Page 33 of The Christmas Cottage
“Sounds like it.” Vanessa wiped her sleeve across her eyes. “Look at me. I’m holding you up from your job. I’m sorry.”
“No need. This is Fir Tree Grove,” Jackson said calmly. “It’ll get done when it gets done.” He hesitated for a moment, then offered her a shy smile. “I wanted to ask—would you be open to going on a date with me? Maybe Sunday, when the shop is closed? I wouldn’t want to steal too much time away from your grandmother, but maybe just a few hours?”
Vanessa hesitated only for a second. She knew it was foolish to get involved with him, when she was leaving soon, and there was no chance of it turning into anything.
But so much of her life, for so many years, had been rote and planned and routine. A date with a handsome, rugged small-town man who was eager to spend some more time with her was exactly the kind of spontaneous excitement she needed in her life. And she wanted to spend more time with Jackson too. She hadn’t ever had a man like him in her life—quiet, safe, calm, comforting.
It didn’t have to be anything serious, she told herself. Just a fun night out.
“I’d love to,” she said sincerely, and she saw a bit of the nervousness that had started to show in Jackson’s gaze flicker out.
“I’m not entirely sure what we’re going to do yet,” he said with a grin. “I didn’t let myself get that far. But I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds perfect to me,” Vanessa said.
Jackson glanced outside, where snow had lightly begun to fall, and all of the town’s lights were coming on. “Come on,” he said with a smile. “I’ll finish these displays tomorrow. Let me walk you back to Hearthside?”
“Sure,” she agreed, smiling as he set the tools back in their box and unlocked the door for her to follow. As they walked side-by-side back to the bed and breakfast, she felt calmer than she could remember feeling in many, many years. It was picture-perfect—a handsome man walking with her, the snow lightly falling, the entire town lit up in a glow of Christmas lights that left it glittering brightly against the packed white snow. It was something out of a Christmas card, and Vanessa felt a tug in her chest at the thought of leaving it behind.
Jackson walked her all the way back to the front step of Hearthside, where he grinned at her.
“Sunday,” he reminded her, and she nodded.
“See you then. Well, probably tomorrow, when you come finish the displays. But definitely then.”
She flushed, knowing she was stammering, but Jackson just smiled, waving before heading back down the street toward the neighborhood where he lived. She couldn’t believe she’d gotten so flustered.
As she walked inside, she saw Christopher at the front counter, busily working on some paperwork. He looked up as she walked in, raising a hand with a smile in greeting. “Hey there. Cold night out, hm?”
“Freezing,” Vanessa agreed with a shiver. “But beautiful.”
“It really is. Grab a cookie,” he invited, gesturing toward the china plate with freshly decorated sugar cookies, and then turned back to his paperwork.
Vanessa grabbed one, a wreath-shaped cookie with green and red icing, and headed up to her room. Once upstairs, she checked her phone as she started to draw a bath, and her heart immediately sank when she saw a message from Katelyn on her screen.
KATELYN: I’m sorry, Vanessa. I looked everywhere for the toy, but no one has it in stock. I can’t get it anywhere. I’m afraid I can’t help you pull this one off.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jackson had decided that it was finally time to get a tree for his house. After his conversation with Vanessa about cutting down Christmas trees, he felt a little hypocritical that he hadn’t gotten one of his own yet.
To be fair, he’d gotten a full-sized treeanda tabletop tree for the diner, and that was where he spent most of his time. But he really should have one for his own house, he knew. He’d even gone as far as getting out the boxes of decorations from the attic, setting them all out so that he could go through the strands of lights and garlands and boxes upon boxes of ornaments, but he just hadn’t gotten around to picking out the actual tree itself.
Which meant there was no better time than the present, he figured, to go to George’s and settle on one.
He bundled up in his coat and heavy work boots and a snug wool beanie, and grabbed a pair of work gloves that would come in handy while he was cutting down the tree. It was a bright, if frigid afternoon, and he was looking forward to the walk over to the Christmas tree farm. If nothing else, he could use the exercise to work out some of his nerves over asking Vanessa out on a date.
He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this nervous about taking a woman out. To be fair, it had been a while since he’d done that. But still, he was getting himself all worked up over something that was going to be afriendlydate, at best. She was going back to San Francisco sooner rather than later, so he couldn’t get too invested.
Wanting to get to know her better was fine—she’d probably be back to visit Mabel from time to time… but that in and of itself was a reason not to get too caught up. The last thing he needed was to fall for her, and then have her leave, only to see her from time to time to rip the scab back off.
Shaking his head, he refocused his thoughts back to the upcoming date.Justa date, nothing more. They’d have a good time, and he’d show her a little more of just how magical Fir Tree Grove could be this time of year. After she’d opened up to him while they were working together at Mabel’s shop, he wanted to be a part of her making new, happier memories for the holidays. It was clear that she’d been lonely for a long time, he thought.
He couldn’t imagine the tragedy she’d had to deal with. It was no wonder she’d walled herself off, throwing herself into that job that kept her so busy she didn’t even have time for weekends off or vacations. But there’d been a little crack in her armor, that night, and he wanted to let light into it.
He really wasn’t sure yet what to do for the date. He didn’t want to just do the run-of-the-mill dinner and drinks out. It should be something special and unique, something that would make the night memorable for her. He’d have to think on it some more, he decided, as he rounded the corner to the gateway leading into George’s farm.
It was beginning to look a bit sparser as the season went on, more of the spaces left open with the stumps of the trees left behind, but there were still plenty to choose from. He stopped at the little booth just before the main shop entrance, wherethey sold hot apple cider and cocoa for customers to sip while they looked for their tree, and got a cider to warm himself up after that long walk. It was perfectly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and he hummed a small sound of satisfaction as he walked up the snowy path to the cabin-like shop. This time of year, he thought, was utter perfection.
