Sheila’s mind was all over the place the rest of the day. When Tucker spoke to her, the way he held her gaze was intoxicating. She yearned for it, and she found herself searching for ways to bump into him. She couldn’t remember the last time she was so excited at just the thought of seeing someone again.
Natalie had texted her a list of things to pick up for the tree decorating tonight. She might have been able to find some of the things at the hardware store in town, but while searching online she saw there was a Hobby Lobby in Christiansburg, Virginia, less than an hour away. Chances were better she’d find cute stuff there, plus she might be able to pick up a couple of Christmas presents while she was at it.
And hopefully, some retail therapy would take her mind off of Tucker.
Driving the Tesla through the winding mountain roads was fun. It hugged the turns like a sports car, but she was scared to push it too fast.
It was cold out, but the sun and blue sky made up for it. She put her sunglasses on, and her mind drifted back to Tucker and getting hot chocolate with him tonight.
Why was she allowing herself to get so excited over someone who lived so far from her, and yet, what was the harm in having a little fun? It was just hot chocolate, after all. She daydreamed, thinking about how fun it would be if it ended up snowing. She pictured them making snow angels in a blanketed field of fresh powder.
From the looks of the sky, there was zero chance of that tonight.
Being single at the holidays sucked. Spending Christmas here in Chestnut Ridge with Natalie was already more fun than she could’ve hoped for. She’d expected Christiansburg to be a small town, but it was actually quite populated. Not only did it have an adorable Main Street, but there was lots of brand-name shopping here, and there were plenty of restaurants.
A sushi restaurant caught her eye, so she swerved into the parking lot and treated herself to a roll and a pot of hot tea before shopping.
The store was just up the street, and luckily, she was able to find everything on the list Natalie had given her. Natalie had texted her pictures of several birdhouses she’d hand-painted for the tree as an example of colors and theme. She was such a talented artist.
Sheila sifted through boxes of wrapping paper to find something just right not only for her gifts to Natalie and Randy, but for the children’s gifts she planned to order for the Jacobs.
She couldn’t believe her luck when she found a pretty white holiday wrapping paper decorated with snowy trees filled with bright red cardinals, and that gave her an idea. She tossed two rolls of wrapping paper into the buggy and raced off for the floral section.
There are always a few spots in a real tree that are less than perfect. Sometimes even a big gaping hole. It was why she preferred an artificial tree. But rules being what they were, she should be prepared for the imperfection, and she had the perfect idea.
She could fashion an oversize bird’s nest and adorn it with a decorative ribbon to correct the problem. It could be a gorgeous solution.
Hadn’t she read somewhere that having a bird’s nest in your live tree was good luck? She typed it into the search bar on her phone.
Legend has it that prosperity will come to any home that finds a bird’s nest nestled among the branches of the family Christmas tree.
“I knew it.” She’d thought she’d read that in a magazine once. It made some sense, mostly because it seemed highly unlikely that a bird’s nest could make it all the way from the woods to the retailer and through the tree being wrapped in a net and toted home and into someone’s house, but either way, there it was in black-and-white.
Maybe it will bring us good luck.
She found some pretty holiday picks while searching the floral section, but she was just about ready to resort to hot glue and pine straw to make a nest when a woman walked over.
“Can I help you find something?” the clerk asked.
“Maybe. I was trying to find a bird’s nest, or something to make one. What do you think?”
“We actually have some really cute ones, unless you have your heart set on making one from scratch.”
“Take me to the pre-made ones.” Sheila followed her over to the table decorations. There were several of the little round ones, even some with eggs in them, but then she saw the perfect one. It was large, probably eight inches across, which could really help fill that space, and it was made with pine straw, twigs, and branches.
“This is perfect,” Sheila said. “I want to tuck it into the sparse spot in a Christmas tree to fill it up.”
“That’s a great idea. You could even maybe set it on some colorful ribbon and insert a few feathers to draw attention to it. Feathers will be over on the craft aisle. Ribbon is over that way.”
“You’re the best. This is going to be so cute. Thank you,” Sheila said.
“You’re welcome. Good luck.”
“Merry Christmas,” Sheila said as she rushed over to the craft aisle with excitement. Merry Christmas, indeed.
She walked a little straighter, gathering all the goodies she could find, then stumbled across packages of twelve four-inch birdhouses. Raw wood, they could be painted to balance the colors needed on the tree. They’d be sort of like what Natalie had made, although in miniature and probably not near as pretty; she could do something simple. A must-have.
At the checkout she added a set of paints and paintbrushes, and glitter. Is there such a thing as too much sparkle at Christmas?
An hour later, she was back at Orene’s house with all the goodies laid out across her bed. She divided everything into piles: “Mine,” “Natalie’s,” and “Projects.”
Then she sat down at the table in the corner of her room and started painting the birdhouses, copying the designs on the ones Natalie had sent her the pictures of.
