The Christmas Tree

by Allyson Charles

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Allison,” Sadie whined. “Why did you drag me here? I’m sick of looking at this tree. If I never see another Christmas tree, it will be too soon.”

  It was a cold and cloudy night, but everyone seemed to be having fun in the town square. The fire department had attached several speakers to the tops of streetlights, and people sang along to the Christmas carols that were being broadcast by the local radio station. The aroma of roasted chestnuts filled the air.

  “Oh, hush up.” Allison smiled and waved at a group of people walking past. “You know you want to be here for the lighting. This is your and Colt’s tree. You need to be here.”

  Sadie was curious about how the people of Pineville would like their tree. There were no falling clocks or fireworks, so they might think it was a little boring. But she didn’t want to see Colt. It was obvious from his reaction that he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. There was only so much heartache a girl could take.

  She peeked at the crowd from the corners of her eyes, trying to spot him but not wanting to be obvious about it in front of Allison. His burly lumberjack figure wasn’t among the throngs of people she could see. Good, she told herself. No more embarrassing encounters. Then why did her stomach clench painfully each time she searched and didn’t see his face?

  “He’ll show up,” Allison said, smirking.

  Sadie lifted her chin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Right.” Her friend’s voice was an exaggerated drawl, scraping across Sadie’s nerves.

  The crowd shifted and turned, moving together like a flock of geese. Sadie looked toward a raised stage next to the tree but saw nothing. “What’s everyone looking at?” she whispered in the growing quiet.

  “The mayor’s about to start speaking. After him the judge will say a few words. They usually get a kid or old lady to flip the switch.”

  “Okay,” Sadie replied in a more normal voice. The crowd’s noise level had evened out at a low hum. “But how does everyone know it’s about to start? I don’t see anything.”

  “The music’s stopped,” Allison said. In her preoccupation, Sadie hadn’t noticed.

  Allison rubbed her gloved hands together. “This could take a while and the speeches are always boring. Do you want to go get a drink?”

  Nodding, she fell into step behind her friend. They wended their way through the crowd until they stood before a booth that held three large silver urns. A teenage girl with a streak of pink hair nestled in her brown locks smiled at them brightly. “What would you two like? Coffee, hot chocolate, or spiced cider?”

  “Chocolate,” Sadie and Allison said in unison, and looked at each other, chuckling.

  “Ah, chocolate,” said a derisive voice from behind. “The female solution to all problems.”

  Sadie turned, stepped back when she found David standing too close for her comfort. “Hello. Did you want something?”

  Allison muttered something that sounded a lot like “. . . a good kick in the ass.” Sadie bit the inside of her cheek to stop from smiling.

  He grinned, teeth sharklike, and crossed his arms over his chest. “No, I’m about to get what I want—without your help, I might add.”

  “What does that mean?” Sadie asked, her heart sinking.

  His smile widened and he pointed behind her to the beverage booth. “A cup of coffee, of course. What else could I mean?”

  Tension coiled in Sadie’s gut. What else could he mean, indeed. It started falling into place in her mind and she had to stifle a gasp at the pain that shot through her heart. Of course it was David who had gotten her home condemned. He had already proved how dishonest he was when it came to business, and he would have had the same contacts in the planning commission that Colt did. And she had blamed the man she loved instead. Damn, she was stupid.

  She grabbed hold of her pain, channeled it into something more productive. Anger. “It sounded like a lot more than a cup of coffee. Perhaps you’re anticipating getting a good business deal? If that’s the case, let me warn you that I won’t go down without a fight. I’m keeping my grandmother’s house.”

  Allison’s gaze flitted between the two of them, her platinum curls bobbing below her knit cap. “Wait a minute. Are you saying this tool is the one who got your house condemned?” She spun on David. “That’s just low, even for you.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Stay out of this, Allison. It’s not your business.”

  “You used to be a nice guy. You got me through Calculus in high school with your tutoring. But when you came back from college you were a different man.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what happened to you, but it’s a damn shame.”

