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He trailed off when he pulled out the second ornament. It looked exactly like his house, only decorated with Christmas lights.
Jared glanced up at both of them, an eyebrow quirked. “I guess I know where I’m heading next.”
Olive pointed her finger at him and winked. “Don’t fuck it up.”
“I don’t plan to.”
On the drive back to his house, Jared found himself pushing the speed limit. He couldn’t get to Anna Beth fast enough, needing to hear her say the words he’d been waiting for.
Jared pulled into the driveway and climbed out, staring at the multicolored lights twinkling along the trim of his house and wrapping around his porch. A shadow hung by the door. He hustled up the walkway to thank Anna Beth properly.
“Santa Claus is coming to town!”
The flashing blue eyes of his mother’s possessed Santa sent him jumping backward, nearly tripping down the step.
“Damn it!”
Jared clutched his chest, glaring at his mechanical nemesis. He’d noticed the prop was missing
from his parent’s porch earlier, but figured she’d removed it after too many complaints.
He unlocked the door and flipped the switch on the wall. The living room light kicked on, revealing a fully decorated, six-foot-tall Noble fir in the corner.
“What do you think?” Anna Beth asked from behind him.
Jared spun around and she stood just inside his kitchen, Rip by her side. She wore a red sweater dress and Santa leggings, her hair styled in loose waves down her back.
“What do I think about the tree, or your breaking and entering?”
Anna Beth smiled sheepishly. “Both.”
“I don’t fear for my life at the moment, so we’ll put the breaking and entering on the back burner. As to the tree, it’s great, but why? And how did you know I would go to your house tonight?
“I had a feeling.”
Jared’s eyes narrowed. “You’re in cahoots with my mother.”
“Of course, I am,” Anna Beth laughed. “Your sisters and brothers, too. You dad just kind of went along for the ride.”
“And sending me all over town looking for you?”
“I needed time to get things perfect.”
“Perfect for…”
“You.”
Jared’s stomach flipped. “Anna Beth, why the big show with the ornaments and the tree?”
She crossed the room and stood next to the tree. “Because Christmas trees tell stories about the people who decorate them. How families change and grow.” She touched one of the green branches lovingly. “This tree is us. What our life could look like together.”
At a loss for words, Jared stared as she pointed out a couple of ornaments, including a Scooby-Doo one he’d had as a kid.
“Your mom let me have these for the tree. And these are some of mine, when I was a kid.” She took an ornament of a dark blue jacket off one branch and held it out so he could see clearly. “This represents the day we met, when I mended your coat. I even drew little stitches, see?” She put the coat back and pointed to a black long horned cow ornament. “And this? Remember when we cut school because Tyler Hicks broke up with me and I didn’t want to face him? You took me over to Garrett Ranch to see the calves and we didn’t know the bull was out there. We ran so fast.”
His heart raced, dazzled by her excitement as she showed him every special decoration.
“Here are the two from the White Elephant, and this sled, chainsaw, and pine tree? I guess you can imagine what day those represent. There are so many more I want to show you but this...this is my favorite box. I just didn’t have time to hang them.”
