Page 63 of The Runaway Bride of Blitzen Bay (Blitzen Bay)

“Wildly? Okay, that’s a good start.” I say, laughing as I brush her cheek with my hand. She pulls back a little bit. “I know you’re not available. It’s fine. I just wanted you to know the truth. And that’s all it has to be right now.”

She scoots over to me and then lays her head on my shoulder. I put my arm back around her and pull her closer to me.

“Are you thinking for yourself now?” I whisper into her hair.

“Yeah,” she says, “but honestly, I don’t think I know what I’m thinking and I definitely don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Just breathe. There’s no rush about anything.”

She nods her head against my chest. We sit like that for a minute before I pull her up.

“I want to show you something.” I take her hand and start leading her down the street.

She pulls back a little bit. “What do you want to show me?”

“Would you just come on and quit questioning everything?”

I put my arm around her and pull her to the big Christmas tree by the Holly House.

“When I came into town to get our lunches earlier, I brought a load of firewood for Hank. I was unloading it and lost control of an armful. One of the logs rolled under the tree. When I climbed under to get it, I saw something. C’mon, I want to show you.”

I get down on my knees and start to crawl under the tree. She’s still standing. I pull her hand until she’s kneeling by me.

“Trust me. You’ll like this.”

“Fine,” she says as she starts to crawl under the tree with me.

We get to the center of the tree. “Okay, close your eyes and rollover.”

“Excuse me!” She looks at me with her eyebrows raised almost to her hairline.

“Not like that. Just do it.”

She lets out a dramatic sigh, but closes her eyes and rolls over on her back. I lie down next to her.

“Okay, open your eyes.”

“Ohh!” She takes a breath in as she looks up at the fifty feet of twinkling white lights above us. “Nash, it’s so beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is,” I say, turning my head to look at her. “I thought of you when I saw it.”

She scoots closer to me and wraps her arm around mine. We lie there for a few minutes watching the lights twinkle above us. She suddenly pops up on her elbow and looks at me.

“Wait, did your grandma bury the chicken in one of the little outfits?” Her brow’s furrowed like she’s been thinking about this for a while.

I smile. “You know, I’ve never thought of that, but yeah, she probably did.”

She lays her head on my chest. “I love your grandma.”

“I know you do.” I wrap my arm around her and rest my head against hers. Her hair smells like the magnolia tree in my mom’s backyard. “And believe me, Grandma would have loved every bit of you.”

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