by Liz Isaacson
They began to wander around the winter wonderland, taking in the fountains and light displays. The enormous Christmas tree stood at least thirty feet tall, and the scent of the pine needles filled the air.
The tree with its hundreds of ornaments seemed so forlorn with unlit lights.
“Dear Lord, this is not happening,” Cactus said, and he turned to go between two food booths.
Ace went right after him, because he knew Cactus didn’t want to be alone tonight. He’d said he didn’t mind being a third wheel, but they hadn’t found Holly Ann yet, and she should’ve arrived at the same time they had.
“What’s not happening?” he asked once he’d found Cactus hiding behind the bright blue shack of a Mexican restaurant in town.
“Willa’s here,” he said. “Of course she’d be here. She loves festivals and stuff.”
“I didn’t see her,” Ace said. “Besides, didn’t you say a mere two hours ago that you hoped you’d run into her so you could apologize?”
Cactus fixed him with those dark blue eyes, but Ace didn’t back down. “That’s what you said.”
“I know what I said.”
“Then stop cowering back here like a fool and come talk to her.”
“She had her nieces with her.”
“Even better,” Ace said. “That makes the conversation happen quickly, and you can say what you need to say, and be done.”
Cactus nodded and peeled himself away from the booth. Ace led the way back into the horseshoe-shaped area where all the edibles were. His stomach growled at him, but he wanted to eat with Holly Ann tonight.
He practically shoved Cactus toward Willa, a beautiful redhead who had one hand secured in that of a little girl on each side of her. She stood in front of Wild Caribbean, which was a huge mistake in Ace’s mind. Out of all the places to eat here, he’d choose the food mashup of Caribbean with Texas barbecue dead last.
He’d been worried about forcing Cactus to apologize tonight, but he watched as Cactus removed his hat and held it to his chest while he spoke to Willa.
He watched her smile and nod, say something to him in what was surely a kind voice, and then tilt her head to the side. She’d clearly asked him a question, and then she looked down at her nieces.
Ace loved people-watching, and he started making up the dialog that went with the body language. Cactus put his hat back on and bent down in front of the smallest girl. She laughed and shook her head, and Ace smiled at how easily Cactus could apologize and make things right.
Willa and the girls turned to get their food, and Cactus looked over to Ace, his eyes wide. He gestured to indicate he was going to stay with them, and Ace waved to him.
And to think he’d been worried about leaving Cactus out or alone tonight.
Now he was the one standing alone, and he looked around for Holly Ann once more. He didn’t see her, and she was now officially forty-five minutes late.
She didn’t show up in time for them to get anything to eat before the tree lighting, and in fact, Ace stood at the back of the crowd, alone, his eyes squinted upward at the ridiculously dark tree.
He normally loved the tree-lighting ceremony, but Ace didn’t like doing much of anything alone. Certainly not this, when there were so many families here. So many couples, cuddled into one another to stay warm until the great behemoth of a tree would be lit.
“Here we go, folks,” someone said, and while it was a woman, it wasn’t Holly Ann. She’d apparently forgotten where she was supposed to be tonight.
Maybe she’s just busy, he told himself. He knew she was, but she hadn’t called or texted, and that annoyed him. Even the busiest person in the world could text if they were running late or couldn’t make it.
The tree burst to life, with hundreds of brightly colored and lit bulbs. The crowd broke out into cheers and applause, and the woman speaking into the mic could barely be heard as she said, “Now, let’s welcome our special guest of honor, all the way from the North Pole…Santa!”
The shrieking turned up a notch, and Ace suddenly wanted nothing more than to get out of there.
Chapter Sixteen
Holly Ann settled onto Santa’s throne, ready for the next two hours of smiling and holding children on her lap. The tree-lighting had gone brilliantly, and the crowd this year had tipped over ten thousand, thanks to the amazing weather and the push notification that had gone out on Two Cents.
She couldn’t believe how big of a difference that had made, but the tree-lighting, which was the kick-off event of the Christmas Festival, always brought in the most people. Last year, only seventy-eight hundred residents of Three Rivers had attended, and they’d added another twenty-five percent this year.
The only difference was the utilization of Two Cents to push out the schedule of events, create polls for upcoming activities, and leave feedback on specific functions after they happened. She’d even worked with Ward to include a spot where people could suggest future activities right inside the app.
They’d been using their website and social media pages for all of that over the years, but Two Cents was something seemingly every resident in town used on a daily basis, and since the Festival had no app, and no way to build one reasonably before things kicked off, Holly Ann had partnered with them.
She looked out into the crowd as the first child came toward her, her stomach tight at all the cowboy hats she saw. Plenty of black ones swam in her vision, but none of them were attached to the cowboy she wanted to see.
“This is Michael,” the helper elf said, and Holly Ann bent to pick up the child. He was probably four or five years old, and he stared at her with wide eyes.
“What do you want for Christmas?” Holly Ann asked. His bright brown eyes grew excited, and he started to talk, his parents taking pictures on the other side of the red carpet that led to her throne.
She kept her smile in place and listened to the little boy. She pointed to the camera when it was time, and she smiled like she was having the time of her life.
