by Nancy Naigle
“Here.” She took the phone and typed in the phone number, then pressed Send. “She’s going to love that.”
Ben put his coat back on. “Grab your jacket. Come tell me where you want these trees. I’ll show you where we usually put them.”
“Okay. I have some ideas.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
She swatted the loop of her infinity scarf on his coat sleeve as he led the way outside. The brisk air made her sniffle. “It’s gotten cold out here.”
“Always feels colder after you’ve been inside. It’s not that bad. You’ll get used to it.”
“Feels like snow,” she said.
“It’s not even in the thirties. All right. So Ruby and I usually use one big tree and one small one in the house and the other three out here.”
Joy shook her head. “Not this year. Instead of the small tree in the dining room this year, I’d like to put that one at the top of the stairwell so it will draw the visitors’ eyes up. I have a mistletoe moment in store for them. And then one of the big trees in the dining room. That’ll give us one big one and one small one out here.”
Ben’s lips bunched. He wanted to say something, she could tell, but he didn’t. Instead, he gave her a simple nod.
“Hear me out,” Joy said. “I went through all the pictures from the past few years. Of course, the photos don’t do justice to the in-person effect. But I thought another tree in the house would make for a more brilliant experience as they make their way outside. We’ll start them up the walk and funnel them through the house. But we’re going to serve the cookies and cocoa out here in the barn. It’ll give more room for mingling, and—” Joy felt her own excitement rise. She clapped her hands together. “—I’m going to rig up some music too.”
“That’s actually a really good idea.”
“Thank you. And I’d like to make the animals a part of the display. We can move them to the front fenced area and do a nativity.”
“A live nativity?” Ben said, raising a finger in the air. “In fact, I can get volunteers to play those parts. I’ll take care of that.”
“Really?” Her heart felt as bubbly as champagne. “This is so exciting.”
“I can move that goat shelter over into the front yard, and rather than using strings of lights, we can use soft spotlights. I think that would be much more tasteful.”
“It sounds perfect.”
“Where do you want to put the trees?”
“The small one along the walkway between the house and the barn, and the big one on the walkway out. And here’s where I think it will become even more fun. I’m going to put a bin of ornaments next to the tree. We have tons of them, and every person who comes through will get to hang a decoration before they leave. It’ll be interactive and get prettier as the night goes on.” Joy hugged her coat tighter against the cold. “I thought it was kind of like what your mom did at the hospital. And that is so special.”
“Joy. That’s nice. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. It’s a lovely sentiment, and I want our Crystal Christmas Cookie Crawl stop to be the most memorable one they’ve ever had here.”
“I think you’re on the right track. Ruby is going to love it.”
“Thank you. I really want it to be perfect for her.” And for you, Ben.
“She will love this light display, but don’t you know it’s you being here that will make her the happiest?”
The chill in the air made her shiver, or maybe it was Ben’s honesty getting to her.
“It’s never about the lights, or the lavish displays. It’s friends and family who make it.”
A puff of frosty air floated between them as she let out a breath. “This feels so … I’m not even sure how to describe it.”
“It’s what you feel in here.” He tapped her heart. “Interacting with the world, with people, in ways that leave joy along the path.”
She swallowed hard. His mouth close to hers. She wanted so badly to feel his lips on hers again. His touch had given her a renewed belief that someone someday might just reopen her heart.
“You’re cold. Go inside. Put the stands where you want the trees. I’ll bring them inside for you after I take a few measurements so I can move those things around to the front yard and light them up later this week. Go on. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
And right now, even just a few minutes felt longer than she wanted to be away from him, and that scared her more than anything.
Chapter Twenty-six
Joy had already put the tree stands in the dining room and at the top of the stairs, and filled the one in the living room with three pitchers of water. That tree stand had a huge reservoir. Ben was right, there shouldn’t be any need to refill it for a while.
She sat on the floor in front of the ottoman with two stacks of foil strips, one silver and the other gold. She’d wanted to come up with a new twist on the glittery look of tinsel, and when she’d stumbled upon the old seven-inch rolls of embossed foil, she knew they’d be perfect. The original receipt had still been in the bag, showing that the short rolls had been purchased back in 1980. Who knew how old some of the other stuff was up in that attic?
The paper was the perfect natural medium to make the garland in her Nature’s Bounty theme. Plus, handmade garland would bring back memories for so many, while offering a nontoxic sparkle.
She rummaged through the old junk drawer in the side table next to Ruby’s chair for a tape measure. Unfortunately, all she could find was a cloth tape measure like the kind that would normally be in Ruby’s sewing box. Only sixty inches long, but it would have to do.
She ran the tape back and forth across the chair, summing the inches as she went to figure out exactly how many links she’d need to make enough garland for the entire tree. Having only half a tree to decorate made the task much easier.
Something banged against the door.
Joy ran over and opened the door. All she saw was pine needles. Ben had to be under there somewhere. He had somehow managed to carry both trees up at the same time.
