Page 59 of Evergreen Christmas

Chapter Twelve

One week later, on a frigid, frosty morning, Jordyn, bundled up in a thick coat, scarf, and the green wool hat the Nanas had gifted her, stood at the top of a twenty-two-foot ladder and looped a string of colorful Christmas lights around the top of the Fraser fir tree in the back lot of Chestnut Ridge. Decorating the most perfect Christmas tree in all of Noel was a difficult task for one person with an aloof quarter horse as a supervisor, but Jordyn was determined to get it done right.

“You know,” she said, leaning on the top rung of the ladder and eyeing the white mare standing on the ground below her, “you could help out a bit more. Maybe come over here, brace your belly against the ladder and hold it steady for me? Or,” she said, smiling, “I could stick a string of lights between your teeth and you can just walk around the tree a few times. That would cut my work in half!”

Star lifted her nose in the air and sniffed, then walked away, her long white tail swishing from side to side as she moseyed further across the back lot toward the mountain range in the distance.

“Well!” Jordyn clamped a hand to her chest and pretended to be offended. “I never! You’d think if someone puts a roof over your head, tasty food in your belly, and brushes you down every night, you’d be a bit more accommodating. So, what? You’re not gonna stay and help me out at all?”

Star kept walking.

“Looks like you lost your help.”

Balancing carefully on the ladder, Jordyn glanced over her shoulder and grinned at the sight of the four Nanas, wrapped up tightly in warm coats, scarves, and mittens, strolling across the back lot toward her, bright smiles on each of their faces.

“I can’t imagine that horse of yours would’ve been much help, anyway, decorating that tree,” Carol Belle continued as they drew to a stop at the base of the Fraser fir. She looked up at Jordyn and laughed. “That’s probably for the best though. Fabio Fraser’s right particular about who he lets give him attention. It takes a tender, loving hand to bring out the best in him.”

Holly grinned. “And, dear me, you’ll need to use the absolute best decorations if you want a shot at winning the Christmas tree competition tonight.”

“Not that Fabio Fraser needs decoration,” Eve said matter-of-factly. “He’s the best-looking tree in the entire state.”

Kandy nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she eyed the boxes of decorations Jordyn had lined up near the base of the tree. “No matter how you choose to decorate Fabio, I know he’ll look wonderful. He’s bound to win the contest by a mile!”

“I don’t know,” Carol Belle said, scowling at the white fence that bordered Chestnut Ridge, marking the property line of Frosted Firs Ranch. “I swung by Nate’s place this morning on the way to pick y’all up. He’s got a mighty fine-looking tree. It’s growing right at the front of his biggest Christmas tree lot, standing proud and tall. It’s the first tree that greets you when you round the driveway to the tree lot. I hate to admit it, but that tree of his is going to give our Fabio some competition this year—something I didn’t think was possible given how perfect our Fraser fir is.”

At the mention of Nate, Jordyn’s excitement dwindled.

Over the past week since she’d thrown a potential win in the Gingerbread Architect contest, she’d decided to stick strictly to the Nanas’ rules for the Christmas competition, which meant absolutely, unequivocally, no cross-conspiring of any kind! So, instead of seeking out Nate and Roxie for advice regarding each contest, she’d turned to Kandy instead, asking for singing and dancing lessons prior to the Christmas Karaoke and Christmas Dance Craze contests. She’d also asked for Kandy’s opinion as to which of the ugly sweaters she’d purchased in the town square would have the best chance of winning the Ugly Sweater Wrapping Pretty contest.

Heeding Kandy’s help and advice, Jordyn had done well in each competition, if she did say so herself. Despite her less than stellar singing voice, she’d managed to snag third place in the Christmas Karaoke contest, choosing to sing “Blue Christmas” in her best Elvis Presley impersonation. For the Christmas Dance Craze, she’d fared even better, placing second after rocking out solo to Springsteen’s version of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”

And, oh boy, had that been a blast! It had been years since she’d let loose, given herself over to the music and just enjoyed the excitement of the moment, and she had earned much-needed points at the same time.

The Ugly Sweater Wrapping Pretty contest didn’t go quite as well though. She scored points for her fabulously ugly sweater, which featured an evil squirrel, dressed as Santa, stealing gifts from underneath a Christmas tree. But the gift-wrapping portion of the contest proved to be too much of a challenge for her. Because she’d spent Christmas on her own for most of her life, she lacked the gift-wrapping skills Noel’s other participants had honed over the years, and her fingers had fumbled their way through the task, mangling the pretty red bow she’d failed to tie attractively around the gift.

But in the end, she’d done well enough, and her name had moved up to second position on the Tree Scoreboard. She was now directly below Nate and right above the Stone family.

All that remained was the Christmas Light Delight contest, which would be coupled with the Christmas tree judging that would take place later tonight. During the contest, Noel’s residents and a trio of judges were scheduled to tour the top three participants’ homes, taking notes and scoring the outdoor Christmas lights. Then they’d inspect each participant’s Christmas tree entry, evaluating the ornaments, lights, health of tree, and overall impression.

Considering the Fraser fir at Chestnut Ridge was as perfect as a Christmas tree could be, she was sure she’d have a really good shot at winning the Christmas tree contest and the competition overall.

But though the thought of winning the Christmas Crown had delighted her before, it didn’t sit quite as well with her now. For one thing, if she did win the competition, it would mean Roxie wouldn’t have a tenth crown to put in her mother’s trophy case. Also rather concerning was the fact that Jordyn’s tree would have to knock Nate’s out of the running, which would end his tradition of winning the Christmas competition and possibly decrease the attention Frosted Firs Ranch would get for its Christmas trees this year.

And then . . . there were the Nanas.

The four women had so graciously welcomed Jordyn into their group and hometown weeks ago, opening their arms and hearts to her, leading her through the Christmas competition and welcoming her as part of their community. And all they had asked in return was for her to enter Fabio Fraser into the Christmas tree contest and walk away a winner. It was a small price to pay for all they’d done for her . . . but, somehow, her heart just wasn’t in it anymore.

“Speaking of Nate,” Carol Belle said quietly as she scrutinized Jordyn’s expression. “We’ve been meaning to tell you how proud we were of you the other night.”

Jordyn raised her brows in question.

“The way you helped our precious Roxie in the gingerbread contest?” Holly prompted. “We all saw what you did.”

“Everyone saw it,” Eve added. “It was obvious to everyone who was watching that you purposely blew your chance at winning so that the little girls would have a better shot at placing in the contest.”

“And our sweet Roxie,” Kandy said, clutching her hands to her chest in an affectionate gesture. “She was so happy when she won first place. She’d worked so hard, and the win was well deserved. There’s no way she would’ve earned it had your gingerbread house remained in the competition.”

Jordyn shrugged nonchalantly, but her mouth curved into a gentle smile as she recalled the surprised but excited cheers that had burst from Roxie upon hearing her name called as the winner.

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