Chapter 15
Natasha
I was still reeling from my stumble. It should have been embarrassing because I was staring at Ford when I should have been looking at where I was walking. Instead, I tripped over a tree root, and he'd caught me before I could face-plant.
For a few seconds, I'd been pressed against him, and it was nice. Now I was clutching his arm under the guise of not falling again because I wanted this connection to him.
The logical part of my brain reminded me that I couldn't trust him. I wasn't even sure he wanted a relationship. He'd said himself this wasn't a date.
He smiled down at me as we walked, and my heart skipped a beat. This entire arrangement was risky. I wasn't sure I could be around him and not fall for him again. I wasn't sure I'd ever gotten over him.
A large tree caught my attention. "Oh. What about that one?"
We broke apart, him to walk around it and me to test the branches. "It looks good. What do you think?"
I walked around the tree, then stepped back so I could get the full effect. "This is it."
"This one is for your place." He looked around. "Then we need another for mine."
We looked at the other trees in the same cluster and found one that was comparable.
"I'll grab a cart. Then we'll cut them down." Ford walked to the end of the row and grabbed an abandoned cart, bringing it back. He rested it on the ground nearby, then handed me the saw.
My eyes widened. "What am I going to do with this?"
"You can cut your own tree," he said simply.
I just gave him a look.
He crouched down. "You can do this."
I knelt on the hard ground next to him.
He brushed the lower branches out of the way to reveal the bark. "Lie on your side. Set the blade here."
"Okay." I followed his instructions, placing my blade where he indicated.
"Press hard, then move it back and forth."
At first, I didn't see any progress, but then the saw finally bit into the bark. "It's working."
He straightened to standing. "Keep going. I'll hold it."
I kept going even as my hands ached from my tight grip. When the tree gave way, I trusted that Ford would catch it, and he did.
I got up, brushing off my jeans as he hauled it over his shoulder and carried it to the cart. Who knew a man carrying a Christmas tree was sexy?
I held onto the trunk of the second tree while he cut it down. When both trees were situated on the cart, we walked down the hill.
"We didn't get a picture of us in front of our trees."
He grinned. "We can do that once they're up and decorated. I thought we'd stop by Clara's shop and get new ornaments, then decorate the trees together."
I blinked, a little surprised by what was happening with my day. "That's an all-day project."
He grinned. "We'll have to get moving then."
While he paid for the trees outside, I ordered hot chocolates and a box of sugar cookies in the shop.
He loaded the trees into the back of the truck, and then we headed toward the inn. The plan was to go shopping first, then haul the trees upstairs in the cargo elevator so that we didn't drag needles through the hotel.
At Clara's, she greeted us when we walked in. "Is there something going on I didn't know about?"
"We're actually here to buy ornaments."
Clara frowned. "For the inn? I would have brought over options if you'd asked."
I let out a breath, hoping she wouldn't read anything into it. "This is for our trees."
Clara clapped her hands together. "How fun. What are your styles? Classic and traditional? New and modern? Or I can point you to colors or even themes like birds or the ocean."
I looked around at the offerings. "I think I want classic."
"I'm not sure yet," Ford said, a little out of his element.
"Let's start with traditional then. I assume you want to do green and red, maybe with a gold accent?" Clara led us to the displays of more traditional ornaments along the right wall.
There were the classic red and green shiny ornaments, then hand-painted ones with trees and garland to Santa Clauses, reindeer, and snowflakes.
"Put everything you love into this basket, and then I'll choose how many of each you'll need to keep your tree balanced."
I took the basket from her. "What if I love everything?"
Clara smiled wide. "Now that's a problem. But I'm sure Ford can help you."
Then she drifted over to the counter to check out a customer.
I began to put one thing after another into the basket. I preferred the plain ornaments and snowflakes, not so much the Santas and reindeer.
Clara rejoined us. "It's going to look amazing. Can you take a picture and send it to me?"
"I'm not sure it's going to look as good as this." I gestured at the display tree.
"I'm sure with Ford's help, it will be amazing. Let me wrap these up for you. Ford, why don't you walk around and see if anything appeals to you?"
I curled my hand around his elbow, guiding him around the room.
His jaw was a little tight. "I don’t know what to pick.”
"All you have to do is tell me if you like anything." We passed by the bird-themed tree and the ocean one, then a pink one, before he paused in front of one that had old-time cars, vinyl records, and vintage Santas.
"You like this one?"
"We've always had vintage cars around, and we're named after them."
I remembered his dad's garage full of cars, and I'd heard his brother Maverick carried on the tradition.
Clara approached. "You like the vintage stuff?"
Ford nodded. "Yeah."
"Let me wrap everything, and I'll have them delivered to your room at the inn," Clara said.
"That would be perfect," I said, more excited about decorating the trees now that we'd chosen our ornaments.
"You have time to grab lunch and get the tree set up," Clara said.
I had to admit; I was having fun. With the purchase of the inn, I assumed I wouldn't be partaking in any holiday traditions that didn't directly relate to the inn or the town. But I was grateful that Ford had forced us to do this.
"Do you have anything for a mantle?" I asked.
Clara's eyes lit up. "I have just the thing. I'll send it over."
Outside, Ford asked, "Don't we have to pay?"
"She'll bill me. That's how we usually handle it."
"But that's for the business. This is personal."
"You got the trees. I paid for the ornaments. Now we're even," I said by way of challenging him to disagree with me.
He sighed. "You want to grab subs from the pizza parlor?"
"That sounds perfect." We ordered hot subs, and I gave him the code for the cargo elevator.
I carried the subs to my room. I set our food on the table and then cleared a space for the tree in front of the large windows.