“Please tell me you’re on the other side of these trees, Ben.”
“They didn’t walk up,” he said with a laugh.
“Well, thank goodness, because that’s not the kind of Christmas magic I’m going for. Let me get the small one,” she said.
Ben moved the mound of trees through the door. Joy grabbed the small one and, with only some minor teetering, managed to get it over next to the stairs. Ben carried the other one into the dining room.
Joy went to see how the other one in the dining room looked. “This tree is perfect. It’s much skinnier than the fat one we put in the living room. You’ve already got it straight. Don’t move. I’ll tighten it up.” She went to work on the bottom, and then stood. “Done. One more to go.”
They climbed the stairs together. “I thought we could put this one up on the chest from the bedroom to give it a little height. Can you help me?”
“Sure.”
They moved the chest, then Joy draped it in red velvet, holding the fabric while Ben lifted the tree and placed it on top. Ben asked, “Can you get the lights on these two okay?”
“Sure.” He’d already spent half his evening here helping her. “I’m sure you’ve got things to do.”
“I thought I’d run and get those supplies for the front lawn that we talked about. If I leave now, I can still make it before they close.”
“That would be great.”
“I’m outta here, then.” He headed down the steps.
“Hey, Ben,” she called after him.
“Yeah?” He stopped at the bottom of the steps and turned around.
She didn’t want him to leave. She liked working with him, but he’d be right back. Why had she called out to him? “Thanks for everything.”
That cute dimple tempted her. “Told you I liked doing this stuff.”
“Yes, you did. And you’re good at it.” And then there was an awkward silence.<
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“I’m just … going to go,” he said, then let himself out.
Since the lights were already on the big tree, she decided to tackle decorating that one first. The theme for this one was the Twelve Days of Christmas. When she’d stumbled across the timeless set of ornaments, each hand-carved out of wood and decorated with beads made of acorns, it had been an easy decision. That box must not have been opened in years, because it had been in the very back of the attic. It hadn’t even been marked as a Christmas box.
To set the mood, she turned the radio to a Christmas station. She changed into her new red pajamas and danced her way downstairs. How appropriate that “The Twelve Days of Christmas” should be playing as she walked back into the living room.
She set to work, placing the ornaments on the tree in twelve evenly spaced rows. Humming along with the music, the only words she sang out loud were the “five golden rings”—her favorite part.
Carefully hanging each of the delicate ornaments, she placed the partridge in the pear tree nestled at the very top and worked all the way down to the twelve drums hanging from the very bottom branches.
Each ornament was a detailed treasure, signed by the artist, although she couldn’t make out the name.
Each of the twelve tiny drums had a different design and color scheme, with shiny silver and gold accents. Finally done, she stood back and then adjusted a couple of the ornaments until they were evenly aligned in a perfect pyramid formation. One last thing to do. She and Mom had always made it the final quality check. She squinted and stared at the tree to make sure the lights were in the perfect blurry alignment that looked like every spot was glowing. She exhaled a long sigh of contentment. Spot on.
Her mood was buoyant as she settled on the floor in front of the ottoman, where she’d stacked all those precisely cut three-inch-by-seven-inch strips of shiny paper and the other supplies to make her handmade garland. One by one, she looped the shiny foil, stapling their ends into a perfect circle. Once the twelve silver rings were daisy-chained, representing the Twelve Days of Christmas, she added five golden rings to the lightweight shiny garland. It didn’t take long before she had the first fifty links put together. “It’s going to be so pretty.”
She was so tempted to send a picture to Ruby of the work in progress, but that would spoil the surprise.
A soft knock came at the front door.
She walked over and peeked out the sidelight window. Ben? “Hi,” she said, opening the door. “I didn’t hear you drive up over the Christmas music.”
“I see you already have your pajamas on. I wasn’t going to bother you, but I saw the lights on.”
“Did you forget something?”
“No. I was just going to drop off some things I got at the hardware store. Some of it is for the house, do you mind if I bring that stuff in?”
“Not at all. Do you need my help?”
“No.” He jogged off the porch back toward his truck, then came in with two bags. “But I’ll come back and get all this done this week.”
“What is all of that?”
Ben toted the bags inside, tucking them in a corner of the dining room. “It’ll help when Ruby gets home. Safety rails for the shower, that kind of stuff. My mom had me do this for my grandmother a couple years ago. Ruby and Shirley both scoffed at it then, but now it really is a necessity.”
“Oh, well, you’d have thought they might have mentioned that at the rehab center so I could prepare.”
“I’m sure they will. But if we take care of it now, you’ll have less to do when Ruby comes home. It’s a good thing to do at this point in her life anyway.”
“That’s probably true,” she admitted.
“And I think we both know that if you wait for Ruby to admit that she needs the extra safety precautions, that’ll never happen.”
He was right.
He looked past her at the deep pile of foil links. “What are you doing? Making your own garland?”
“Yep. Found the foil in the attic.”