  Some emotion Sadie couldn’t identify flickered across his face before it settled into its usual smug state. “I’m a businessman. I create a lot of jobs for people in this town. If you don’t like how I conduct my business, get over it.” He turned to the girl behind the booth, who was holding two Styrofoam cups of steaming hot chocolate and staring avidly at the three of them. “Coffee, cream, no sugar,” he told her.

  “Uh, yeah, sure.” She straightened her arms and Sadie and Allison relieved her of the drinks. “Let me just finish up with them. That will be four dollars,” she told Allison and pointed to the end of the booth. “Whipped cream is available if you want it.”

  Allison’s eyes narrowed and her lips turned up with some inner glee. She looked like an angel gone bad. She picked up the can of whipped cream and shook it. “I definitely want it.” Without any warning, she took a step toward David and sprayed him in the face with the white cream. He stood there with his jaw dropped open as the white goo slid down his cheeks, dripping onto his dark cashmere coat. “That’s for Sadie’s house, you jerk.” She slammed the can down on the booth’s counter and glared at him.

  “Holy crap,” the girl whispered. Sadie’s sentiments exactly. She didn’t know whether to be impressed or horrified at Allison’s audacity.

  David’s shock was quickly replaced by a fury that seeped out of his every pore. Sadie stepped up beside Allison, prepared to get between the two if needed. She shouldn’t have worried.

  “That’s a good look on you,” a deep voice said from behind Sadie’s left shoulder. “It will go well with the egg that will soon be on your face.” Colt strode up to Sadie and Allison and stood between them and David. He shifted his weight, forcing the two of them back a step and away from the enraged man.

  Sadie felt tight all over. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around his waist, rest her head on his broad back, and never let him go. Again, he was there for her when she needed him.

  But he was a decent man. His stepping in to try to protect them could mean nothing more than that he didn’t want to see two women hurt. And there was that grudge he had against David. His presence might have nothing to do with his feelings for her.

  David swiped a hand through the cream around his eyes and flicked the goop to the ground. Reaching for a stack of napkins, he started cleaning his face. “McCoy,” he all but spat, “no matter how low you think I am, I’ve never hurt a woman before and I would like to keep it like that. Get them away from me.”

  “We’ll be leaving soon,” Colt said. “The mayor is about finished talking and we don’t want to miss the lighting.”

  Sadie whipped her head around. The mayor was indeed standing on the stage giving his speech. She really needed to start being more aware of her surroundings. But she wasn’t the only one not paying attention to the ceremony. A crowd of people had gathered around them and was watching the soap opera of Sadie’s life unfold instead of listening to the man on the stage. Flushing, she stepped closer to Colt.

  “But first,” Colt continued, “I want Sadie to hear what I’ve learned about your business plan. I just had a little chat with Ted Wallace.” David stilled. “I thought that might get your attention.”

  Allison leaned over to Sadie. “Ted Wallace is the head of the planning commission. He
was mayor up until two years ago when he was termed out.”

  Sadie grabbed Colt’s sleeve and turned him toward her. “Is that true? Were you asking questions even though I told you not to?”

  Colt laid a large hand on her shoulder. “Yes, but that was only because what you told me to do was stupid.” He ignored her gasp of outrage, turning back to David but leaving his hand where it rested. “Wallace and I had a very interesting discussion once I pointed out the potential for conflict of interest on his part in his dealings with you. As someone who has plans to run for state senate, he didn’t want any potential ethics questions emerging.”

  “I don’t know what you’re implying.” David rubbed at a spot on the shoulder of his coat where whipped cream had dropped. “All my dealings with Wallace are completely aboveboard.”

  “Maybe. But appearances matter in politics. When I pointed out that the combination of Sadie’s house being condemned at the same time new zoning regulations were passed for her neighborhood, while a development plan is being whispered about that would bring high-density housing to Sadie’s two acres of land, well, he saw that any campaign donations you gave him, no matter how honest, would be tainted if your company was the one that developed the property.” Colt slid his hand around to Sadie’s other shoulder, his arm now banded around her, nestling her into his side. “One of his platforms is for a more open government. He was most accommodating answering my questions.”

