A Mountain Springs Christmas

Chapter 7

seven

RACHEL

Rachel was just saving all of her work in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign—yes, she’d managed to use all three today—and closing out of her many open tabs in her browser when her desk phone rang. A second phone started ringing on Lucy’s desk in their shared cubicle. They both picked them up and said hello at the same time.

“I’m so glad I was able to catch you both,” Courtney said in her professional, I’m on the clock voice. “It is Wednesday, which means it’s been one full week since the bet officially started and we need to do a check-in. Will you both please meet me in my office promptly at five o’clock?”

Rachel glanced at the clock at the bottom of her computer screen. That gave her five minutes to wrap up. “Yep. For once, I’m actually finished with everything on time.”

She glanced at Lucy, whose eyes were on her screen in a frantic focus and whose desk was a mess of printed magazine layouts, sketches, post-it notes, and a half-eaten bag of peppermint bark. “I’m not finished, but I can come back… Do you know what?” She leaned back in her chair. “This all can wait until tomorrow. See you at five!”

They both hung up and Rachel organized the few papers she had on her desk and put some items into tomorrow’s Daily List on her phone. Then she and Lucy headed to Courtney’s office.

Court was focused on something on her iPad, but she glanced up long enough to wave them in and say, “Take a seat.”

And then, like Courtney’s internal clock knew right when the work day ended, she turned off the iPad screen, set down the pencil, and grinned at Rachel. “Okay, it’s been a week since we made our bet, and Lucy and I want an update. Will we be pampering you or experiencing a concert put on only by you?”

Lucy rubbed her hands together. “We want to know everything you said yes to.”

“And if you said no to anything.”

Rachel took a deep breath, trying to think back over the past week. They had texted in the group chat enough times that they had already been updated on much of it, so she tried to think of the things she hadn’t already shared. She probably should’ve been keeping a list on her phone.

“I think Aiden’s onto me. So far, he’s asked for a later bedtime, to put a tree he made out of Legos as the topper on our Christmas tree—yes, we have a tree on top of our tree now—to skip doing his reading homework one night, and to wear all of his clothes inside out to school one day. I think my saying yes to that one was what tipped him off. He learned pretty quickly not to ask for the same thing twice.”

“He never asked for ice cream for dinner?” Courtney asked. “Such a shame.”

“No, but he did talk me into getting ice cream and eating it outside in the snow. I think I still have a touch of frostbite on my lips.” She touched her lips and for some crazy reason, Nick popped into her mind.

“And you said yes to everything?” Lucy asked.

“Yep.”

“Okay,” Courtney said, “but that’s saying yes to Aiden, which wasn’t exactly the point. What else did you say yes to?”

“I already told you that I said yes to helping with Aiden’s class Christmas program and that I said yes to making a four-foot by eight-foot fireplace to use as a set piece.” They still looked impressed by that one, which they should be since she had never done anything like that before. “Oh, and I think I said yes to a date tonight.”

“What?” Courtney said, getting out of her chair behind the desk and coming around to sit on the edge of the desk in front of Rachel, right as Lucy said, “For real?”

“Okay, you don’t need to act so shocked. Plus, it’s not really a date.”

Courtney folded her arms. “Explain.”

“I’m working with the dad of one of Aiden’s classmates on that fireplace, and we are getting together with our kids.”

“Divorced?” Courtney asked.

“No. Widowed.”

“Oh! A single dad!” Lucy said. “My heart just melted like snow on a warm spring day.”

“I don’t know,” Rachel said, fiddling with a piece of lint that was on her skirt. “His wife passed away more than a year ago, but up until a couple of days ago, he was still wearing a wedding ring.” She looked at her friends. “Do you think that’s a bad sign?”

Courtney cocked her head. “I think that’s the sign of a guy with the capacity to love someone deeply. Where are you going?”

“To Downtown Park to see the snow sculptures and Christmas village.”

Lucy wagged her eyebrows. “I heard that if you both wear Santa hats when you walk under the arch to the train that goes around Santa’s village, you’ll fall in love.”

Rachel chuckled, shaking her head. “Yeah…My six-year-old told me the same thing. He also believes in Santa Claus.”

Tonight, Rachel said yes to Aiden wearing his Santa hat to the park. But because she also didn’t want her kid to freeze to death, she said yes to him wearing it on top of a knit hat that would actually keep his adorable head warm.

