Christmas in Evergreen Tidings of Joy - Nancy Naigle Page 0,23

ornaments when Hannah and Katie walked in. Hannah was carrying a box. “Elliott?” His name came out high-pitched, nearly frantic.

Michelle set down the candle ornament, worried by the sound in Hannah’s voice.

“Hannah. Hey, I was just leading a workshop on ornament making,” he said. “You should join us. There’s a seat next to David.”

Hannah glanced over, but looked back to Elliott with pleading eyes.

Michelle watched David quickly tuck his ornament under art supplies so Hannah wouldn’t see her present, then grab one of the glass ornaments from the center of the table and start dabbing paint on it.

“You can joi—Whoa.” His voice shook.

That was all Michelle had to hear Elliott say to be on her feet and at his side to see what was going on.

Elliott lifted pieces from the box, one by one, examining the condition.

Michelle clapped her hands over her mouth. “The snow globe! Oh, no.” She hadn’t meant to remark out loud. She scooched closer to Hannah. “What happened?”

Hannah shook her head, placing her hand over her heart. “Michelle, I’m so sorry. I know it’s an important part of the Christmas Festival, and—”

“It’s okay, Hannah.” She offered a hug. Poor Hannah was so upset. “We’ve withstood broken pipes and flooded venues, even blizzards during the Christmas Festival. Really, it’s okay.” She smiled, hoping to ease her friend’s concerns. But this wasn’t good. Not good at all. There were so many pieces in that box. Not even the best puzzle maker could put that back together.

Hannah’s lips quivered. “Really? You’re not mad?”

“Of course I’m not mad. It’s not ideal,” Michelle admitted with an obvious nod. “But we can’t change the past. Now, we just focus on fixing it.”

Hannah turned her attention to Elliott. “Do you think you can fix it?” Her eyes were glossy with tears.

It appeared to be a lost cause to Michelle.

“Uh…” Elliott looked like he was going to say no, but when his eyes met Hannah’s, he said, “Absolutely.”

Michelle stood there in disbelief.

Elliott scrambled over to the counter and started spreading out the pieces. “Let’s see. The two pine trees are intact.”

“That’s good,” Hannah said.

“The horse is…fine.” He turned it in his hand then pulled up the magnifying lamp attached to the wooden counter to evaluate the piece closer. “There’s something?”

“What do you see?” Hannah asked.

“It looks like…”

David got up and joined them at the counter. He eased in closer to Hannah.

Elliott held the horse carriage at an angle for Hannah to see. “There’s a little key carved underneath the sleigh.”

“But…why?” Elliott and Hannah said at the same time. They both slowly lifted their gaze from the broken fragments of the snow globe to each other.

Close enough that Michelle thought for a moment Hannah might bump right into Elliott when she lifted her head. But they didn’t collide; they simply stood there, staring. Hoping mostly, if Michelle had to guess, that they could scrounge up a miracle and fix one of the town’s most famous residents—the snow globe.

The intensity of Elliott and Hannah’s eye contact clearly showed a new level of awareness between them.

Hannah licked her lips, biting down on her lower lip. Katie glanced over at Michelle with a smile. She’d noticed it too. Hannah cleared her throat and took a step back, pushing her hair from her face.

Elliott hesitated, but only for a moment. “I’ll get to work on this right away.”

“Great.” She nodded.

“If you’d like to help…” He glanced back her way. “You could come by tomorrow?”

“Yes, it’s a date,” Hannah blurted out.

Michelle almost laughed out loud at the blunder.

Hannah looked like she wished she could slurp the words back up, but they were already out there. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, as if that would erase the earlier comment.

“Tomorrow.” His voice came out like a song.

Michelle and Katie laughed quietly together, sharing a nudge, while those two tried to downplay the very obvious attraction between them. Even David noticed, which Michelle found quite charming.

Michelle watched Elliott lower the ceramic piece he still held in his hand to the counter, while his eyes followed Hannah until she was out of sight.

Love is in the air.

Having found love herself just last Christmas, Michelle couldn’t be happier to see Hannah finally finding the same. If it took a broken snow globe for those two to realize there was something between them, it was worth it.

Chapter Ten

At Barbara’s Country Inn that evening, the Meet and Mingle was in full swing. Katie had been so inspired by her day in town that she’d taken over