Wrapped Up In Christmas

“Not the dog. The man.” Maybelle sighed. “You really don’t know much about him.”

“I know enough.”

“Then you’re admitting he’s more than your handyman?”

Watching Bodie with the children, with Harry, a mixture of pleasure and sadness filled her. She shook her head. “He’s not.”

“No?”

Sarah stooped to pick up a stray candy wrapper, then turned to her friend. “No.”

Maybelle laughed. “Girl, you are as transparent as glass.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she admitted, not looking toward Maybelle. The woman already saw too much. She didn’t need to see Sarah wishing things were different.

Things weren’t different.

“He’ll be leaving soon, and I won’t ever see him again.” Ouch. That hurt to say out loud. But it was true and she needed to not forget.

As if she could.

“There is that,” Maybelle agreed, studying her far too closely. “Just so long as you’re sure.”

Sarah was sure. But that wasn’t going to stop her from enjoying the rest of the day or her time with Bodie.

He was still in Pine Hill, was still her handyman and friend, and that was enough.

It had to be.

Chapter Eleven

Although Maybelle had offered to take over the clean-up, Sarah stayed until the church playground and the community room was restored to normal operating order. Bodie had stuck around and helped break down the registration table and carry it inside the church, Harry at his side.

“Walk me back to our booth?” Sarah asked. “After that, you can grab something to eat. I recommend Lou’s booth or the Rescue Squad’s. You can check out the other venues, and maybe by then, it’ll be close to time for the tree lighting.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Take a shift at the booth,” she reminded him. “If there’s plenty of help, I’ll check out the other vendors at the end of my scheduled time. If not, I’ll help for as long as I’m needed and the ornaments hold out.”

“Harry and I will walk you there.”

He didn’t promise more than that, but Sarah hoped he would stay for the parade. There was something magical about the floats different organizations put together, the high school band playing Christmas tunes, the fire trucks and rescue vehicles, seeing Santa’s float as he waved at the kids. Surely, if Bodie saw the parade, he’d want to experience more of this wonderful event and would stay for the tree lighting later, too.

“I heard the ornament hunt was a huge success,” Claudia praised when Sarah and Bodie arrived back at the church’s booth. “I’ve seen quite a few kiddos running around with stockings full of goodies and smiles on their sweet faces.”

“It went even better than last year.” Sarah paused in front of the table serving as the checkout area. Warm air from the heater hit her pants legs, rising up her body, and she relished the warmth. It wasn’t crazy cold outside, but the heat still felt good after being out of the much warmer tent. Sarah wasn’t ready to loosen her hat or jacket, but she did peel off her scarf and gloves so she’d be able to handle the ornaments more easily. “How are we doing here?”

Claudia gave a thumbs-up. “Already sold lots. We’ve already dug out some of the reserves to restock and the sale has barely started.”

“Yay!”

Bodie stood to the opposite side of the booth, one hand tucked inside his jeans pocket and the other holding Harry’s leash. Harry looked bored at the calmness of the booth after the chaos of the ornament hunt. Bodie looked unsure as to his next move.

Was he planning to leave? Or just lingering for a few minutes before taking her suggestion to get something to eat?

Smiling, she couldn’t resist deepening her voice and asking, “You here for an ornament, sir?”

He snorted. “To put on my nonexistent tree?”