Page 149 of Book and Ladder
I nod, only the way she’s looking at him, you’d think he hung the actual moon, not a star on a tree. I might be imagining things, but the look on Carli’s face wasn’t one I would call “concerned.”
I already asked her about Cody—she insists he’s like her older brother.
Winona shakes her head, and under her breath mutters, “Maybe. But I never looked at my brother that way.”
I whisper, “You don’t even have a brother.”
Winona glances at me and deadpans, “Exactly.”
I chuckle softly to myself. She’s one of a kind.
The fire truck pulls to the curb across the street and the firemen exit the truck with so many eyes trained on them. Dustin makes a beeline for Emberleigh, wrapping her in hisarms and lifting her off the ground, causing her to squeal with surprise.
Patrick’s approach is reserved, but no less passionate. Even in a crowd, I sense his nearness—the steady warmth of him, a constant thread between us, pulled taut over the years, and now loosened but more securely connected.
He takes his place at my side and looks down at me as if we’ve been separated for months, not mere hours.
“I have this photo,” I tell him. “In one of my scrapbooks.”
“Yeah? What’s the photo?”
“Me at the tree trimming when I was eight.”
He nods.
“You’re in the background,” I tell him, smiling at the thought—our lives so intricately intertwined I don’t know why I ever believed they’d untangle.
“Really?”
“Always hiding in plain sight,” I tease him.
“Not anymore, Daisy. I’m right here. No more hiding.”
I wrap my arm around him, squeezing his side and nestling in close.
We follow our friends to the table lined with boxes of ornaments. Patrick and I each make our selections. Then together we walk to the tree where neighbors and friends are already placing their ornaments. He takes my hand in his and doesn’t even let go when he hangs his angel at eye level. I put my Rudolph down lower.
“Want some hot cocoa?” Patrick asks, placing his hand on my back.
“I will never turn down cocoa.”
“I was thinking, though …” his dark eyes practically glisten. “If you want …”
“What, Patrick?”
“We could head home and have cocoa at my place.”
“I’d like that.”
“Let’s say our goodbyes, then.”
My friends tease me about sneaking away. Patrick’s clap him on the back. Only Dustin gives him a hard time, but it’s all in fun.
Back home, Patrick turns the lock in the key to his side of our duplex.
Mrs. Hellman hollers out to him from her porch. “You gonna propose to her tonight, Patrick? It’d be a good night for it!”
Patrick chuckles and shouts back. “That question never gets old, Mrs. Hellman!”
