Sheila could barely keep from running back to Natalie and Amanda. Was there something in that hot chocolate, or was Tucker really that easy to be with? Feeling giddy over it, she took an extra loop through another path of trees, trying to calm herself down before she reached Natalie, else they’d be teasing her like no tomorrow about him.
Walking through the maze of Fraser and Canaan firs, and white balsam, not to be confused with the eastern white pine, which had the long soft needles, as Tucker had explained, she smiled so wide her cheeks ached. She spotted a huge Norway spruce with the giant pine cones. Feeling like a winner on Jeopardy!, she twirled in appreciative satisfaction for identifying each of the species now that Tucker had explained each of them.
I’m practically a Christmas tree aficionado now.
Most of the trees were still bare except for a paper sign with the sponsor’s name on it, but the ones that the teams were busy at work on were all pretty amazing. This event was a lot more impressive than she’d expected.
She finally came to the aisle where she’d left her friends, and when she got to their tree, she stopped. Completely unbiased, she could say the Feathered Friends Home for the Holidays tree had an enchanting way about it. The natural elements, birdhouses, and pine cones were dusted with the lightest strokes of sparkly iridescent paint, as if Jack Frost had just kissed them, which brought it all together in a resplendent way.
“Impressive!” It was honestly the best word to describe their tree. She clapped her hands together in a slow, methodical bravo. “Maybe I should let y’all finish without me.”
“She’s back!” Amanda set down the pot of glittery paint and her brush and rushed to Sheila’s side. “I was beginning to wonder if you ran off with Tucker.”
“Or ditched us,” teased Natalie. She walked straight up to Sheila. “Yep. I sense a certain sparkle in those eyes. One that’s been missing for way too long.”
Sheila squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from Natalie, pretending to fix an ornament on a tree. “Stop. It was just hot chocolate.”
“Oh, that is not a hot-chocolate-sugar-high smile,” Natalie said with a smirk. “And hot chocolate doesn’t take that long.”
“I took a couple calls from the office too.”
“At night? Over the holidays? You have got to cut those apron strings, Sheila. I thought you said they are capable.”
“They are.”
“Then why are you micromanaging?”
“I…” Sheila looked confused. “Oh my gosh. I am. Aren’t I? I suppose I have nothing better to do.”
“You have lots of better things to do. Haven’t you figured that out?” Natalie looked like she couldn’t believe Sheila hadn’t seen it before now.
“You’re right. I’m the most awful boss in the world. I do have time to do things. I just need to trust them to do what they’re being paid to do.”
“And when it’s not perfectly the way you’d do it, it’s a training opportunity. That’s all. It’s how the best leaders operate.”
“Thank you, Natalie. I know better. I guess knowing and doing don’t always correlate.”
“Well, I want you to enjoy your time here, and the rest of your life. Expanding was a smart thing, now put it on autopilot like that Tesla.”
“Point taken.”
“Enough stalling. Spill everything about Tucker,” Natalie said. “Now.”
Sheila felt ridiculous for feeling this way. It really was just hot chocolate. “It must be the sugar.”
Natalie slid her hand to her hip. “Hello? It’s me you’re talking to.”
Amanda shook her head. “Who could blame you? Own it, girl. Tucker is the most sought-after bachelor around. He’s successful, sexy, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say anything bad about him. Not even ex-girlfriends.”
Sheila didn’t mind hearing that. “Okay, fine. It was nice. We walked through the stadium. It’s really fun with all the holiday-themed street names, and the hot chocolate is no joke. They have a bunch of different flavors.”
Amanda clapped her hands. “Please tell me you got the pumpkin white chocolate. I always get it with the splash of Kahlua in it. It’s so good.”
“You too? That’s what Tucker had. It sounded horrible to me.”
Natalie’s nose wrinkled. “Chocolate and pumpkin?”
Sheila pulled her hands to her hips. “I know. I thought the same thing, but Tucker coerced me into trying it, and I can promise you it’s the best hot chocolate around.”
“Well, we have to give him points for having good taste,” Amanda said.
“Because of his hot chocolate choice?” Natalie asked.
“No, because he’s apparently taken a liking to your best friend here.” Amanda laughed, nudging Natalie at the same time.
“Y’all stop. What? Did we go back in time to seventh grade while I was away?”
“If we were still in seventh grade, we’d be fighting over him,” Amanda said.
“Truly,” Natalie said. “Enjoy it. No one is asking you to get all serious or married or anything. Just have an awesome holiday while you’re here in Chestnut Ridge.”
Amanda added, “Maybe he’ll kiss you under the bleachers next time.”
Maybe he’ll kiss me under the mistletoe. But there was no way she was saying that out loud. They’d never let her live that down.
