“She um…she left some things to us in her will.”
Her eyes went wide again. “Seriously? The woman didn’t talk to either of us all these years and she actually put us in her will? Is it bad stuff?”
John chuckled. “What do you mean by bad stuff?”
“You know…like she has a really old house, and she was a hoarder, and we’re supposed to clean it out. Or she has some sort of vicious pet we’re supposed to take care of. That kind of thing.”
John laughed even harder. “Sometimes your imagination really is wild; you know that, right?” he teased.
Melanie couldn’t help but laugh with him. “What? It’s true! Things like that happen all the time!”
“Mel, it doesn’t,” he said, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes. “And for your information, there was no hoarding, no vicious pets…”
“Did she collect dead animals or something?”
He laughed again. “No. Nothing like that.”
Relaxing back on the couch, she looked at her father. “Okay. Lay it on me then. What could she possibly have put in her will for the two of us?”
John took a steadying breath. “She left me my father’s coin collection.”
That actually made Melanie smile. “I know how much you used to talk about it.” She nodded with approval. “That’s a good gift to get.”
He nodded. “She’d kept it all these years. Then there are some family photos, things from my childhood that she had saved, that sort of thing.”
“So no money,” Melanie said because she already knew the answer.
John shook his head. “And it’s fine with me. I don’t think I would have felt comfortable with it. All those years ago, it would have meant the world to me to have a little help so you and I didn’t have to struggle so much. But we’re good now and I don’t really need or want it.”
“Who’d she leave it to? Her cat? Some snooty museum?”
“Museums aren’t snooty,” he said lightly.
“Anyway,” she prompted. “So who’d she leave her fortune to?”
With a sigh, he took one of her hands in his. “She left the bulk of her estate to the local hospice care center.”
“Oh…well…that was nice of her,” Melanie said. “I guess she wasn’t entirely hateful.”
“No, she wasn’t,” John said softly. “And she did leave you something.”
The statement wasn’t a surprise since he’d mentioned it earlier, but Melanie figured he’d tell her when he was ready.
“When the attorney told me about it,” he began, “I was a little surprised. I had no idea she still had it.”
Curiosity piqued, she asked, “Had what?”
“The cabin.”
Okay, that was a surprise, she thought. “Grandma had a cabin? Where?”
“Up north. Practically on the border of Canada.”
“Seriously? Why on earth would she have a cabin there?”
A small smile played across John’s face. “Believe it or not, there was a time when your grandmother wasn’t quite so…hard. She loved the winters and loved all of the outdoor activities you could do in the snow. She skied, went sleigh riding, and…get this…she loved Christmas.”
Pulling her hand from his, Melanie stood with a snort of disgust. “That’s ironic. The woman went out of her way to ruin so many of our Christmases and now you’re telling me she used to love them? So…so…what? She started hating them after I came along? That would just be the icing on the rotten Christmas cookie.”
John came to his feet and walked over to her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he turned her to look at him. “It wasn’t you, sweetheart. It was me. When your mom left, grandma wanted us to move in with her—but there were conditions and rules, and I just knew it wasn’t the kind of environment I wanted you to grow up in.”
“Dad, I know all this. I remember the fights, but…what made her hate Christmas?”
He shook his head. “She didn’t. As far as I know, she always loved it.”
“Then…then why? Why would she ruin ours?”
A sad expression covered his face. “It was punishment. I grew up loving Christmas and we always made such a big celebration out of it. It was her way of punishing me for not falling in line. She took away that joy.”
Tears filled Melanie’s eyes. “See? She was hateful. And whatever this cabin thing is, I don’t want it.”
“Mel…”
“No, I’m serious!” she interrupted. “I don’t want anything from her. She ruined so many things in our lives because she was being spiteful! Why on earth would I accept anything from her?”
“Because I think you need it,” he said, his tone firm, serious.
“Excuse me?”
Leading her back to the sofa, they sat down. “I think this may have come at the perfect time.”
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”
“Okay, that didn’t quite come out the way I had planned,” he said with a chuckle. “What I meant is…I think you could really use the time away. With the pressure you’re feeling about the book, maybe a change of scenery will really help put things into perspective.”
“Dad,” Melanie began, “a change of scenery is not going to undo twenty-five years of hating Christmas. And besides, I really don’t want the…the cabin. I don’t want anything from her. It would have meant more to me to have her in my life while she was alive.”
He sighed. “I know, and I wish things could have been different. But…this is really something you need to do.”
She looked at him with disbelief. “Now I need to do it? Why?”
“Melanie, you are my daughter and I love you.”
“That’s an ominous start.”
“You’re too young to be this disillusioned and angry. We can’t go back and change anything, but I think you need to do this to make peace with the past and have some hope for the future.”
“Dad…”
“Three months, Mel, that’s all I’m asking.”
She jumped to her feet. “You expect me to go live in some arctic place for three months? Are you crazy?”
He smiled patiently at her. “I’m not crazy and you know I’m right.”
“No…I’m still going with crazy.”
“There’s a stipulation in the will,” he began cautiously.
“What kind of stipulation?”
“You need to live in the cabin for three months. After that, you’re free to sell it.”
“That’s a bunch of bull. What if I don’t want to live there at all? Why can’t I just sell it now? Or give it away?”
“If you don’t want it, it will be given away.”
“Well then…good riddance.”
“You’re being spiteful just for the sake of it, Mel. What have you got to lose? You work from home so you don’t have that hanging over your head, and your condo is paid for. Think of it as a writing retreat. Your editor will love the idea and it will show how you’re seriously trying to get the book done. It’s a win-win if you think about it.”