As was custom, Bernard had brought his guitar, and soon they were singing Christmas carols.
Somehow, Roland had ended up not that far from Nelly, and as her voice lifted in harmony with his, their eyes met.
The harmony was unexpected. He certainly wouldn’t have expected someone that he had not cared for his entire life to have a voice that blended so well with his, but as they sang the familiar Christmas hymn, there was no doubt that they sounded good together.
She gave a little smile, and he returned it with a full-on grin, never breaking from the notes they sang.
He was pretty sure that he and Nelly were officially friends. And that was the most unusual thing that had happened all year.
Chapter Twenty-One
The evening of the tree lighting ceremony, Nelly worked with her Secret Saint partner, delivering Christmas gifts that had been bought and wrapped by their various contacts to a family who had just lost their grandmother.
She and her partner were talking and laughing softly as they walked through the yard, under an old oak tree with a low-hanging branch. They both ducked as they walked underneath it.
She saw out of the corner of her eye something move quickly, and she turned her head in time to see her partner’s hat go flying off his head. It must have caught on the branch, and he continued to walk.
Without thinking about it, she flipped her head around immediately so that she was looking away, even though she stopped.
She heard him gasp, set his box down, and stop.
There was some rustling, and then he said, “I’ve got it back on.”
“That was close,” she said as she turned to look at him, realizing it could have been her with the branch catching on her cape and pulling it back as she walked.
“It was awfully nice of you to turn your head. I… I’m impressed at your quick thinking. And at your dedication to making sure that we remain anonymous.”
“I’ve considered asking if we could confess our identities to each other, but…I think it’s important that we don’t.”
“Same. Actually, I’ve come to the same conclusion. As curious as I am, as much as I’d like to know, I think it’s more important that we just keep it a secret. If we can.”
“Oh, I think we can. I was tempted to look around earlier this evening at the tree lighting ceremony and see if I could find you, but I didn’t want to, even though I did, if that makes sense?”
She’d always made sure to disguise her voice just a little bit as she conversed as the Secret Saint with him. And she assumed that he did too, although she really didn’t know. Maybe if she heard his voice when he was wearing his regular clothes, she would recognize it, but part of her hoped not.
“It’s just—if I know who you are, and someone asks me, I might be tempted to tell them. Or it might slip somehow.” She thought of all the different people that he talked to and how it would be almost impossible to keep a secret like that away from everyone, once it came out.
“Yeah. Exactly. There’s just too much chance that someone might accidentally or unintentionally let it slip, so if I don’t know, that’s one less thing I have to worry about keeping a secret. We’re already doing so much and trying to keep it below the radar.”
“That’s part of what makes it fun. And honestly, I do actually like the idea that we don’t know who each other is.”
Except for the fact that she was attracted to him and felt like perhaps they would be good together in real life, as well as in Secret Saint activities.
She was a little shaken by the near miss, and as they continued to work, she was very careful to duck so that her hood did not catch on any of the branches in the yard.
They finished up for the night and bid each other a good evening.
Normally Nelly walked away with a really happy feeling in herheart, and she did again that evening, but she also felt a little bit of uncomfortableness. It had been a close call, and that would have upset everything. There was also a little bit of disappointment. It would have been nice to find out his identity. She had to admit that, even as she recoiled at the idea.
It was a complication she hadn’t been expecting, and her emotions were jumbled up in a knot, feeling uncomfortable and weird. It was a while before she finally fell asleep that night.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I’ve got it, Mom. You go on in,” Roland said as his mom made her way to the back of the car where he was opening the door and getting the casserole out.
“Oh, I don’t want you to carry all of that,” his mom said, but she sounded tired.
He wasn’t quite sure why she would be tired, because she had slept all afternoon from what he could figure. He had been out working at the tree farm, and now, since it was Friday night and time for their normal family dinner, their hired guy was holding down the Christmas tree sales.
