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Chace had no idea, but it certainly re-enforced what he’d suspected since the day almost ten years ago when he’d unequivocally decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Holly McCade—she’d make one hell of a mother for their children.
“Can we have lunch?” Santa’s naughty or nice list long forgotten, Wren was ready to move on to the next item on her agenda.
Food.
They inhaled burgers and fries at The North Pole Café, then checked out the craft booths and various shops, each picking out a handmade ornament to commemorate their inaugural visit to Morningstar Farms. Afterward, Holly and Chace helped the girls pick out a few things for their parents from a few of the vendors. Holly purchased an evergreen and holly wreath for her front door, and because it was Chace’s absolute favorite, they picked up an extra-large bag of freshly popped kettle corn.
Unfortunately, Chace couldn’t find a trace of mistletoe while they shopped, but that didn’t stop him from taking Holly’s hand whenever he got the chance. Or stealing a few impromptu kisses as they followed the twins from one activity to the next.
As the third hour passed on their excursion, Holly intervened. “Okay, girls. It’s time to visit with Santa and get your picture taken before we head home.”
“But there’s still so much we haven’t seen or done,” Emme protested.
“I know, but there’s no way we can do it all today. Besides, we still need to load the tree and get it home.”
“And decorate it?” Wren piped up, her little face full of hope.
“We’ll have to see about that. Tomorrow’s a school day, and we need to get everything ready before bedtime because we won’t have any extra time in the morning.”
“Maybe we can at least start.” Emme raised her eyebrows with a hopeful smile.
“Not if we keep standing here talking about it.”
Tiny shoulders slumped in resignation. “Okay.” They trudged off toward where, adjacent to his workshop, Santa was set up to receive visitors.
Gratefully, only one child preceded them. When he hopped off Santa’s lap, Emme and Wren went together, each perching on one of his legs. Although he heard the jolly old elf ask what they wanted him to bring them for Christmas this year, Chace couldn’t make out their responses. He could only hope that Lyss already knew and was prepared.
Once pictures were snapped, Santa handed the girls candy canes, reminding them to still be on their best behavior. “We will,” they assured him before racing back to Holly and Chace. “We’re ready!”
“Then let’s load up our tree and get our butts home.”
* * *
Once the treewas unloaded and set up in front of the family room’s picture window, Chace climbed the pull-down stairs and handed Holly several plastic bins of Christmas decorations from what amounted to no more than a crawl space of an attic. From there, Holly passed each well-labeled container to the twins, who set them around the tree.
“Okay. Here’s the plan,” Holly began. “We find the lights and check each strand to ensure they work. If we have enough for the entire tree, Uncle Chace can begin the stringing process while we,” she drew a circle in the air to encompass herself, Emme, and Wren, “prep everything we’ll need for school tomorrow.”
“Why am I assigned light duty?” Chace inquired, his hands on his hips.
“Do you want to pack lunches, assemble outfits, and check through the red folders in each backpack,afterwe locate them, of course, to make sure we’ve taken care of anything sent home and needs to be done?”
“No. I’m good with the lights.”
“I thought you might be.”
Chace opened the container labeled LIGHTS in bold black letters. For the next fifteen minutes, they untangled and plugged in about ten strands, relieved to find each one lit up just fine.
“Looks like we’re a go,” Chace declared, already moving toward the tree to begin his task.
Holly pushed herself off the couch. “C’mon, girls, let’s start with making our lunches.”
As they started toward the kitchen, Emme paused and looked over her shoulder. “Just the lights, Uncle Chace. No decorations.”
He fired off a mock salute. “Got it.”
Chuckling to herself, Holly followed them into the kitchen. As Holly made their PB and J sandwiches, the twins filled their Bento lunch box compartments with grapes, carrots, fruit snacks, chips, and juice boxes. Upon finishing their portion of the task, Emme and Wren filled their water bottles and tucked them in the fridge with their packed lunches.
“I want to wear my black leggings with penguins on them with my red sparkly Christmas sweater,” Emme declared, heading straight for her closet.
