“I have the magnet signs ordered and they are supposed to arrive today,” I revealed to them. “Just the inn’s name. Maybe a wreath on the front.”
Kitty brightened slightly. “We can make a wreath.”
“We’ll need to divide tasks,” Jane responded.
I nodded.“Exactly.”
That was new for me. Saying it out loud. Naming the need for help without apologizing for it.
Kitty immediately raised her hand. “Lights.”
“Of course,” I agreed.
“Meri?” Jane prompted.
“I’ll handle securing things to the truck with ties. I will make sure nothing comes loose,” Meri volunteered
Jane nodded. “I’ll coordinate greenery.”
Lucy smiled at me over her coffee. “I’ll supervise morale.”
“That feels unnecessary,” I said.
Lucy grinned. “You say that now.”
As everyone moved into position, I stepped back, watching them work. Jane’s calm efficiency. Kitty’s uncontainable enthusiasm. Meri’s quiet precision. Lucy drifting between them, smoothing edges before they could fray, while helping.
For a moment, my instinct was to step in. To adjust, to correct, and to make the float exactly the way I had pictured it.
Instead, I stayed back and simply helped when needed.
Last night’s driving lesson floated back to me unexpectedly.
Ephram hadn’t rushed me or grabbed the wheel when I stalled. He hadn’t corrected me before I had the chance to notice the problem myself. He had given me information, then space.
Kitty tried to loop lights too high and had to redo them. Jane insisted on symmetry that no one else cared about. Meri quietly fixed three things without comment.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was working.
I moved in when needed, answering questions, offering suggestions, but I resisted the urge to control every detail. Each time I felt myself tightening, I let it go. Asked instead of instructed. Trusted instead of hovered.
By midmorning, the truck looked different. Not finished, but unmistakably warmer. Intentional. Like it belonged to us.
I was happy at the moment, tying greenery on top of already secured greenery when I noticed that Jane’s shoulders went up slightly, as if she were bracing herself. Kitty stopped moving mid-step, garland looped over one arm, and her expression sharpened from playful to alert. Meri’s gaze flicked past me toward the driveway.
I followed their focus and felt my stomach tighten.
Collin stepped towards the truck with the confidence of someone who believed the world should part politely for him. He was dressed as if he expected to be in a blizzard, coat, scarf wound twice around his neck, hat pulled low. The only good was that his unfortunate hair was covered.
His smile brightened the moment he realized he had our attention. He clapped his mittened hands together with a muffled sound..
“Good morning,” he called, voice too cheerful for the reception he was receiving.
“Good morning,” Jane replied automatically, the phrase coming out on instinct, like a reflex she regretted the moment it left her mouth.
Collin approached the truck with fascinated interest, eyes scanning the decorations as if he was inspecting a purchase he hadn’t decided whether to keep. He stopped beside me, close enough that I could smell his cologne, which was slightly too strong.
“I must say,” he began, “it’s remarkable what you girls have managed to do with this property.”
