An Heirloom Christmas Page 7

  Still, it wasn’t like they could just pick things back up, no matter how badly her heart kept trying to do so without her permission. Her head knew better. They were different people now.

  Slipping her arms into her plum-colored wool coat and coiling her scarf around her neck, Chrissy gave one more sweeping glance over the candle shop before opening the door to head out for the night. The recent events had made her weary and she couldn’t wait for the comforts of home. She had the key in the lock, about to button things up, when she noticed something tucked into her newly displayed wreath. It hung right at eye level. Reaching up, she pulled out a neatly folded slip of paper and read:

  Fir and Spruce,

  Cedar and Pine.

  Holid-Hayes Tree Farm

  is a forever favorite of mine.

  Nick

  “YOU ARE A real sweetheart, Nick, coming to our rescue once again. What on earth did we do all those years without you?”

  Doris patted Nick’s knee in a motherly way. She was wedged right up against him in the cab of the truck, Earl sitting on the opposite side of his wife with an open newspaper in his hands, scanning the Sunday comics.

  “Last night I looked over at Earl during dinner and said, ‘Earl, we need a tree.’”

  “To which I replied, ‘Dory, my dear, then we’ll need a truck.’ You’re really saving me here today, Nick. Tree shopping is much less stressful than truck shopping.”

  “You haven’t been to the Hayes lot in a while, Earl,” Doris quipped. “The ad on the radio said they have a dozen species to choose from! Truck shopping would most definitely be easier!” Doris turned to Nick, lowering her head to peer over her cat-eye glasses. “You picking out a tree today, too?”

  “I thought I just might.”

  “Glad to see you’re settling in, Nick. I can imagine after all that time on the road, it’ll be nice to have a true, hometown Christmas. Your own tree and everything!”

  “I suppose I’ll have to buy some ornaments to really make it legit.”

  The light turned green and he lowered his foot to the pedal. He could already see a crowd forming at the tree lot two blocks ahead, everyone eager to choose from the latest evergreen shipment from Oregon.

  “I always find the homemade ornaments to be my favorites. You know, I have the best recipe for the salt dough kind. Remind me to give it to you once this whole tree shopping event is behind us. You’ll love it.”

  “You mean the ornaments that look almost edible?”

  Nick remembered making that particular type with Chrissy, Everleigh, and their mother, Audrey. He had thought they were actual cookies when he walked into the kitchen one December afternoon and saw them spread out on the counter, all different holiday shapes and sizes. The girls shouted at him when he drew one to his mouth, about to snap the head off of a Santa Claus. That sweet memory made him chuckle under his breath.

  “Yep, those are the ones,” Doris confirmed as she pointed out the windshield. “There’s a spot right over there. Put your blinker on so no one else takes it.”

  Nick didn’t mind the copiloting. Doris was a woman with strong opinions who often made them known, but she was harmless and had good intentions. “I’m on it.”

  After angling his truck up against the curb and killing the engine, Nick unbuckled the seatbelt from his lap and stepped down from the cab. He held out a hand to help Doris while Earl tucked the newspaper under his arm and exited the vehicle on the other side.

  “Remember, Dory, we can’t get anything taller than six feet or it will hit the ceiling once we put it in the stand. I don’t want to cut the top off because you chose one that’s too big for the space.” Earl elbowed Nick. “I’ve learned to manage her expectations from the get-go,” he said with a wink.

  “Probably not a bad idea.”

  “Hurry up, you two,” Doris called over her shoulder as she scooted down the walkway, negotiating the congestion of people already forming on the sidewalk. “You are both slowpokes!”

  “Moving as fast as I can, dear,” Earl retorted. “Not as spry as I used to be.”

  “Neither am I,” Nick admitted. His aching knee sure kept him humble. “Let her go on ahead and we’ll catch up when we can.”

