Page 44 of The Map Home
Tad smirked. “We should probably get dressed again first.”
“I’m gonna have to do laundry sooner rather than later if we keep this up.”
“We have the technology. Washer and dryer at your disposal.”
Kota didn’t reply. Instead, he dug around in the duffle bag he’d brought over the night before, finding a clean pair of cotton boxers and pulling them on while Tad watched him.
“Are you just going to lie there? The damn tree isn’t going to pick out itself.”
Smiling, Tad forced himself up and headed for his bedroom.
“I forgot to tell you,” Kota called after him, “we found the bears today. They’d been torn apart and tossed into a field.”
“What? No way.” He grabbed random clothes and hurriedly put them on before heading back to the living room to stare at Kota. “Seriously? That’s so shitty.Why?Mom is going to be pissed.”
“Yeah,” Kota agreed. “We didn’t find anything helpful, like a note saying, ‘so and so did this,’ and it’s not like we’re going to send the remains out for fingerprint analysis.”
“Would’ve been way too handy. Let’s go find ourselves a tree.” He ignored the put-upon expression Kota assumed and grabbed his wallet and keys.
“This is a nice one.”Kota pointed at a skinny, short tree that was missing several limbs and had a big hole in the middle.
Tad squinted at him. “Are you out of your mind? That tree looks like it fought a battle and lost.”
“We’ve looked at every tree on the lot,” Kota pointed out.
“And we will look at every tree on the next lot too.”
That statement was followed by a big sigh, so Tad took pity on him. “Let’s head over to Newman’s lot. They sell hot chocolate, and I have a couple of airplane bottles of cognac to add to it.”
“Why didn’t we start there?”
“Because—”
“You have to look at every tree. Yes, I know.” Dakota motioned for Tad to go in front of him as they headed to the exit. “Wondering—is Newman’s where you were planning to end up all along?”
“Maybe. I refuse to confirm on the grounds I may incriminate myself.”
Tad couldn’t see Kota now but had the feeling he was smiling and shaking his head, much as he always had when Tad talked him into doing something outrageous when they were kids.
Newman’s was on the opposite side of the park from where’d they found the melted Santa. They could’ve walked, but there was going to be a tree to transport home, and it was just a three-minute drive.
The Gillespie family tradition was to hike up into the woods and argue about which tree was the right one while their feet got colder and colder until Penny put her foot down and pointed her finger at The One and Waylon cut it down for her and then they took it back to the house. It was a good time and they always made new memories, but Tad loved Newman’s Christmas Trees. It was the cherry on top of the sundae to finally be getting his first tree there—with Kota.
The fenced-in lot was almost the size of a city block. Near the entrance was a large wooden shed, where the owners and employees not only took money for the trees but also sold hot cider, hot chocolate, wreaths, and garland, and had an open space with a selection of handmade ornaments made by local artists for purchase.
“Do you want hot chocolate now or later?” Tad asked, heading for the counter. Andy Williams was singing about the most wonderful time of the year, and Tad couldn’t help but hum along. He did his best not to listen to holiday music before November so he could enjoy it while it played 24/7.
“I think I deserve it now,” Kota said dryly.
“Good, me too.” He patted his pocket where the cognac was tucked safely away.
“Hi, what can I get you?” asked an older person behind the counter. Tad thought he recognized her from last year but wasn’t sure.
“Two large hot chocolates, please.”
“Sure, honey, coming right up.”
With hot chocolates in each hand, Tad led them down the nearest tree aisle. At the end, he stopped and looked around, but the other customers were busy with trees.
