Page 10 of A Christmas Bargain

“Seriously?” Grace grimaced. “I bet it’d be hard to get anyone to sell there. Lots of family land.”

And that usually meant they wouldn’t let go of it, either, passing it on to future generations rather than letting anyone come in and develop in their small communities.

“Never say never.” I grinned, hoping to alleviate her worries and to infuse a better mood on this holiday. “I passed a sign advertising their holiday market day downtown,” I said as I pushed my plate away. “I’ll go there tomorrow and look around.”

It felt like a tiny step in the right direction.

I’d planned on working this weekend, but not like this, in some small country town far from the bustling downtown I was used to.

4

DEREK

Weekends were usually laidback times with Naomi. She was too young to be in many sports. Sports, it seemed, weren’t her thing.

When I offered for her to try out several extra-curricular activities, she didn’t last long. When I signed her up for soccer, she told me that she wasn’t fond of being yelled at.

Who was?

She interpreted coaches and parents cheering kids on from the sides as “unnecessarily raised voices”.

I couldn’t blame her for that. Some parents acted like it was the freaking FIFA.

Then when I got her into tennis, she asked if she had to finish the lessons because the other girls were trying to brag and one-up about every little hit, miss, or serve.

Again, I understood that.

Eventually, I realized that she lacked a drive of competitiveness and I stopped trying to find her a hobby or sport. She’d come into her own. I wouldn’t push. So far, it seemed that she just liked doing her own thing. And that was cool with me. I saw all these other parents and wondered whythey put themselves—and their kids—through the stress of so many organized sports and clubs.

One of Naomi’s interests that stayed consistent was art. Crafting, specifically. While I liked to think about having a woodshop or something, I wasn’t overly creative.

“I’ll be right there,” she said at Preston’s holiday market. We had no plans other than hanging out at home, but when Nicky and Stacy said they were heading downtown where stalls and activity tents were set up, I figured why not?

Naomi pointed at the clearly designated kids’ area. Volunteers from the library and the YMCA were positioned behind tables. As far as I could tell, they were making bracelets and ornaments.

“Okay,” I told her, preparing to settle in for standing around while she crafted. “I’ll be right here.”

“Ooh, bracelets,” Stacy said, smiling at my daughter.

“Do you want to make one?” Naomi asked.

“In a minute.” My sister smiled until she turned her back to us, busy surveying the supplies.

Then she pivoted to me and scowled. “Why are you such an ass to Mackenzie?” she hissed, out of earshot from Naomi.

I dropped my head back and groaned. Iknewshe was going to harass me about this. I had no doubt Mackenzie called Stacy up as soon as the pickup line was over with yesterday.

Nicky shook his head. “Babe. Stop. You are being?—”

“Uh-uh.” She held up her hand at him, cutting him off. “I’m not being anything but concerned. Worried about my brother being alone for the rest of his life.”

It was my turn to cut her off. “How can I be alone?” I gestured at my daughter, carefully deciding on pony beads. “I’ve got Naomi.”

Stacy cut me a stern glare. “You know what I mean.”

“Babe,” Nicky said, taking her hand. “You’ve got to stop this.”

“No. I’m not going to stop and give up on him.” She shook her head until her ponytail swayed from side to side. “I’m not going to give up on his finding a woman.”

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