She sure was pretty under the twinkle lights.
Chapter Two
Darcy watched the flicker and flash from her bed. Icicle lights divided the large picture window overlooking the cul-de-sac, ruining her favorite view. Gingerbread-perfect houses and well-tended lawns lined up perfectly. Her neighborhood was crisp and clean, so unlike the places she’d grown up in. Her mother had done the best she could, but each apartment had been worse than the last.
She’d worked hard for this view. To be able to afford her own house and her own lawn, her own space that wouldn’t be taken away.
She wouldn’t feel bad about Ben Hartley and his Christmas lights, darnit.
Even if they did make beautiful swirling patterns on her creamy duvet. Ben’s lights were a pristine white, not the ugly neon cast of her childhood.
She rolled over and closed her eyes against the lights and the memories. She needed to sleep.
When she woke to her bleating alarm it was still dark. She groaned and drew her blankets over her head. Back-to-back twelve-hour shifts were taking their toll. In the warm cocoon of blankets, her eyelids grew heavy. Before she let herself fall back to sleep, she flipped her covers back.
The room was dark save for the cool blue numbers on her alarm. Ben must have put the lights on a timer, or shut them off well after she’d drifted off. Her toes hit the cool floor, dragging her the rest of the way into consciousness. She stumbled down the stairs for coffee and a bagel.
It was too early to focus on her to-do list. Instead she opened her laptop. A notice from her mother’s Facebook account made her smile. She spent a few minutes clicking through pictures she’d posted from her latest cruise. Her mother had finally found love last year and James Fontana spoiled her rotten. It was about time her mother had someone to show her that life didn’t have to be all about work.
She clicked open the adjoining message and could hear her mother’s voice in her head as she read about the ports and all the people they’d met. Her smile faded as she skimmed the last few lines. They were going on a couple’s cruise for Christmas. They knew how busy she’d be for the holiday rush.
Her bagel suddenly tasted like cardboard.
It was fine. She’d be working the entire time anyway.
It would save her the rush after Christmas Eve closing. She never got out of there on time. And because she didn’t have a spouse and children she was always drafted to work that night.
It was better this way.
Darcy closed the lid on her laptop and glanced at the clock. She was behind schedule. Routine and a lifetime of early mornings kicked in. She was ready and in her car twenty minutes later. Just as she was about to back out of the drive, she looked up. The simple Japanese Maple she’d planted when she’d moved in was the only thing still lit. The delicate branches were strung with tiny white lights, creating a soft glow. The simple loveliness reminded her of a night light for the neighborhood. In all honesty her house didn’t look so bad. And if she left a few of the lights up she wouldn’t have to listen to Carly and the Homeowners’ Association for the entire season.
Practical.
“Shitake mushrooms.” She dug out a block of sticky notes from the bottom of her bag, scribbled a note and hopped out of her car. Ben had obviously spent a lot of time on the display and it was stupid to make him take it all down. She tiptoed up the steps to her tenant’s side of the porch and stuck the note to his inside door. Before she could change her mind, she rushed down the steps and to her car.
The drive to work was uneventful. Everything besides retail was uneventful at a little after five in the morning. She parked her car at the edge of the parking lot and bundled herself against the wicked wind that had picked up overnight. Today definitely felt like a November day in Massachusetts.
Blackstone’s Department Store was a few miles outside North Easton. A lot of people who worked in Boston lived here. They still did a steady business thanks to the ease of shopping. The T was great for quick trips into the city, but when people had a haul of Christmas shopping to do it was much easier to do it in the suburban outskirts.
She jammed her hands into her pockets. She’d lost her gloves—again. Blackstone’s was an anchor store to a massive strip of shopping centers. The parking lot was large and without cars to break the wind, her cheeks and neck were frozen halfway across the blacktop.
She waved to her fellow department manager Kelly Brennan, who held the door open for her.
“Hiya, babe. Cold enough out here for you?” Kelly’s bright-blue eyes danced above the fat knit scarf that covered half her face.
“Five a.m. is inhuman in the winter. I went to bed it was dark, and it’s still dark,” Darcy muttered.
“Just think, we might get to see an hour of daylight after shift today. Miracle!”
“After the day I had yesterday, I doubt it.”
Kelly winced. “I heard about the tree and that customer.”
Surprised, Darcy adjusted the strap of her purse. “How’d you hear?”
“Text from Jaime. She felt so bad, Darc. If that stupi
d Tom had come up like he was supposed to then he would have had to deal with it.”