I promised Noelle a Christmas she wouldn’t forget. And now we were stuck. It was one I’d never forget but for all the wrong reasons.
When I didn’t say anything, Chris pressed on. “It’ll be fine, Holly. We’ll make it work.”
“Huh?”
“You and Noelle can stay with me until the storm passes. We will figure it out.”
“Come on, Chris. You don’t want a single mom and her daughter crashing at your place for God knows how long. We’re in your way.”
“It’s fine. Actually, it might be good for me. I haven’t spent too much time around people for a while,” Chris admitted, ducking his head. Now it was his turn to be knocked off-balance.
“Noelle wants a real Christmas,” I told him.
“Then that’s what she’s going to get.”
four
CHRIS
What the hellwas I doing?
I was sitting in my Tahoe, waiting for it to warm up and for Holly and Noelle to get down here so we could head out to the Christmas tree farm and pick a tree.
Me!
I was going to have a tree in my house.
The last one I’d had, I tossed out the window, then set fire to it, still with the glitter-covered ornaments clinging to the branches.
All it took was a cute kid to bat their lashes in my direction and I was off to get another one. I just hoped there was still one left that didn’t look like it was sick and scraggly. It was already Christmas Eve. Everyone else already had their trees up and decorated and only now was I even contemplating getting one.
I flicked over the radio station, fidgeting. When some country Christmas carol came on, I found myself letting it play. Might as well start getting in the spirit now. I had a feeling I was about to have so much Christmas cheer forced down my throat I may choke.
The back door opened, and Holly helped Noelle climb in.She was chatting a mile a minute, but I couldn't keep up. It was like I missed the first part of the conversation, which ruled me out of understanding anything else.
Holly got her buckled in before running around to slide in the front.
“All ready?” I asked.
“Are we really going to get a tree, Chris?” Noelle chirped from the backseat.
“Yep.”
“And mom said we’re going to a Christmas tree farm!”
“We are.”
“Mom! Mom! Did you hear that? Chris said we’re going to the Christmas tree farm!”
How Holly couldn’t have heard it was beyond me. Noelle’s enthusiasm, though, was almost enough to make me forget why I hated the holidays.
“And they have hot chocolate. And ornaments,” I added, feeding Noelle’s excitement.
Carefully, I wound through the almost deserted streets toward Winter Tree Farm. Even though it was Christmas Eve, and the lights were on in shop windows, the streets were empty. Normally, people would be scattered everywhere, stopping for last-minute gifts or picking up something they forgot. But not today.
The snow was still falling, but finally, for the first time in twenty-four hours it was soft, fluffy flakes rather than heavy sheets. If luck was on my side, we’d be able to get our tree and get it home before it really got dicey out here.
I pulled up out the front, and the squeal from behind me almost deafened me. To say Noelle was excited was an understatement. Out the front was a huge tree, and although its branches were weighed down with snow, the coloredlights flickered.
