Page 17 of Stuck in Christmas

Eli hopped out of the truck and strode toward the bed. “This is it.” He pulled out an axe, slinging it casually over his shoulder.

My eyes widened in horror. “Uh, you’re not going to axe-murder me, are you?”

He glanced at the sharp tool and burst out laughing. “No. This is how we get the tree.” He tossed me a pair of heavy work gloves. “You’re going to need these.”

I stared at the gloves as my mind went to a blue screen, overwhelmed with the new information.This puzzle of… “Wait. Are we going to chop down the Christmas tree? Like actually chop it down?”

“Well, I’m going to do the chopping, but yes. We are going to cut down the Christmas tree.” Eli gave me a skeptical look. “What did you think we were doing in the middle of the woods?”

I blinked at him. “Oh, you know, a romantic trip to pick a Christmas tree.”

His blue eyes twinkled as he laughed. “What?”

“Never mind.” I slid the gloves on with an exaggerated sigh. “This is my first time cutting down a Christmas tree. It’s the first time I’ve even picked out a live one.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Growing up, we always had a fake tree. My mom’s allergic to real ones.”

Eli raised an eyebrow. “But your last name is Douglas. You’d think the Douglases would have a Douglas fir every year.”

“You’d think so, right?” I shook my head. “But nope. My mom insisted on a fake one. Although, ours did spin.”

“Spin?”

I smiled at the memory. “We had this stand that would slowly rotate the tree so you could see all the ornaments. I was always sad for the trees that didn’t spin.”

“Sad?” Eli leaned a little closer to me. “Why?”

“Because no one ever gets to see the ornaments on the backside,” I explained. “Those poor, neglected ornaments, hidden from the world.”

Eli graced me with another one of his dazzling smiles. “You’re funny.”

“I have my moments.” I glanced around thesnowy landscape. “So… what’s the secret to picking the perfect tree?”

Eli pulled on his work gloves. “I could give you some song and dance about height, fullness, and needle-to-branch ratio, but honestly? You just know it when you see it.”

I covered my eyes with my arm and sighed dramatically. “And how long does this mystical ‘knowing it when we see it’ take?” I peeked at him underneath my arm.

“As long as it takes.” He winked.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help grinning at him. “It’s nice of you to help Ms. Bonnie like this.”

“I owe her my life,” Eli said quietly. Gone was the brilliant smile of earlier, and in its place was a thunderous expression that caused storms to gather in his blue eyes.

My smile faded as I turned to him. “How’s that?”

“She took me in when my parents died. Raised me like I was her son.”

My chest tightened at his words. “I didn’t know that. When did your parents pass?”

“I was seven.” His gaze drifted toward the trees, distant. “I remember them, but it’s more like photographs than movies, you know? Snapshots, but I can’t remember how my mom’s voice sounded.”

My heart ached for him. “I’m so sorry, Eli.”

He shook his head, but I could see the weight of those memories in his eyes.

“My dad died before I was born. He was deployed overseas, and his helicopter went down.” I swallowed, staring down at the snow-coveredground. “The only photo I have left of him is from their wedding day. My parents looked so happy together. That’s the image I cling to—just the two of them lost in their love.”

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