Page 23 of She Came Upon A Midnight Clear
“You doing okay?” I ask her.
“I haven’t been to one of these places in… well, years.”
“Let me know if it gets too rough for you, and we’ll go.”
“I will, promise. But honestly, it all looks so sweet and cozy, and I’m sort of excited to find the perfect tree.”
“Okay, that’s great. Because I sort of have a plan. See, in my mind, if you spend Christmas with me, and I can spoil the hell out of you and make it the best time ever, maybe I can ease you back into appreciating Christmas again. Because we’ll make it ours, you know?”
When I look down at her, she’s biting her lip, her brows drawn together.
“Shit. I’m an idiot.”
“No. No, it’s not that at all. It’s just that you’re so god damn sweet to me, Dru. Truly. And I think… if anyone could make me be okay with the holidays, it’s probably you.”
Well, now my protector heart is swelling almost out of my chest. I do my best not to visibly puff up.
I grab her hand and we start making our way through the rows of trees.
“I’m thinking something maybe four feet tall?”
“You don’t have to get a small tree on my account; you should get exactly what you want. You have such high ceilings—you should get one that’s at least six feet.”
“Oh, is that so?”
She nods, her pretty gray eyes brilliant with emotion, but she looks really happy.
We’re in the middle of a long aisle of trees, the balsam scent all around us, and there’s Christmas music coming from the barn. It smells like Christmas, feels like Christmas, and I’m so glad she’s with me and doing okay, and suddenly I have to kiss her. I pull her into me, wrap her up in my arms, and press my lips to hers. She sinks into me, going soft all over, and after a few moments I step back because it feels like too much. Too much emotion. Too much chemistry.
“There are people’s kids walking around,” I whisper to her. “Come on; let’s find the perfect tree.”
We wander for a while, comparing trees, and pretty quickly she’s totally into it, rejecting a tree that has a bare spot, then another because the top is crooked. It’s just starting to rain a little when she lets out a gasp.
“Oh! This is it! This is the one.”
She’s pointing to a tree that has to be at least seven feet tall.
“You’re sure?” I ask, laughing.
“Dru, just look at it. The branches are full, and,” she pauses to tug at the needles, then brings her hand to her nose and inhales, “it’s so fresh. Do you like it?”
“If you like it, I like it. Let’s get it.”
We pick up the tree, me carrying the heavier bottom end, her carrying the top, and pay for it, get a fresh cut on the trunk, thenan attendant helps me tie it to the top of my Jeep, and we head home.
Getting it up the stairs is a bit tricky, but we manage it. I lay down a tarp and shake the loose needles off, and together we get it into a tree stand, then we wash the sap from our hands.
“We’ll have to let it dry until tomorrow, probably, then we can decorate.”
She stares at the tree, and I see her take in a long, deep breath. “It smells like Christmas.”
“Yeah, it does.”
She launches herself into my arms so suddenly, I nearly stumble.
“Dru, thank you. I needed this. I don’t even know how you knew, but I needed to completely reboot Christmas. I can’t say I’m there a hundred percent yet, but this really helped.”
“Aw, I’m so glad, baby. I’d do anything for you,” I tell her before I can stop myself.