  Every part of her body that Colt touched tingled, his heat seeping into her, warming her down to her toes. His casual embrace was messing with her head. Was he just being friendly? Trying to tell her that he forgave her? It felt like more. Her pulse thundered in her ears and hope flooded her veins. Could he love her, too?

  “McCoy, you can’t stop the development. You’ll get a chance to bid on her property when it comes up for auction, like anyone else. You won’t get it, but you can always try.”

  “There won’t be an auction. Wallace agreed that the condemnation notice given to Sadie might have been served in error. He was very eager to assure me that he would correct any mistakes once I told him our attorney would be contacting him.” Colt’s hand squeezed her shoulder.

  Sadie gave a small smile at his bluff. There was no attorney yet. But it did sound nice when he said ‘our,’ like they were a team.

  “The political will has just fallen out of the bottom of this project,” Colt said. “You’re not a big enough fish to make it worth the risk. And when the people of Pineville find out that you want to build high-density housing and change the character of this town, you’ll be stopped cold.”

  David’s jaw clenched and he breathed heavily through his nose. “We’ll see. But there’s always another project. I’m good at making money.” He pushed through the crowd, leaving his coffee behind.

  A low whistle drew her attention to Allison. “You sure put him in his place, Colt. Now how much of that BS you told him was true? ‘The political will has just fallen . . . ’” she said in a fake baritone.

  Colt smiled. “Most of it. Wallace really doesn’t want to get caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and I’m certain he’ll reverse the condemnation proceedings on Sadie’s house. He was too scared not to. Now that he knows people are looking into this redevelopment plan, he will be extra careful keeping everything aboveboard.” He squeezed Sadie’s shoulder. “The bad news is that with so much scrutiny on your grandmother’s land, I don’t think I’ll be able to get your remodel permit expedited like I’d hoped. Every T will need to be crossed, every I dotted.”

  “That’s why you were talking with the planning commission?” Sadie asked.

  Colt nodded.

  It wasn’t possible for her to feel any lower. “How did you find out about the redevelopment plan? I just left you a couple hours ago,” Sadie said, flushing when she remembered just how she’d left him.

  “Janice is good friends with the mayor’s secretary. You need to know what’s happening in this town, you ask her,” he said. “My dad, Janice, and I drove here together and she was busy gathering information on the phone the whole time.”

  “The small-town network.” Allison rolled her eyes. “It will get you every time.”

  Sadie said nothing, just stared up into Colt’s eyes. After a few moments, Allison said, “I’m going to go get a spot closer to the tree. See you guys later.” She slipped away, leaving them together.

  “You came,” Sadie said finally. She turned to face him fully and Colt’s other hand went to her shoulder, holding her in a loose embrace. She wanted to feel his arms wrapped around her, her body pressed flush against his, but she would take whatever she could get.

  “After all the work we put into this tree, of course I came.”

  Her shoulders slumped beneath his hands. That was the reason he’d come. He might have forgiven her, but he didn’t love her. They’d only known each other for a week, for Pete’s sake. What kind of idiot fell in love in a week? Besides her kind.

  He tucked his thumbs under the collar of her coat and stroked her collar bones. He bent his head closer to hers and trapped her eyes with his. “That’s not the only reason I came. It’s just why I rushed around like hell to get here in time. Otherwise I would have gone to Allison’s house tonight to talk to you.” His smooth cheeks crinkled in a smile and his dimples made another appearance. “Believe me, I wasn’t going to let you leave town without seeing me.”

  Sadie raised a tentative finger and touched the dimple in his cheek. “You shaved.”

