It had been a long day, but the store was ready for Polly’s arrival tomorrow. Kevin and Lisa made one last walk through of the place, making sure everything was ready.
“What do you think?” he asked.
She stopped and stood in the middle of the store. “It’s beautiful. I think we’re as ready as we could ever be.”
“Are you ready to call it a day?”
“I am.”
“Let me drive you home.” Kevin drove her back to Barbara’s Country Inn. It had been another great day. He hated to see this project end. She was a little quiet, and he wondered if she was thinking the same thing.
He pulled into the driveway. “I’ll walk you to the door.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she said.
“I know. I want to.”
“Thanks.”
He met her on her side of the truck before she got the door all the way open. He held it, then spotted her as she stepped onto the snowy driveway. They walked toward the house, neither one of them in a hurry.
He’d been trying to find a good time to mention this all night. “Thomas told me he might be opening a new outpost for his logging company here.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Yeah?”
“Yes. So I can choose between staying in Evergreen or moving to Maine.” He glanced over hopefully. If she lived here in Evergreen it would be a no-brainer for him.
She slowed down and faced him. “Which way are you leaning?”
“Honestly? I’m not sure.” He was bursting inside to just flat-out ask her how she felt. Was there something growing here? It had been a long time since he felt this way and she was so nice, and kind, and thoughtful with everyone. Was it possible he was misreading her and she didn’t feel as strongly as he did?
He held her gaze. Then slowly, he reached forward and swept her hair back from her face.
Her lips parted. She licked them, speaking softly. “If I lived here, and I didn’t have a business that took me all over the place—”
“And I don’t know where I’m going to end up.” He shrugged. There were a lot of ifs, but there didn’t have to be.
“We might always be in different places.”
She drew slightly nearer to him, and the tilt of her chin seemed like an invitation. He moved in ever so slowly. His heart was pounding, and she wasn’t backing away…
Suddenly, the front door of the inn swung open and a man and a woman walked out talking. Kevin and Lisa both jumped back, clearing their throats like two schoolkids getting caught doing something wrong. The two people continued down the sidewalk.
“Excuse me.” Lisa stepped out of their path, looking embarrassed, then took a giant step toward the front door. “See you in the morning?” Lisa smiled, not waiting for an answer from him, instead heading for the door.
The moment had passed.
Kevin stood there regretting the timing. It was laughable. He couldn’t seem to catch a break. He shoved his hands into his pockets, wishing he could turn back time. “See you then.”
He walked back to his truck alone with his heart aching.
The next morning was Christmas Eve. Kevin had barely slept at all, thinking about how he might have made last night end differently. But that was over now. All he had was today.
He’d arrived in town early. There was one last thing he planned to do before he saw Lisa. The 49th Annual Evergreen Christmas Festival banner scrolled between the two sides of the street, but the sun hadn’t even come up yet. The town square was still quiet. It wouldn’t be that way for long.
He let himself into the store and worked on his secret project. It took him an hour to complete the surprise. He sure hoped Lisa loved it.
His friend Allie would be back from Florida that morning, so he left the red truck on the street in front of the store for her. Then his dad picked him up and gave him a ride home to shower and get dressed for the day’s festivities.
When Kevin got back to the town square, he had to park two streets over and walk to the store, which wasn’t scheduled to open until noon today. He hoped to arrive before Lisa and maybe get a little time with her alone.
Dressed in a button-down shirt and tie, he walked past the gazebo. Hannah led the children’s choir in a round of “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” and across the way, children lined up to drop off their last-minute letters to Santa in the mailbox.
The festival was in full swing. Booths filled both sides of the streets. There were games and food, and the sound of merriment rose throughout the town.
Kevin spotted Allie standing near the truck. “Hey!”
“Hey.” She hugged him. “The latest town gossip is that my truck played matchmaker again.”
“Ahh.” Word had gotten around fast. He dropped her keys into her hand. “Thank you.”
“Thanks for taking such good care of it.”
“No problem.”
“And by the looks of it…” She pointed to Daisy’s Country Store. “the rest of the town.”
“No. That was a group effort.” He leaned against the front of the truck.
She shook her head. “You know, as long as I’ve known you, Kevin Miller, you’ve always underestimated yourself, and covered it up with stubbornness. Trying to make everything perfect.”
“All right. All right. I’m aware. How was Florida?”
“We had fun, but it turns out we are Evergreen people. I’m glad to be back in time for the festival, and to help my parents out. Ryan and Zoe will be home tomorrow.”
“I’m happy for you, Allie. Ryan seems really great.” She’d been lucky to get that chance to have a real relationship with someone she loved. “And now the town has a doctor my dad will actually listen to.”
She tossed her head back with a laugh. “That’s good. I know how stubborn Henry can be.”
“Yeah. He can be.” Kevin crossed one boot in front of the other.
“So what’s she like?”
He wondered what she’d heard about Lisa. Maybe everything…or more. It was a small town. Gossip was their best crop.
“She’s great.” He sighed. “But she’s probably just passing through.”
“Ohh. The curse of the tourist town.” Allie nodded. “I’ve been there.”
“I know. Why set yourself up for the heartbreak, right?”
“I’ll tell you why.” She paused for a moment. “Because you could end up spending Christmas with someone. You know, I may have met Ryan at Christmas, but he only just moved here in August. We’re only now figuring it out a year later.”
He didn’t know how she did it. That would have made him crazy. “So, you’re saying—”
“What I’m saying, Kevin, is when the person is right everything is worth it. You make it work.”
Lisa was worth it. She was, and if he didn’t try he would regret it the rest of his life. And unlike trying again with Dad, there might not be a second chance with Lisa.
How was he going to show her? To convince her that not only was she the right one for him, but that he was the right one for her?
He saw Dad standing in front of the gazebo listening to the carols. This place was special. He and Lisa both belonged here. They could do big things together.
No one that hadn’t seen the state of disrepair of Daisy’s Country Store a week ago would believe that store had been empty for over a year. They’d done that together. That had to mean something.
There was no time to waste. He left the noise and chaos of the festival and went back to Daisy’s. He walked through, checking things over. He noticed a few spots upstairs that could use a little paint touch up. He filled a small paint tray to take care of that while he waited.
He flipped his tie over his shoulder and knelt down to cover a few of the wooden knots that had bled through the first coats of paint. No one would ever notice, but he needed something to do because he was beginning to get nervous. What if she took exception to him putting the tree up in the middle of the store? Yes, it had been her idea all along, but he didn’t have her eye or her decorating skills. If she didn’t like it there wouldn’t be much time to fix it.
He busied himself, becoming increasingly uneasy with her possible reaction to this surprise at the eleventh hour.