  The lot at the end of Spruce Street was packed. It was like all of Heirloom Point had waited until this day to go on the hunt for the perfect tree. Back when Nick was a kid, he would help out at the lot during the holiday season, carrying trees for customers and tying them to vehicles, strapping them down so no branches snapped off as they whipped in the wind. It was honest, hard work but come Christmas Day, he’d often grown weary of the smell of pine and the scratched arms he’d acquired from bristly trunks and branches. But it was always fun to watch families select their holiday tree. Just like snowflakes, no two Christmas trees were alike. For some, that was overwhelming. For others, it created the perfect opportunity to find just the right match.

  Consistent with Nick’s memories, Tucker’s younger sister, Marcie, wore a green and red elf costume and greeted each guest at the entrance with a candy cane and a welcoming smile. She was older now—a grown woman, really—but Nick figured that costume was the same one from back in the day. Its details were worn and colors faded like a church pageant costume pulled from storage and reused year after year.

  “Nick McHenry!” Marcie’s eyes lit up when they connected with Nick’s. She raced to him to throw her arms around his neck and pull him into a hug. “It’s actually you!”

  “Hey, Marcie.” Nick drew out of their embrace and smiled at his old friend. He’d often thought of Marcie as a younger sister and teased her like she was, too. “I see you haven’t left the North Pole after all of these years.”

  She waved a hand up and down her outfit, adding a little twirl at the end as the finishing touch. “I really need to push my parents harder when it comes to workers’ rights. I’m certain a uniform update is long overdue.”

  “How are your parents, anyway?”

  “Same as always. We’re the only lot in town, but Dad’s constantly trying to improve inventory. We added the Nordmann Fir this year, even though we already have the Douglas Fir, Noble Fir, and Fraser Fir. Honestly, I think we’re all going a little fir crazy around here!”

  “Sounds like you’ve got a great selection.”

  “Come on down to Holid-Hayes Tree Lot for the best selection within a fifty-mile radius of Heirloom Point,” Marcie rehearsed in a nasally, elfish voice.

  “So that’s you I heard on the radio ad?”

  “You better believe it. Marcie the Elf is a bit of a local superstar. They even named the peppermint sundae down at Joyce’s Diner after me. Marcie’s Merry-Mint Sundae. Get it? Merriment?”

  “Sounds like you’re really moving up in the world.”

  She slapped a hand against Nick’s shoulder. “Enough about me. You here to help out for the season, Nick?” Marcie asked, knowing full well that the Holid-Hayes Tree Lot was not the beacon which called Nick home. “It’s only a small demotion in pay.”

  “You know, if it weren’t for this knee of mine, I might actually join you all again. I have tons of great memories working this lot with you and Tuck.”

  “I highly doubt Mom and Dad could compete with your current paycheck.”

  “Oh, you just might be surprised.”

  Marcie paused briefly to grin at customers who passed through the entrance and then angled her attention back to Nick. “Chrissy’s over near the Douglas Firs if you’re looking for her.”

  “Chrissy’s here?” Nick couldn’t mask the surprise in his tone.

  “Oh.” Eyes wide, Marcie looked as though she had spoken out of turn. “I’m sorry. I figured you were meeting her here.”

  “No. I’m actually here with the Beasleys. They needed a truck to get their tree home, so I volunteered mine.”

  “I’m sorry, Nick. I just assumed…” Marcie’s voice trailed off.

  “It’s okay, Marcie. No harm, no foul.” Stepping forward to all
ow a couple through the tight entrance, Nick nearly knocked into a giant plastic candy cane. “I’ll let you get back to your elf responsibilities. Catch up later?”

  “Sure thing. Sounds great!”

  The lot was an evergreen labyrinth. Trees of every conceivable variation dotted the asphalt. There were ones as wide as they were tall and others that hardly tapered, resembling cylinders more than triangular peaks.

  He didn’t feel like he was intentionally on the lookout for her, but when Nick suddenly wandered his way toward the selection of flocked trees, he knew his subconscious had guided him there. One row over, admiring a looming, fake-snow covered fir, was Chrissy, a look of adoration on her face.

  “It’s a nice tree,” Nick spoke, interjecting into her reverie.

  Chrissy’s head whipped up. “Oh, Nick! You startled me!” She collected her composure as she breathed out through her mouth. “I wasn’t sure what time you would be here.”