“Let’s talk about something that matters. This tree and winning this Christmas Stroll,” Sheila insisted. “I honestly don’t know how this could be any prettier. You even hung my little birdhouses while I was gone. They look pretty.”
“You were gone a long time,” Natalie said.
“Randy and Eli came back, helped, and took off again,” Amanda said. “They are back at my house shooting pool.”
“They did not.” Sheila wasn’t buying it for a second.
“Did. Look, they left snacks for us,” Amanda said.
She looked at her watch. I was gone a long time. “I’m sorry. I only meant to be gone like ten minutes. Are they coming back?”
“I don’t think they need to,” Natalie said. “There’s really only one more thing I’m considering doing once we finish tucking all the holly sprigs into place, which you are now in charge of.”
“That adds so much.” She repositioned one sprig and picked up a handful to get to work. “That was a great idea, Amanda.” Sheila leaned in, looking for a wire or hook. “How are they staying in place?” One of the spiny leaves stuck her as she investigated. “Ouch, that’s sharp.”
“Be careful.” Amanda winced. “Glue dots.” She handed over a box of them to Sheila. “It’s simple to just press them in place that way, and easier to avoid the pointy edges, which are a bit unforgiving, as you can see.”
“It’s like a paper cut. Invisible, but it smarts.” Sheila wiggled the branch, and the holly bunch sat steady. “Perfect. I like the glue-dot idea.”
“Yep. Amanda fits right in with us,” Natalie said.
“I’m a glue-dot expert,” Amanda said with no apology. “The permanent ones work almost as good as hot glue, if you ask me.”
“And you can’t see them.” Sheila watched Natalie fuss with a box. “Need help?”
“That depends. I collected these from around the cabin.” She unfolded the top of the box.
“What are they?” Sheila lifted a strange, woodsy, bark-like thing from the box. “A flower?”
“It is now. I made it out of natural things on my property.”
“That’s a sweet-gum ball in the middle. Those hurt like you-know-what when you step on them barefoot.” Sheila cocked her head. “But I’ve never seen those other things.”
“You’re such a city girl,” Natalie teased, fully aware that just a short year ago she had considered herself one. “Look, I glued milkweed pods in a circle to make a star-shaped flower. Then, I glued a sweet-gum ball in the middle. If you don’t like them, I might just make a wreath out of them, but I thought they were kind of fun.”
“I like them. I think we have enough ornaments, though, don’t you?” Amanda cocked her head as she eyed the tree, as if trying to decide.
“What I was thinking was to use either white ribbon or natural jute to create a garland out of them. Maybe one every two feet or even three feet apart. Either that or lay out the garland on top of the tree skirt to make it look like a flowery serpentine design.”
“I vote for the tree skirt. I think it would add a lot of interest without taking away from the tree.”
“I have to agree,” Sheila said. “I think anything else we do will only take away from it.”
“Then that’s exactly what we’ll do.” Natalie held up a spool of white ribbon and a wheel of jute. “Which do you like?”
“White,” they both answered.
“Me too.” She unraveled a long length of the white ribbon and started twirling it around on the tree skirt. They played with it until they came up with just the right number of graceful curves, then started attaching the pod flowers to it and glue-dotting everything in place.
From the wide, gauzy red and white sheer ribbons generously woven in and out of the branches from top to bottom, to the lights dancing off of every sparkly accoutrement, the tree dazzled without question.
Each birdhouse had its own personality, and Natalie had jazzed them up with so many tiny details that they earned a deserving pause.
“Who is ready to turn on the tree topper?” Sheila asked.
“I’ve been dying to see what it looks like lit up. I hope it’s bright enough,” Natalie said.
Sheila plugged the topper into the power strip.
“Look!” Sheila pointed to the back of the two-story birdhouse. In tiny drilled-out holes, the letters spelled HOME TWEET HOME.
The girls gathered around, and as if rehearsed, they all let out a simultaneous “Awww.”
Natalie’s eyes glossed over. “He didn’t even know the name of our tree. I swear that man can read my mind. It’s perfect!”
“It is,” Sheila agreed. A tiny green 3D Christmas tree with fairy lights rose from inside the front window of the tall birdhouse topper. “How’d he do that?”
“I have no idea, but it’s pretty awesome.” Natalie couldn’t take her eyes off of it.
A male voice broke their collective fixation on the tree. “I know I’m treading on my competitors’ playing field here,” said Tucker. “But I wanted to stop by and say good night before I headed out.”
Tucker admired their tree appreciatively. “Very well done.” With a lazy smile and the lift of his eyebrow, he eyed Natalie. “Even better than I imagined.”
Natalie’s head swung toward Sheila. “You told him our theme?” Then she playfully added, “You tree traitor.”