Child after child went through the line, and Holly Ann was having the time of her life. When she’d learned her father got to dress up and play Santa for the town, she’d been surprised but thrilled. When she’d learned she got to do it too, she’d taken on the challenge wholeheartedly.
Santa Claus meant something to these kids—and their parents. He represented the magic and wonder of the season, the same way Jesus Christ did. They both provided gifts, though very different types, and Holly Ann loved thinking about her Savior and all He’d done for her that year every time she sat on the throne and held a child on her lap.
While the helper elf tried to convince a sobbing child that Holly Ann was safe, she looked out into the sea of people again. She saw someone who looked very much like Ace, and she immediately ducked her head, her heart pounding. When she remembered the blue contacts and that all of her hair was tucked away, she looked up again.
The man leaning against the fence wasn’t Ace, but his cousin, Cactus Glover. He stood alone, and he watched the helper elf with the little girl, a small smile on his face. Someone must’ve said something to him, because he turned his head, and then walked away.
In that moment, Holly Ann’s memory fired something at her. A text Ace had sent. I’m getting Cactus and we’ll be down in town for the tree lighting. We’ll meet you at five and we can get dinner from the trucks or the court.
She moaned audibly, though the little girl was no closer to coming over so it didn’t matter. She’d completely forgotten she was going to come to the tree lighting with Ace. She’d thought she could grab dinner with him, make up an emergency, and get dressed in time to play Santa.
Turned out, there had been a real emergency earlier that day, and she’d forgotten all about her plans with Ace. Could she pull out her phone and text him quickly?
The helper elf looked extremely flustered, and she turned to the parents for help. Holly Ann took the opportunity to ease her phone out from under her leg—she couldn’t
just ignore texts for hours on end. She was the Christmas Festival director. If something huge happened while she was playing her role, she’d have to make something up to get out of there.
Ace had texted only once, and it didn’t sound good.
Guess you’re too busy to see me tonight. Call me when you get a minute.
She sighed and quickly tapped out, I’m so sorry. Something came up. I’ll be free hopefully about eight. Will you still be here?
If Cactus was still here, surely Ace was too.
Yes, his response came back. Just call me.
Okay, she said, and then the helper elf said, “This is Ellie,” and Holly shoved her phone away. She pushed against the urgency screaming at her to get out of there, get changed, and get to Ace.
When she finished, she stole into the private lounge on the second-floor mall offices, changed quickly and tucked everything for the Santa suit inside a garment bag. She hung that in the closet, put the boots beneath it, and slid the door closed. She locked it, and pushed the key into her pocket.
She took a few precious minutes to fluff up her hair, which tended to stick flatly to her head after being under the wig and Santa cap for so long, put on a thin sheen of lip gloss, and put a mint in her mouth.
Then she left the office, which was marked for Santa only, and hurried down the hall. She caught sight of Rachel still in the office, and she poked her head inside. “You’re still here?”
The assistant director turned around and smiled. “Just going over tomorrow’s volunteers for the sleigh rides and sending reminder texts.” She tapped the stack of papers in front of her. “I’m leaving in five.”
“Perfect,” Holly Ann said, though she’d been in Rachel’s shoes. She’d wanted to make the director’s job as easy as possible, because they had to deal with the public on top of everything else. “Thanks, Rachel.”
“Are you getting something to eat?” Rachel asked, clicking on the computer now. “The crew is going to The Lucky Irish together.”
“No, I’ve got to go meet my boyfriend.” Holly Ann put a smile on her face, though she’d love to go out with the group of people she’d been planning the festival with for the past few weeks. Before that even, as the Christmas Festival had a lot of people who came back year after year to keep planning and serving and putting on the best holiday festival they could.
“Bummer,” Rachel said, and she tucked her sandy blonde hair behind her ear as she glanced up. “Have fun with Ace, though.”
“Yeah.” Holly Ann ducked out of the room and quickly went down the steps. Her phone chimed several times as she did, and she cursed the dead spot on the second floor. She ignored the texts, none of which were from Ace, and called him instead.
“Hey,” she said breathlessly, probably thanks to those extra thirteen pounds. “I’m done and headed outside. Where can I find you?”
“I’m standin’ next to The Watering Hole.”
Clear across the plaza from Holly Ann. “Great,” she chirped anyway. “I’m about five minutes away.”
“Okay,” he said, and Holly Ann wanted to apologize again.
“I’m sorry,” she said, really panting now. “It has been a day.”
“I understand.” He sounded less than understanding though. Perhaps he was just disappointed. A person could be disappointed and understanding at the same time, right? Frustration filled Holly Ann at the burden of trying to balance all she had to do for the festival, her catering load, being Santa, and spending time with Ace.
This is why you wanted to break up with him.
But at the same time, she absolutely didn’t want to break up with him.
“I just got busy, and when I saw Cactus, I remembered you two were coming.”
“You saw Cactus?”
“Yeah,” Holly Ann said. “I didn’t see you, though, and then I got stuck talking to someone about the sleigh rides tomorrow.” She made herself stop talking, because she didn’t want to lie to him. She hadn’t been stuck talking to Rachel about the sleigh rides, though she had spoken to someone about them.
