Page 38 of Mistletoe & Magic
“It’s our first tree! Time to decorate!” she says excitedly.
I string the lights, watching them all in the warm glow. Ivy kneels with Junie, showing her how to hook the ribbon across the branches. Finn pretends to be annoyed but hums along with the Christmas music Ivy puts on.
Boxes of ornaments appear that Ivy looks like she had ready for this. Junie digs through them, pulling out glass balls and wooden stars. She hangs every ornament on the same two branches until Ivy gently shows her how to spread them out. Finn laughs as tinsel gets tangled in her hair.
It feels unreal, standing here with them, like I stepped into someone else’s memory. A family gathered around a tree. Laughter bouncing off the walls. Not silence. Not weight pressing me down.
I lean back and take it all in. Ivy’s cheeks are pink from the cold, her smile brighter than the lights we just hung. Junie’s laughter rings out, pure joy. Finn shakes his head, but he cannot hide the grin tugging at his mouth.
This is what life should be. Not working until my body aches. Not dragging through days just trying to survive. It is this. Making memories. Being present. Enjoying my daughter. Laughing with my brother. Watching Ivy weave herself intoevery corner of our lives until I cannot imagine the house without her.
She makes everything better and brighter. I don’t know what we did to deserve Ivy, but I’m grateful she’s here.
She looks over, and her eyes catch mine, and she nods in appreciation at the tree. I look away, as I can’t stop grinning.
And for the first time in a long time, I let myself believe I deserve this.
Chapter 11
Ivy
“Okay, so are we just not going to talk about how he went and got your dog and your stuff and pulled a whole Mary Ann to your Wanda?” Willa asks as she pours the foam into a Christmas tree shape on my latte.
I roll my eyes playfully at The Chicks song reference. “It wasn’t like that,” I insist. But great song.
“Oh, we’re talking about it,” Rowan says as she nudges my shoulder and slides onto the stool next to me.
Junie’s at school, and I borrowed Remy’s truck to run some errands and stopped at the bookstore to check in with my sisters.
“There’s nothing to talk about, you guys. It’s just a job,” I say as Willa slides my latte over to me.
“Thanks,” I say and take in the design on the foam and smile.
“Spill it,” she demands.
“It’s been almost a week since he went and got your things from Derek’s, and I am just imagining how that went down,” Rowan murmurs. “Remy was probably so hot.”
“Hey, don’t call him hot. And did you know Remy used tobe a criminal defense attorney?” I ask them, changing the subject.
Willa nods. “I knew he practiced some sort of law, but I didn’t know what kind.”
“I knew he left a big career behind to take over the tree farm when his uncle died,” Rowan says as she twirls her tea bag in her mug.
“I was just surprised,” I murmur. “He doesn’t seem like the lawyer type.”
“You know, he’s not Derek,” Willa gives me an all-knowing big sister look.
“I didn’t say he was,” I say, pretending not to know what she’s hinting at.
“Just because Derek is a lawyer and Remy was a lawyer, doesn’t mean anything,” she continues.
“He does have that hot daddy thing going for him,” Rowan mutters. “If you’re into that sorta thing.”
I say nothing, taking a big sip of my latte, so I don’t have to respond.
Oh, I’m into it, all right. But I’m not sharing that with them just yet. They’ll try their hardest to get us together and meddle. Because that is what this town is good for. And God help them if they knew that Remy saw me naked with our shower mishap. I’ve been using the shower in his bathroom ever since, and let me tell you, the water pressure is the best. And it smells like him in there, and I like it.
The front door opens, and my mom comes in. “Well, hey there. All my girls in one spot. What’s going on? What did I miss?” she asks as she shrugs off her coat and hangs it on the back of a bar stool.
