Dancing in Lake Mistletoe (Lake Mistletoe #4)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Dutch

“I s everything a go?” Keller asks as we stare up at the tree.

The thirty-foot-high Norway spruce stands atop the ornate base. We’ve spent the last few days wrapping it with forty-five thousand colored LED lights, which consist of about four and a half miles of wire. It’s topped with a three-hundred-pound, three-dimensional Moravian star.

“I sure hope so,” I say. “I guess we’ll find out in about an hour.”

I follow him down to the lakeshore, where Bob and Norah’s husband, Sammy, are unloading their entry for this year’s boat parade. It’s a snow globe with a rotating base and blowing flakes.

“That’s impressive,” I say as they attach the plastic dome to the base.

“It was inspired by your tree base,” Bob says. “Here’s to hoping they both work tonight.”

“Daddy!”

I turn to see Josie running down the hill. Her face is painted with a holly branch that cradles her right eye and sparkling snowflakes across her forehead and cheeks. Mom is on her heel.

“Whoa, slow down,” I say as I bend to catch her.

“Guess what!”

“What?”

“Grandpa knocked all the balls down and won me a wand.”

“He did?”

“Yep.” She nods. “It’s in Nana’s bag.”

“So she doesn’t lose it,” Mom says as she makes it to us.

“Smart,” I note.

“Are you going on the sleigh ride with us?” Josie asks as I stand with her in my arms.

“I can’t right this minute, but if you wait until after the mayor lights the tree, I can.”

She wrinkles her brows, as if she’s considering the options. “Hmm, I think we can wait.”

“You want to help me find Mindi before we settle in to watch the lighting?”

“Yeah, we saw her in the market. That way,” she says, pointing toward one of the tents on the square.

“Your dad and I’ll set out the blankets in our usual spot,” Mom says.

I look back at Keller. “I’ll be right back.”

He gives me a salute. And Josie and I go in search of Mindi. We make our way through the crowd of people meandering around, enjoying the evening’s festivities, and to the tents full of vendors, offering everything from baked goods and cocoa to handmade gifts.

“There she is,” Josie says when she clocks her at a nearby table.

The winter breeze lifts the caramel-streaked strands of her hair and tousles them around her shoulders. She smiles while humming a tune I can’t quite make out as she peruses the vendor’s festive displays. Her brown eyes crinkle with delight below her long, dark lashes as she fingers through a row of crocheted hand towels.

“Mindi!” Josie bellows, and she turns to us. “Come watch the tree with us.”

Mindi pays for two towels and then makes her way over to us.

“Hi,” she says.

“Hi, yourself.”

She tucks into my side and follows us.

Mom and Dad are waiting on a blanket in front of the tree. The three of us sit with them. Mom opens the top of a cooler and pulls out sandwiches and a bowl of cut fruit. We eat as we listen to the carolers who take the stage as the sun begins to set. Keller and Bran catch my eye.

“I have to go. It’s almost showtime.”

Josie scoots off my lap and takes a seat next to Mindi.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell them.

Hoyt takes the stage, and after a short speech, welcoming all the visitors to Lake Mistletoe and thanking us guys, he starts the countdown. “Ten … nine … eight … seven …”

The entire crowd shouts with him, and on the count of one, I hit the power on the base just as Hoyt flips the silver lever. A hush falls over the square as the tree comes to life, and thousands of tiny lights illuminate its branches. The giant star on top glows bright. When the base begins to rotate and the soft instrumental version of “Silent Night” fills the air, everyone starts to clap and shout. Keller slaps my back, and we join the cheers.

Thank God.

Once we’re confident the base will continue spinning, we unite with our families on the lawn. Keller finds Willa and Beckham, and Bran joins Hannah, Sela, Isaac, and Cobie, who are seated with my crew. As I walk to them, I take in the scene. Cobie and Josie are giggling together while Sela, Hannah, Mom, and Mindi chat. The sight, the way it causes my chest to tighten, stops me in my tracks.

I want this.

I want this every year for the rest of my life.

I want her. Forever.

I shake the thoughts. There’s no point in wanting something that can never be. She doesn’t belong here. She’s meant to be on a stage in New York or LA, shining like the star that she is. And I’ll have to settle for what time we have left.

Pulling myself together, I join my girls, and we watch the parade, cheering loudest for Bob as the boats launch into the water, one by one. Under the Lake Mistletoe moon and the lights from the grandest Christmas tree on the West Coast.