Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
MADDIE
I t’s a mess. A complete mess.
I look around, appalled at what I’ve done. One moment of anger led to this . I’ve never been able to control my emotions—I resort to anger as a defense mechanism as it's easier to deal with than any other emotion—but this… this is going too far.
My actions have hurt the people who have only ever been kind to me since I moved here. Tears stream down my face as I glance around at the townsfolk, each one of them with varying degrees of shock, horror, pity, and sadness on their faces.
But what surprises me is they don’t immediately get their pitchforks out, demanding my demise and trying to run me out of town. No, they start gathering items and placing them in piles—items that can be used again, items that are completely trashed, and items that need fixing.
Silent Night starts playing softly in the background, and people sing along to it as they work. My heart expands in my chest as I watch. Is this what they mean when they say that Christmas is about giving? That it’s not about the presents but the act of forgiveness?
Samantha engulfs me in a hug, but I’m still too stunned to move. My arms hang limply at my sides as I fail to take my eyes off the train wreck in front of me.
“It was an accident. Everything is going to be okay, you’ll see.” She draws back and wipes the tears from my face with her gloves. “You’re a good person, Maddie. Just don’t forget that there are other genuinely good people in this world who care and want to help. We are all here for you .”
I give her a soft smile in return, emotion clogging my throat.
“Give him a chance to explain,” she says gently. “I don’t know what you heard, but he was just trying to help in his own weird way. My son can get a bit carried away at times, but it comes from a place of love.” She pats my shoulder gently. “He needs you. They both need you.”
Samantha walks off to Amelia, who gives me a thumbs up, but I don’t know how to react. I don’t have the energy to call after her, to ask more questions. I need to get those answers from Parker.
Arms wrap around my waist, and I immediately know it's him from the smell of his cologne. He rests his head on my shoulder, whispering, “This is the true spirit of Christmas, sweetheart.”
I guess he’s not wrong. I just don’t understand it.
“Why aren’t they mad at me? I ruined Christmas,” I reply, still watching as people walk back and forth, carrying items. They’ve even started laughing and playing around in the snow.
He grips my hips, turning me to face him, brushing a stray hair from my face. “You didn’t ruin Christmas, Maddie. It was an accident. All of this can be replaced. It can be made bigger and better. This will just be a story for us to tell the grandkids.” He chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.
Grandkids? He has some fucking nerve.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, Parker Grayson, and if I don’t like the answers, there will be no grandkids,” I reply, glaring at him.
I’m still so mad at Parker for lying to me and for leading me on, but if people can forgive me for this, can I forgive him?
He was trying to help, wasn’t he? I mean, I hate Christmas, but this town loves it.
He was just trying to show me all the good things about it, and in the process, I fell in love. Is that why I feel so betrayed?
He places a gentle kiss on my forehead, breathing me in. “Let’s finish up here, and I’ll explain everything, alright?”
I give a tilt of my head in agreement and get to work.
Hours later, I’m dripping with sweat. We’ve managed to clear up the fallen ornaments, and the tree is standing again.
One of the local recovery garages managed to stand it back up with the help of a few hefty men.
It took a few tries, but at least it’s not lying on the ground anymore.
The lights have been placed around as best as they could; no one had a ladder big enough at this time of night, so they had to be thrown around haphazardly.
Kids played in the snow, screaming in delight that they didn’t have to go to bed early, so they’re one hour closer to Santa arriving. Parker’s dad continued with the Christmas music, the somber tone of Silent Night long gone. Now, in its place, Leona Lewis’s One More Sleep plays loudly .
I’ll admit, after the initial embarrassment wore off, I began enjoying myself.
It was the most I’d ever spoken to people in the town before.
One by one, individuals made their way to me, offering words of encouragement and telling me not to feel bad about what happened .
“It could have happened to anyone,” was my favorite.
Watching the children running around was a highlight I didn’t expect to enjoy so much. Add in Parker messing around with them, making snow angels, and my anger with him slowly ebbed. The Christmas spirit was finally getting to me.
“How are you holding up?” Samantha asks, standing next to me and offering up a hot chocolate.
I take the drink as I reply, “Good. Better than I expected. Everyone has been so kind. I really thought I’d ruined Christmas.”
“That would never have happened in this town, hon. We love Christmas too much here.” She chuckles, sipping her drink. “The town might be ornery throughout the rest of the year, but you can bet your ass that come the holidays, any sin will be forgiven with a smile on their face.”
“I guess I’m not used to it,” I reply.
“No?”
I shrug. “I grew up in a bad environment, so I’m used to being the butt of everything going wrong.”
Samantha gives me a one-armed hug as she places a kiss on my head. “I’m sorry you went through that, but I can assure you that won’t happen here. We’ll probably tease you mercilessly for the next fifty years about it, but that’ll be it.” She nudges my shoulder with hers, her eyes twinkling.
“Yay for me,” I reply jokingly. I blow out a breath, nervous for my next words. “I, uh, heard you and Parker talking at the garage.”
She tilts her head slightly in response.
“I’m sorry for the part I played in that, Maddie.
Both his and Amelia’s intentions were good, the finale not so much.
” She sighs, a sad look on her face. “I did try to warn Parker, to tell him to come clean. You have to forgive my son, Maddie. He only ever wants to do right by people, but sometimes even I want to smack him upside his head for his stupidity.” She rolls her eyes, and I chuckle.
“He’s a good man, Maddie. Not perfect, but he’s kind. He’ll treat you the way you’ve always needed to be treated. You just have to let him in.”
Looks like I need to go and find Parker and offer my own Christmas forgiveness.