I stare into his eyes, and he does the same, eyeing me back. It’s as if his words have a deeper meaning than just this moment. Before I get too embedded in that gaze and do something foolish like asking him to repeat those words, I blink, turning away. My mother’s words from the night before return. “I bet that’s what he tells you. Your sister was good at lying, too.”
“Are you cold?” Neils asks when I visibly shiver.
“I’m fine. Now that you’ve shared with me the purpose of this excursion, I’m ready to pick out a tree.” I plaster a smile on my face and peer at the trees surrounding us. “What about that one?” I ask, pointing. I forget my disdain for snowshoeing as I move closer to the tree. The prospect of dragging this one back to the cabin and decorating it excites me.
“Looks like a good one. Let me inspect it.”
Standing back, I watch as Neil sizes the tree up. Soon, however, he frowns, and with one shake of his head, he dashes my hopes.
“Not quite ready yet. Let’s keep looking. There’re plenty of Douglas firs out here that’ll look great in the living room of the cabin.”
Pushing my mother’s words to the far reaches of my mind, I work to remain present with Neil as we hunt for the perfect tree. It works, and soon, my mind is only on inspecting the greenery of the leaves and thistles of each tree we come across and laughing with Neil every time he gets a little or a lot of snow dumped on him from one of the larger trees.
“This is the first time I’ve ever gotten a fresh tree from the woods.”
“Really?” Neil looks back at me as he continues to cut at the trunk of the tree we picked out.
I stare at the tree, which isn’t more than five feet in height. She’s small, but she’s a beauty, in my opinion. And since we’re more than a mile from the cabin, it’ll still take some effort to haul her back.
Nodding, I respond, “Yeah, we always got fresh Christmas trees, but my dad would buy them from one of the local tree farmers who set up their makeshift store outside of the community square each year.”
“Is that where the Christmas tree lighting for your town happens?” he asks as he continues to cut.
“Sure is. Hey, you need some help?” I call around the tree when he disappears behind it.
Neil’s head pops out from behind the fir. “Nope, I’ve got it. Almost done with this, just needed a better angle. Hey, do me a favor and stand to the side. I don’t want this baby falling on you when I let ’er rip.”
I laugh at how cheesy but genuine he sounds.
Taking my gaze off of the tree, I glance around at our surroundings. Despite my protestations earlier, this is a sight to behold. Neil’s family’s cabin is located near Mount Rainier, tucked away along one of the beautiful mountain lakes. Although technically, it’s a cabin, it’s not one of those one-room-fits-everything dwellings. The house is massive, with six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a spacious living room, and a dining area that’s nearly the same size as the living space.
“Hey, are we going to decorate the entire cabin?” I ask, wondering.
“If you want. We spent the holidays up here when I was a kid, so my parents always keep holiday decorations here.”
I nod, feeling excited.
“We always decorated the day after Thanksgiving,” I comment, my chest constricting as I think back on my childhood holiday memories.
“You told me, which is why I brought us out here. Three … two … one,” he calls out.
I turn to see the tree he’d been hacking away at falling to the ground. A rush of excitement rolls through my body. Suddenly, I can’t wait to get the tree back to the cabin to decorate.
“Our first tree together.”
I stare up at Neil. He's sweaty but beaming with pride and that intense gaze, searing me as we lock eyes.
“Our first,” I repeat above a whisper. Silently, I add on,hopefully not our last.
“I hopethe cookies come out all right. I kind of had to guess the oven times,” I say worriedly, biting my bottom lip as I watch Neil setting up the tree in the green metal stand.
“Wouldn’t matter if they came out burnt. As long as they came from your hands, they’ll be fucking delicious.”
Smirking, I reply with, “You say that now, but let you bite into a burnt red velvet cookie. You’ll be pissed.”
He turns to me with a half-grin. “You’re probably right. Don’t mess them up,” he teases.
I roll my eyes and wave him off. “Need some help?” It’s the third time I’ve offered. And again, for the third time, Neil informs me he’s got it.
