Wrapped Up In Christmas

Suddenly claustrophobic in the attic, he took a step toward the door. He was ready to get back to work. Real work. The work he’d agreed to do. Not all this Christmas stuff she kept pulling him into.

“You were lucky to have had your Aunt Jean.”

“I was.” She nodded, then gestured to the cluttered section of the attic. “Maybe you can help me go through that stuff, too. It’s probably junk or she’d have sold it before she sold her furniture. But at some point, I do need to sort it.”

He doubted he’d be there that long. Despite the detours, like taking most of the day to help Sarah with her Christmas tree, he was making good progress on finishing up her remodel and repairs. He’d complete his work, then head to Texas.

Sarah smiled at him and that fluttery feeling swept across his chest again, threatening to steal his breath and his peace of mind.

The sooner he finished with Hamilton House and got out of Pine Hill, the better.

Chapter Ten

“Yay, it’s the second-best day of the year!”

Knowing where this was going, Bodie glanced up from where he worked in the second suite’s bathroom but didn’t say a word.

Sarah looked as if she were about to burst with happiness. “Are you going to ask me why it’s the second-best day of the year?”

“Nope.”

“Bodie!”

He couldn’t help but grin. She looked more like a little girl dancing around with excitement than a grown woman.

“Not that I don’t know, but tell me. Why is today the second-best day of the year?”

She rewarded him with a smile. “Because it’s On-the-Square Christmas Festival day.”

“Where you have ornament hunts, present picks, and a parade?” he teased, thinking he never should have looked up and seen the gleam in her eyes. Looking into Sarah’s eyes tended to have him doing things he knew he shouldn’t do.

“You have been paying attention,” she praised in a playful voice. “It’s also where we sell our snowflakes. Since you helped cut the pieces for some of them, you should be extra excited because you, Bodie Lewis, helped make today happen.”

He gave her a dubious look.

Unfazed, she asked, “You are coming by our booth, right?”

Ugh. He knew where this was going. Knew he needed to steer clear.

“I hadn’t planned to go to the festival. I figured I’d stay here and finish up,” he admitted. He was almost done with her original requests. There were still a few items to complete, but he’d systematically crossed off Sarah’s list of tasks one by one.

A look of horror fell over her face. “How can you not go? I understand that you didn’t really get to celebrate Christmas while you were in the military, but guess what, Bodie?” Her chin lifted as she stared him down. “You aren’t in the military anymore, so you should celebrate Christmas and you should definitely go to the Pine Hill On-The-Square Christmas Festival because who knows if you’ll ever get the opportunity again?”

He knew.

He wouldn’t.

Once he finished her house, it was unlikely he’d ever set foot in Pine Hill again. A sobering thought, but a realistic one.

Sarah would go on spreading snowflakes and Christmas cheer and he’d go back to his life. Not the life he’d wanted or envisioned, but not a life that seemed as dark and dreary as he’d once thought it would be, either. Still, it would be a life that had no point of intersection with hers.

“Say you’ll go,” Sarah pleaded with her words and her eyes. She could give Harry a run for his money on the full imploring puppy eyes.

“You need my help with something?”

She laughed. “That isn’t why I want you to go, but I can always use another helping hand if you’re volunteering.”

Curious as to her reasons, he asked, “Why do I need to go, then?”