26. Nessa
26
NESSA
Deck the Orchard with Lights and Holly
By Arden James
Darling Farms, located in the heart of Clementine Creek, has continued their newfound tradition of creating a “lights in the park” feel on the orchard grounds. Current owners Cullen and Gwen Andrews started the tradition after tying the knot, saying they wanted to bring as much joy to the town as the holiday has brought them in recent years.
Elaborate holiday scenes and character favorites have been erected in a winter wonderland of lights throughout the orchard. Vendors will be set up in the main building for all your last-minute holiday shopping! This event is free, and complimentary hot chocolate will be provided.
Donations made will benefit the Deke Mannings Scholarship Fund.
P utting the paper down on the counter, I take a sip of my coffee and smile as Remi stares at the Christmas tree from her swing. She’s already so curious, taking in her surroundings and shoving everything within reach into her mouth.
Luckily the tree is a safe distance away, but the thought still has my heart aching a little. How many milestones will I get to witness? Will they always be just a picture in a text? A video? Will I even know?
Clearing my throat to stave off the unwanted emotion, I straighten the garland strung across the mantle and rearrange the white pillar candles and fake branches of holly. Again. Jensen and I had pulled the limited boxes from the garage and he’d put up the fake, pre-lit tree while I tackled the rest of the living room.
Between decorating, dinner, and getting Remi settled for bed, we’d lost track of time and had missed the opening night at the orchard. With Jensen working today, he’d asked me to meet him over there later tonight.
The whole thing felt very domestic and the scarier part was that I didn’t hate it. So much of my life had been focused on soccer and being the best of the best both on and off the field, and until I landed in Blackstone Falls, that hadn’t bothered me.
I loved my life in Nashville, living and playing with my best friend, being on the road—anticipating the pulsing stadium energy at every game. But the media side of it had gotten exhausting and not just from soccer—but my whole life. My father had garnered decent success, and as always, fans wanted a piece of that. They’d watched my sister and me grow up, and while my parents did their best to shield us, it was impossible to be completely out of the spotlight.
And the attention only intensified after the accident.
My fingers trace the faded scar on my abdomen, that night more than ten years in the rearview mirror but still so fresh in my mind. The recovery had been so much more than just physical, and even now, my relationship with my sister remained strained.
We’d beaten the odds, both of us working day and night to come back faster—stronger—to dominate our respective sports.
And we had.
But we’d also lost ourselves along the way.
She still blamed herself for the accident and there was nothing I could do to convince her otherwise. We’d been in the right place at the wrong time, but the guilt she harbored had caused a chasm between us.
It wasn’t fair to either of us but until she forgave herself, she’d never believe that I already had.
Debating only a moment, I tap out a text and hit send.
NESSA: I miss you.
Three little dots appear and then disappear, and I hold my breath as I wait.
SISTER: I miss you too.
It’s not a lot but it’s enough for now.
Remi coos in her swing as I glance around the room and smile at the sparse decorations. I’d look for stockings tonight since I’d already ordered an ornament for Remi.
Baby’s first Christmas seemed cliché, but she deserved all the best and brightest parts of life—to know she was celebrated before her very first breath and every day after.
Turning on a holiday playlist, I unbuckle Remi from the swing and dance us around the room, spinning and dipping her and soaking up every gummy smile.
Because this is what it’s all about.
This is what I’ve been missing.
Remi and I are a little late getting over to Darling Farms, specifically because I’d dressed her in an adorable outfit and she’d promptly spit up all over it as soon as I had her buckled in her car seat. The girl had no shortage of cute clothes, putting my own closet to shame, and after wrestling her into a new dress and soaking the soiled one in the sink, half an hour had passed.
Luckily, I’ve been getting grass stains out of uniforms for a long time, including those couple of years in high school when they’d insisted on white shorts and I’d had to power wash them in the driveway.
Good times.
Loading Remi back into the car, I maneuver us down the driveway and onto the road. Tennessee has never felt like Christmas, probably because I spent so many years in Maine, shoveling snow anywhere between Halloween and Easter.
I also hadn’t really made the effort.
But Remi was changing that.
At least for now.
Following the winding country roads, I turn off the main road and slow down as the pavement turns to dirt, gasping as the orchard opens up in front of me. It’s twilight but the trees are hung with beautiful white lights, and even though there’s no chance of a single snowflake, it feels like home.
Like how it’s supposed to be.
Putting the car in park, I climb out and grab the baby wrap. I’d debated the stroller but didn’t want to fight the thing over the uneven ground.
“Evenin’, Miss Hart.” Jensen’s husky drawl has my heart lodging in my throat as I whip around to face him. His smile says he knows he scared the hell out of me, and is that…a dimple?
“Sheriff Kade,” I purr, taking a step forward and brushing my thumb against the indent in his cheek, “dimples are sexy.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a whole lot of trouble?” His blue eyes are lit with a simmering desire I’d love to get lost in, and my God, the uniform is working for him.
“More than once if you can believe it.”
He chuckles as he opens Remi’s door and unbuckles her from her seat. “I believe it.”
Her little hands find his face, and her smile is huge when he plants a bunch of kisses on her cheeks. I’ve seen him do it before—the man isn’t afraid to show his daughter affection—but something about this moment feels special.
And whether it’s the uniform, the baby, or the holiday spirit, I let myself lean into it—because Remi deserves it, and so do I. As carefully as I can, I sneak a picture of the two of them, all happy smiles and hearts.
It’s perfect.
“I was thinking about looking for stockings tonight; the article in the paper said there might be vendors here,” I say as Jensen helps tuck Remi into the carrier, his fingers brushing against the top of my breasts as he does it.
It might have been an accident, but the simmering lust in his gaze is now an all-out inferno as he stares at me. A shot of pleasure races through me, settling between my legs and forcing me to squeeze my thighs together.
His eyes rake over me, his perusal bold and confident and nothing like the tentative dance we’d done in the kitchen a couple of days ago.
I like it.
And what’s worse is I think I want it.
Want him.
Maybe giving in wouldn’t be so bad…