“He showed me his first,” Sheila defended herself.
“Mm-hmm.” Amanda and Natalie nudged elbows.
She glared at them and grunted out a quiet “Stop.” How embarrassing. Mortified, she avoided making eye contact with Tucker. Trying to keep the conversation on the tree, she smiled in his direction. “It truly is a beauty of a tree, isn’t it?”
His scan started on Natalie, then went to Amanda, and stopped on Sheila. “It looks like it was taken straight from the heart of a fairy-tale winter forest. I’d say it would be considered a very desirable neighborhood in a really good part of town if we asked a real estate expert.”
Oh my gosh, he’s trying to speak my language. “An affluent enclave, for certain.” Sheila spoke in her most convincing Realtor tone. The one that people seemed to react to the most. “And in the very best school district.”
“Of course,” Tucker agreed. “We might even say ‘topflight,’ right?”
“Ha, see what you did there.” Sheila laughed a little too heartily. “Yes. Topflight.” She pushed her fingers through her hair, and the glance that just passed between Amanda and Natalie didn’t go unnoticed. Oh gosh. I’m flirting?
“Seriously, though,” Tucker said, “this is a very nice tribute to the area. The craftwork from the natural materials ties in really well.”
Sheila watched the sense of accomplishment wash over her friend. Their tree was a testament to Natalie’s creativity.
“Doesn’t look like y’all will be pulling an all-nighter after all,” Tucker said.
Natalie agreed. “Good teamwork like ours is hard to find, but we nailed it.”
“You did.” Tucker shoved his hands in his pockets. “My team is slower going, but then it’s not easy balancing heavy construction trucks and roller skates on a tree, and putting hangers on tiny Matchbox cars is sort of work for daintier dexterity than I have.” He lifted his large hands, splaying his fingers. “And our tree is more than twice the size of this one.”
“Are you asking for our help?” Sheila asked.
“No, we’ve got plenty of help. But I am offering to drive you back to Orene’s if you’re done,” he said to Sheila. “I have to go right by her house on my way home.”
A wave of panic slid through Sheila, but before she could politely decline his offer, Natalie answered for her.
“That would be great, Tucker,” Natalie said. “I’m staying with Randy tonight and Amanda is riding with me, so if you give Sheila a lift I wouldn’t have to backtrack.”
“Oh?” Sheila was caught off guard by Natalie’s comment, but there were worse things that could happen. She turned back to Tucker. “If you don’t mind. Sure. It would be great if you could give me a lift.”
“Done,” he said. “We should take Miss Orene a snickerdoodle back, don’t you think?”
“That would be great,” said Sheila. “She’ll be asleep, but she’ll enjoy it with her tea in the morning.”
“You drink tea too, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Well, then we’ll get plenty for you both.” Tucker looked at the stacks of boxes and supplies lying around the tree. “How about we help pack up, and I’ll put the cart in the back of your truck?”
Natalie started putting empty boxes one inside another to get it down to a manageable move. “There’s nothing heavy left. Amanda and I can manage the wagon.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”
“I know you don’t. Y’all go get your cookies before they sell out.” Natalie already had the boxes in the wagon. “See. We’re done.”
“Are you ready then?” he asked Sheila.
“No. Not until we get pictures with our tree. Will you take them for us?” Sheila handed Tucker her phone.
The girls squeezed together tightly in front of the tree and smiled. Tucker took the pictures as they repositioned to one side of the tree and then behind the canvas sign Natalie had painted.
“Thanks.” She took her phone and swept through them. “Good. Yes. I can’t wait to send these to my office. They won’t believe it.” She bent down and picked up her tote bag. “I’m ready now. You two are sure you don’t need our help?”
Natalie and Amanda both shook their heads. “We’ve got it. Good night. We’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Just out of earshot of Tucker, Amanda said, “Sheila, Eli and I are going to smoke a turkey tomorrow. I hope you’ll join us. Bring Tucker too if you want. It’s been so fun working together.”
She hated being the fifth wheel. “No. Why don’t y’all two couples have a date night? I’ll do something with Orene.”
“Every night is date night for us. You’re invited. If you change your mind, please come. Bring Orene if you don’t want to invite Tucker.”
“I’ll think about it.” But Sheila knew she wouldn’t go. It was just too awkward being the only one without a significant other. It left her feeling a little lonely, and she’d rather avoid that. She waved to the girls and walked over to Tucker. At least she wasn’t lonely tonight.
They walked over to the snack stand.
“You were holding out on me earlier,” Sheila said. “There were cookies the whole time?”
“I can’t play my whole deck of cards on our first date. It’s a small town. Choices are limited.”
Date? “Was that a date?”
“Wasn’t it?”
“Is this our second one?”
“Of course. Aren’t you keeping count?”