This morning, I hadn't planned on decorating at all, and now my room was going to look festive.
Maybe in a few years, I'd want to move off the property and get my own place. I could be close if there was a problem.
A few minutes later, Ford pushed the door open, as I'd left it unlocked. "Where do you want it?"
"In front of the windows here." I'd grabbed a tree stand from the storage area downstairs.
I helped him right the tree and screw it in.
"Is it straight?" he asked.
I took a few steps back. "A little to the right."
He made the adjustment.
I smiled. "That's perfect."
He stood, brushing the needles off his clothes. "We can eat while we wait for Clara's delivery."
I grabbed waters from the fridge, and we sat at the small round table, the one I'd inherited from the previous owners.
Ford unwrapped his sub. "It must be nice to get deliveries from everywhere around town."
I nodded. "It's the perk of living in a small town. But I usually order from our kitchen since we offer room service."
"It's like you live in a penthouse suite," he said before taking a large bite of his meatball sub.
I laughed, unwrapping mine. "It's larger than the other rooms, but it desperately needs an update."
"You should let me have my way with it. You deserve to have a beautiful place to come home to."
"Are you going to sell your house when you're done renovating it?" I asked.
His brow furrowed. "I intend to renovate each room in the house to my taste. I don't have any plans to resell it."
"You want to stay." It felt like everything inside me stilled at that revelation.
He tipped his head to the side. "I wanted to come home."
When we were younger, he was so eager to leave, and my mistake was thinking he'd take me along with him. I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around him being content here.
I was not ready to trust this new version of him.
We finished eating in silence, then cleaned up the wrappers just as the doorbell rang. It was the delivery person with Clara's ornaments.
She'd wrapped them in sturdy boxes that we could use to put them in storage at the end of the season.
We stacked Ford's ornaments by the door so he could take them home when we were done. Then we carried mine over to the tree.
"Good thing Clara thought to add lights," Ford said as he pulled them out of the box.
"Yeah, I didn't even think about that."
Once they were hung nicely on the branches, Ford plugged the cord into the outlet.
"It looks beautiful. I can't believe I didn't want a tree."
"Aren't you glad I suggested it?"
"I'm not sure it was a suggestion, more of a demand, but yes. It's lovely." I smiled at him, my heart beating a little harder than was necessary. There was something about decorating a tree with this man that had me thinking about more Christmases with him.
I couldn't let myself get too far into the future. I wasn't sure he would stick.
He opened the box of ornaments, setting the hooks on the side table. Then he pressed Play on a holiday music playlist. The tree, music, and fire created a nice ambiance. We took our time placing each ornament.
When we had a few ornaments left in the box, Ford asked, "Do you have anything to make hot chocolate in your pantry?"
"There's a mix and marshmallows on the middle shelf." I pointed toward the cabinet.
"It feels like a hot chocolate kind of night." Ford moved past me, and my heart skipped a beat.
I was having all these feelings, and I wasn't sure what to do with any of them. I wanted to spend more time with him. I wanted him to stay the night. But this couldn't last, and when it fell apart, I would too.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the willpower to tell him any of that. To admit that I couldn't handle any more of these outings. These events would only draw us closer together, and for what? So he could walk away again?
I was vaguely aware that Ford was moving around the kitchen, pouring milk into a pan, turning on the heat.
When he returned, he asked, "Is everything okay?"
The same ornaments were still resting in the box, and I was holding one by a hook. It was one of the vintage cars we saw on Clara's tree. "I think this was supposed to be in your box."
"You should keep it for your tree. That way, when I'm here, I can see it." He took it from my hand and hung it on a higher branch. "Did you get a tree topper?"
"I don't remember picking one out." But there was one smaller box we hadn't opened. I dropped to my knees and opened the flaps. It was a star that lit up with a rainbow of colors. "This is perfect."
"Clara thought of everything."
"She's great. One of the few shop owners who accepted us as soon as we arrived." I considered her a friend.
Ford took the star from me and set it on the top branch. Once he was satisfied it was secure, he plugged it in. Then he glanced over at the stove. "I should check the milk."
I continued hanging up the rest of the ornaments, filling in the empty spots. Then I stepped back. It was better than I imagined. Clara's ornaments were exactly what I wanted. "It's gorgeous."
"Now you have to help me decorate my tree."
I turned to face him, a little surprised because I hadn't thought it through. But it only made sense that I'd return the favor. "I want to see your house."
He poured steaming milk into two mugs that had ornaments on them. "This is your chance."
I approached him, considering our options. "When do you want to put it up? Tonight?"
He scooped cocoa mix into the hot milk in the mugs and stirred before looking at me. "I'm not in any rush. Let's do it tomorrow. That way we can enjoy your tree tonight."
I cradled the mug in my hands as he scooped mini marshmallows into it.
"Say when."
Once my mug was filled, I said, "When."
He poured a matching amount into his, and then said, "Let's go into the living room to admire our hard work."
We settled on the couch with our hot cocoas, admiring the tree. The lights reflected in the window.
"I'm not going to want to take it down."
He chuckled, and the sound reverberated through my body. "Eventually it will die, and you won't have a choice."
I wondered if that would be the timeline on our relationship. We'd rekindle our friendship, and after these few outings, he'd move on. He'd always been good at that. He didn't look back or consider the damage in his wake.
"Thanks for coming with me today. I know you didn't want to."
I touched his hand to stop him. "It was really fun. I'm glad you invited me."
He threw his arm over the back of the couch so that I slid into his side. "You want to watch a holiday movie?"
"It's the perfect night for it." I was surrounded by holiday cheer in the inn twenty-four seven year-round, but this was different. I felt the magic of the season in my soul, and it was all because of Ford.