Page 54 of A Whiskey River Princess

Dirk laughed, raising an eyebrow. “Or would you rather carry the tree?”

She quickly shook her head. “No, no. That’s okay.” Gabriella walked ahead a bit, holding the saw away from her. Then she turned toward him. “I’ll take the saw.”

Dirk chuckled as he picked up the tree and followed Gabriella back to the house.

On the way, she fell back a bit and walked by his side. “So, you do this every year?”

Dirk shook his head. “No, I haven’t put up a tree for a few years now.”

Gabriella’s eyebrows pulled together in concern. “Why not?”

He shrugged as one corner of his lips curled into a smile. “I didn’t have anyone to celebrate with.”

Gabriella looked down, appearing to be lost in thought.

They walked in silence back to the cabin. For the first time in a while, Dirk looked around, enjoying the pristine snow covering the ground, sparkling where the golden sunshine touched it. Dirk had hope that maybe it would stop snowing, and that he wouldn’t be alone on Christmas.

It looked as if he just might get his wish.

When they reached the cabin, Gabriella lay the saw on the porch. “Wait. Let me open the door.” Gabriella walked up the stairs, onto the porch, and opened the front door.

“Thank you, but I need to fix the tree up first.” Dirk propped it against the side of the house. “I’ll be right back.” Dirk walked out to the barn, got a washtub, two small boards and a saw, and walked back to the porch.

Gabriella was still standing on the porch, rubbing her hands together, waiting. “What are you doing?”

Dirk lay the tree down on its side and cut one of the boards in half. “This is so the tree won’t fall over.” He nailed the boards to the bottom of the tree, forming a cross. When he sat it upright, it stood by itself. Next, he carried the washtub into the living room, placed it along the wall, away from the fire, and set the tree in it. It stood upright on its own.

“Why are you doing that?” Gabriella asked, clearly intrigued. “And why did you set it in the washtub?”

Dirk walked into the kitchen, picked up a metal bucket, and filled it with water. “So the tree won’t dry out beforewe take it down.” Then he carried the bucket into the living room and poured it into the bottom of the washtub. Next, he went into the bedroom, and rummaged through the closet. He found a Christmas quilt—adorned with embroidered holly leaves and berries and trimmed in green—and wrapped it around the bottom of the tree, covering the washtub. Dirk stood back and brushed off his hands. “Now, we’ll add water to it every day until we take it down and it’ll last longer.” He looked over at Gabriella. “Would you like to decorate the tree?”

Her eyebrows rose almost into her hairline. “Us?”

Dirk laughed. “Sure! Why not?”

Gabriella looked at him in disbelief, her eyes wide. “But… I don’t know how.”

“Come here.” Dirk motioned with his head toward the kitchen. “I’ll show you. It’s easy.”

A smile lit Gabriella’s lips. “I’ll hang up my coat and I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Dirk smiled, enjoying having a woman in the house—for however long it may last. He walked into the kitchen, pulled out a deep tin pan, and placed it on the stove. After he stoked the fire beneath, he looked through the cabinets, and found a covered jar filled with corn. He poured some into the pan, along with lard, and placed a lid on top. Then he picked up two potholders, held the handles of the pan, and began shaking it back and forth on the stove.

“What are you doing?” Gabriella asked, appearing like an angel in the doorway.

Dirk smiled, turning his attention back to the stove. “Popping corn.”

“Why?” Gabriella walked up beside him and peered over his shoulder, close enough for her to smell her floral scent.

He chuckled. “Why, for the popcorn garland, of course.”

“What?” Gabriella looked at him in disbelief.

As Dirk shook the pan, the corn began popping inside, hitting against the tin lid, causing Gabriella to jump, and then she laughed. Dirk chuckled at her reaction, seeing everything new through her eyes. “Would you reach under the cabinet and get me a bowl? As big as you can find.”

Gabriella smiled, enjoying this little adventure. “Yes, of course.” She bent down and pulled out a medium-sized bowl.

Dirk shook his head. “Try again. There should be a big tin bowl under there.”

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