Page 2 of All I Want for Christmas

I leaned closer to her and lowered my voice. “Don’t worry, Muff. I won’t let Auntie Neely Kate humiliate you like that.”

“It wouldn’t humiliate her,” Neely Kate scoffed. “She’d look cute.”

“Well, you’ll have to take that one up with Joe,” I suggested. “And besides, it’s a moot point. I’m pretty certain Ned has a no-pets policy.”

She tapped her chin. “Hmm…”

I pointed a finger at her. “I know that look. Muffy isnotgoing to Ned’s and she’s not wearing a Santa costume.” When I saw the triumphant look in her eyes, I quickly added, “Or an elf or reindeer costume.” What else could she come up with? The list was endless. “Or an angel, or shepherd or drummer boy or?—”

Defeat filled her eyes. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m loads of fun, but Muffy doesn’t want to be dressed up like that.” I narrowed my eyes. “She has too much self-respect.”

Of course, that was the exact moment Muffy let out a loud and very stinky fart.

Neely Kate started to cough and laugh at the same time, while I waved my hand in front of my face.

“So much self-respect,” Neely Kate teased. “It’s really too bad she’s not comin’. Did you know that Ned has a professional photographer on site to take photos? Muffy could get her picture taken on Santa’s lap. I think I’ve convinced Jed to wear the red scarf that matches ours.” Her bottom lip stuck out. “Can you believe he’s refusin’ to wear the matchin’ hat?”

Part of me was surprised that Jed had refused. He practically gave Neely Kate anything she wanted, but I’d also seen the hat, so I was with him on that decision. Jed was a confident man, and his masculinity was rarely threatened, but I was sure that the words “Ho, Ho, Snow” written with silver sequins was close to the line.

“Maybe he could just wear a red flannel shirt,” I suggested. “You know, to go with cutting down a tree. He’ll look like a lumberjack.”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “That’s a great idea! I need to find one before I head home.” She grabbed her bag. “What are you and Joe up to tonight?”

I laughed. “Nothing. We have a date night with a pizza and our TV. And after Hope goes to bed…” My eyebrows lifted with innuendo.

A grin spread across her face. “You gonna leave soon to pick up Hope from daycare?”

I shook my head. “Joe texted that he and Bruce Wayne finished their job early. He was headed to the daycare and asked me to pick up the pizza.”

She paused at the door, a faraway look. “I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be this happy. I have everything I ever wanted.” She shook her head. “How is that even possible?”

“Because you’re a good person, who deserves good things,” I said. “Call it divine intervention, God’s will, or karma, but Jed and Daisy are just as lucky to have you as you are them.” I made a shooing motion. “Now, go enjoy your night. We’ll meet you at the Christmas tree lot at three.”

“Have a good night, Rose,” she called as she walked out the door, looking over her shoulder at my dog. “You too, Muffy.”

Muffy lifted her head and let out a bark in response.

Neely Kate had replaced our single bell attached to the door handle with a red velvet ribbon covered with multiple bells, so it jangled merrily as the door closed behind her. She’d decorated the rest of the office too. White lights were strung at the tops of the walls, and a small artificial tree stood in front of one of the windows. She’d even hung small stockings along the window ledge for all the employees with their names written in gold glitter. The place felt even cozier than usual.

I studied the design on my computer screen, considering calling it a night myself. This was usually our slowest time of year, but we’d had an uptick of people getting a jump start on their landscaping for the upcoming year. I suspected the warm weather had something to do with it. But all the requests meant I had lots of designs to work on, and I’d learned that when I told myself I could work at home, I rarely got any work done. I was too busy being with my family.

I texted Joe that I was going to stay another half hour then order the pizza and pick it up on the way home.

We’re just hanging out. See you when you get home.

Then he sent a selfie of him with Hope on his lap, gnawing on a teething toy, not that I was surprised. She’d had a tooth coming in for nearly a week and had been chewing on everything in sight. Joe was grinning and she was snuggled against him. All I wanted was to be with them, so I ordered the pizza, shut off my computer, and headed out. Maybe I could get some work done this weekend.

CHAPTER TWO

NEELY KATE

Iknew Rose thought I was going overboard with Christmas, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. I mean, I was making such a big deal out of going to Ned’s X-mas Tree Farmpozium when even I knew the place was a disaster. But I’d never had much of a Christmas as a kid. For the first twelve years, it had just been me and my mother, and whichever loser boyfriend was her flavor of the month. Most years, we never even had a Christmas tree, not unless her boyfriend wanted one. We didn’t have any stored decorations, so if we got a tree, we’d make paper snowflakes, glitter-covered construction paper ornaments, and string popcorn garlands, although my mother would quickly grow tired of doing any of the crafting and left it up to me. (I supposed those Christmas ornaments helped form my love for bedazzling. The shinier the better.)

There were no stockings hung by the chimney with care—not that the places we lived ever had chimneys. There were definitely no presents.

The exception was the year I’d turned ten. My mother had somehow managed to pick herself a nicer boyfriend. When he realized my mother hadn’t planned to give me a Christmas, he’d brought over a real tree that somehow looked even worsethan the one on the Charlie Brown Christmas special. He’d even bought a few decorations. The topper was when he came home on Christmas Eve with two presents—one for my mother and one of me. On Christmas morning, there was an extra present under the tree for me that said it was from Santa.

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