Wrapped Up In Christmas

“Gotcha.” Bodie laughed. He popped the last bite of his chili into his mouth, put his plastic spoon back into the empty bowl, then wiped his hands over his jeans.

Pleased he’d teased her, Sarah put her hands on her hips. “You may as well keep talking, because you know I’m not letting you stop with that smug little ‘gotcha.’”

He grinned, glanced toward the dog who was lapping at his water. “Lukas gave him to me.”

The named clicked.

“The Lukas you listed as a reference?”

“Yes.”

“Your references were your stepfather and your best friend?”

He nodded. “Can’t think of any reference that would mean more than one coming from those two men. They’re the most honest, trustworthy men I know.”

When he worded it that way, Sarah couldn’t really question his choices further. But she did have questions.

“Why did your best friend give you his dog?” She couldn’t imagine anyone willingly giving up such a great pet.

Bodie hesitated a moment, then said, “Lukas has a baby on the way, and I guess he thought Harry would be better off with me.” He finished his water. “Done?”

Not by a long shot, but it was obvious he didn’t want to discuss anything personal any longer, so she nodded and gathered up her trash. He offered to take it with his, but she followed him to the bin.

They watched the end of the parade, then made their way around the booths, Sarah saying hi to her friends and neighbors, Bodie mostly watching in silence and only speaking when spoken to.

More and more people glanced at their watches, then stopped what they were doing to head toward the far side of the courthouse yard.

“It’s almost time for the tree lighting.” Yeah, that had been her voice hitting several octaves higher than normal, but she was excited.

Turning toward Bodie, Sarah caught him looking at her and suddenly felt self-conscious. Did he find her excitement childish?

If so, too bad. She loved Christmas and wasn’t ashamed of that fact.

Lifting her chin, she asked, “What?”

A half-grin on his face, he shrugged. “Just you.”

Yeah, like she was going to leave it at that. He should know better.

“What about me?” she pushed as they walked toward where the tree lighting would take place.

“You and your excitement for all this.”

“‘All this’ is a big deal to me and to Pine Hill. Although I love the On-the-Square Christmas Festival for so many reasons, the tourist dollars the event pulls in are vital to local businesses on the square. Not to mention the organizations that set up booths on the courthouse lawn, such as my special projects and the ladies’ class at church. Plus, events like these will bring in guests for Hamilton House, which is a huge added bonus.” Sarah gave a little shrug. “Mostly, though, I love that these events draw us together as a community.”

He nodded as if he understood, but Sarah wasn’t sure he did. He’d told her he was from Houston. Maybe big cities didn’t have the sense of community she enjoyed in Pine Hill.

Or maybe it wasn’t big cities lacking a sense of community, but Bodie himself who lacked it.

If that was the case, then certainly, that would make it easier for him to never stay in one place for too long. A sense of community meant strings, attachments to a place or to a group, meant being a part of something that was bigger than oneself.

A sense of community was important. At least, to Sarah it was.

She supposed to Bodie, his sense of community came from being in the military, his brotherhood there—although she cou

ldn’t say for sure, since he never talked about it.

“Come on,” she encouraged as the crowd of people grew thicker the closer they got to the tree. “Let’s get as close as we can to watch the tree lighting. If it’s like years past, my dad will be leading a prayer prior to the lighting and I don’t want to miss it.”