***
Ten days later, I was in the dress shop with the fountain, hanging tinsel.
Bella was singing in the storeroom, her angelic voice carrying the words of “The First Noel” straight up to heaven, I was sure. She’d confided in me long ago that she’d been part of her church choir since she was old enough to remember the songs. Then things started going badly at her house. She’d been booted out of her very religious home at fourteen after being caught wearing girls’ clothing and makeup, but throughout all the hardship—and she’d had plenty—she never lost her love of singing. I climbed down from the stepladder just as she emerged from the backroom with yet another box of decorations. She and Granny were vying for who could stuff the most holiday cheer into their spaces as humanly possible. So far it was a tie.
“Your loops are sagging,” she said, placing the box of balls on the counter beside her register. Sales had been good of late. Lots of local ladies loved Bella’s clothes. Some, sadly, had to hide where they bought them by using shipping boxes from other places.
“That’s pretty personal,” I replied, stepping back to check out my tinsel loops. Oh yeah, some were sagging. That would not do at all. I climbed back up the ladder and fiddled with the tinsel until things were perfect.
“That’s good. Honestly, Ford, we don’t need a ruler. Come down and help me with my balls.”
I caught the wink as I walked over to join her, yardstick in hand. “You’re naughty. Santa won’t bring you anything if you keep talking like that.” I placed the yardstick behind the counter and opened the box of newly purchased glass balls, all red and green.
“As cold as it’s getting here, a little coal would be a good present,” she parried and pulled the cowlneck on her soft plum sweater up to her chin. She added a dramatic shiver for good measure. I chuckled and gave her long Ariana Grande ponytail a soft tug. “Speaking of presents, have you gotten Aiden anything?”
“Yeah, they’re supposed to come tomorrow. I found a hobby store online that sells metal townspeople for model train enthusiasts. They had a doctor. It was probably a human doctor, but that’s okay. He’s wearing a white lab coat. Well, it will be white when I paint it. They also had farm animals, so I bought a set of those too.”
“You’re cutting it close. Christmas is coming fast. Will you have enough time to paint them? You’re at his place almost every night.” Her elbow found my ribs. I grunted. She giggled.
“I’ll just have to do them in the afternoon.”
“Okay, we’ll sew and paint together. I have four dresses to finish before the twentieth. Seems every woman in Bastian Grange needs a new dress for the town holiday party at the fire hall on the twenty-third. Granny even asked for one, so that’s five. What is wrong with me? Why do I always say yes?”
“Because you’re an angel,” I replied. Her eye roll was epic.
“Maybe a fallen angel,” she softly answered, her slim fingers lifting a green ball to admire it in the blinking lights draped over the old beams above us. “Not to pry…”
“You always pry, so don’t act like you don’t.” I began attaching hooks to the balls.
“Fine. I pry. But only because I love you.”
“I know.” We gently bumped shoulders.
“Are you going to be moving out to live with Aiden like Dodge did?”
I glanced down at her. “No, no, that’s…shit. No, he’s not ready for that. We’re just trying this whole committed thing on for size, like the women do with your ready-to-wear dresses. So far, it’s great, but he’s…his childhood was fucked.”
“Like so many of us,” she lamented, passing over a ball to be hooked.
“Yeah.” It sucked that so many people had had such miserable childhoods. “Besides, that’s a big step for someone who may have to pick up and run at any given time.”
“No, hey.” She turned to face me, jade eyes locking me down. “Don’t let my shit keep you from being with the man you love.”
“It’s our shit,” I reminded her for the ten millionth time. “We were both involved. I stay with you no matter what, even if you do have a yeti to protect you.”
She blushed. “Linc isn’t a yeti. Bigfoot maybe. And you know what they say about men with big feet.”
“You’re for sure getting coal.”
Lady let out a small yip from where she’d been napping in front of the new woodstove Linc had bought for the shop, so Bella wasn’t chilly while she worked. He’d made sure it was big enough and had a little fan that would blow warm air into the backroom where Bella now slept.
The front door opened. Baker strode in, paused, and removed his hat as if he were entering Buckingham Palace.
“Granny said you were here,” he said to me. “Just heard from Penton. They got the cat in their trap over by the willow patch. Thought you two might like to ride over and take a gander before they haul it away.” He glanced about. “Looks like Clark Griswold did your decorating.”
“Very funny. They’re not going to kill the mountain lion, are they?” Bella enquired. Baker shook his head. “Okay, then I’ll ride along.”
“Get your boots and coats on. Don’t want to stress the animal more than we have to.” With that, he exited into the cold December afternoon. Bella and I left the decorations for later. Within minutes, we were bouncing over Bastian lands, four of us wedged into the front seat like sardines. Baker driving, me and Bella in the middle, and Linc squashed into the passenger door with his arms crossed in front of him.
