Noah
“I can’t thank you enough for coming by,” I said to Zach as he approached carrying a set of spark plugs and oil.
“Ah not a problem, gets me out of hanging garland.” He laughed.
“At this rate, Iris is going to kill me when she sees me. I’ve come to town and am taking you away from doing all the things she needs done.” I chuckled, taking the spark plugs from the bag.
“Nah, she’ll just make you help me. Does Mindi know you’re here working on the car?”
“No, when I got back home last night from dropping her off, I found her car key on the floor of my truck. It must have fallen off her keychain when she pulled her house keys from her purse. She had a lot to do out at the house and told me she couldn’t get here until later today, so I figured I’d just come on down and see if I could fix it. ”
“You’re sure it’s the plugs?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, it’s the plugs. They look like they haven’t been changed since I left for deployment ten years ago.”
“Oh man, all right then, let’s get to it.”
We got to work right away, and within an hour, Mindi’s car was sitting in the lot running. I glanced down at my watch, surprised it was only a little past nine.
“I’ll give you a lift back to the house before I take the car out to Mindi. That way you can help Iris with the garland.”
“Actually, perhaps I’ll follow you out. Iris also wanted me to get the trees today anyway, and by the time we get out there, the stand should be open.”
“Here, take my truck. That way, you can give me a lift back into town,” I said, throwing him the keys.
“Sounds good to me,” Zach said, catching them.
I was surprised to see that Mindi’s small parking lot in front of her home was full when we arrived, and people were buzzing around, grabbing their trees. Zach and I parked, and while I made my way to the front door, Zach headed over to the lot.
“Noah!” Sarah exclaimed when she opened the door.
“Hey, Sarah! Is Mindi here?”
Sarah nodded, and then I heard Mindi’s frustrated voice inside.
“She’s in the living room on the phone. She’s upset.”
“Oh, how come?” I asked, stepping inside while Sarah closed the front door.
“Gabe and Connor can’t deliver the trees to the people in town today. Apparently, they had a farm emergency.”
I glanced around the corner to see Mindi pacing back and forth as she spoke on the phone. I lifted my hand and waved to her only to have her ignore me, turn around, and go back to her conversation.
“See what I mean?” Sarah said, pulling the cat she held closer to her. “Bad mood.”
“Who’s this?” I questioned, patting the cat on the head.
“Sparkles, Mindi’s cat. She is my best friend.”
“Hi, Sparkles. Don’t the two of you worry, I’ll help Mindi,” I said, winking at Sarah.
I stepped out of my snowy boots and made my way over to where Mindi stood looking down at the table.
“Good morning,” I greeted, stepping up beside Mindi.
“Is it? I hadn’t noticed.” She sighed.
“It is,” I said, pulling her car key from my pocket and holding it out to her.
“What?” she said, raising her glassy eyes to mine.
“You dropped your car key in my truck last night.”
“I did?” she asked, grabbing her keychain.
“I looked at your car this morning too. You shouldn’t ignore your spark plugs,” I whispered, watching as a smile slowly crept onto her face.
“That’s what was wrong?” she questioned.
“That’s all. It fired up right away the moment I changed them. I also put some oil in there too; it was a little low. You’ll need to get it in for service soon, but you’ll be fine for a bit, at least until after Christmas.”
“Thank you,” she said immediately, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.
“No need to thank me. Now, what else is going on? Sarah said something about deliveries.”
“Yeah, Gabe Bentley and Connor Darling, they help each year since the Potts Tree Farm truck went down, but this morning, there was an emergency, and they both needed to tend to it. So, I’m down for deliveries on one of the busiest weekends of the holiday season.” She sighed.
“Well, it looks like a holiday angel is looking over your shoulder. I just happen to have my truck outside, and Zach is here with me. I think between the two of us, we could probably get the trees delivered.”
“No, I couldn’t ask you to do that after you fixed—”
I shook my head and reached out, placing both of my hands on her shoulders, stopping her from continuing. “You aren’t asking, I’m offering. Now, could I get the list of deliveries?”
She studied me for a moment and then grabbed the list off the table, handing it to me.
“Now, some of these can wait—”
“No, they can’t. They are due to be delivered today, and we will get them done. I won’t have people being disappointed at this time of year. I’ll have Zach call Iris and explain, and between the two of us, we will get them all delivered.” I winked.
I went to head back to the door when I felt Mindi grab hold of my arm, stopping me. I turned and looked at her to see a soft smile spread across her face.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“My pleasure.”
I made my way past Sarah, who stood there with a smile on her face.
“See, I told you.” I winked at her as I walked to the door, shoved my feet into my boots, and left the house to find Zach.
It was well past seven when I dropped Zach off at home and took a drive back out to see Mindi.
My stomach let out a rumble as I pulled my truck up to the house and cut the engine.