As they got out of the car and walked to where they could see Nick and Holly waiting by the manger scene, she laughed out loud when she saw Nick’s hat—it was knit, like all of theirs were, but his was red with fluffy white around the base and a white pom on top. She loved that Christmas was in his heart enough to do something like choosing to wear a knit Santa hat in public. A lot of guys might have been embarrassed. She wondered if he had any idea how attractive it made him.

Not that the guy needed any help in that department. He even looked attractive in a winter coat and boots. And the fact that he was holding his little girl’s hand made her heart get a little melty, too.

“Hi,” she said as they reached them, not meaning for her voice to come out nearly as breathy as it did. Maybe that was a side effect of a melting heart. She cleared her throat like maybe it was the cold or something that had caused it, but by the way the corner of Nick’s mouth pulled up just a bit, he didn’t buy it. “Should we go check out the snow sculptures?”

They had only looked at a single sculpture together—a couple of carolers—before Aiden and Holly ran to the next one. It was a giant Santa head and shoulders as if he was a mythical beast rising out of the ground. As the kids raced on to one that looked like it was probably supposed to be Snoopy lying on top of his dog house, Rachel said, “We might think we’ve lost them for a bit, but I’m betting they’ll come back to pull us to look at a dozen different sculptures before we’re done.”

Nick laughed as they meandered through the sculptures filling the open area of the park. “I expect nothing less.”

Nick stopped walking to watch their kids gaze in wonder at a sculpture that looked like a miniature log cabin with Santa at the chimney, so she took the moment to sneak a peek at him. Those striking eyes of his were crinkled at the sides from smiling and he looked so thrilled that the two kids were getting along. At least, they were for that exact moment.

She noticed his hat again and was suddenly very curious about his childhood. As they started walking through the sculptures again in the same direction the kids were heading, she asked, “What was Christmas like for you growing up?”

He looked up a bit and gave a slight shrug. “Pretty typical, I guess. Tree, stockings, a special dinner, a present we could open on Christmas Eve that was always pajamas, presents Christmas morning.”

Everything she had craved as a child. “I need to hear more about the Christmas Eve pajamas. Matching or not?”

He chuckled and scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “Always one piece—the kind with feet that zips up. And always matching for all of us, my parents included. For as many people who have the Christmas Eve pajamas tradition, ours was probably a bit more unique just because of the fabric.

“One year, it was reindeer. And I’m not talking pictures of reindeer on the fabric, I mean it was like a reindeer costume. There was even a hood with antlers. Another year, there were these green fringe pieces hanging down that made us look like Christmas trees. One year, it was elves, another, gingerbread men.”

He chuckled again. “One time, it was the words ‘You’ll shoot your eye out,’ with a pair of glasses as the O’s, you know, from A Christmas Story. My dad loved that movie. There was a flap in the back of those pajamas. Oh, and one year, they were covered in Christmas lights that glowed in the dark. I think it prepared me for my future in-laws’ ugly sweater party.”

She was trying not to listen with her mouth dropped open in awe and longing. “Your family sounds fun. Do you see them often?”

He shook his head. “Not nearly as often as I’d like. Since my dad was in the military and we moved all around, it kind of gave everyone wanderlust. We are spread all over the world now, so we only get together during the summer every other year.” He glanced over at her as they stopped to watch the kids check out a snow sculpture of a man sitting on the actual park bench. “Have you moved much?”

“No. My wanderlust is limited to travel, which I guess is to be expected when you work for a travel magazine. We’ve lived in Mountain Springs since Aiden was a year old.”

“So you didn’t grow up with all this?” He motioned to the entirety of everything in the park.

“Nope. I grew up in Erie.”

“And what was Christmas like for you? What kind of traditions did you have?”

She shrugged. “We only had one. Well, two, kind of. The second was because of the first. My dad hated Christmas, so we couldn’t celebrate it at all unless we wanted him to be even more cranky than usual, and he was very cranky about everything at Christmastime. He probably had his own trauma related to the holiday, but it wasn’t like I was going to ask about it.

“My mom had no issue with the holiday, but she reacted to my dad’s ‘seasonal irritability’ by kind of checking out. When she was present, she would leave a Dove chocolate on my pillow. It wasn’t Christmassy, so we didn’t risk setting off my dad, but the first time she gave me one, she told me that doves represent peace, so it was my little piece of peace for when our house wasn’t peaceful. I lived for getting those little chocolates on my pillow.”

