AllFreeNovel
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“Why don’t we get this all year round?” I demand, surprise thickening my words as whipped cream coats my top lip.
She laughs. “They wouldn’t taste so amazing if we could spoil ourselves all year round.”
She closes her eyes, savoring the spicy taste of her drink. I lick the cream from my lips and open the truck door for her to climb in. She thanks me and gets herself comfortable, placing her frothy drink in the cup holder between the seats.
“Where now?” I ask.
“You know the big store about twenty minutes from here?”
I think for a moment and groan. “Not Bevans?”
“That’s the one.” She grins.
Bevans is renowned for going all out for Christmas. Lights, grottos, more lights, people dressed as elves, music, fake snow, and cheer.
Ugh.
“You promised, and it’s the best and closest place for decorations and lights for that beast of a tree.” She gestures to the top of the windshield, where the top of the tree is overhanging the roof of my truck.
“This is madness,” I grunt, but her musical laugh pulls the corners of my mouth into a reluctant smile.
CHARITY
I grab a cart and begin filling it with boxes of colorful decorations. Ribbons and bows, little boxes wrapped to look like Christmas gifts, tiny angels, and a huge star for the top of the tree. Box after box of warm golden lights follow the decorations—I ensure I have plenty. Hopefully, they’ll last for years since they’ll only be up for a few hours at a time.
“You sure know how to do Christmas,” Ryder says from beside me as we place everything on the conveyor belt and prepare to pay.
“You spent enough Christmases in the Pine household to appreciate our love of the season,” I remind him softly.
I immediately regret the words as a dark shadow falls over Ryder’s face. I know we’re both thinking of Luke. How long will Ryder continue to blame himself for his death?
I place a hand over Ryder’s, my eyes on his. “He’d want us to enjoy it. He wouldn’t want us to be sad. He made it easy to love Christmas, and I won’t let go of that.”
Ryder nods, his eyes searching mine. “I’m glad you can still enjoy it.”But I can’t.
He doesn’t say the words, but they remain unspoken between us. Poor, tortured man. He has so much guilt weighing on his shoulders. I wish he could find a way to release it. Luke wouldn’t have wanted him tormenting himself like this. I want to pull him into my arms, kiss away the sorrow around his eyes and absorb some of his pain.
We continue to the checkout, and everything is bagged and ready to take back to the set. Ryder grabs the bags, and we head back to his truck.
“What made you want to do this for a living?” he asks, wedging the bags between the side of his truck and the tree.
His question takes me by surprise. He’s always been supportive of my job, but we’ve never discussed it in detail. “It’s what I’m good at, and I’m usually left to get on with my work without electrocuting myself and bursting into flames.”
“Right.” He gives me a look before pulling out of the parking spot.
“What?”
“You attract disaster.” He laughs.
“I do no such thing,” I object, unwilling to admit he may have a point.
Ryder laughs harder and shakes his head.“What about the time you got snagged up in that barbed wire fence, and Luke and I had to cut you—and your hair—free? Or the winter you fell in the river trying to reach a stray kitten on the other side and ended up in bed with the flu? And then there was—”
“Okay, okay!” I hold up a hand to interrupt him. “I’m a little unlucky, is all.”
“Just promise me you’ll be more careful,” he says as we get close to the studio where the set is waiting to be decorated.
I look at him, ready to argue that Iamcareful and it’s not my fault if gravity affects me differently than everyone else. But something in his eyes stops me.All the mirth has left his expression, and I realize my reassurance is deeply important to him.
