Chapter Eleven #2
She didn’t want to trim a tree, but Colin had gone out of his way to bring some Christmas cheer into her life. She didn’t have the heart to turn him down. And so, she’d fake a bit of holiday spirit and decorate the tree for Colin’s sake.
Pushing thoughts of her parents to the back of her mind, she said, “Okay. But I can’t promise we’ll find the ornaments.” Her gaze moved to the stacks of boxes she hadn’t unpacked yet. “If I still have them, they are in there. Somewhere.”
“How about you start looking while I get the tree?”
“Okay.”
Tater Tot ran over to her side and sat down. Holly set to work, opening the boxes. She’d been putting off this task. She just wasn’t ready to see the stuff that reminded her of her loving grandmother. A pang of grief stabbed at her heart.
Holly wondered what her grandmother would think of her parents’ arrival. Gran never minced words. She’d probably have told them that they were too late and slammed the door in their faces.
Maybe that was what she should have done. Instead, she’d left the door cracked open. Would her parents be back the next day? And if they were, what would she say to them?
She moved a box from the top of the stack. She placed it on the floor and ripped off the packing tape. She didn’t know what was inside. Halfway through the moving process, she’d run out of time and patience. This box was unmarked.
She opened the flaps and stared inside at nothing more than bubble wrap. Something told her this was not the box with Christmas ornaments. But that didn’t stop her from picking up the first item and unwrapping it.
It was a framed picture of her and her grandmother. It had been taken at Holly’s high school graduation. A few months ago, it would have made her cry, but on this day, she found herself smiling through the pain.
“Oh, Gran. I wish you were still here…”
“What did you say?”
She spun around to see Colin standing there. “Uh, nothing. I didn’t find the decorations yet.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll find them, but first, can you help me get the tree up the stairs?”
“Uh, sure.” She started for the stairs.
The only thing was that with all of the boxes in the room, there wasn’t much standing room. Her foot struck a box. She lost her balance. She fell into Colin. His arms wrapped around her until she regained her balance.
When she tilted her chin upward to thank him, their gazes met and held a moment longer than necessary. Thoughts of her parents and the missing ornaments slipped to the back of her mind. There was something about the intensity of his gaze that drew her in.
Her tattered heart beat with renewed life. There was something about being around Colin that had her wishing for things that she knew were out of reach.
She felt her body leaning against his muscled chest. At the same time, his gaze lowered to her lips. He was going to kiss her again. And she was going to let him.
“Arf! Arf!” Tater Tot ran and jumped on her leg.
And the moment was over as quickly as it had started. Holly glanced down at the pup and petted his head. Then she turned and headed for the stairs.
What was she doing wanting Colin to kiss her? She of all people knew the risk of letting herself care about someone else. It was always a gamble. And the odds were against her.
This whole evening felt as if it were spinning out of control. Since her grandmother died, she’d been working so hard to get her life under control. Little by little she worked toward that goal.
It started with selling her childhood home in order to settle her grandmother’s medical bills and then creating herself a new home. But now with her parents in town and Colin looking at her like he wanted to kiss her again, she felt that control slipping from her grasp.
To her relief, they had an easy time of getting the tree up the stairs. With Tater Tot yapping at them the whole time, they made it to the living room without incident. Colin propped the tree up in the corner.
Holly slipped off Colin’s coat and hung it on the back of the kitchen chair. Then she set to work finding the ornaments. She was determined to find them in short order.
She knew Colin wouldn’t leave until they decorated the tree. And she just needed some alone time to decompress and figure out what her parents’ presence meant.
It was the fourth box she opened that held the old ornaments. It was a huge box and so heavy she couldn’t lift it. So she dragged it across the floor.
When she spotted her grandmother’s favorite ornaments, she was immediately hit with memories of Christmases gone by. She lifted one of the snowmen ornaments and dangled it from her fingertip. The glitter made the snowman sparkle.
She thought of her grandmother fussing over the tree, wanting to get the ornaments in just the right place. The memory brought a smile to her face. Oh, how she missed Gran. She could use her advice now that Roger and Billie Jean were back in town.
“What are you thinking about?” Colin’s voice drew her back to the present.
“Oh, I was just thinking about Gran. She loved this time of the year.”
“So, she would be happy that you got a tree.”
“Yes, she would.” If it weren’t for Colin, she wouldn’t be putting up the tree. And she wouldn’t have had these happy memories to warm her heart. “Thank you.”
His brows rose. “For what?”
“For making me go get a tree and for digging through these ornaments. It reminded me of Gran.” Barely more than whisper, she said, “I miss her so much.”
“I know you do.” He put an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. “She would want you to be happy.”
“I wish I could ask her what to do about my parents. I can’t believe they’re here.”
He squeezed her shoulders tighter. “I know it’s not the Christmas you want, but we can still make it fun.”
She moved to the box of decorations. “Then you better get busy.”
“Me? I thought this was a joint endeavor.”
“I seem to recall that it was your idea.”
“But it’s for us to do together. Come on.” He carried the decorations to the living room, where Tater Tot was stretched out on the couch. He lifted his head, yawned, and then went back to sleep. “I don’t think he’s going to be very much help.”
Holly checked the time. “That’s because it’s almost his bedtime.”
“Bedtime?”
Holly nodded. “It’s lights out at nine. Don’t your dogs have a bedtime?”
He laughed. “No. No, they don’t.”
She shrugged. “To each their own.”
When he laughed some more, she said, “Stop laughing. I’m just trying to be a good foster mom.”
He stopped laughing and smiled at her. “You’re being the best foster mom. Tater Tot is a very lucky fellow.” Colin pulled everything out of the box. “Here it is.”
He held up the tree stand. The green and red stand was nailed to a two-by-two piece of wood. No wonder the box was so heavy.
He turned to her. “Can you help me?”
“Uh… Sure. What do you want me to do?”
“Well, you can hold the tree upright, or you can get down on the floor and tighten the stand to hold the tree. It’s your choice.”
So, either her arms got poked by pine needles or she lay on the floor and hoped the needles didn’t fall all over her. Not great choices. “I think I’ll hold up the tree.”
He smiled at her. “Okay. Let’s get it in the stand.”
For the next half hour, they fussed over the tree. It was a lot harder to get the tree straight than she would have imagined.
It was nice to have someone there to do this with. She couldn’t see herself doing it alone. Eventually, Tater Tot got up off the couch to inspect their work.
And when Colin got down on the floor, the pup was all over him. Tater Tot stood on Colin’s chest and licked his face. Holly found herself laughing because it was so ridiculous. She even snapped a couple of pictures, contrary to Colin’s complaints.
Once Tater moved to a different spot under the tree, Colin was able to tighten the six bolts that held the tree in place. He’d just tightened the last bolt when a beeping started.
Holly frowned as she tried to figure out what was going off. “Can I let go? I need to find out what is beeping.”
“You can let go, but the beeping is me.” He got to his feet. “Sorry. I have to go. Cupcake needs her medicine.”
“Oh. Yes. Sure. I didn’t mean to keep you.” And then she realized she should have offered to feed him. “I owe you dinner.”
His eyes widened. “I accept. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
That wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. It was more of something to say than an actual invitation. But before she could say anything else, Colin was gone.
She was left with thoughts of the nice evening that had been ruined by the unexpected appearance of her parents. What were they doing in Kringle Falls? Her grandmother swore her parents hated this town. So, what had changed their minds?