Page 5 of A Very Merry Enemy
Merryville may sparkle like Christmas all year, but when I’m around Lucas Jolly, my surroundings go cold as ice. And this is just day one of the season.
CHAPTER 2
LUCAS
The first day of tree season is always hectic as hell.
By noon, the parking lot is packed with families, kids running between the rows of trees, and parents arguing over which one is perfect. The sound of chain saws fills the air, mixed with Christmas music blasting from speakers mounted around the property. This year, the snack stand started serving extra-large funnel cakes and large hot cocoas in red cups.
I’m in the back field with Jake, both of us cutting down precut stock to refill the tents up front. The physical work helps keep my mind busy. I love the sound of the saw roaring while wood chips fly. Sweat drips down my back, despite the fifty-degree weather.
But even this doesn’t drown out my thoughts completely.
Holiday sold out this morning. Five hundred cookies in an hour. I heard my cousin Matteo mention it to one of the guys and noted the awe in his voice like she’d done something incredible. That’s how everyone in Merryville has always treated Holiday, like she’s special.
She’s already making people remember why they love her so much. Reminding people why they want things theyshouldn’t have. Making them forget she’s the kind of person who makes promises she doesn’t keep.
“You good?” Jake asks during a water break, eyeing me like he knows something’s up.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because you’ve cut down ten trees in the time it took me to do five.” He wipes his forehead with his sleeve. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Just want to stay ahead of the rush.”
“Right.” He doesn’t believe me. “This have anything to do with Holiday working at the cookie shop?”
I grip the chain saw tighter. “Absolutely not.”
“Lucas—”
“Drop it, Jake.”
He holds up his hands. “Okay. But you’ve been in a shit mood and it’s pretty obvious why.”
I don’t respond. I just crank the chain saw again and get back to work.
But he’s right. I am in a shit mood because she’s here. She’s running my sister-in-law’s bakery, making cookies, smiling at customers, and acting like she belongs.
She doesn’t belong anywhere close to me.
She left. Shechoseto leave. And now she’s back like she didn’t burn everything down on her way out.
“You wanna talk about it?” Jake asks when we load another batch of trees onto the trailer.
“Nothing to talk about. I’m fine.”
“You’re really not.” Jake leans against the trailer. “Look, I don’t know what happened between you two back in the day, but?—”
“Then don’t ask.”
“Fair enough.” He grabs his water bottle. “But whatever it is, you gotta find another way to deal with it. She’s working here all season. You can’t avoid her forever.”
“Watch me.”
Jake just shakes his head. “Claire and I are grabbing dinner tonight to chat about wedding stuff, if you want to join.”
“Can’t. Meeting Sammy for a drink.”