Sheila opted for matching colors and then doing simple holly leaves and red-dot berries, with a little glitter along the edges.
They dried fast over the radiator.
Her phone rang just as she was placing them neatly in a box.
“Hey, Sheila. What are you doing?”
“Can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”
“For me?” Natalie’s voice rose.
“Sort of. I was getting ready to drive over to your place.”
“You cannot drive that car on the dirt road. I’ll come get you. I was just heading back from Paul’s house anyway. Be there in a minute.”
“Perfect timing. I’ll be right down.” She packed the birdhouses. It took her two trips to get everything downstairs.
Natalie was walking up the steps when Sheila opened the front door.
“Hey, are you ready?” Natalie asked.
“Yep. Here.” Natalie shoved huge Hobby Lobby bags toward Natalie. “And there’s more.” She carried a box and a bag out to the truck.
“This is way more stuff than I had on the list.”
“Sure is, but I can’t wait for you to see it all. I found some great stuff.”
“I picked up barbecue from the Trout and Snout so we could eat before we go over to the high school.”
“Good. I had sushi for lunch, and that is gone. I’m starving.”
“You are in the best mood.” Natalie looked over at her and then giggled. “Is this still because Tucker thinks you’re cute?”
“It did perk me up. I’m not gonna lie.”
“He’s pretty cute too.”
“Oh stop. I live in Richmond. He lives here. It’s nice, absolutely, but that’s all it can ever be.” But the excitement couldn’t be suppressed, because her heart was already racing. “He is really good-looking, kind, smart. Ugh. I can’t stop thinking about him. I have to stop!”
“Whatever.”
“Don’t whatever me.” Sheila refused to have the conversation and was thankful when Natalie turned down the dirt road. The noise under the truck tires made it nearly impossible to have a conversation.
When they turned toward the cabin, Sheila was delighted to see that Natalie had put pine roping along the bridge railing. “It looks so festive.”
“Thank you. I’ve done a few things.”
Natalie carried the bag from Trout & Snout over the bridge, and Sheila left everything else in the truck. She’d show Natalie that stuff tonight.
At the edge of the bridge, a garden flag with a wintry scene and Christmas cardinals hung from a fancy black wrought-iron hanger.
“That is so pretty.”
“Thank you. I painted it. It’s similar to a design in the note cards I just released last month. I’m in a bird phase.”
“I see that.” She knew Natalie would flip over the wrapping paper she’d just bought. It was so hard for her to keep secrets, though.
“I’ve got a ton of solar lights, but Randy and Tucker dug a trench and ran electricity to the bridge for me over the summer. I have Christmas lights draped along the pine roping on the bridge. It looks so pretty at night.”
“I forgot how long the walk was from the bridge to the cabin.”
“It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” The path they walked along was well worn now. All of a sudden there was a woof, followed by a happy tail-wagging beagle running their way. “Buzz. There’s my boy.”
“You don’t have him in a pen?”
“Why? He won’t run off. He knows this is the best place in the world to live.”
“Except for the lack of shopping, I’m beginning to agree.”
Natalie’s head swung around. “I can’t believe those words came out of your mouth.”
“I happen to have had a wonderful shopping day.”
“Where?”
“In Christiansburg. I decided I had time to go a little further than the corner to pick up the goods, and I’m so glad I did. Not only did I need the retail therapy, but you are going to be very happy with some things I found to doll up our birdsy, woodsy Christmas tree.”
“You mean our Feathered Friends Home for the Holidays tree?”
“Cute name. It’s perfect.”
“I think so too.” Natalie pushed open the door, and Buzz zipped past both of them and went straight to his water bowl. “I don’t know why he won’t drink water outside.”
“Maybe you’re spoiling him a little. He looks pretty comfortable in here.” Buzz had already wiped his chin on the carpet and hopped onto the couch, his tail thumping with excitement.
“Guilty.” Natalie walked over and dropped a kiss on top of the little beagle’s nose. “How can you not? He’s adorable.”
“He is. I just wish you and Buzz lived closer. I miss you.”
“I know, that’s the only downside. I promise I’ll do better about visiting you next year.”
“Good. I’d like that, because I have visited you the last three times.” Sheila walked into the kitchen. “This place looks so homey now. You’re beginning to make me feel like a slacker. I don’t think anything has changed at my house since you left town.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“No. It’s the truth. The updated cabinets are nice. Did you replace the flooring in here too?”
“No, those are the original hardwood floors. I did have someone come in and sand them and put a layer of whatever that shiny stuff is on them. They look good, don’t they?”
“Yes. Very. It’s very comfortable. Doesn’t even really look like a hunting cabin anymore. What did you do with all those horrible deer heads that were hanging on the walls?”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “It took some doing, but I got a few of the guys to take them back, to the dismay of their wives. Then Tucker told me about a nature conservation center that would take the rest to display. I felt like I was on some kind of heist driving a truckload of deer heads up there, but they were excited. I was prepared to just donate them, but they insisted on giving me a lifetime membership, a sweatshirt, and two coffee mugs. A win-win.”
