Christmas in Evergreen Tidings of Joy - Nancy Naigle Page 0,74
too.
“I told you it would be fun.” Pam sailed off to help someone with something.
Katie turned and shrugged. “She’s always busy.”
“Shall we do our part wrapping a few presents?” he suggested. “I’m pretty good at it.”
“Why am I not surprised?” She pulled her hands to her hips. “I’m pretty good at wrapping myself.”
“May the best one win.” He put his hand out, and she shook it.
“You’re on.”
He followed Katie to chairs at the very end of a long table. They wrapped games meant to be family gifts and topped them off with shiny bows. They each wrapped three, which turned into a bit of a contest, then they moved on.
As they walked around, skipping the buffet, he guided her to where it was a little quieter. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
He’d been waiting all night for just the right time to share his article with her, but if he didn’t do it soon, it’d be time to go. “You know, all that time you spent writing that article, I never got to read it. I was hoping you’d sneak me an early copy.”
She slowed down and faced him.
“When does it come out?”
“It’s not coming out,” she said wistfully. “Turned out it wasn’t right after all, but I’m working on something else now.”
“I’d love to read it,” he said. “Um. Maybe we swap?”
Her questioning eyes told him she hadn’t picked up on the hint. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an extra copy of the front page of the Evergreen Mirror.
She looked a little confused at first, and then stammered, echoing the headline. “Evergreen’s Magic: The Women Behind the Town.” She looked up, her mouth open. “You did it.”
His insides swirled, and nervous laughter came out with his words. “I figured, what the heck, give it a try. I did some interviews, talked with some people. Wrote this.”
She took the newsprint from him, then punched him playfully in the arm. “This is such a great angle.”
“Yeah. It worked.” He was happy with the article. It’d turned out better than he’d even hoped, lifting his confidence. Just a little proof he hadn’t entirely lost his writing chops.
“Totally works. It’s an entire town run by female business owners. I’m sort of bummed I didn’t think of it myself.” She stopped and silently read through the article.
He stood there, watching for her response. He’d looked up her articles. She was talented, and that made him a little nervous. He wanted her to enjoy the story, and hopefully he’d tickle a few of her awesome Evergreen memories. It was hard to stand there as she read it right in front of him. His jaw pulsed as he waited for her response.
“This is great,” she said. “Really well-written. You know, you should run this at your new job.”
He kind of wished he hadn’t told her he’d been in town for the interview now. “Actually, they emailed me. I saw it on my phone about a half hour ago. I didn’t get the job.” He shook his head. There’d be another opportunity. He was sure of it. He wondered if she’d been imagining them together in the city like he had. Was another opportunity going to open the possibility of more for him and Katie? Or was this fate telling him to move on?
“I’m sorry.” Her expression lost its zeal. “Oh, Ben. I’m sorry. But there’re more jobs out there. Probably even better ones. This town is full of opportunity.”
“Yeah. I’ll try again. After the new year.” That felt so far off, though. That little voice in his head was chanting at him, Tell her you want a chance.
Katie’s smile had faded too.
He’d let her down. He could see her disappointment. He just wanted to get back home to Evergreen. “I should probably get going. The train.”
“Yeah. I’ll walk you.” She slid her hand under his arm. “We can swing by my favorite enormous Christmas tree. It’s right on the way.” Her hand was wrapped tightly around his arm, her chin grazing the arm of his jacket as they walked.
“Sounds good.”
They stopped on the sidewalk directly across the street from the giant Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.
“Okay. You win. This tree is bigger than the one at the library.”
“But I hear you have a certain flair with the lights. In fact, I was quite impressed by your work.”
“I am the light guy.”
“I know.” She pressed her face into his jacket.
He ran his hand through her hair. “You were right. That tree has a lot