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Just because Millie mentioned to lighten up didn’t mean I had to act like an idiot. Although, it wasn’t a stretch, and it felt pretty natural. Daisy just made me… happy.
But I didn’t realize she thought I’d been sulking in the corner last year when she worked for me.
Daisy reappeared, holding a red and green plastic box.
“Let me help.” I rushed toward her, and she shook her head.
“I got it, but you can go get the other one. It’s down the hall in the room that’s the second door on your right.”
I quickly made my way down the hall and into a room that looked like a guest room. A full-size bed with a snowflake quilt was near a window, and a small writing desk sat next to it. I spotted a red and green box in front of the closet and hoisted it up when I noticed a small picture frame with Daisy hugging a guy who looked about the same age as her in the photo. Maybe late teens at the time? She looked incredibly happy and like she didn’t have a care in the world.
As I hauled the box out to the living room, Daisy was rifling through the other one, pulling out clumps of lights.
“Oh, how I missed you,” she squealed, and I looked over to see what she was squeezing.
“What in the world is that thing?”
She grinned as her eyes twinkled. “This, my friend, is my naughty Christmas gnome.”
I chuckled. “Is she as frisky as Foxy?”
Her eyes widened, and a pink flushed her cheek. “More.” She let out a happy sigh. “I just love Christmas.”
“I’m stunned.” I stared at her before putting my box down.
“Why’s that?” She frowned, scratching her head. Her hazel eyes landed on mine, and a smile crept onto her face.
“Your place is so tidy, and you just remind me of someone who would wind up their lights, not toss them in the box all tangled.”
She laughed and shrugged. “I’m just full of surprises. Stick around long enough, and you might see how I organize my spatulas.”
I shook my head, laughing as she sat on the floor and started untangling the lights.
“What brought you up here?” she asked, looking at me between unknotting the green string. “Isn’t it a pretty busy time? It was last year.”
I nodded, taking a seat on the floor next to her. “Yeah, it’s pretty nuts, but I hired a manager who is doing a great job of keeping order.”
She nodded and slid the first untangled string toward me. “That’s good. It always looked like you were overworking yourself.”
I hid a smile, wondering how often she'd noticed me while I was pretending not to notice her.
“Yeah. I’m getting better at taking breaks, and my brother Cash wanted me to come up and help him with some stuff.”
“That’s nice of you.”
I stood with the first string of lights in my hand. “Mind if I check them first? Where’s a good plug?”
“Nah. I just got them last year. Go for it.”
“You sure?”
Daisy nodded, and I, despite my best judgment, started wrapping the lights around the tree.
As Daisy worked on the next string of lights, she hummed softly and swayed her body. I’d been such a fool last year, keeping my distance the way I had.
She stood and handed me the next string as I made my way around the tree.
“When are you headed back to Madison?”