“You turned this whole little area that was wasted space into a really nice and functional artist’s nook. It’s so colorful.”
“I’m loving working on the note cards. I’ve done a few full-size paintings. That’s one of them.” She pointed to a watercolor of the mountains in spring with mountain laurel in bloom and wildflowers in the fields.
“I can almost hear the water in that creek,” Sheila said.
“Cherish Creek. The one that runs under my bridge over there. It’s the view out that way.”
“Natalie, you’re just getting better and better. You’ve really found your gift.”
“It feels like I have. Is that weird?”
“No. It’s a blessing. I’m happy for you.” It brought Sheila joy to see her best friend at peace. “Nelle was telling me that Paul helped her when she first came to town. Did you know that?”
“I’ve never heard anyone talk about it. Paul’s not the sort to brag or take credit, so I’m not surprised I hadn’t heard. He’s a complex man, but he’s fair and kind. If I live to be the kind of person he is, then I can be proud.”
“I think you can be proud already, my friend.”
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, well according to Nelle, Paul giving up the chapel for the Jacobs didn’t seem all that out of character to her. He gave her a job and a place to live when she first came to Chestnut Ridge.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“He seemed excited about those children, didn’t he?”
“He did. I was surprised he showed up for the reveal. Them being there could bring a lot more to his life.”
“For sure. Seeing the world through the innocence of children brings perspective to this crazy, overcomplicated world.”
“We all need that.”
“We do. Tucker was good with them too.”
“Wondered how long it would take you to get the conversation to him.”
“Oh stop, Natalie.”
“Tucker is very well respected around here. He was the youngest firefighter in Chestnut Ridge. He started as a volunteer. I guess that’s why he’s not only such an advocate for the volunteer program, but funds the junior firefighters’ club himself.”
“That’s admirable.”
“It is. He worked his way up to captain, and he won the attention of the town’s authorities, and was one of the first paid firefighters in this town. I think it was his calling. Tucker accepted the offer with gratitude and it wasn’t long after that he was appointed as the fire chief. People think the world of him.”
“I guess everyone has a story.”
“I wish I’d known him when Jeremy was alive,” said Natalie. “I feel like I missed out on so much.”
“We can’t go backward.”
They gathered the boxes that Natalie had filled for the Christmas Tree Stroll, and then Natalie took her out back to the porch to see all the birdhouses she’d painted.
Colorful birdhouses in a kaleidoscope of colors hung from the handrail all the way around the back porch.
“Ta-da,” Natalie said.
“Wow, it looks like a lot more when they are all hanging like that.” Sheila stopped to count them. “Is the tree big enough for all of these?”
“I may have gone overboard, but figured I’d err on the side of too many. We can give the extras away as gifts.”
“Good idea. Every single one is different. I’m having trouble picking my favorite.” Sheila took a moment to really look closely at each one. “I can’t believe the detail. I think I like the ones where you painted the lifelike birds on them the best, but the ones with the jingle bells are cute too. I want to live in one.”
“I know. I think the green one is my favorite.”
Sheila liked the way Natalie had glued tiny battery-operated lights around the front, and the little stockings with Wynken, Blynken, and Nod on them. “We’re totally going to win. They are all fabulous.” She turned and hugged Natalie. “You are so talented.”
“Thank you.”
“I have a surprise for you later, but it’s not much compared to these.”
“I’m sure whatever you did is wonderful. Randy made a tree topper. He wants to surprise me too.”
“So, I guess we should head over to the high school now.”
“Let’s go.” Sheila helped Natalie collect all the birdhouses, placing them in a big red plastic tub so they could put them in the back of the truck.
“One of these days I might have to put in a bigger bridge so I don’t have to hike everything over to the truck,” Natalie said as she and Sheila each carried one end of the big tub.
“That would be a priority for me, but you’ve never minded walking.”
Natalie reached down and patted Buzz on the head. He knew to stop and sit when she hit the bridge. He shifted from paw to paw, hoping for an invitation, but when one didn’t come, he lay down.
They loaded everything in the truck and headed to town. It was already getting dark, and every light post along Main was lit up with a giant set of silver bells that blinked, making them look like they were ringing.
“It looks so festive.” Sheila peered out the window. “Look at all the pretty window decorations too. I didn’t notice them in the daylight.”
“The Christmas spirit is alive and well in Chestnut Ridge,” Natalie said. “I told you this is a magical place.”
“It certainly is.” Sheila’s mind wandered back to when she was just a kid and Dad would ride them around to look at all the lights in the neighborhoods. Something so simple had felt as if her parents had stopped the world and transported them into their own private snow globe.
“If only it would snow while I’m here, it would be perfect,” said Sheila.