Page 30 of Blossom and the Alien Actor

Brexton pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “Find the type and color of paint you want, and I’ll arrange for it to be taken care of today.”

“You don’t waste any time, do you?” she asked. “You want something and you make it happen.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No. It’s just not what I’m used to. In the past, if I ever needed something done, then I had to handle it.”

“Anything you or the children want or need, I’ll get it done. Whether it’s buying something, or taking you somewhere. Never hesitate to let me know if I’m not meeting your needs, or theirs.”

She leaned into him. “There’s only one thing missing right now.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“You mentioned we didn’t have a Christmas tree, but I haven’t seen one here either.”

He smiled. “There’s one here. Come on.”

Brexton led the way to the room he used for entertaining. It was nearly three times as large as the living room, and had a nine-foot Christmas tree near the windows. Because of how early he needed his decorations set up, the tree was fake, but still pretty in his estimation. White lights twinkled and made the glass ornaments gleam. Getting a decorator around the holidays wasn’t easy, and he knew some actors who booked their appointments months in advance. Maybe if he’d done the same, he could have scheduled something closer to Christmas.

“Um.” Blossom stared and it and blinked a few times. “That’s quite a tree.”

“I use it for my big Christmas bash. There’s usually a gift exchange so the presents can go under the tree.”

There were already tables set up along one wall with holiday cloths covering them. Mistletoe hung in one corner of the room, and boughs of holly were carefully placed over each window. He usually hired someone to play Santa for the night as well, even though he hadn’t had many children show up to his previous events. Now that he had a family, he’d make sure everyone knew to bring their kids along.

Blossom didn’t look impressed though. If anything, she looked worried.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s pretty. Really pretty. But… it’s not an appropriate tree for small children. What if RaeLynn or Drew pull an ornament off and break it?”

He looked at the tree and took in the hardwood floors and realized she had a valid concern. When the area had been decorated, he hadn’t been thinking about small children. Things were different now though, and he would have to make sure that the kids had a safe place of their own.

“What if we sectioned off that back right corner? Big enough that the kids could have a small tree of their own, with appropriate ornaments, and we could set up some tables with games and maybe a small ball pit or something?” he asked. The baby store had something like that. He remembered seeing it.

“I guess that could work. But what about Christmas morning?”

“We’ll get a tree for the living room. One that we can decorate together, like on those Christmas movies they play all month. Our gifts and the ones from Santa to the kids can go under it,” Brexton said.

Drew looked up at him with wide eyes. “Santa?”

“Yes, Drew. Santa will come visit you if you’re extra good,” Brexton said.

He noticed that Blossom looked like she might cry and he didn’t understand why. Mrs. Connors appeared almost as if by magic and he handed the kids over to her, then led Blossom further away in the opposite direction. If something was upsetting her, he wanted to know without the kids overhearing them.

“What’s wrong now?” he asked.

“Santa. The kids have never…” She bit her lip. “There’s never been money. I usually get something from the dollar store for Drew to open, and RaeLynn wasn’t old enough last year, just a few weeks old. Santa has never come to see my kids.”

“Blossom, you did the best you could. I’ll make sure the kids have an amazing Christmas, and you as well. From now on, there will be nothing but happy holiday memories.”

She nodded and curled against him, her arms going around his waist.

“Find the paint color you want for the playroom, then go spend time with the kids while I make some arrangements. We should probably head to the Terran station soon.”

Blossom looked at the phone he’d handed her, and just stared.

“What is it?”

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