Page 9 of OMG Christmas Tree
I opened my mouth to sayNo big deal, even though it had turned into a bit of a deal. Only Stu wasn’t talking to me. He was talking to Nick. I pressed my lips together suppressing an outburst.Ibought the tree. With all my cash and tips,thankyouverymuch.
Nick smiled like a crazed politician (or her son). “Are you sure? It’s a big tree. If you’re intent on keeping it...”
I swore Nick’s neck hairs stood on end. The air charged with subtext rich enough for a literary novel.
Stu tugged on a tree branch, perhaps testing its strength. “Of course, we’re keeping it. We may keep it through Valentine’s.” He winked at my mother.
Nick didn’t want us to have the tree. A curious situation. Hisinsistencein wanting this tree for himself was curious indeed.
Nick had secrets.
“Little help carrying it inside?” Stu asked Nick.
Nick avoided looking at me. “Sure.” He slid the tree halfway off the truck bed, then crouched and hoisted the unruly pine up and out with near expertise. I almost believed he worked at Sawyer’s and I’d made that part up.
As the guys hauled the tree into the house, Mom hugged me. “I’m so glad you’re here. I know it was a sacrifice for you.”
Sacrifice sounded too strong a word until I remembered all the shifts I promised to cover. “I’m glad to be here too. You must be freezing.” I grabbed my bags from the car, noting how wholeheartedly the snow pile accepted its newly parked guest. At least here, parking was free.
Mom held open the door to the house for me. “Nick comes from a great family. Mayor Bennington is making our little town so special. We’re the number two holiday destination in the state.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“Our little town” used to be a town sixty miles south of here. Crystal Cove didn’t belong to me. And I wasn’t sure I belonged here.
Inside, the house smelled like a forest. Looked like one too, with the foyer covered in green branches.
No matter. “This tree is awesome. I love it, don’t you?”
“It sure is...awesome.” Mom’s tone saidCampbell Can-doat full force. Makingdowith the situation.
Stu parted a few middle branches and shined a mini flashlight at the trunk, mumbling to himself like an amateur arborist. “A strong tree. This’ll last awhile if we keep her watered.”
I got the feeling Stu didn’t decorate much.
Mom clasped her hands. “We don’t have a tree stand. That old fake tree didn’t spark the joy it used to, so I Marie Kondo-ed it right out.”
Who was this woman? My mother, not Marie Kondo.
“I can pick one up for you.” Nick, standing smack-dab in the center of things, seemed to have a solution for everything.
“No,I’llget the stand.” He’d likely come back with a smaller tree and weasel Stu into a trade.
“Won’t your tires slip on the icy roads?” Nick looked at me and deliberately glanced to my mom.
“You didn’t have trouble driving here, did you?” Mom’s Worry-Mode had activated.
Nick shot my mom a look of measured concern. “Coming into town, the roads are slick. Megan had a little trouble on the road. That’s how I found her.”
Mom gasped. “Oh, Megan, are you okay? Did you go into a ditch? Stu, did you hear? Megan went into the ditch. And, Nick, you found her?”
I cast Nick a stony look. Me in a ditch was not his business to share. “I’m fine, Mom. Yes, Nick helped me.” I wasn’t sure why he was here, explaining it all. “And thank you. For the ditch rescue.”
Nick grinned. “My pleasure.”
“We can’t ask you to do anything more,” Mom said to Nick. “Stu can pick up what we need for the tree.”
I raised my hand for emphasis. “I am perfectly capable of finding a tree stand.” Something I should have considered when I bought the tree. I could fix this. I still had my coat on. “I’ll go.”