  Nick hadn’t remembered mentioning his plans to take Doris and Earl tree shopping, but he must have said something the previous night in passing. How else would Chrissy know he would be there?

  “Do you like this one?” Chrissy’s gaze switched back to the tree between them. “I know you never liked flocked trees, but there’s just something so cozy about them. This particular one is lovely, isn’t it?”

  “It’s not that I don’t like them—”

  “Nick McHenry. I vividly remember you saying they look like they’re coated in shreds of toilet paper. If that doesn’t suggest that you are not a fan, then I don’t know what does.”

  “I’ll admit they’re not my favorite, but more for the mess they create than anything.” The last thing Nick wanted to do was hurt Chrissy’s feelings over Christmas tree preferences. Things already felt strained enough.

  “We’re allowed to have different likes and dislikes, Nick. In fact, we’ve always been a bit opposite.”

  “I think that’s why we worked so well. Opposites attract and all.” Nick noticed the faint smile slip from Chrissy’s mouth, and when her gaze fell downward as she busied her hands with a lose string on her mittens, he knew he had said too much. It was clear he’d made her uncomfortable. “I think this tree is perfect for you, Chrissy.”

  Her eyes lifted up and relief highlighted her features. “I think so, too. I can picture it decorated and on display already. Those big bay windows are going to frame it in perfectly.”

  “Bay windows?”

  “At the house.” She looked suddenly anxious, like she’d overshared. “You don’t know? I bought the Miller home a few years back.”

  “Oh. Wow.” Nick swallowed. That information certainly hadn’t traveled to Newcastle. “That’s really great, Chrissy.”

  She lifted a mitten-clad hand and fiddled with a branch on the tree between them. “I figured you had heard.”

  “I hadn’t, but I’m serious, that’s really great. I’m happy for you.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled at him, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s much more of a fixer upper than we ever suspected.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Remember how we said the first thing we would do was hang a swing on that old porch?” Nick nodded, the many conversations still tangible in his memory. Chrissy continued, “Well, I did just that, but it turned out the entire porch needed redoing. For some time, that swing was suspended a good twelve feet off the ground with nothing underneath it. Like those rides at the fair. You know the kind I’m talking about? With the swings that twirl out when it spins?”

  “I can totally picture that.” Nick forced a half smile. “I bet that was a monumental task, redoing an entire deck.”

  “Thankfully, I had a lot of help. Kevin was a godsend. Apparently, he retained more information from our high school woodshop class than I ever did.”

  Nick froze at the mention of his brother’s name. “Kevin helped you?”

  “He did. Honestly, I don’t know what I would’ve done without him. He sort of became the unofficial foreman for our ragtag crew of construction volunteers. I’m still so surprised he chose to spend all of his leave restoring that old house.”

  Nick shoved his hands into his coat pockets. This was new information and he couldn’t put the pieces in any sort of order that made sense. “Kevin never mentioned it.”

  “Maybe he didn’t want to…” Chrissy’s voice faded, appearing to struggle to find the words.

  “Didn’t want to tell me he was restoring my dream home? With you?”

  Pulling her chin back, Chrissy bristled. “It wasn’t like that, Nick.”

  Nick shut his eyes for a moment and drew in a breath of air that hurt his lungs. He manufactured a smile and forced his mind to stop wandering into territory it had no business wandering. “I’d love to come by and see it sometime, Chrissy. I’m sure you’ve turned it into something beautiful.”

  Eyebrows raised, a relieved grin lifted the corners of Chrissy’s mouth. “I’d be happy to give you the tour. There are still some things that will eventually need updating, but I’m pleased with how it turned out. I think you would like it, too.”

  “I’m sure I would.”

  Their gaze held for a beat longer than what felt comfortable and the dry tickle forming in Nick’s throat required a cough to clear. He broke from their locked stare. “I should probably go check on Doris and Earl. I have a sneaking suspicion their trip to the tree lot might require a referee.”

  “That sounds about right.” She laughed. “Go on and catch up with them. And be sure to tell them I said hi.”

