Page 68 of The Christmas Keepsake
She was struck by his sudden seriousness. Hollis was one to tease and make light of things. But he wasn’t laughing or joking right now; he was being real.
“So,” she said, finding her voice again, “you want to take me back to the theater and show me some of the repairs you’ve done?”
What a ridiculous first thing to say after being kissed like that. No wonder she didn’t go on many second dates.
Hollis didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he continued looking at her in a way that made her feel vulnerable and seen. “There are a lot of things I want, Mal. I want to take you back to the theater. I want to take you to a fine restaurant and have a nice dinner. I want to go on a hayride and hold your hand. Maybe I even want to play a game of basketball with you.”
She burst into laughter. “Basketball?”
He pulled his hand from around her back and shrugged, one corner of his lips hiking up. “It’s just, I want to do everything with you. Even the things I don’t like to do, I want to do them with you, because maybe I’d like them with you.” He ran that same hand through his hair, creating a disheveled look that was unreasonably adorable. And sexy. “I don’t like reading one bit, but I want to read a classic novel with you too. I think I’d enjoy almost anything, as long as you were beside me.”
Her lips parted. This was a side of Hollis she’d never known. She was beginning to realize that everyone in her life had these hidden sides, like facets on a diamond waiting to shine once the light hit them.
Nan. Hollis. Even Mallory was discovering the same was true for herself.
“Sorry.” Hollis took a step back. “Did I say too much? I’m sure the last thing you need is some big lug like me trying to take more of your time.”
“No. No, I think a big lug to spend time and laugh with is actually exactly what I need.” She was usually so good at shoving down her feelings, except right now she couldn’t seem to keep them at bay. First tears, and then laughter.
“What’s funny?” A little divot formed between his eyes.
“It’s just, I remember telling Savannah that a good man was hard to find. I know that’s so cliché.” She waved a hand in the air. “So cliché and so judgmental and so wrong. Because look.” She gestured toward him. “You are a good man, and here you are, standing right in front of me. I found you.”
Hollis stepped toward her again. “Actually,” he pointed a finger into his chest. “I think I’m the one who found you. Yep, I’m pretty sure it was me. You needed help, and I forced my way into your life this Christmas. I pretty much made sure that you couldn’t say no to me.” The corners of his lips dropped just slightly.
“Something wrong?” she asked. The longer he took to respond, the more worried she became.
“Mal, before we go any further, I need to tell you something,” Hollis said grimly.
Her guard walls immediately rose. “Okay.” The way he hesitated worried her. Mallory didn’t trust easily, but Hollis had gotten to her. It was the kiss. Kisses—plural. The endorphins had gone to her head and caused temporary insanity. As she waited for him to say whatever was weighing on him, her hand moved to her chest.
Hollis reached for it and pulled it into his own hand. There went her body separating from her mind again. His skin was warm, and she longed to step into his full embrace, but her mind was spinning out a million scenarios, all of which pointed to the conclusion she’d come to as a young teenager—letting people in meant allowing yourself to be hurt.
“Just say it,” she said.
He nodded. Then he tugged her forward, leading her toward the tree farm. “Last fall, I got a call from Nan. She said she needed to talk to me.”
Nan had called Mallory to the theater last Christmas as well. “What-what did she say?”
“When I got there, Nan sat me down, and she asked me to do something for her.” Hollis kept his gaze forward. “I kind of suspected she knew something was going on with her health. I mean, even I had started noticing little things here and there. She said she was worried about you and Maddie. But primarily you because Maddie has Sam now. Even before Sam, Maddie took care of herself. Nan knew that you took care of everyone else before yourself.” Hollis glanced over. “She asked me to make sure you had someone in your corner. She asked me to be that person.”
Mallory wasn’t understanding. “I mean, yes, Maddie has Sam, but I have people in my life too. Savannah is my best friend.”
Hollis nodded, as if he’d expected that answer. “Savannah has Evan and June. She also has Eleanor to look after and a chronic health condition. Nan knew that you were more likely to be the one checking on Savannah and refusing to acknowledge that you needed anything.”
Mallory could see Nan worrying about this. Nan had told her as much in the months leading up to Nan’s quick decline. “What did she say?” Mallory asked, almost scared to know.
“That you’re stubborn. You don’t accept help. You push people away when you need them the most.” Hollis blew out a frosty breath. “Nothing I didn’t already know.”
“So that’s why you’re with me this Christmas?”
Hollis squeezed her hand as she tried to pull away from him. “No,” he said quickly. “No, that’s not it at all. I hesitated to even tell you this, but I don’t like hiding things, and I wanted you to know that I was more than happy to step in and help. If Nan hadn’t made me promise to, though, I might have hesitated and taken you at your word that you didn’t need anything.” Hollis stopped walking and turned to her again. “I would have told myself that I have nothing to offer.”
“Well, that would have been a lie,” she said quietly.
“Nan wouldn’t let me leave her office until I agreed that, no matterwhat you said, I would keep coming back and making sure you were all right. She didn’t ask me to be a nuisance, but she wanted me to keep an eye on you. Nan said she knew I was a man of my word. When I make a promise to do something, I follow through,” he said, looking at her seriously.
“So, you promised my grandmother to do whatever I needed? To be my own personal Santa. That’s why you did the repairs on the theater?”
