Chapter 15 #2
“Close.” Nick chuckled. “Because of my age, I had a few options I wouldn’t have had if I’d already turned seventeen.
And thankfully, because my parents were so concerned about image, they spoke with the judge—a friend of Dad’s—and chose to ship me off to this teen work release camp.
The chores we did counted for community service.
There was counseling, church services, team projects—all the stuff a kid headed down a bad path would need to help him make a turn. ”
“That’s really cool.”
He took a deep breath. He could tell her this next part, even if he couldn’t tell her all of it.
And for some reason, he really, really wanted Holly to know about his dream.
“I’m actually in the middle of creating my own nonprofit. Same vein, with some differences. But essentially using nature, sports, counseling, and biblical principles to help teens who need a second chance.”
“Wow.” Holly blinked a few times. “That’s really…noble.”
He sat up a little taller. “That camp I got sent to changed my life. The least I can do is pay it forward.”
“It obviously made a big difference for you.” Holly smiled teasingly. “Unless, of course, you’ve been vandalizing the barn out back and I don’t know it.”
“Funny.” He’d meant it sarcastically, but it was. She was. Because she wasn’t making fun of him—she was lightening his load. Something his family had never been able to do.
“So Christmas stands for everything you hated about your childhood. And the fact you almost went to jail one holiday.” Holly winced. “I’m starting to feel a little guilty about Frosty.”
Nick sputtered a laugh. “Frosty, I could handle. These sweaters might put me over the edge, though.”
“Too late.” She pointed with a glue stick. “We’re quite a pair, huh? Sitting here decorating holiday wear when we’ve both been personally victimized by Christmas.”
Nick squinted at her. “Is that supposed to be a Mean Girls reference?”
She leaned back in her chair. “For someone who says he never watches movies, you sure do get a lot of my pop culture jokes.”
“I’m educated.” Nick grinned. “So what do you normally do for Christmas, if you don’t come home?”
“Hide.” Holly set down the glue stick. “Go out to dinner with girlfriends, try to make it a normal night. FaceTime with my family, maybe watch a few non-Christmas movies. And feel guilty for not being here.” She shrugged. “What about you?”
“Ramen noodles.”
“And here I’ve been worried about being pathetic.”
“It’s my go-to holiday meal on Christmas Eve. I even have a special bowl I use just for that.”
“The Grinch should take notes. That’s about as non-Christmas as you can get.” Holly handed him the glue. “You’re losing a pom-pom there.”
“I think the fact I’m even making this sweater means I’m losing my marbles.”
She laughed then, his favorite one—the one that meant she was caught off guard and genuinely amused. The sound was contagious. His own grin spread wider. “Maybe we should watch The Grinch this year.”
“I think I could recite that movie in my sleep.” Holly glued another piece of felt to the cat shape she’d created. “They used to play it at work in the break room. Said it would keep us in the spirit for designing.”
Nick raised his eyebrows as he fixed his loose pom-pom. “I’m guessing since you got downsized, it didn’t work.”
“No.” She hesitated. “It did work in making me throw a garlic stick at the TV once.”
“Crazy they would let such a dedicated employee go.”
“I know, I know.” Holly shook her head. “You sound like my friend Piper. But after a little bit of time away, I’m starting to see I really did like my job—just not the content I got stuck creating.”
Nick nodded. “Too much Christmas.”
“ Way too much. I couldn’t get passionate about it for a third of the year, and I think that came through in my social media designs. Everything was kind of flat. Forced.”
The fact she could realize that about herself was pretty huge. That took a lot of humility. He started to say so when Grace walked into the kitchen.
“You two sure are busy.” Grace checked on the cookies, then stood by the island and peered at their projects. “Are those for tomorrow night?”
“Yep.” Holly kept stuffing pom-poms into her glue pile. “We’re going all in.”
“You’ve never been so invested in the party before, Holly.” Grace leaned one hip against the island and tilted her head. “Didn’t you wear all black last time you came?”
Nick snorted. “Now that’s festive.”
Holly stuck her tongue out at him. “Don’t tell me you weren’t tempted to do the same when I first told you about this sweater contest.”
He held up both hands. Yep, still covered in glitter. “Fair enough.”
Grace’s eyes sparkled as she watched them. “Now, I know we haven’t spoken of it yet, but I heard the rumors from your siblings and I must say, I love that you two have hit it off.”
Holly’s cheeks pinked and she bent farther over her design. “Um, thanks, Mom.”
Nick cleared his throat. “That’s kind of you.” The acceptance in Grace’s eyes as she smiled at them brought a rush of warmth to Nick’s chest. It was nice. All of this was…nice.
But it wasn’t real, was it?
His stomach clenched. As much as he still wanted his ramen bowl and his own non-tradition tradition, he wasn’t ready for the stay to be over. After such a great conversation, he’d almost forgotten that he and Holly weren’t together.
And when Grace and Thomas realized this was all a sham—a vengeful prank on Ryan—they would no doubt think less of him. And his dreams.
The warmth quickly dissipated, and he looked back at his sweater, wishing he could put it on to combat the deep chill spreading through his bones. He swallowed. Why had he agreed to this whole sham, again?
Right. Because Holly had asked.
Because he’d owed her, after hurting her.
And because who in the world would’ve ever thought Christmas could get so messy?