Page 6 of All I Want for Christmas

“Pretty good,” he said, grabbing his own slice. “We got two more jobs out of it.”

I shot him a quick glance. “That’s awesome.” I wasn’t surprised. Most of the work they’d done had come from referrals or people noticing the signs they put out in the yards of the houses they’d installed. It was two weeks before Christmas, but they had more jobs than they’d had two weeks before. “Installing Christmas lights was a great idea.”

“Bruce Wayne gets all the credit,” he said before he took a bite of his pizza.

“True, but you got the deal on Christmas lights.”

“Speaking of,” he said before he swallowed. “We’re gonna need more lights, which means I need to head down to Shreveport bright and early on Monday.”

I nodded in acknowledgment. “Do you think you’ll get the same deal?”

“I’m gonna try.”

I cast another glance over my shoulder. “How are you doin’ with all of this?” I asked quietly.

His brow lifted in confusion. “Drivin’ to Shreveport?”

“No, workin’ for Bruce Wayne.” I made a face then turned back to Hope, whose mouth was open, waiting for her next spoonful of carrots. “Workin’ for me.”

“Rose,” he said tenderly, “we’ve discussed this. I’m good with it. It’s fine.”

He’d quit his job as the chief deputy sheriff last spring when I’d faced down Denny Carmichael, a county drug czar, as well as the international cartel, Hardshaw Group, so he could protect me. I was dealing with criminals, and his duty as a sheriff deputy obligated him to report what he encountered. By quitting, he freed his conscience, but I’d worried he’d regret it in the long run. While Joe was good at landscaping, I was pretty sure he didn’t love it. Still, he liked working on home repair and remodeling projects, and he was considering buying a home to flip after Christmas.

I bit my bottom lip. “If you change your mind…”

“Maybe I will in the future, but for now, I’m enjoying havin’ more time with you and the kids. I would have never been able to pick Hope up from daycare at three o’clock if I still had my old job.” He winked. “And I wouldn’t have had time for the incredibly hard job of setting out the plates for pizza.”

I laughed as I shook my head. “Very true.”

“Change of subject.” He leaned forward and made a face at Hope. A huge grin spread across her face. “Are we still on to go to the Christmas tree farm tomorrow?”

“Of course. Neely Kate’s gotten her and Daisy and Jed matching outfits to have their photo taken in and everything.”

He chuckled. “And Jed’s goin’ along with this?”

“You know that man would walk on water if Neely Kate asked him to.”

“True, but I’m struggling to picture him in an ugly sweater.”

“I’m pretty sure she was picking up a red flannel shirt for him on the way home today, so prepare to be disappointed.”

“There’s always Christmas,” he said. “Maybe he’ll wear one then.”

I laughed, which made Hope giggle.

“What’s so funny, little miss?” I asked as I scooped carrots off her face then put the spoon in her mouth.

“Are we dressin’ up tomorrow?” Joe asked, and I heard the hesitation in his voice.

I glanced back at him. “Scared I’m gonna makeyouwear an ugly sweater?”

“Sort of,” he admitted.

I laughed again. “No worries. I don’t plan on makin’ a big deal of this excursion. I mean, we’ve both seen the tree lot. If I had my way, I’d already have a tree up while the kids were here to help decorate, but this was so important to Neely Kate, so…”

“You’re a good friend and sister-in-law.”

“She’s done a heck of a lot more for me than go to a Christmas tree farm. Besides, maybe it’ll be fun. I just wish Ashley and Mikey could come.” I hesitated. “Maybe I should try again to see if Mike’s parents will let us pick up the kids for a couple hours to go to the tree farm.”

---