“We didn’t know what the heck we were doing. You kids raised us as much as we raised you.”
Charlotte laughed lightly. “And all this time, I thought you knew everything!”
Mom laughed too. “Not even close.”
“I’m at checkout. I gotta go. Love you.”
“Merry Christmas, and I love you too.”
Charlotte grinned. “Merry Christmas.” They hung up, and she loaded her groceries on the belt, suddenly anxious to make this evening magical for a little girl and her handsome dad. Micah was a bit of a grinch, grump…, or maybe a non-believer. Whatever his Santa situation, she would make tonight merry and bright.
Stepping into the parking lot, now shrouded in darkness with only a few lights on, she heard jingle bells.
Pausing, she waited for a Kringle to appear, or at least a reindeer. Prancer sometimes snuck out of the stables for a midnight snack. She and Jacob left buckets of oats out for the mischief maker throughout December.
No one appeared, so she pressed on, her wish floating behind her as usual–though tonight felt anything but ordinary. She’d have to find a chance to talk to Nick and see if he knew anything about this second wish and why the two of them went all WWF when they saw each other.
Maybe it had something to do with her and Lizzie being extra sensitive to Christmas Magic.
Maybe it was a coincidence?
Maybe all of Nick’s wishes turned into glowing orbs these days?
Whatever the reason, she wanted to ensure it wouldn’t interfere with her moving in to the house on the corner this year.
ChapterFour
Micah loaded Lizzie into his SUV to go to Charlotte’s, still not understanding how they’d ended up with a cookie-making date from a trip to the grocery store. He’d spent years trying to figure out how to ask women on dates and had been shot down more often than he’d like to admit.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have game. He did. It was that he didn’t want to play games. He hated wondering if he was texting too soon after a date. If he liked the woman and texted the next day, she’d tell him he came on too strong. If he waited three days–as every dating guru instructed–then they thought he was distant and cold. He just couldn’t win. And then Lizzie came into his life, and he’d stopped trying altogether.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this wasn’t a date.
A date involves a mutual desire to be together. Charlotte hadn’t expressed any interest in him–although he had caught her looking him over once. But then she’d jumped in to making plans with Lizzie and contemplating his lack of holiday hurrah. The two had bonded over discussing what he lacked; if that didn’t say:not interested, he didn’t know what did.
Too bad, though. Charlotte was the type of woman he’d want to get to know. She’d talked to Lizzie as if she were an equal–which went a long way to boost his opinion of her, which was above average with just one look. Charlotte was beautiful. She had dark hair–not entirely black, but the darkest brown he’d ever seen. The dark hair and lashes made her lighter than the sky-blue eyes pop. Like the moon on a lake, they drew his attention repeatedly. She was intense, and not just when she focused on him, but when she talked about Christmas. When he thought back to what happened at the grocery store, it was a blur of flying produce and Charlotte’s bright blue eyes.
Her enthusiasm could rival a North Pole elf’s–if such a thing existed.
“Jingle bells. Jingle bells. All the way.” Lizzie made up her version of Christmas songs, singing the parts she liked the most over and over again. “Can we listen to my album?” She clicked her seatbelt in place as he settled behind the wheel.
Micah groaned. “Do we have to?”
Lizzie giggled at what she thought was pretend grumpiness. The truth was, Micah had heard Valerie Remmington’s entire Christmas album at least twice a day since it was released in mid-October. It played in every store and station and was at the top of Lizzie’s playlist. He never thought he’d wish for a new Disney princess movie, but that might be the only thing that would distract Lizzie from Ms. Remmington.
“Da-ad,” she complained at his reluctance.
“Okay. Okay.” He turned on the stereo and hit the playlist on his phone.Rockin’ Around the Christmas Treestarted, and Lizzie kicked her feet in time with the music as she sang at the top of her lungs.
Charlotte didn’t live far. As they rounded the corner to her street, Lizzie caught sight of “her house” and squealed. “Stop! I want to see my wish.”
He wasn’t going to pull over, but his phone rang, and his brother’s name appeared on the screen. He checked the clock, and they had enough time for a detour. “Make it quick.” He pulled over and answered.
Lizzie slid out of the car and ran to the fence. She began talking to the house. For a brief moment, he wondered if he needed to have her evaluated by the school psychologist.
“Micah?” his brother asked. “You there?”
Micah shook himself. “Yeah, I’m here.” His niece shrieked in the background. The piercing noise was followed quickly by his nephew’s giggles.