She glanced at Nick to see that he was watching her with a curious expression. She didn’t know how she felt about his focus being on her so intently. Looking back at where Aiden stood a couple of dozen feet away by a sculpture of Santa and Mrs. Claus, she said, “I think I’ve pointed out doves enough around Christmastime that Aiden thinks they’re practically magical. Well, he pretty much thinks all of Christmas is magical. It has always been one of my number one goals for him.

“A few years ago, I found some Christmas tree dove ornaments. They have real feathers on them with little clips where their feet are so they can clip on a branch. I got half a dozen of them. Aiden loves them so much! He always spends a lot of time at the tree each year, petting the doves with a single careful finger.”

She glanced again at Nick, and this time, he was looking at her with something different in his expression. A softness, for sure. But there was something else behind those eyes that she couldn’t quite name that made her insides react in a way that she hadn’t felt in a while. Was she so date-starved that a soft look would impact her so much? And why did she suddenly not know how to react?

She broke eye contact and said, “Wow. The kids haven’t pulled us over to them even once. Should we be concerned?”

Nick nodded in their direction, where they were whispering something to each other, giggling. “Clearly, yes. That’s the look of two kids plotting something.”

The kids ran toward them, racing around a circle of miniature snowmen whose stick arms made it look like they were holding hands, and stopped right in front of her and Nick.

“Can we go on the train now?” Holly asked.

“Sure thing,” Nick said.

Holly grabbed Nick’s hand and Aiden grabbed Rachel’s, and the two kids pulled them toward Santa’s village and the kid-sized train that ran all around it. As they neared the arch where everyone lined up to ride on the train, Aiden stopped and said, “My hat is getting itchy,” and took it off. “Will you wear it on your head?”

“I can hold it for you,” she offered.

He shook his head. “No, it has to be over your hat.”

Rachel looked over at Nick. It was clear by the look on his face that he hadn’t heard the legend that said if you wear a Santa hat when you walk under the arch leading to the Christmas train that you’d fall in love. Based on the way Aiden and Holly were sharing looks and still giggling, Aiden had let Holly in on that little piece of knowledge. And Holly’s dad was conveniently already wearing a Santa hat.

She took a deep breath. Of course, she didn’t believe the myth, but Aiden did. Would wearing the hat give him false hope? Or would not wearing it take away a bit of the Christmas magic that he and Holly were feeling? It was obviously important to them.

She was suddenly picturing Courtney and Lucy standing there, reminding her that this was her Season of Yes and this choice counted.

It was not that big of a deal. She smiled at Aiden and said, “Okay, put it on me.”

She crouched down and he struggled for a moment as he tried to fit the kid-sized Santa hat not only on an adult-sized head but on a head that was already wearing a knitted hat. Eventually, he just kind of balanced it there and she stood back up, trying to hold her head level so it wouldn’t fall off. Both kids were so happy they were practically dancing. It was the right decision.

The giggling intensified as they walked under the arch. At least they were getting along.

There weren’t too many people at the park right then, so it didn’t take long before it was Aiden’s and Holly’s turn to get on the train. Nick had his phone out, ready to take pictures before Rachel even got a chance to pull out hers. They both took a few pictures, then Rachel just watched as Nick started videoing the train ride. She loved how attentive he was as a father. Between growing up with her dad, losing both of her parents, and then having Aiden at age twenty-four, she’d gathered quite the list of requirements for a future husband, and many of them had to do with how the guy might be as a dad.

Maybe that was why she dated so infrequently. It was hard to find someone who would be a great husband and a great dad, and who would be willing to step right into the dad role from day one. Why did she have to find someone who seemed perfect, but was still grieving his late wife?

Because it had been a very long time since she’d looked at a guy like she was now looking at Nick and felt such a strong attraction. The guy’s nose, cheeks, and the tops of his ears were red from the cold, yet he was in Santa’s village with his daughter, looking like he was loving every minute of it.

Courtney’s words, “I think that’s the sign of a guy with the capacity to love someone deeply” echoed in her head. That was what she was seeing—a man loving his daughter deeply.

The train was coming back around for its final time, and a few of the kids waiting to get on bumped into her in their excitement, pushing Rachel right into Nick. He wrapped his arms around her to steady her and keep her from knocking them both down.

“I got you,” he said in a low tone. His voice, so close to her ear, her chest against his, his arms wrapped around her, sent warm shivers through her body. She stood frozen for a moment, so shocked at all the emotions coursing through her that she couldn’t move.

“Mom!” Aiden shouted as he leaped off the train, not even looking over at her, his eyes glued to something by the gazebo that had wall panels to make it look like a gingerbread house. “I found a dove!”

