Rosie recalled admiring her mini-Sphinx bookends, while her mother patiently fed the washing machine with clothes that seemed to contain more sand than the desert.
Their family had expanded and contracted as he came and went and her mother was the one responsible for that easy elasticity. She’d held everything together in his absence, and then welcomed his presence as if he’d never been away.
There had been no criticism that Rosie could remember. No resentment as he’d packed his passport and she’d packed lunches for the girls.
What must it have taken to be that flexible?
Compromise.
A whole lot of compromise on her mother’s part, and little on the part of her father.
Rosie realized with a flash of shame that she really only ever thought of her mother in relation to her role in the family, not as an individual. Her mother was her rock. The person she always turned to when she had a problem. When had she ever asked her mother if she was happy? Never. She’d made an assumption. Her mother had always been there for her, one hundred percent dependable, no matter what. Who was there for her mother? The answer was her father, of course, except judging from the look on his face that wasn’t the case. He looked as shocked as she felt.
Had he ever thought about the sacrifice Maggie had made for them all?
Rosie decided, right there and then, that she wasn’t going to burden her mother with her current crisis. She was going to make sure her mother had a relaxing holiday because no one deserved it more than she did.
“I’m taking you straight to your tree house so you can settle in.” Dan raised a hand in greeting as they passed some of the staff who worked at the resort. “Then I’ll talk to my mother about getting you some emergency clothing.”
He pulled up outside the tree house. “We’re here. The path should have been cleared, but it does get icy so be careful.”
The tree house sat high in the tree canopy, blending with its surroundings.
“We’re actually in the forest. It’s like something out of a fairy tale. Magical.” Maggie climbed out of the car, and slid her arm through Nick’s to steady herself. “Can you smell the trees?”
“My mother is a keen gardener. She loves trees,” Rosie muttered, grabbing her mother’s coat from the seat.
“And stars.” Maggie tipped her head back. “I love stars, too. Do you see them, Nick?”
“I see them. Are you going to be able to make it up those stairs, Mags?”
“Why? Would you like to carry me?”
Struggling not to smile, Dan unloaded Nick’s suitcase. “We have the best night sky. When I was young, my father and I used to hike at night to take photographs. We’d go through the forest and up to the lake.”
Maggie glanced around her. “The air is so clean and the trees—it smells of Christmas. Is that Douglas fir?”
“We have a mixture of fir, pine and aspen here.”
“It’s the most romantic place I’ve ever seen. Don’t worry about finding me spare clothes, Dan. We won’t need any out here.”
Rosie ushered her toward the stairs that wound upward to the deck and the front door. “The cabin is equipped with robes and toiletries. Why don’t you settle in, get a good night’s sleep, and I’ll come over and see you in the morning. I’ll bring clothes with me.”
Dan frowned. “But my mother was—”
“It’s fine, Dan.” She sent him a meaningful look. “My parents are tired. I think they need to sleep off the journey,” and the drink, “and hopefully they’ll be fresh to enjoy the day tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Her father stepped forward and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry about your mother, Rosie. Everything is going to be fine.”
Why did they keep saying that?
What was she missing?
Insisting that Dan wait outside, she picked up the suitcase and helped her father guide her mother through the door of the tree house.
“This is charming.” Maggie stopped in the entrance. “Nick, isn’t this charming?”
“It is.” He nudged her forward so that he could close the door on the bitterly cold night.
Rosie loved the tree houses, particularly this one. All of them had the same basic design: cedar-clad walls, exposed beams and floor-to-ceiling windows with incredible views in every direction. Directly outside was a small pond and a stream, and deer and elk often came exploring. It was the ultimate cozy retreat.
Rosie had spent a couple of nights in one the first time she’d visited, but