Mrs. Hall leaned out and squinted. “You two! I never know what you’re up to.”
Jacob and Lauren shared a quiet chuckle at the familiar lament.
“Come in when you’re done. Breakfast is ready.” She shut the door.
Lauren sighed. “Well, it’s time for me to be a grown-up.”
Her face fell. On the other side of that door was her almost fiance. The guy she’d have to break up with this morning. She didn’t look brokenhearted about it but more resigned to an unpleasant experience.
“Lauren,” Jacob reached out to stop her from leaving. She didn’t turn to face him all the way but looked at him sideways. “Don’t grow up too fast, okay?”
She twisted her lips. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”
“Then make time to be a kid.” He motioned to the elephant, Rudolf. “Treat every day like it’s Christmas.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Every day?” she asked quietly.
He swallowed, afraid he’d already given away too much about Christmas Magic and their entwined wishes and secrets he couldn’t share. “Isn’t that what Scrooge said? That he’d hold Christmas in his heart not just once a year but every day.”
She nodded slowly. “Something like that. I’ll take it into consideration.” She glanced down at where his gloved hand rested on her shoulder.
He could swear he felt the heat from her skin on his palm. He let her go. “I’ll see you later.”
She stepped away. “For sure.”
Something in her tone, a note of sarcasm mixed with knowledge, grabbed at his awareness. “What do you mean?” Did she know Christmas was on repeat?
She shrugged. “Small town Christmas. Gingerbread contest. Neighbor gifts. The sing-along. We’re bound to bump into one another sometime.”
“Oh. Yeah.” He shook his head as if he’d forgotten. “I’ll see you later then.”
He watched her until she was inside, and then he went into his Mom’s house and shook the snow off his boots outside of her door. Inside, he could smell the pine candle she burned.
“Mom?” He found her standing in front of the tree, staring at the ornaments he and his siblings had made through the years. His were made from fruit loops glued to cardboard, while Charlotte intricately folded snowflakes. Aubrey’s and Andrew’s were somewhere in between.
Mom stood in front of the tree. “I looked out the window earlier–it was like old times with you and Lauren out there in the snow. She still can’t roll a ball straight to save her life.”
He laughed and walked over to kiss her on the top of the head. “Merry Christmas, Mom.”
She side-hugged him. “I always thought you two would figure things out and get married.”
“Me too,” he admitted.
She smacked his chest. “Jacob Morris!” She smacked him again. “If you felt that way, why did you ever let her leave?”
He held up his hands to fend off her attack. “Because I thought if we were meant to be, then it would all work out.”
Mom rolled her eyes. “And has it?”
He gave her his I-peeked-at-the-presents grin. “It’s in process.”
She put her hands over her chest and grinned. “That’s the best Christmas news I’ve had all season.”
Jacob rubbed his belly. “So, about those maple pancakes.”
She laughed, looking happier and lighter than she had for a while. “You mix the batter, and I’ll make the syrup.”
“Deal.” He hooked his arm around her shoulders as they made their way to the kitchen. “Who knows, maybe next Christmas, I’ll invite Lauren over for breakfast.”
