Page 33 of A Grinchmas Delight

“Don’t thank me yet. I didn’t do anything.”

“Yeah. You did. I’ll be waiting for a text or call. From either of you.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” she says, and with that she hangs up the phone.

It’s hardly daylight outside and now I’m wide awake and might as well get up and get the day started. We get together at Mom’s every year on Christmas Eve, just like we do for Thanksgiving, so I’ve got a few hours to kill between now and then. I gather the gifts I got for my nieces and nephews, brother and sister, their spouses, and Mom. I pile them into the few large cardboard boxes I’ve been saving just for this and then put them in the bed of my truck.

I put the two gifts I got Dayra in the backseat, just in case I get an opportunity to give them to her. I don’t know that Maia will even tell her what I said, much less if it’ll be today or tomorrow. But here’s hoping. Maybe this Christmas, I’ll be the recipient of a miracle. Just maybe.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DAYRA

Christmas Eve.My second favorite day of the year. At least, it usually is. Today, though, I’m haunted by mental images of Zane and Jade, replaying in my mind like a TikTok video on a loop. I don’t want to think of the two of them together. I don’t want to care. I want to enjoy my favorite holiday without a single memory of Zane Moore.

Reese Piecie is living her best country girl life at Aunt Cindy and Uncle Ken’s. She’s out in the back forty, chasing something through the snow. Could be a bug. Could be a deer. Who knows. That girl will hunt anything, no matter the size.

I watch her from the back porch of the double wide, sipping on a hot cup of coffee with Uncle Ken. Mornings like these bring me back to being a little girl, spending these cherished moments with one of my favorite humans.

“So, Dolly tells me you’re in line for a promotion at work?” Uncle Ken asks.

I nod. “Yes, sir. I am. I put my application in with a few other candidates. I’m hopeful, though. My boss told me I’m the most qualified but he isn’t the only decision maker for this position. There are at least two other people that have to all unanimously agree.”

“Well, I think they’d be foolish not to give it to you. I don’t know a whole lot about what it is that you do there, but I know that your work ethic and your personality are unmatched.”

“Thanks, Uncle Ken.”

His words warm my heart and make everything feel a little bit better. I glance over at him sitting in his wooden rocking chair in his denim overalls and long-sleeve flannel beneath them. His signature look. I don’t think the man owns anything other than overalls. Hell, he even wears them to weddings and funerals alike.

Reese comes barreling up the steps of the porch and jumps into my lap, snow all over her little paws. She looks so proud of herself as she pants, staring out at the field she just came from.

“That little thing has such a big personality,” Uncle Ken notes, staring at her with admiration.

“She does. She’s rotten.”

“That’s for sure.”

“What time is everyone arriving for Christmas Eve?”

“I reckon they’ll be here around five, since I told them four. You know Dolly and Ashley are going to be late for their own funerals.”

I giggle, but he’s right. Good thing Ashley has a husband that takes care of her and Dolly’s worked at Scotty’s for so long, they know that she’s late for everything.

“Is Maia coming this year?”

I nod enthusiastically. “Yes! You know she wouldn’t miss it for the world. She’s been here every year since we were ten. Thisisher family Christmas.”

“Good. I’d hate to have to give you her gifts if she didn’t show up.”

It’s mid-morning and the sun rising higher in the sky brings a bit warmer temperature but only by a few degrees. Not enough to melt the snow good. My phone dings, dragging me from mythoughts of how pretty the snow is and how bright it is in the sunlight.

Maia: I have so much to tell you.

Dayra: Spill.

Maia: Nope. Not yet. Gotta make a pit stop but I’ll be there on time. Four o’clock right?

Dayra: Yep.

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