“I may be in over my head.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” The wink was playful, not flirty, and she appreciated that. “I’m glad you’re in town. Online dating is so impersonal that it feels wrong at the holidays.”
“I know! I feel the same way. Plus, it’s weird dating someone new with gift-giving at the holidays and all. I’d just rather not.”
“That’s always interesting. So you’ve done some online dating?”
“It’s the way these days, but I feel like I can date someone for weeks before the true person is revealed. Like there’s this whole dating façade you have to break through.”
“Glad it’s not just me. You’re a breath of fresh air,” he said.
She knew what he meant, and his honesty was refreshing too. She relaxed and let him lead the way to the snack shack.
“Six snickerdoodles,” he told the young woman wearing a Santa hat.
She turned to bag them.
Tucker said, “The mayor’s wife makes these. Her mom used to make them before her. They’re a seasonal tradition around here.”
“Merry Christmas.” The girl handed the wax-paper bag to Tucker, who handed it off to Sheila.
“We don’t need all six of these.” Sheila turned back to the counter. “Could I get an extra bag to split these up?”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks.” Sheila took only two and gave the rest back to Tucker. “You’ll enjoy these tomorrow morning too.”
The stadium had quieted now that most of the teams had called it quits for the night. They walked toward the wide exit tunnel, but then Tucker tugged her toward the stadium stairs.
“Come on. I want you to see this so you can see the difference once all the decorating is done.” Before she could even consider what could be worth climbing a bunch of bleacher stairs for, he was laughing and shouting, “Race you!”
“Wait. You’re cheating.” She balled up her fists and started running up the stairs. “No fair. You jumped the starting line.” It had been a long, long time since she’d run stairs in high school, but she charged up despite the fact that his stride was twice as long as hers.
“Fine.” He stopped. “I’ll take a penalty stop. Get going, slowpoke. Counting down three seconds. Three-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, one-Mississippi.”
“Not cool!” She gave it her all and was one step behind where he stood challenging her.
He slammed his sneaker against the next seating plank and they were neck and neck, all the way to the top.
She squealed as she touched the back wall just a nanosecond before he did.
They burst out laughing.
“That was unexpected,” she said.
“You’re fast. That’s what was unexpected.” He laughed. “I had to really hustle.” He lifted his hand in a high five.
She clapped his hand. “Well done.”
The air up here was so cold that they could see their breath, the condensation lifting in puffs as they panted.
She put her hands on her knees. “If I’m sore tomorrow, it’s your fault.”
“You look like you’re in good shape. I think you’ll be just fine.”
“I’m no firefighter, but I do try to stay in shape.” She turned to the field, quickly realizing why he’d raced her to the top. “This view, it’s phenomenal.”
“Yeah. It is. It’s fun to walk the field, but it’s a whole other experience up here. Isn’t it great?”
“It is.” She lowered herself to the seat, retracing the paths they’d walked earlier. “Candy Cane Lane. I didn’t even realize there were color changes in the aisle lighting. You can see how it’s mapped out way better from up here.”
“You can. The kids over at the community college came up with that idea when they were creating the new maps for the event. It’s the first time we’ve done it. I think it really adds to the experience. They were hoping it would drive more people up into the stands to kind of even out the traffic. This place is filled with people during the judging.”
“Smart marketing.”
“There’s a people’s-choice award too. And this year, not only will the team win the award and a free dinner for the whole team at Trout and Snout, but also everyone who voted is entered into a drawing for a free dinner for two as well.”
“I hope I win. I’m not a picky eater, but I haven’t had one bad meal down at the Trout and Snout. I love that place.”
“Who doesn’t? What’s your favorite food?”
“My favorite Italian restaurant closed last year, so I haven’t had much Italian lately. I miss that.”
“You’re in luck.” He snapped his fingers. “It just so happens I make the best lasagna around.”
“I believe you are bragging.” She leaned her shoulder into his.
“Maybe a little.” His neck reddened. “Can I make some for you one night?”
“That’s a lot of work. You don’t have to go to all that trouble.”
“I’d like to. Come on. It’ll be fun.”
She hesitated. Why not? “I think I’d enjoy that.” She lifted her chin. Enjoy the moment. She plopped down onto the bleacher. “When would you like to cook for me?”
“I’m off Wednesday through Friday morning, so let’s do Thursday. Unless something catastrophic happens, there won’t be any interruptions.”
“Okay.”
“It’s a date, then.” He looked pleased with himself.
“Yes, but who’s counting?” She caught herself looking into his eyes, her shoulders slightly hiked. Oh my gosh. I’m flirting with this man. And it’s nice.
She grinned through the nervous set of her teeth, smiling but trying not to make too big a deal about it, although she knew Natalie would.