Holly locked the door behind Mr. Branson, happy to see he’d spent his usual half hour picking out just the right ornament. His wife must be paying attention to him again. Last year at Christmas, she’dtried making his wife jealous with a few anonymous phone calls, but the woman had been oblivious. As it turned out, in the spring Mr. Branson had a heart attack and that woke up Mrs. Branson to how close she’d come to losing him.
Luckily, the elderly man lived, and she was so pleased. His wife also realized in time how lucky she was. They celebrated their sixty-first anniversary at the TurnberryGolf Resort with many family and friends just last month.
Holly shook her head. Why did people not appreciate those in their lives while they had them? It shouldn’t take a brush with death to focus on what was important. She’d always appreciated Cam every day of her life. Their time together was far too short.
At the thought that he would visit her in a matter of minutes, she hit the switchthat turned off all the Christmas lights in their little store on Main Street. Lastly, she turned off the outside light that proclaimed it the One of a Kind Christmas Shop.
Ducking behind the tapestry that covered the door between the shop and their house, she stepped inside. She dropped her purse on the table next to the door and flicked on the light. “Mac?”
She frowned as she scanned the decoratedliving room. Some might say over-decorated, but it was perfect for her and Cam…and Mac. “Mac, where are you?”
Holy crap, did she lock him in the closet by accident again? She ran to the bedroom at the back of the house and opened the closet door. “Mac?” Pushing aside clothes, she rummaged around until she was sure he wasn’t there.
“Come on, Mac. Where are you? Give me a clue.”
A quiet meowcame from the living room.
Really? He couldn’t let her know he was out there when she first called? Stalking into the front room again, she looked for her trouble-maker cat. “Mac, where are you?” He wasn’t in either of the stuffed chairs, nor was he on the side table where he enjoyed swatting the manger animals onto the floor.
“Mac Douglas, tell me where you are right now.”
A loud meow wasfollowed by a streak of gray fur jumping toward her. “Mac!”
Just as she caught the cat, the entire tree tilted in the opposite direction and fell against the bay window. She stared at the animal in her arms. “Now what’s got into you? Since when do you climb the Christmas tree?”
The cat looked at her with its bright whiskey-colored eyes for a moment before butting his head up against her chin.She scratched between his folded ears before putting him down. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but if Cam sees this tree like this, I’m not taking the blame.”
Mac rubbed against her legs.
“Don’t try to make up to me now. I need to get this fixed before Cam arrives.” She stilled.IfCam arrived. He said last year it all depended on whether she started living again.
She’d tried to dojust that. She’d followed-up on all the things Coco and Ian had showed her, calling Mr. Branson, introducing Luca to his two soulmates without letting him know that’s who they were, accepting a few invitations to go to events with others. Now that she understood not everyone’s life in town was as perfect as she’d thought, it made it a little easier to socialize.
She’d even gone back to Americato visit her family and finagled a promise for her mom and John to visit her in Deervale next year. The hardest part had been being nice to the one woman in town who appeared incredibly selfish.
Sophia Dunlap had a younger sister, Thea, who had cancer and was supposed to receive a bone marrow transplant, but Sophia hadn’t told a soul in Deervale that she even had a sister. Once the Spirits ofChristmas Present showed her Sophia’s secret dedication to her sister, Holly had found a new patience with Sophia.
It appeared she’d need new patience with her cat as well. She walked over to the fallen Christmas tree. So many of the ornaments reminded her of her time with Cam, but she’d added new ones every year because that had always been their tradition. The only ones that weren’t up therewere ones Mac had broken.
She scanned the room to make sure the cat wasn’t causing any more trouble and found him sitting on the arm of “his” chair, cleaning his paw. Shaking her head, she grasped the tree and pulled it back upright. Luckily, it didn’t go through the window. There may not be any snow on the ground, but it was cold outside, and she couldn’t imagine celebrating Christmas al fresco.
The artificial tree’s branches were rusty from a water leak early in the year. It was an older model where each branch needed to be inserted into its appropriate slot and the rust on the metal ends had made it a struggle to put together by herself. At least none of the branches came out when the tree tipped over. Though that may mean she wouldn’t be able to take it down after the season was over.
She should have asked Brody or Ethan for help, but the tree raising and decorating had been such a personal event for her and Cam. She just couldn’t do it. She should probably just buy a new tree, but she couldn’t do that either. This wastheirtree.
She stepped back and viewed her masterpiece. Branches were bent and ornaments were missing. “Mac, if you broke any of my ornaments, you won’t getyour Christmas treat this year.” She crouched down and started picking up ornaments.
Camhadto come. She hadn’t overheard anyone calling her the “poor widow Douglas” anymore. That had to be because she was getting out and interacting with friends and neighbors. Or it could just mean she wasn’t in the right places to hear it.
Mac rubbed against her knee before batting a crystal ball with a sleighinside it completely out of her reach. “Hey, stop that. I don’t remember asking you for your help.” She stood and placed the ornaments on a side table then walked around to the other side of the tree.
Before searching for the ornament Mac sent rolling, and any more that had gone that way, she turned on the gas stove then hit the button that brought all the Christmas lights on, bathing the roomin a pink glow. The two trains started to move, a tiny whistle signaling the start of the one beneath the tree.
Quickly, she crouched down to check the track for ornaments. Sure enough, a tiny silver bell with her and Cam’s wedding date engraved on the side lay in the way of the oncoming train. Diving under the lowest branches, she snatched it up before there was a train wreck.
“I always didlove your ass.” Cam’s voice from behind her sent her heart racing.
Scrambling from beneath the tree, she let her gaze feast on the one man that filled her heart and soul even to this day. “Cam.”