  “Will do.” Nick turned on his heel to go, but before leaving Chrissy he said, “I think this tree is perfect for you and I agree, it will be beautiful framed by those windows. You really can’t go wrong.”

  Chrissy

  CHRISSY HAD A plan. She would be the one to pack up and leave this time. Not permanently, of course, because she had a shop to run and candles to make. But Everleigh could handle things during the busy holiday season just fine. And as it turned out, she had hired Nita at the perfect time. They would hardly even notice Chrissy’s absence.

  She dialed her sister’s number and clicked on the speaker button, then settled the phone onto the center console of her sedan. After three rings, Everleigh picked up.

  “Yell-o,” Everleigh greeted cheerily.

  “Ev, I’ve got a favor to ask.”

  “Sure thing. You name it.”

  Tapping her thumbs on the steering wheel as she waited for the traffic light to turn green, Chrissy blurted, “I’m leaving Heirloom Point for the unforeseeable future. I’ll need you to man things at the candle shop until I get back.”

  A pause so long she could hear the static on the line followed. Then, in the most serious voice, Everleigh answered, “I’ll be right over with my shovel.”

  “Shovel?” Chrissy lowered her foot to the gas pedal and cruised through the intersection, heading toward her home with her newly purchased, flocked Christmas tree strapped to the roof. “Why do you need a shovel?”

  “Because there’s obviously something that you need help covering up. That’s the only plausible explanation as to why you would leave town in such a hurry, Chrissy. You’ve committed some terrible crime and gotta get the heck outta Dodge. And since I’m such a fabulous sister, I’ll help you out—and I won’t even tell Dad I did all the dirty work.”

  “Stop being crazy, Ev.”

  “I’m not the crazy one, sis,” Everleigh reasoned. “You and I both know neither of us will ever leave Heirloom Point. We’re lifers.”

  “I’m not so sure about that anymore.”

  Everleigh sighed through the phone. “This whole Nick homecoming is really throwing you off, isn’t it?”

  “It’s done more than throw me off. It’s knocked me completely down. Life was so simple. So predictable. And now it’s neither of those two things.”

  “Simple and predictable don’t sound like the most exciting adjectives when it comes to describing one�
�s life. It might not be all bad that things have been shaken up a bit. Keeps life exciting, if you ask me.”

  “There was nothing exciting in seeing Nick’s expression when he found out I bought the Miller place,” Chrissy offered as she flipped on her turn signal to angle her vehicle down Cresleigh Street at the edge of town. Looming proud and tall at the end of the road was the one-hundred-twenty-year-old Victorian home she had used every penny of her savings to purchase. She still got a warm, fuzzy feeling each time the majestic structure came into view.

  “I always wondered if word ever got back to him about that,” Everleigh said.

  “Nope. It didn’t. And it never got back to him that Kevin was the one to help with the restoration, either.”

  “Ouch.” Chrissy could hear Everleigh pop something into her mouth and crunch down loudly. Apparently Chrissy had caught her during lunch. “You have to try to see things from his perspective, Chris. It has to be a huge adjustment to come back to Heirloom Point after all those years on the road. Don’t you think the knowledge that you bought that house makes Nick feel like you just kept on living out the life he’d left behind?”

  “That’s not how it is,” Chrissy said indignantly.

  “I know it’s not, but that might be how it comes across. You need to put yourself in his hockey skates and try to see things from Nick’s point of view.”

  “This isn’t the pep-talk I was hoping for.” Killing the engine after she pulled up to the house, Chrissy sat deeply in her seat and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. She took the phone off of speaker and held it to her ear. “I was just calling to ask for a small, teeny, tiny favor.”

  “Right. Sorry, sis, but I’m not about to let you make some irrational, life-altering decision just because you’re uncomfortable that your ex is in town.”

  When put that way, Chrissy could see the absurdity in it all. Why had their reunion made her act this way? It wasn’t like her. “What I don’t understand is why he’d ask me to meet him at the tree lot and then act so surprised to see me there. It just doesn’t make any sense.”