Page 29 of The Santa Rules
“But you tried, and that’s what matters. Avery sees that.”
He offers me a small smile, scratching the back of his neck. I notice he does this when he feels self-conscious.
“What’s the ornament situation?”
“Uh, we have them?”
“Is that a question?”
“No, we definitely have them,” he insists.
“Do you have any traditions with them? Special ones? Sentimental ones? Do you make new ones to add to the tree? Does Santa bring you new ones and hide them?”
I’ve lost him. The look on his face tells me that not only does he have no idea what I’m talking about, but I’ve overwhelmed him with things he’s never considered.
“It’s okay. I’ll come to your place on Saturday and we’ll get everything sorted. Your job is to buy a tree before then and gather all the ornaments you have. I’ll do some recon with Avery to see what she remembers. Sound like a plan?”
He nods, the relief on his face evident. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER 10
HARDY
I’ve got the tree all set up when Bella arrives on Saturday. I’m glad I did a trial run because she never mentioned buying a tree stand, and I realized once I got the tree out of the box that I had no way to stand it up. The whole ordeal made me feel like shit—if I’d been around more for Lydie and Avery, I would have known this. It also makes me feel like I was a shitty husband, but I’m determined to be better, be more present. For Avery. And maybe also for Bella.
Everything is laid out and ready for Bella’s approval, but unease gnaws at my gut. Something about this feels the tiniest bit wrong. The ornaments in the boxes are full of memories of Lydie. I can’t help feeling like I’m somehow betraying her, allowing another woman in on this experience, something she and Avery used to bond over. What if it upsets Avery? What if Bella takes one look at the amount of Lydie in that box of ornaments and bolts?
Fuck. I really fucking like this woman.
The doorbell rings, and Avery bounds down the stairs to the door and throws it open without a glance.
“Avery Elizabeth Williams!” I bellow.
Her little blonde head pops out from behind the open door.
“You do not open the door without looking first.”
“Yes, Daddy!”
“It’s fine, it’s just me,” Bella pants. She’s juggling several boxes, and a large tote bag is hanging from her arm.
I rush over and grab the boxes from her as she follows me into the kitchen and drops her bag on the table. “Sorry, we’ve been working on stranger danger safety drills. Clearly, I need to go over the one on answering the door again.”
“What’s that?” Avery asks as she climbs onto the chair and starts going through the tote. Bella gives me a reassuring glance, and I take a calming breath. My nerves are already frayed, and the woman just got here.
“I have all sorts of arts and crafts so we can make our own ornaments. This is the kind of stuff I live for.”
“How much did you spend on all this?” I ask, looking over everything. For a woman who refers to herself as a hot mess, it sure seems like she has her shit together. I’ll be damned if I make her pay for all this on her own, though.
“Practically nothing. I’m like a squirrel gathering up nuts throughout the year to store for winter. Everything here came from my craft closet, but the glitter came from my classroom.”
Avery’s eyes light up, and she hops off the chair, jumping up and down. “Glitter!”
“Your dad and I need to make some ornaments for our school project, and I figured you could make some too.”
I give her a quizzical look, not remembering this being on our Santa’s Workshop checklist, when she winks at me, and I get this is the cover story so Avery doesn’t know about my Santa lessons. Warmth spreads in my chest at the realization of the lengths this woman is willing to go through to help my little girl and keep my secret.
“What kind of ornaments are we gonna make?” Avery asks as the door swings open, and Isaac appears, holding a smaller box in his hands.