“Who?” he asked.
“Just—I don’t know. Someone.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll see you in a minute.” The call ended, and Holly Ann’s heartbeat sprinted in her chest. She didn’t like lying to him, and she knew that half-truths would only get half the job done.
Plenty of people loitered around The Watering Hole, because it was a great place to get a drink and mingle. Ace stood on the outskirts of any of that, not holding anything to drink, and glancing around with a dark look on his face.
Holly Ann rushed right into the storm and said, “There you are,” moments before wrapping him in her arms. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
His arms came around her slowly, but he did breathe in deeply, and she hoped she didn’t smell too much like the inside of a polyester Santa suit. Or too sweaty, as that thing was hot, and the weather today had been beautiful.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re here now.” He touched his lips to her neck, sending a shiver of desire and pleasure down her arm.
She giggled and stepped back. “I’m starving. Have you eaten? I’ll take you somewhere quiet for dinner.” That meant nowhere around here, and Holly Ann knew just the place.
“I could eat,” he said, which meant he had eaten dinner at some point.
She grinned at him and laced her fingers through his, still concerned she hadn’t been forgiven when he didn’t return her smile. “When can’t you eat?”
“Hey, I had a hard time yesterday,” he said. “If your sister didn’t make the best mashed potatoes on the planet, I wouldn’t have been so tempted.”
She laughed at his defense, glad some of the flirtatious qualities had returned to his voice. When she led him away from The Watering Hole, he did wear a smile.
Thank you, she prayed. Help me to be honest with him. I don’t want to hurt him.
She really didn’t, but she couldn’t find a way through this maze. She did know where to take him for dinner, though. “She’ll be thrilled. Bethany Rose always compares herself to me when it comes to cooking.”
“She did an amazing job yesterday,” Ace said. He walked slowly with her, and Holly Ann took a moment to just enjoy the November night. The air had cooled, as it did in the winter in Three Rivers, and the stars had started to come out.
She pulled in a long breath and looked up at the moon. “I love the night sky,” she said. “Once, right after I graduated, I thought maybe I’d like to be an astronomer. An astronaut. Something where I could study stars.”
“Why didn’t you?” he asked.
“First off, the amount of physics involved in a program like that is insane.” She grinned up at the brightest pricks of light, knowing it was Venus. “Not sure you know, but me and physics don’t get along. Or me and math.” She laughed a little. “I’m more of a dreamer, but I didn’t see any Stargazing While You Daydream 101 classes.”
He chuckled with her, and Holly Ann finally felt forgiven. The mood between them returned to casual and easy and supercharged with chemistry, the way it usually was.
“So that didn’t work out,” she said. “I took a baking class, and I really liked that. I took a web design class, and I thought I liked that. The second one was super hard, though, and I don’t even think I finished it.”
Holly Ann had a long list of things she hadn’t finished, but she kept those under her tongue for now. “Did you ever take any classes, Ace?”
“Sure,” he said. “I have a degree in Agricultural Science from Texas A&M.”
“You do? Like a whole degree?” She gaped at him. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled at her fondly, a new edge in his eye. “I liked the aggro-tech classes a lot, and the horticulture. I also excelled at crops and soils. That’s what I do on the ranch, Holly Ann. I manage all the agricultural needs. It includes all the crops we plant and harvest—I decide what,
where, when, and then what to do with them. Sometimes we feed them to our own animals, and sometimes we sell our crops. I manage all the fields—the soil quality, the fertilization, the pest control, the rotation of it all.”
He stopped speaking, but Holly Ann liked listening to him talk. “Go on,” she encouraged.
“It’s boring,” he said quietly.
“It is not,” she said. “I like listening to you talk about your ranch. You’re so excited about it.” She tried to give him a smile, but his had disappeared.
“Yeah, excited about soil pH and rotational ranching practices,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s so lame.”
“It is not,” she insisted. “I don’t even know what horticulture is. It sounds like a horrible disease.” She tried another smile, pleased when he finally cracked.
“It’s basically gardening,” he said. “Garden management.”
“Do you guys have a big garden up there?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “Ward and I do all of that, from the planting to the care to the harvesting. We set huge baskets out on the front porch of Bull House, and everyone comes and gets what they want.”
“Bull House?”
“That’s my house,” he explained. “It’s named after my dad.” He swallowed, and Holly Ann catalogued the movement down his throat. She reached up and touched his neck there, and he froze.
“You miss your dad,” she said quietly, stalling with him.
He nodded, his eyes blazing with emotion now. The lights from the nearby shops haloed him, making him bright in some places and completely covered in shadows in others.
“I have a secret,” she whispered.
“Oh, I have so many,” Ace whispered back.
“What’s one of yours?”
“You go first.”
Holly Ann could still hear the noise from back by The Watering Hole. She and Ace still walked along the stores in the outdoor mall. They weren’t in private by any stretch of the imagination, yet she felt like only he existed in her world. Just the two of them, and she felt herself falling, falling, falling in love with him.