangerous to drive on in this snow. Maybe we should turn back, find a hotel off the highway for the night. We can try again in the morning.”
“We’ve come all this way. Let’s keep going.”
“Are you sure, baby?”
She nodded. “I can do this.”
So maybe he didn’t play it off as cool as he thought. The way she turned in her seat so that she could meet his gaze, then nod as if trying to assure him, told Lucas that she knew he was doing this all for her behalf. First, agreeing to drive all the way to Hamlet, then offering to leave before they even arrived at Maria’s.
He pressed the tip of his boot to the gas, moving at a quicker clip. The Mustang was a beast in the snow, thanks to the special snow tires he had put on at the beginning of December. When he lived in Hamlet, it was habit to do so since his office was so close to the mountainside of town. Even now that he lived in Dayton, snow tires were a must come winter if he wanted to drive his prized car around.
Okay. He continued down Main, heading for Ophelia. If that’s what Tessa wanted, fine. They could always turn around if she changed her mind and he told her as much.
“No, I’m not going to—oooh. What’s that?”
Thinking she saw something ahead in the road, Lucas slowed down again. “What’s what??
??
Tessa pointed through the windshield. But, instead of pointing at the road, she gestured off to the right side of the road where they were coming up on a few of the houses on the outskirts of Hamlet.
“The lights! Look! All three houses are decorated with the same kind of lights… and the lamps! They’re wrapped in twinkling fairy lights and… is that candy cane wrapping?”
In a town with a population of less than two hundred people, it was easy to orchestrate a festive scene that matched. The three residences that dotted this part of Main Street were decorated with the same kind of lights—but they wouldn’t be the only ones decorated to the nines. Every house would be, no matter what the religion.
In Hamlet, Christmas was both a religious holiday and a secular festival for the townspeople to celebrate. Gifts for their friends and neighbors were a given, and each homeowner was responsible for participating.
“Didn’t I tell you that we go all out for Christmas here?”
“You did, Luc, but I never guessed it would look like this. It’s so pretty!”
He was used to it, but it made him smile to hear her coos of surprise and appreciation every time they passed another house. Once they had driven further into Hamlet, the snow became less of an annoyance and more of a beautiful backdrop to the lights and decorations everywhere.
The Hamlet Inn in particular was, as usual, decorated splendidly. He had to pass it in order to get to Maria’s, and though he knew it might also stir up unpleasant memories, he took the large u-shaped turn so that Tessa could get an up close look at its splendor.
It was time for the two of them to make their own memories, and pleasant ones at that. Next time, when Tessa thought of the Hamlet Inn again, she didn’t have to think of murder and what he did for her—for them. She could think of twinkling lights, fifteen foot Christmas trees standing out front, and the garland-wrapped columns that supported the inn.
When she sighed and relaxed in her seat as she marveled at the elaborate display of Bonnie Mitchell’s inn, Lucas felt something tight inside of him loosen.