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“Are you absolutely certain?” When she gave an affirmative nod, he said, “Okay.”

After paying for it, they realized getting it home was going to be tricky. Luckily, her rental car was a crossover, so it had a roof rack. It took a lot of bungee cords, but at last it was attached to the roof of the car. Hopefully, they wouldn’t pass the sheriff on their way back to the inn.

As Leah got in the driver’s seat, she said, “I’m not sure about this. What if it falls off?”

“It won’t.” He thought of the extra bungee cords he’d bought just to be overly cautious. “That tree isn’t going anywhere. Just drive slowly and everything will be fine.”

And so, they set off for the inn. Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned her driving slowly because she was driving like she was in a race with a tortoise, and he’d bet on the tortoise to win.

He cleared his throat and then said gently, “You can go faster.”

She had both hands on the steering wheel, placed at ten and two. She didn’t take her eyes off the road. “That’s easy for you to say. You aren’t driving a car with a giant tree strapped to the roof.”

He stifled a chuckle. “Would you like me to drive?”

She gave a quick shake of her head. “I’ve got it.”

He noticed how tightly she was gripping the steering wheel. She needed something to help her relax. He reached for the radio.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Turning on the radio. I thought maybe some Christmas carols would be nice.”

“Oh. Okay. I guess.”

Luckily, the drive was short—well, under normal circumstances it was short. This particular drive took them sixteen very long, slow minutes. There might have been a couple horns honked at them. And a number of vehicles passed them. Leah didn’t seem to let any of it bother her.

And then they pulled into the driveway. It wasn’t until the car was parked that he heard Leah sigh. “For a California girl born and bred, the snow takes a bit to get used to.”

They worked together to get the tree inside. He already had a tree stand attached to a heavy square piece of wood that he’d found in the garage. He had a feeling the tree would require a few of those red bricks he’d also retrieved from the garage.

With the aid of Mochi, who was upset that she’d been left at home, they got the tree in the stand. Mochi was in the way at every turn. She didn’t want to be left out of anything.

“How does it look?” Shaun was lying under the tree as he’d been tightening the screws to hold the tree in place.

“It looks big. It didn’t look that big in the lot.”

He couldn’t help but smile. “I meant, is the tree straight?”

“Oh. Wait. Let me look.” There were footsteps and then more footsteps. “Yes, it looks straight.”

“Okay. I’m going to tighten the screws the whole way.” Mochi picked that moment to try to crawl under the tree with him. “Mochi, no.”

The pup wasn’t in the mood to listen. She was certain that she could help or at least lick his face because that was always helpful. But the more she wiggled toward him, the more she pressed against the tree.

“Mochi, come here,” Leah called out.

The next thing he knew, Mochi was being pulled backward. He breathed easier. He hurried to get the tree securely screwed in.

When he shimmied out from under the tree, he found Leah sitting on the floor with Mochi sitting in her lap, licking her face. Leah’s face was scrunched up, but she didn’t stop the pup.

And then he spotted Mochi’s favorite toy. He picked up the teddy bear. “Mochi, look what I’ve got.”

The pup’s head swung around. As soon as she saw her teddy in his hand, she took off after it. She snagged it with her teeth and went over by the fireplace to lie down with him.

That was when Shaun noticed that he’d been in such a hurry to get the tree set up that he hadn’t lit the fireplace. But just as quickly, he realized they were going for an early dinner before the town hall meeting. Maybe they could start the fireplace later that evening.

Instead, he moved to the utility room where he’d stored the crates of tree decorations. He moved them to the living room.