Page 19 of Christmas Wishes
“Popcorn strands?”
“Definitely.”
“Candy Canes?”
“Got some down the way.”
“Stanley. Makes the best candy canes you’ve ever had.” Rand would definitely be the judge of that considering he’d had the ones from the elves with the original recipe.
“Okay.” What about cranberries? Oranges and cloves?”
“Yes, please. Some cider, too, if you have any. Of course, I don’t know how I’m going to carry all of this back to the cabin.”
“Hmm. You did say you walked.”
“Yes, ma’am, but don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.”
“Tell you what, Rand. If Bernie has something you like, when he’s done with work tonight, he can come out and drop off the tree and all your trimmings.”
“It’s a very kind offer, but I couldn’t ask him to do that.
“You wouldn’t be asking. I just volunteered him. Besides, it won’t be a problem at all. He always likes to visit with new residents.”
And who was Rand to argue? He had no other way to get anything home, except for the small amount of vegetables and cabin essentials he was in the process of purchasing. Unless, of course, he made two trips. He could. It wasn’t as though he had anything better to do with his time, but Heidi seemed adamant that Bernie wouldn’t mind.
“All right, then. I’ll take a look when I leave to see if there’s anything that would fit what I like.”
“You won’t be disappointed.”
“I’m sure I won’t be. Who would be disappointed at getting a Christmas tree?”
Heidi grinned at him, her smile bright and her eyes… Nah. It couldn’t be. “Exactly,” she said. “Now, don’t forget to give Bernie your address.”
Rand smiled, excited about having a tree. He missed the decorated trees he’d grown up seeing almost daily. He missed the tinsel and the lights and the sparklers and the brightly colored glass balls.
He missed everything and everyone.
But there was a feeling of home, rustic and simple, in both the cabin and the little town. Maybe there was hope for him yet.
He laid out cash while Heidi bagged up his food in a couple of cloth bags. Nothing artificial in his surroundings. Much like home. “You know I should’ve asked this before, but what do one of Bernie’s trees usually cost?”
“Oh, don’t you worry your handsome head about it. We’ve got you covered. The tree is on the house.”
“No, I can’t let you do that. You already volunteered to have Bernie deliver things. I can’t let either of you eat the cost, too. Stanley and Lila already wouldn’t let me pay for the candy canes.”
“It’s Christmas, Rand. Does a heart good to give. Call it goodwill and paying it forward. Or just call it being neighborly and a welcome to the new guy. Whatever makes you feel better about accepting it.”
Rand stared at Heidi. Goodwill and paying it forward? He’d never done anything like that before. He wasn’t even sure he knew what paying it forward meant, but he liked the sound of it. Maybe like a good deed? That they do something for him and he in turn does something for someone else? If that’s what it meant…
“You’re not going to expect anything in return?”
“Nope.”
Goodwill. He hadn’t experienced it in a long time. Even those at the North Pole became cynical and jaded over time. He was the one who chose to voice it and it got him a one way trip into the wilderness.
Heidi hadn’t been the type of human he’d expected to run into when he left the cabin. Neither had Stanley and Lila.
Could he have been wrong? Of course, he’d only had a couple of encounters with a few very kind people. There were billions more on the planet. It was possible he’d come across the only three who were giving.