We hadn’t stopped all day and had made many trips back and forth, finishing just an hour ago.
I was just about to the steps when the front door opened and Sarah stepped outside.
“Hey, Noah!” She waved.
“Hey, kiddo.”
“Did you get all the trees delivered?” she questioned, excitement in her voice.
“We sure did. Did you have any doubts?”
“Not one. I knew you’d do it. Come inside, we are just about to eat. You can stay for dinner,” she said, leading the way inside.
“Oh, no, that isn’t necessary. I’m not intruding. I just want to let Mindi know all the trees were delivered and then I’ll be on my way.”
Instantly, I noticed Sarah’s smile vanish, and she let out a tiny sigh after she called to Mindi.
“What is it, Sarah?” she asked, coming around the corner, noticing me standing there. “Oh, hey, Noah.”
“Hey, they are all delivered,” I said, passing her the paper she’d given me that contained all the addresses.
She took the paper from me and looked down at it, tears coming to her eyes. “I don’t know how to thank you,” she said.
“A thank you isn’t necessary. It was my pleasure.”
“If you want to thank him, he could stay for dinner and help decorate the tree later,” I heard Sarah whisper, which I ignored.
“Anyway, if you need any more help here, just let me know,” I said, turning to leave. “I’d be happy to look at the old truck too, if you’d like.”
“That’s not necessary, but thank you.”
“Ask him,” I heard Sarah whisper again.
“You know, why don’t you stay for dinner? You’re probably freezing, and hungry.”
“Oh no, I don’t want to impose.”
It was then Sarah jumped up and ran over to us, grabbing hold of my arm, stopping me from opening the door.
“You’re not imposing. Come on, we’re having roast beef, and we are going to decorate the tree tonight,” she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me inside.
“Looks like you’re staying.” Mindi laughed.
“I think so.” I chuckled, shrugged out of my coat, which Sarah took and shoved into the closet, and without hesitation led me over to the table where she quickly grabbed another place setting from the cupboard.
“Well, what do you think?” Mindi asked as the three of us stood in front of the decorated tree.
“We need the topper!” Sarah shouted, running over to the table and bringing over the angel. “It’s so pretty.”
“That it is,” Mindi said with a soft smile on her face but a faraway look in her eye. “Do you remember this?” she questioned, looking up at me.
I turned to see the angel Sarah held in her hands.
“You still have that?” I questioned.
“I do. It’s been at the top of my tree every year,” Mindi answered.
“Was it from your mom?” Sarah asked, placing the angel on the couch and grabbing the step stool.
The room was quiet as both Mindi and I looked at one another.
“Can I put it on the tree?” Sarah questioned, setting up the stool at the base of the tree.
“I’ll help you,” I said, grabbing the angel and waiting while Sarah carefully climbed up the stool, while both Mindi and I held her to make sure she didn’t fall.
Sarah placed the angel on top and then carefully climbed back down and looked up at the tree.
“Well, the angel—did it come from your mom and dad?” she questioned again.
Mindi smiled, pulling her against her. “No, that angel came from Noah,” she answered softly, looking at me.
“Really?”
I nodded. “Really.”
“You gave me that the Christmas before you were deployed. When we agreed to move in together. We started looking for a place, and then you were sent to Afghanistan and…”
“Really?” Sarah questioned.
“Yep…really,” I muttered, noticing the faraway look in her eyes.
“Anyway, Sarah, why don’t you go make the popcorn and bring in three sodas for the movie while Noah and I tidy up in here.”
“Got it! Are we watching—”
“Yes! Of course, we are going to watch The Grinch,” Mindi said, smiling as we both watched Sarah run into the kitchen.
Mindi pulled the door closed to Sarah’s room and sat down beside me. She began loading the empty soda tins and bowls onto the tray that sat on the table.
“Well, did you enjoy?” she questioned.
“I did. This actually feels like a real Christmas this year.”
“I’m glad.”
“I still can’t believe you kept that angel,” I said, looking up at the tree and then over to her.
“I couldn’t get rid of it. It came from you,” she said, meeting my eyes.
With the quietness of Silent Night playing on the TV, I slowly leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers. I could feel the tension in her body go, and a slow-building fire inside of mine ignite.
“I can’t believe you came back,” she murmured before she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me harder.
I guided her to straddle my lap and pulled her against me, my tongue washing through her mouth. She tasted exactly as I remembered, and as I continued kissing her, she let out a soft moan, running her fingers up the back of my head and into my hair.
I could feel myself growing hard when she broke the kiss and looked at me. Her eyes were dark and heavy, like she wanted to carry this on to the next level, but I wasn’t ready.
“I should go,” I whispered. “It’s late, and I don’t want to make a mistake by taking things too far.”
“I know, neither do I.”
She looked at me, running her fingers through my hair again, and then leaned down and kissed my lips before getting off my lap and walking me to the door where we kissed goodbye.