Page 47 of The Christmas Keepsake
After paying at the checkout, they loaded the gifts into Hollis’s truck as the winter sun was setting, casting a golden glow over theparking lot. Hollis turned to Mallory, taking in her flushed cheeks and bright eyes.
“That was so much fun,” she gushed.
“Yeah. Thanks for coming with me today. And for the hat.” He tapped the brim of the cap.
“I’ve always loved shopping, but buying things for kids was extra fun,” she said once she was seated beside him in his truck.
Hollis shopped for the boys home every year, but he’d never enjoyed it as much as this afternoon. “Well, let’s keep the fun going.”
She gave him a curious look. “What do you have in mind?”
“It’s a surprise.” He cast her a sideward glance and put his truck in motion. “You’ll love it. Trust me.” They’d had to drive outside of town to go shopping, so the ride back to Bloom was lengthy, which Hollis didn’t mind. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot for the Bloom Café.
“Mm. I think I like this surprise,” Mallory said with a growing grin. “More hot cocoa? Are we planning to sit inside?”
He shook his head and leaned forward to glance up at the sky through his windshield. “No way. It’ll be dark soon.”
Mallory paused before pushing open the passenger door. “You’re a secret werewolf? I knew it.”
He opened the door to the Bloom Café for her as they walked in. “Not a werewolf. Just a secret lover of Christmas lights. And I know where all the best ones are. Shh. Don’t tell anyone.”
She pretended to zip her lips. “Secret’s safe with me.”
Mallory sighed as Hollis drove slowly around some of the older neighborhoods in Bloom thirty minutes later. “I love Christmas lights.” The houses were massive with large open yards lit up with elaborate decorations and festive scenes.
“There was this foster family who took me to look at lights one year,” Hollis shared. “The Dusters. They liked to pile in their minivan and drive painstakingly slow around neighborhoods like these to admire the lights. I remember thinking,What’s the big deal? It’s just lights.” He pulled up to a stop sign and stopped, even though there were no other cars around. “But as I watched this family and their real kids ohhing and ahhing, I kind of slipped into the excitement of it all. At first, I was trying to fit in. I was always trying to fit in.” Pressing the gas, he let his truck continue rolling forward.
“But you like the lights now?” she asked.
He stole the hundredth glance at her tonight. “Oh, yeah. They’re not boring anymore.”
“Definitely not boring. Magical. My grandpa Charlie used to take Maddie and me to see the lights.”
“Magical with you for sure.” He shook his head and laughed quietly at himself. “I’m definitely cheesy tonight.”
“I think you’re being sweet.”
“Good. That’s what I’m going for.” Hollis rolled into a vacant parking area in front of Bloom Lake and turned off the engine. From across the lake, a million more bright and colorful lights could be seen from the houses on the other side.
“Why didn’t you stay with that family? The one who drove around looking at lights? They sound nice.”
“They were. So nice that I messed up their vibe.” He sighed. “Not their fault. It’s just who I was back then. I was angry and rebellious. I pushed buttons on purpose.”
“Because you wanted them to send you away?” she asked.
“Because I wanted them to prove that they weren’t going to send me away. I know. It was a messed-up plan.”
She reached for his hand. The feel of her soft skin covering his sent shivers down his spine. He looked over at Mallory and noticed the tears in her eyes.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Because making his date cry was not on his bingo card for tonight.
“I just wish I would’ve been one of those people who proved that you were worth the extra effort. Instead of being one of those—”
“Instead of being one of those who discarded me,” he supplied. “Mal, you were one of the first people to prove I was worth more.” Shifting in the seat, he angled his body toward her. “Actually, let me rephrase. You were one of the first people to make me want to be more than I was.”
She looked away for a millisecond. “I’m not any good at this.”
“At what?” he asked.
