Chapter Twenty-One

Just as she promised, Shelby behaved herself while Marley patiently helped her finish the piping on all the little gingerbread people that now stood perfectly around the crooked walls of the castle. After picking Marley up from school, they all worked hard to make sure the structure at least stood upright and somewhat resembled the winter wonderland Shelby had envisioned. Even Brandon was brave enough to reappear after Justin called and promised him dinner if he would come help. If one ignored all the other gingerbread creations on the table, this one didn’t look half bad.

“Oh my goodness. They all look so pretty.” Marley had come to stand beside Tara, holding her clarinet case in her hand. It was almost time for the tree lighting, and Tara looked forward to hearing her play with the band. “Shelby isn’t going to win a prize, is she?”

Marley was talking about the contest, but thinking about the night before and how well she and Justin fit with them, Tara knew that she and her sisters had indeed won something worth far more than a medal and bragging rights.

“Probably not, but the experience was priceless.”

Marley gave her a sly smile, displaying more of that wicked humor she was getting more comfortable showing. “I better go warm up. Justin is back there somewhere. He got stopped by a bunch of old men asking about trees.”

“Okay, I’ll see you after the lighting for the judging.”

Marley nodded and then shuffled away with the tree skirt she had fastened to her band uniform flowing around her calves. Tara was pleased to see the girl embracing the local traditions. The tree lighting always brought out the craziest outfits, with each citizen trying to out ugly the next. Her own sweater was a wonderful display of tackiness. She had sewn on mini dollar store flamingos, dressed as elves, kissing under the mistletoe. Thankfully, they had been blessed with higher than normal temperatures, so she could show off her creation without freezing from the lack of a coat.

She had just decided to find Justin and free him from the senior crowd when she turned and saw him heading her way, wearing a smile and a poinsettia cardigan any old lady would be proud of. He leaned down and kissed her, careful to not crush her flamingos.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

He kissed her again. “Have you seen my sister?”

She smiled. He was trying, but his protective nature was hard to repress. “She’s with the rest of the band, warming up.”

He looked over to confirm and then smiled down at her. “Come on, let’s go get a good spot.”

They walked hand in hand to the tree, moving to where they could clearly see Marley sitting in the front row. She gave a little wave when she saw them, and Justin pulled out his phone for pictures. Tara could see Marley roll her eyes, but Justin just laughed and kept clicking.

“You’re becoming such a dad.”

He honestly looked terrified for a moment, but it was soon gone, replaced by something soft and peaceful.

“There are worse things to be.”

Tara felt tears in her eyes. Not wanting him to see, she wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her cheek on his chest. He reciprocated the gesture, resting his chin on the top of her head. She wasn’t as good at hiding her reaction as she thought.

“What’s wrong?” He pulled back and gazed into her watery eyes.

“Nothing. I’m just proud of you.”

“Me? An unemployed former attorney with daddy issues, a crumbling house, and a temperamental twelve-year-old girl?”

“Yep, you. You are fighting against all that to build a good life.”

“It’s worth fighting for, Tara.”

She could see lights reflecting in his eyes and realized that while she had been lost in them, the trees had been lit. She continued to stare at the reflection, finding more wonder in it than anything else around them. She could hear the music playing and felt him shift her to one arm so he could record Marley’s solo, never taking his eyes off his sister or his arm off of Tara. They stayed connected that way until the next piece started and his other arm returned to her.

“My father’s parents paid my mother to leave town. She dropped us with our grandmother, took the money, and didn’t look back until it ran out. My father just ran out.”

“I know. Brandon told me.”

“Why did I ever think he was a man of few words? His father is also a class-A jerk. There aren’t many stand-up men in my family. You might take some getting used to.”

He smiled. “We have time. I’m not going anywhere.”

The music shifted from festive to a slow and bluesy version of “Jingle Bells.” Justin’s hands moved to her waist as he pulled her closer, effectively crushing her flamingos against his poinsettias. Her hands found their way around his neck as they began to move in slow circles.

“There’s usually not dancing at this event.”

“No? Well, when it’s a mild night and lights are twinkling all around, soft music is playing, and a beautiful woman is in your arms, there should definitely be dancing.”

Tara relaxed against him, enjoying the music, the motion, and the new sensation of falling in love with a good man. The music stopped and so did Justin, but he did not release her.

“We are going to embarrass your sister.”

“Good. She picked out this sweater for me to wear. She deserves a good embarrassment.”

“But you fit in so well.”

“You think? I still feel like a fish out of water some days.”

He turned her around to face the tree and returned his arms to her waist. There would be no decorations, just the beautiful twinkling of strand after strand of clear lights. Tara loved this tradition and was grateful that even in tough economic times, the town still made it a priority.

“You get to see this from your windows every night. I could do that in the city, look out my window and see lights, but they were never this magical. Of course, that could have a lot to do with the company.” He kissed the top of her head. “What will I see at the farm?”

“Nothing like this, I’m afraid. But you’ll have a beautiful, clear sky, the smell of firewood, wild turkeys, the occasional bear, and, of course, the elk. But he greatest beauty will be inside.”

“Marley has certainly been working hard on that. There’s not a surface in the house that doesn’t have some sort of homemade decoration on it.”

She turned in his arms and looked at him, enjoying the affectionate warmth in his eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”

She grabbed his hand before he could question her. “Let’s get down the street. They’ll be judging the gingerbread soon.”

“Poor Shelby.”

Tara laughed. “Poor Shelby my foot. She tortured us!”

“And for her to act like that, it must mean a lot to her.”

“It does. Our grandmother entered every year, and Shelby likes keeping the tradition even if she’s terrible at it. It’s honestly the one thing she doesn’t do brilliantly.”

Marley caught up with them then, out of breath and still carrying her clarinet. “Can I have the car keys? I want to put this away and take off my jacket.”

“I’ll carry it for you. It’ll take an hour for you to get through the crowd and back.”

Marley unbuttoned her band jacket, revealing a loose fitting turtleneck sweater covered in sequins. She draped it over Justin’s outstretched arm after handing him the clarinet case.

“I swear I’ve become a pack mule since that girl came to live with me,” he grumbled as Marley adjusted her skirt.

“Don’t act like you don’t love being useful, even as a coatrack. We can store that stuff at Lady’s. She has a huge table of food set up for us in the break room and wine and cider for the customers.”

They made their way to the front of the coffee shop where the gingerbread creations were displayed. Charlotte and Brandon were already there, standing with Shelby who, in her form-fitting black dress draped in tinsel and bows, stood out as a classy alternative to the tackiness surrounding them. She smiled happily and confidently even though her castle was barely standing. Tara admired the hell out of her and would love her even more after the holidays.

Brandon spotted them first and gave a brief nod. “Hey, runt. You sounded great up there. Too bad your brother didn’t notice.”

“Yeah, I know. He was too busy making out with your cousin.”

“You just can’t allow some people out in public.”

Marley nodded. “Truth.”

Tara couldn’t help but laugh, though she could tell Justin was embarrassed by the teasing. Marley had certainly found a kindred spirit in Brandon. God help them.

Justin recovered enough to notice Brandon’s sweater. “Is that a reindeer butt?”

“Yeah. It had silver bells hanging down, but Shelby said they were vulgar and clipped them.”

Charlotte shook her head. “You should have known better. No way were you getting away with jingling testicles at Christmas.”

Tara groaned and put her head on Justin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. Your sister is going to pick up so many bad habits from my family.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her soundly, bringing about disgusted moans from the trio in front of them.

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. The trade off is worth it.”