Christmas in Evergreen Tidings of Joy - Nancy Naigle Page 0,48
a sweet spot in my heart for this town. I came back, sort of expecting it to be nothing like I remembered, but falling in love with it even more.”
“So you weren’t kidding when you said you came here on vacation and ended up staying for good.”
“No. All true. Daisy’s had been closed down for years and was in disrepair. Ezra had inherited it from his aunt but needed to sell it. I was here at the right time. I offered to help him put some lipstick on the old pig by staging it to help him get top dollar. In the process, I fell in love with the handyman. Realized my dream of owning my own store that I could stage every day was right in front of me. And here I am.” She moved a strand of lights deeper between the branches. “Best decision I ever made.”
“Really?” Katie couldn’t imagine giving up the city for this…as charming as it was. “And you don’t miss the city and that kind of life?”
“Sometimes, but to be honest with you, I had to learn how to be surprised. Like, for instance, I never thought in a million years that I’d be dating a guy who is essentially running a logging camp. Okay? Or that I’d own this incredible store. I love the charm of it, and the legacy I carry on for Daisy in this town. I mean, I’d dreamed of owning a store, but more of a city high-end kind of thing. Then, when I stumbled into this place… It was just perfect.” She stepped back from the tree and smiled, then stooped down to pet the two foster dogs, Brutus and Max. “And look. Now I’m hanging out with these two dogs, which you know I’m probably most definitely going to end up adopting.”
“Oh, yeah. No doubt.”
“It’s just one big surprise after the next.”
“And that doesn’t get exhausting?”
“Surprises?” Lisa looked surprised at that thought. “No. I mean, surprises are great. That’s why we wrap gifts, right? We don’t just hand them to people. Surprises are exciting. I don’t know…maybe a little bit of magic.” Lisa tossed a ball toward Katie.
Katie shrieked as the ornament came her way. With a bit of a klutzy juggle, she saved it before it hit the ground.
“Got your heart racing,” Lisa remarked.
“It did. It really did.”
“See? Surprises are good, and I think we’re done with this tree. I love it.” She picked up the nearly empty box of decorations. “Want to grab those leashes?”
“Got ’em.” Katie followed her inside, imagining what it’d be like to live here. Have her own little dogs and a slew of surprises all year long. It seemed possible here. Maybe it was the pace. Or the attitude. She wasn’t sure what it was, but for some reason, it seemed so much easier here than back in the city.
Chapter Eighteen
That afternoon, Ben strung the lights on the Christmas tree in front of the library. The beauty soared every bit of ten feet tall. Maybe twelve. It was hard to tell outside. Either way, Henry had picked them a winner. The tree was so much larger than previous years that Ben had had to scrounge up a couple of extra strands of lights to do it justice. The brisk air became more comfortable the longer he worked. By the time he’d gotten all the lights strung, he’d had to come out of his scarf and jacket.
In years past, they’d decorated the tree outside with old glass ornaments Nan had collected over the years. They’d seen better days, and several had broken. Worried someone might get hurt, Nan had purchased new ornaments made from plastic at the end of the season last year. When they’d arrived, they were huge. Ben had teased Nan, saying they looked more like playground balls than ornaments.
He owed her an apology now, though, because those big four-, six- and eight-inch balls worked great on a tree this size, easily filling in the bare spots. It hadn’t taken nearly as long to decorate, either.
With the brilliant glass Moravian star on top, the tree was quite grand. Ben admired his handiwork, then stepped back and took a picture with his phone to post on the library social media page.
The tree dazzled in the sunshine, but he couldn’t wait for Nan to see it all lit up tonight with all the extra lights he’d used this time.
Ben carried the empty boxes inside to store them in the attic.