Page 4 of The Christmas List

I’m slightly fishing, yes, but genuinely curious now that I know Wyatt is Lucy’s dad.

Lucy’s nose scrunches, and she says, “Daddy doesn’t have a wife. Wait, Daddy,doyou have a wife?”

Wyatt chuckles. “No, bug.”

Okay, well, that answers that.

Clearing my throat, trying to make this less unbearably awkward, I say, “Okay, well, um… if y’all need anything, please, let me know. You know Ma loves any reason to bake.”

Lucy bounces on her toes, her princess light-up shoes blinking with the movement. “Oh, I love to bake too! My grams is gonna teach me how to make the best strawberry pie there is.”

“Well, sheisfamous here for her strawberry pie, so I have no doubt she’ll make the best teacher,” I tell Lucy with a knowing grin before lifting my gaze back to Wyatt.

This time, he’s the one staring, and he doesn’t look the least bit fazed at being caught. His lips tug higher as he says, “Luce, we gotta go. Gramps is waiting for us. Josie… It was great to see you. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again soon enough.”

I nod, offering a quick wave, but Lucy untangles from her dad and rushes over to me, nearly knocking me over with the force of her hug. I laugh quietly as I wrap my arms around her small body and return the hug.

Then she pads back over to her dad, and together, they turn and leave. I’m stuck staring at the empty doorway, my heart pounding in my chest and my pulse still racing wildly.

Holy crap. Wyatt Owens is home… in Strawberry Hollow.

For good.

2

wyatt

“Welcome to Strawberry Hollow’s seventy-fifth annual Christmas tree lighting!”

Lucy is nearly vibrating with excitement in front of me, bouncing on the tips of her toes as she peers up at Mayor Davis, standing in the middle of the brightly lit gazebo wearing a red suit with a matching Santa hat.

The white columns of the gazebo are wrapped in thick, fresh strands of pine garland that have red and green twinkling lights entwined within them. Dozens of gold, red, and green ornaments are strung from the arch, seemingly suspended in midair, along with deep red bows and tinsel.

It’s just one of the many Christmas-covered spots in town, and they’ve somehow managed to fit as much shit on it as they possibly could.

Everything about Christmas in Strawberry Hollow is a…production.And if I had it my way, I’d skip all of it altogether.

But it makes my daughter happy, and shedeserveshappiness. So if that means that I’ve gotta attend every over-the-top festivity this damn town puts on to make her smile, I’ll do it.

I’d do anything for Lucy.

That’s the only reason that I’m standing in the middle of Town Square, freezing my balls off, watching the town literally plug in a damn Christmas tree when I’ve got a thousand things around the ranch that need to be done.

“Daddy, it’s… it’samazing.” Lucy’s voice is a whispered reverence, the twinkling lights strung along the tree shining in her green eyes. Those eyes could get me to do just about anything, and most of the time, she knows exactly how to use them to her advantage. To stay up past her bedtime, to eat candy before dinner. To get me to build her a tree house in the backyard. To buy her a new dress even though she has more than she could ever possibly wear.

“You’reamazing, Lucy bug,” I respond as I gaze down at her. “You know, I was just thinking… it’s going to be pretty hard to beat this tree with the one we’re putting up at home.”

She turns to me with a dramatic eye roll as her hand flies to her hip. “Daddy, a tree that big inside our cabin would not be practical.”

A gruff chuckle vibrates from my chest. Getting a lecture from my daughter about what’spracticalsounds about right.

She’s barely three feet tall and only five years old, but make no mistake, she’s the boss. And she knows it.

“Oh! Daddy, look… there’s Miss Josie!” Lucy exclaims, pointing a few feet in front of us into the crowd closer to the gazebo.

Josie Pearce.

It’s been over a week, and I still haven’t stopped thinking about her.

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