Rachel mumbled “Thanks” to Nick, then straightened herself up to standing and not pressed into his embrace, her cheeks feeling not quite as cold as they were. She grabbed the Santa hat that had fallen from her head to his shoulder, then hurried to catch up to Aiden as he was making a beeline to the gazebo.

“I knew I’d find a dove here!” Aiden said as she caught up to him. The decoration was new—it was slightly bigger than an actual dove and was perched on a post right next to the gingerbread house. Aiden took off his gloves and reached down into his pocket to pull out a small, wrinkled, folded piece of paper.

“Is that your Christmas list?” Rachel asked him. “I thought you wanted to go give that to Santa.”

Aiden shook his head as he worked the paper into the claw of the dove. “It’s a Christmas wish .”

She wasn’t sure what the distinction was in his mind, but if she had to guess what was on it, it was a request for more paper. Her little crafty boy could never seem to get enough paper.

Nick and Holly caught up with them just as they turned and nearly bumped into Rachel’s brother, Jack, as he came out of the gazebo with his fiancée, Noelle.

“Uncle Jack!” Aiden said, jumping up to give him a starfish hug before sliding back to the ground.

Rachel introduced her brother and Noelle to Nick and Holly. The entire time that Jack and Nick made small talk and shook hands, with Nick’s focus entirely on Jack, Noelle’s was on Rachel. She raised her eyebrows, grinning, and mouthed, “He’s cute.”

Rachel smiled, knowing that it wasn’t just her who noticed. Of course, the more she got to know Nick, the cuter he became. Between today and working on the fireplace with him, the man had practically stepped up a good seventeen spaces on the attractiveness scale.

Noelle gave Rachel a questioning look that she knew meant “How serious are the two of you?” and Rachel loved that she instantly knew what Noelle was asking. For almost her entire life, she’d only had a brother. But after Saturday night, she’d finally have a sister. Well, technically a sister-in-law, but that was every bit as good. She couldn’t think of a better gift her brother could give her.

Rachel gave a slight shrug, and Noelle seemed to understand that she wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen between her and Nick and that it was much too early to try to pin a name to anything between them.

Aiden was talking to Holly, and Rachel finally tuned into what he was saying. “And there are so many things to put in the hot chocolate, and we get to go to the wedding on a hay ride and it’s the best! It’s so much fun and one of my favorite things about Christmas. And,” Aiden said, puffing his chest out, “I even get to carry the rings at the wedding.”

The more Aiden talked about how great everything was at an event that Holly wasn’t invited to, the more Holly’s expression became closed off and sour. She crossed her arms and looked at the ground, but also looked like she really would’ve just preferred kicking Aiden in the shins.

“Aiden,” Rachel said, putting her hands on his shoulders and turning him toward the activities going on in the park, “maybe we should focus on everything here instead.”

“Oh, hey,” Noelle said, seeming to have a gift of understanding what was going on between the kids, “you two should come to the wedding!”

Rachel shot her almost sister-in-law a look. She and Nick weren’t even dating. This tonight wasn’t even a date. Inviting him to a wedding where she and Aiden were the only people he would know meant that Noelle was basically setting the two of them up on a date. Asking while they were both present made it extra awkward to say no. But she was pretty sure Noelle didn’t even feel bad about that.

No, it wasn’t a date. Jack and Noelle were just inviting them to an event that was also going to be attended by a lot of family and friends.

“You should,” Jack said. “We had a couple of people cancel because they are nervous about the weather, so we’ve got the space.”

“No, we couldn’t,” Nick said. “This is your wedding, and you don’t know us—”

“—Yet,” Jack said.

Noelle nodded. “And that’s why you should come. You’re new in town, right? It’d be a good way to get to know people.” She smiled at Holly. “And I bet Holly will love it.”

Nick looked at Rachel like he was trying to see what she thought about it all. What was she even feeling? Nerves? Awkwardness? A thrill at having a reason to see him again in just three days? Anticipation? Excitement? Worry that she was putting herself in a position to become even more attracted to a guy she shouldn’t be attracted to? She was pretty sure she was feeling it all.

And, of course, she was right in the middle of her Season of Yes. That meant she had to say yes, right? She smiled at Nick. “Yes, you should come. It’ll be fun.”

Hopefully, it would turn out better than her purchase of the atrocious sweater they’d come across that Aiden thought she should buy because it “looked so cute.”