  “With my dad’s razor,” he said sheepishly. “I didn’t want to scratch you up when I did this.” His lips were gentle as they brushed against hers, tentative. Her body swayed closer and Colt took that as the invitation it was. He deepened the kiss, his arms sweeping to her lower back, pulling her closer.

  She dragged her mouth away from his, out of breath. “You forgive me.”

  He merely smiled and leaned back down to recapture her lips.

  The sound of a throat clearing loudly had both of them whipping their heads around to the beverage booth. The girl with the pink streak in her hair glared at them with barely concealed annoyance. “Uh, I hate to interrupt this sick scene and all, but you still owe me four dollars. And you’re blocking business.”

  Sadie flushed and looked around. The crowd still watched her and Colt. A middle-aged man ate popcorn from a small paper bag, as enthralled as if he were watching a movie. Colt paid for her and Allison’s drinks, then pulled her to the side.

  A brunette holding a toddler stepped forward with a smile. “You guys weren’t blocking anything. If I had my hands free, I would have clapped. That was very romantic, Colt. Who’d have thought you had it in you?” She pointed to the urn of coffee and waited for her order.

  “Thanks, Terry,” he said sarcastically.

  Another woman shook her head. “I don’t know. They were more fun to watch when they were throwing things at each other.”

  “I never threw anything at her.” Colt sounded injured.

  “It was just one ornament,” Sadie muttered at the same time. “And he deserved it.”

  “The pen?” Terry reminded Colt.

  He spread his hands wide. “I threw that over the tree, not at her.”

  Sadie and Terry raised identical eyebrows.

  Shrugging, he showed Sadie some dimple. “Okay, I was a bit of a jerk.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. That squeeze felt like apology, forgiveness, and love all wrapped up in one muscle movement. She bounced on her toes.

  “You can say that again,” Terry muttered.

  “Don’t you have a husband to annoy?” Colt asked. “Kids to harass?”

  Terry smiled sweetly. “I’ve already got them trained.” With a wink at Sadie, she turned, busied herself adding sugar and creamer to her cup.

  Colt heaved an exaggerated sigh and smiled at Sadie. He tugged her forward and started wending his way toward the tree. “It’s about to get lit up. Let’s find a good spot.”

&nbs
p; She tripped along behind him, getting jostled by the crowd, not caring one damn bit. Colt was holding her hand. Life didn’t get much better. “It’s a twenty-foot tree. We’ll see it from anywhere in the square.”

  Ignoring her, he kept pushing through the mass of people. He reached the corner of the stage where a teenage boy in a Pineville High football jersey climbed the steps. Colt moved a wooden police barricade a couple of feet so they could slip behind the stage. The dark tree stood ten feet away from them. The stage hid them, giving them the illusion of privacy.

  “I don’t think we’re supposed to be here,” Sadie whispered.

  “Shh.” His breath warmed her ear. He leaned back against the stage and drew her to him so her back was wedged against his front. They both stared up at the tree. “The police are busy tonight. Too busy to worry about a little bit of trespassing. They caught the Christmas thieves, you know.”

  Her head fit perfectly in the hollow between his neck and shoulder. “I heard.” She relaxed her body into his and sighed. “What’s the worst that could happen? Another week of community service with you? I can suffer through that.”

  The mayor announced that the all-county cornerback would be flipping the switch. Colt’s arms tightened around her waist. “This is it.” He followed the mayor’s countdown and whispered “. . . three, two, one,” in her ear.

  She blinked rapidly, momentarily blinded by the blaze of lights in front of them. “Oh . . .” A beacon in the dark, their tree glowed with thousands of lights. From her angle, she could just see the top of the star’s eagle, its bronzed head shimmering from the tree’s lights shining below and within. The locals’ ornaments gave the tree a vintage look, a homey quality, making it all that Sadie had hoped for. Applause and some cheers rang through the crowd before a church choir started singing “Silent Night.” The crowd settled down and the music flowed through the night unimpeded, the rest of the town joining in the Christmas carol.

  Colt’s lips brushed her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “You did it, princess. It looks beautiful.”