“It’s pretty.” He walked over to the tree. “These ornaments are awesome.” He lifted one of the four calling birds from the tree. “These are real feathers. And hand-carved. Nice workmanship. I’ve never seen Ruby use these before.”
“They caught my eye immediately. I think the shimmery garland and gold lights will really set off the intricate details of the ornaments too. Don’t you?” She held a stretch of the garland out against the tree. “Look. It’s turning out even better than I’d imagined. Like jewels.”
“You city girls sure dig all that glitz and glamour, don’t you?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
He shrugged. “Nothing.”
“But?”
“My ex was into glitz and glamour too. Cecilia never could appreciate the little things. She couldn’t get out of this town fast enough. Guess a lot of women are that way about swanky things and sparkles. Left me feeling a little bitter I guess.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“I’ve seen that dress. The company gala. You live in Washington, D.C. That’s a pretty big difference from Crystal Falls. I’m sure as soon as Ruby gets home, you’ll be gone.”
Joy bit her tongue. She’d like to wipe that smirk right off his face. Was he insinuating that she was uppity in some sort of backhanded way? It wasn’t all that long ago that he’d called her a drop-in niece. Clearly his opinion of her hadn’t improved as much as she’d thought.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to your silver and gold garland chain,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
When the door clicked closed behind him, Joy sat there, steaming. He didn’t know her at all.
Only that smile wasn’t going to fool her.
She gave the stapler such a hard squeeze that it jammed up.
“And as usual, bad luck comes with Ben,” she said as she tugged on the stapler, trying to reload it, only to have it spring wide open, sending the staples flying across the room.
“Great. Just great. And don’t act like you know me so well, Ben Andrews.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
Ben had been at Ruby’s house for over an hour before Joy finally wandered outside to feed the animals. Of course, he’d already fed them all. If he hadn’t, those goats would’ve woken her up earlier, for sure. They were pretty vocal when they had something to say. Besides, it had been a lot easier to get the animals moved with a bucket of feed from the back pasture to the front, where they were going to set up the live nativity.
“You’ve been busy,” Joy said. Her words more clipped than complimentary as she eyed his progress.
“Good morning.”
She walked by him, heading straight for the barn without so much as a hello or good morning.
“I already fed all the animals for you,” he called out.
She spun around and just stood there. “Oh.”
He wasn’t the most astute when it came to women, but he could tell she wasn’t herself. “Is something wrong?”
Her head bounced in one of those you’re-daggone-right kind of nods that were never good news. “Yeah. In fact, there is something wrong. I’ve been thinking about it all night.”
Why did I ask? I know better. But I always do it. Keep your mouth shut, Ben.
“Last night, when you said I was a high-maintenance uppity city girl … I really take exception to that.” Her hands were balled into tight fists, and her jaw was so tight that her chin was actually quivering a little.
“That’s not exactly what I said.” And yet here he was, opening his mouth again.
“Close enough.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about my ex. Sorry if you took it personally.”
“I did,” she said. “Just because the way I choose to live my life might not be your way, doesn’t mean it’s not okay.”
“I know you’re right. But I can’t help trying to not repeat past mistakes. I mean, it’s
not like she didn’t know I was from a small town when we met. It was like she did this bait and switch on me to get me, only she didn’t really want me all along. Maybe we should change the subject, but I promise you that those comments were not meant to be derogatory toward you.” He put his finger under her chin and turned her to face him. “Really. And by the way, that glitzy dress of yours looks like a Christmas ornament. I like it.”
A smile eased across her face. “That’s exactly what I thought when I saw it.”
“You’ll look gorgeous in it. The green, with your green eyes and your red hair.” He swallowed. And as pretty as she’d look all dolled up, he liked her just the way she was right now too. Beautiful in a jacket over a hooded sweatshirt, muck boots, and a red and gray wool cap tugged over her head, her bangs barely peeking out, with not a bit of makeup on.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He breathed a little easier as she relaxed. “When’s the party? Or wait … the gala.”
“‘Gala’ does sound kind of stodgy, doesn’t it?”
He pulled his lips together, as if afraid to agree.
Joy said, “The gala. It’s Monday night.”
At the risk of being blasted again, he admitted it. “I’m sure it’s nice to get dressed up and do something fancy now and then. I take my mom down to Charlotte a few times a year for some culture. It’s not but about an hour away, and she loves getting all dressed up. I’ll admit I enjoy the nice night out as much as she does.”
“Really? I didn’t really see you as that kind of guy.”
Wasn’t that just the pot calling the kettle black? She’d been making her own assumptions about him all along. “Stay tuned. There’s more to me than meets the eye.” Maybe there was a chance they might have something. He wasn’t quite ready to discount that chance.
“I like what I see,” she said.
“I like what I see in you too.” He leaned forward and kissed her on her cheek, then brushed his lips against hers as she spoke.
“I—”
He pulled her close, her lips warm and sweet against his. “Joy, I know we’ve just met, but I like what I feel when I’m with you. I like you.”