Page 22 of The Holiday Exchange

“Except sci-fi?”

She winces. “Guilty. But I’m open to it. Give me your best recommendation and I promise I’ll give it a try.”

I lay my paintbrush down. “I’ll be right back.”

When I return a few minutes later, she’s finished the last candy cane stripe and is wiping her hands on a paper towel. I hold out the book I retrieved for her. “Here.”

Kayla accepts the book and reads aloud from the cover. “Timelineby Michael Crichton. Why does that name sound familiar?”

“He wrote theJurassic Parkbook that the movie is based on. I figured if you liked that movie, maybe you’d like some of hisother non-dinosaur stories. I’ve read all his books and this is one of my favorites.”

Her eyes sparkle. “Thank you, Trevor. I can’t wait to read it.”

“You don’t even know what it’s about.”

“Doesn’t matter.” She lays her hand on my arm and looks up at me. “I can see how excited you are about it and that makes me excited to read it, too.”

I gulp, unnerved again by her closeness. “Hope you enjoy it.”

“I’m positive I will.”

12

KAYLA

Ihop out of my car when I see Trevor’s truck enter the parking lot and wave him over to pull in front of the side entrance leading into the gym. He gets out and drops the tailgate, clambering up into the bed to release the straps he fastened around the set pieces to keep them steady during the trip.

“Here.” He hands down the candy canes one at a time and I hurry to set them aside so he can unload the fireplace. I bounce on my toes with my hands in my coat pockets, impatient to get out of the cold and see our creations set up on stage.

“Where are we going with this stuff?”

“We’ll go in here through the gym then across the hall to the auditorium. Just follow me.” I heft a candy cane and lead him through the door, looking back periodically to make sure he’s still with me as we wind our way to the stage. He’s beginning to get a little out of breath as he hauls the fireplace up the four steps at the side of the stage.

“Where do you want this?”

“Right in the middle. See that X marked with masking tape? Yes, there. Perfect!”

I hand him my candy cane. “We’ll put these on either side of the fireplace. Let me run back and get the other one.”

I jog back to the truck and hoist the other candy cane, carrying it as quickly as possible but I can only go so fast hauling wooden candy that’s nearly as tall as I am. Even though it’s not that heavy, the shape and size make it unwieldy.

Trevor meets me halfway and carries it the rest of the distance to the stage, positioning it opposite the first one. I stand even with the first row of seats in the audience and study the set-up, my chin in my hand, elbow propped on my other arm.

The fireplace makes a great centerpiece. On one side of the stage is a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments my students made in class. On the other side, I placed a wooden table a PTO mom loaned me, stacked high with empty boxes wrapped to look like gifts. Extra rolls of paper and a wooden crate of unwrapped toys are scattered about, giving the appearance of Santa’s workshop paused for the night.

I love it.

Trevor comes to stand beside me. “Looks great.”

“Thanks to you. You did a great job with the fireplace.”

“I had a good assistant.”

I smile and shake my head. “I’m not fooling myself. You didn’t actually need me, but I’m glad you let me help.” An idea occurs to me. “Hey, you should come to the play next week, see all your hard work in action. I mean, if you want to.”

He’s quiet for a minute and I think he’s about to refuse, which would make sense because no one goes to a play for second and third-graders if they don’t know a kid in the production. But then he says, “I’d love to. Text me with the date and time.”

My heart warms. “I will. But right now, it’s party time.”

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