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“I thought for sure there’d still be plenty to do,” Derek mused, looking around the ballroom with barely concealed wonder. “But it looks like I got here too late.”
“We got an early start,” Sarah said with a shrug.
“Plus, a ton of people showed up,” Colette interjected, beaming. “This is just the people who are left over. It’s not even half of the total number of volunteers who have been in and out throughout the day.”
Derek’s heart swelled slightly at the thought. When Lacy had agreed to forgo the Christmas party that year, he knew that it had upset her. She loved this party, loved this house, loved everything that it all represented, and he’d hated having to ask her to skip it, even if it was just for a year. And when he thought about how not only his cousin and Sarah, but also so many of the residents of their little town, had shown up for Lacy… it threatened to overwhelm him.
“I can’t get over how amazing it looks.” Derek spoke past the lump in his throat as he grinned at the two women.
“Oh!” A familiar male voice came from behind him, and Derek turned to find Zach standing in the doorway, a look of shock on his face. “You’re already here!”
“Just got here, actually,” Derek answered, giving the man a handshake in greeting.
Tendrils of tinsel were stuck in Zach’s auburn hair, and it shimmered as he bent to give Colette a quick kiss on the cheek.
“The parlor room is done,” Zach announced, turning his attention back to Derek. “But there’s still quite a bit to do in the hallway and the living room. Want to help?”
“Absolutely.” Derek nodded before telling Colette and Sarah that he’d be back and following after Zach.
The two men chatted as they worked, wrapping some of the art on the walls and rehanging them so they looked like presents, stringing lights, and draping garland. Derek couldn’t help but like the guy. He had a brusque but joking demeanor that had warmed Derek to him almost immediately. And the change in Colette since Zach had arrived at Snowy Pine Ridge hadn’t escaped his notice either.
Derek knew that Zach didn’t plan on staying in town forever, or at least he hadn’t when he had first arrived. But over the course of the last few weeks, he’d noticed his cousin becoming a little more outspoken, a tad more outgoing, and even a little more adventurous, if how quickly she had climbed onto the dog sled yesterday after falling off was any indicator. And while a bit of that could be because of her finally starting to heal from her grief, he had a feeling that a bit of that might be because of Zach as well.
He liked getting to know the man, and they peppered each other with questions all the way through until the final decoration was hung. Derek could still hear the women in the ballroom, hear their laughter drifting to him over the still lilting music, and he and Zach wiped their hands on their pants and then went to find them.
Derek hugged them both, squeezing Colette extra hard in gratitude as everyone began to wind down and say their goodbyes. He took a final look around the house and the way that it had been turned into a winter wonderland, and he only hoped that Lacy would love it as well. But he had a sneaking suspicion that she would.
Everyone said their goodbyes and filtered out the door, with Derek locking up behind them. He waited until the final car was gone before beginning his journey home. The sun had fully set by the time he pulled into the drive, and his headlights lit up the front of their house as he waited for the garage door to open to allow him entry.
Once he was parked and the car turned off, he walked into the house, only to find Lacy standing in the kitchen with chocolate on her face and a tray of freshly baked cookies in her hands.
“What’s all this?” he asked, amusement tugging up the corner of his lips as he kicked off his shoes and crossed the floor to his wife.
“I got bored,” she explained with a shrug. “And I was craving chocolate chip cookies.”
She placed the tray on the counter and plucked one off of it. Lacy’s lovely face pulled into a scowl when she realized that the cookie was still quite hot, and she let it flop back onto the tray with the others. Not saying a word, she turned away from him and began rifling through the cabinet at her back. He watched, wholly entertained by her frantic searching, until she turned around holding a massive jar of peanut butter.
“And what’s that for?” He arched a brow at her, and she grinned from ear to ear.
“You’ll see.”
She turned back to the cookies, picking up the same one from earlier and seemed to deem that it had cooled down just enough. Derek watched as she grabbed a butter knife from the drawer, pried open the jar of peanut butter, and got out a generous dollop, all before spreading it over the cookie in her hand.
She took a bite and then sank back against the counter, a hum of approval leaving her as she chewed. Derek laughed at his wife before walking forward and grabbing a cookie of his own. He bit into it and was delighted at the delicious, gooey, melty middle.
“Wanna try?” Lacy asked around a mouthful of cookie, offering him the jar of peanut butter.
He couldn’t stop the stab of curiosity that rocked through him, and he shrugged as he took the knife from her and spread a bit of peanut butter on what was left of the cookie in his hand. When he took a bite, his eyebrows shot up in surprise and delight spread across Lacy’s face.
“Isn’t it great,” she whispered conspiratorially, waggling her brows at him.
“You might be a genius,” he admitted, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her forehead.
“Might be?”
He laughed as he finished the last bite of his treat before pulling down Tupperware and placing the rest of the cookies inside.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing her hand and the bowl of cookies and leading her through their house to the living room.
