“What? No, he wouldn’t. He said he wouldn’t.”
Blaire looked at her with pity but continued, “I heard Evan was the one who turned him in to his dad. They’re keepin’ it all hush-hush, apparently. Griffin’s in town for the holidays and I guess they don’t want to draw too much attention to it or distract from his visit, ya know? So, yeah, Judy told me she heard from some girl Evan was supposed to take on a date yesterday but couldn’t because D.R.A.M.A.”
Ryan pinched Blaire’s arm. “Ow! Ry! What’s your problem?!”
“Have a little tact, Blaire. Can’t you see Georgia’s upset?” He put his arm around Georgia’s shoulder. “You okay? We knew you two had a little flirty tension, but dating? Whew.” He grimaced. “That’s a whole different story.”
Georgia waved a hand at them dismissively. “What, dating? No, nah. I’m not upset in the slightest. It’s not a big deal. Seriously,” she emphasized. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay? I don’t want to go down in the long history of names marred by one bad non-date with Lakeland Lovett. Especially now.” She pulled away from them a bit and took a steadying breath. They both made as if zipping their lips shut, and Georgia knew they’d never tell a soul.
“Yeah. He may be completely hot, but you really dodged a bullet there,” Blaire said.
“Totally,” Georgia agreed. And after she assured them again that she was okay and excused herself to get a drink, she decided then and there she would never waste another moment on Lakeland Lovett.
When she saw Lake walking through the halls after the holidays, head down and properly shamed, she didn’t give him a second look. When she heard the rumors that he’d siphoned money from the fundraiser for drugs, she double-checked her own records and found the finances correct but didn’t set any of the rumors straight. When she left Sugartree behind after graduation, she abandoned any flame of attraction she’d admittedly held for Lakeland Lovett, and forgot all about the ways she’d hoped he’d changed. She promised herself she’d never have to see or speak to him again.
19
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN
HANSON
NOW
The eveningof Best in Snow finally arrived, and Georgia couldn’t remember Good Start ever being as full as it had been from the moment it opened that morning. She’d worked alongside her siblings all day, laughing and singing along to the Christmas music lightly playing over the speakers. Blaire and Ryan had visited at different points, promising to see Georgia for the evening’s festivities, and Ginny had received an endless stream of visitors, ranging from girls in youth group to countless teenage boys vying for her attention.
“Ginny, you’ve gotta get back to work at some point!” Dakota yelled over the steamer and the voices of the long line of customers waiting to be served. The place was packed, and all four siblings were about an hour out from being relieved of duty.
Ginny ignored her brother with ease.
“Come on, Gin. We need you,” Caroline said as she passed out drinks and scones to a table of customers sitting next to Ginny and the boy who’d been shamelessly flirting with her for fifteen minutes. “Only another hour.”
Ginny rolled her eyes and stood up from the table, throwing her curls over her shoulder and approaching the bar. “Y’all are tellin’ me that Georgia, here, can have her entire life distracted by Lakeland Lovett for an entire month, and I can’t have a single break to talk to a hottie from school?”
The room had silenced. Georgia scoffed, and Dakota held back a cackle.
“Don’t you look like that, Kota, when you’ve been spendin’ a whole lotta time arguin’ over every last thing with ourVERYpretty new manager.” Ginny raised an eyebrow at her brother, waiting for a response, before turning to Caroline. “And you.”
Caroline threw her hands in the air. “What have I done?”
Ginny looked around the room at her audience. “Don’t even begin to tell me you haven’t noticed how many times the eldest Lovett and hisoh so adorablelittle boyhave come in to visit Ms. Caroline and get free treats.” Ginny rolled her eyes again. “Please. If the three of y’all get love lives shaped out of this place,” she threw her hands up around her, “then I’m entitled to one, too.”
A teenage boy Georgia had seen an hour earlier talking to her sister started slow clapping from the corner of the oddly quiet room.
Dakota pointed his finger at him. “Knock it off.”
“Yes, sir,” he said, just as Lake walked through the door looking startled by the scene he’d stumbled upon, but gloriously handsome nonetheless.
The kid stopped clapping, but Georgia broke out into uncontrollable laughter at the absurdity of the situation. Through tears she said, “Thanks for that, Ginny. Please, for heaven’s sake, take the rest of the day off.”
Ginny whipped off her apron with a giant sigh of relief, and the rest of the shop fell into natural chattering once more. Through the influx of customers over the next hour, Georgia saw Lakeland patted on the back more than once with a nod in her direction. Even Lana Peter’s husband, already dressed as Santa for the evening, nudged Lake with a wink, and Georgia swore he was one bro hug away from giving him a noogie. Saved by the bell, Sadie arrived, relieving Georgia for the night and allowing her to grab a small package she’d hidden behind the counter and then rush to rescue Lake from the well-meaning Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
“Hey, y’all. Glad to see Santa could make it to the South tonight!” she said cheerily.
Lana looked at her husband like he was a Christmas cookie she’d like to take a bite out of. “Doesn’t he look exceptional?!” She rubbed her hand appreciatively on his round stomach. “He even increased his calories with those Little Debbie Christmas tree cakes, so as to stay true to the character, of course.”
“Of course,” Lake said with a twinkle in his eye. “Well, it was sure nice catchin’ up with y’all, but I have a gift I’d like to give this girl before the night starts. If that’s alright with you?” He turned to Georgia and wiggled the gift bag in the air. She nearly snatched it right out of his hands with excitement, but Lake clicked his tongue and grabbed her hand, leading them out onto the street.
Main street was packed with a crowd of quirky neighbors and visitors alike, all coming to see Sugartree transformed into aWinter Wonderland. The full magnolia trees held twinkling white lights dangling from every branch. Christmas trees lit up every store window, and a snow machine sitting on the roof of the courthouse blew a snowfall of white and speckled biodegradable paper onto the ground. A touch Georgia was glad they’d decided to add.
