Christmas in Evergreen Tidings of Joy - Nancy Naigle Page 0,79
might one day say those words.
“I kept writing about Evergreen.” Her eyes held his gaze. “And the more I wrote, the more I fell in love with this place. More than that. I was falling in love, am in love…with you.”
Emotion swirled through him. Love. She loves me too. Ben put his hands softly to her cheeks and pressed his lips to hers. There were no words that could say it better, and he was glad he was the one to start the kiss this time. Their lips lingered between smiles. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said. “So. Are you staying here?”
“For Christmas, yes.” She nodded, sucking a breath as she did. “But I’m a city girl. I always will be. At least, I think so. But I realized what it is about Evergreen that got me. I wanted to spend Christmas with my mom…” She pointed over her shoulder.
“Your mom!”
“And just…a ton of other people. And especially you.”
“This is pretty special.”
“It is. And, um, there’s something else?” Katie’s mom walked over, carrying three hot cocoas.
“You’re right about this cocoa, Katie,” her mom said. “It’s incredible.” She handed a cup to her daughter.
“Thanks, Mom.”
It was nice to see Katie and her mom together here in Evergreen. That it was special enough that Katie wanted to share it with her thrilled him. “Hello, Pam. Nice to see you again.”
“Ben, I enjoyed your article on Evergreen female-owned businesses.” She handed him one of the other cups of cocoa. “I read it on the train, and while I have a few notes, I’d like to run it in the magazine, if you wouldn’t mind.”
Today just kept getting better and better. “Um. Wow.” He could barely get the words out. “Yes. Of course. This is very unexpected.”
“That’s not all.” She glanced over at Katie with a grin. “I’d also like you to come interview at the magazine after the holiday.”
He looked over at Katie. She most certainly had had something to do with this chain of events. She wanted it as badly as he did. “What do I even say to that?”
“Yes!” Katie gave him the of-course look. “Say yes!”
“Yes. Thank you, Pam.”
Katie spun around, an enormous grin on her face. “Isn’t this an amazing place, Mom?”
“It is. You know, your brother would love it. Maybe next year, all of us could spend a few days here.”
“A new tradition?” Katie’s mouth dropped, and she stepped closer to Ben. “I kind of like the sound of that.”
“I love the sound of that.” He took her hand and squeezed it.
Later that night before the midnight processional, a small group of them had gathered at the Tinker Shop. Elliott handed out candles he’d had the kids work on for the event. Each one had been hand-poured, then when they were done, the real work had begun: decorating small discs that slipped over the tapers.
“Like little pieces of artwork. I’m totally keeping mine.” Carol lovingly admired the painted protective ring at the base of the candle. “Not only will it keep the wax from dripping, but it’s so pretty.”
“I helped make some of them too,” David said.
“He did, and guided the younger kids. He was a big help,” Elliott added.
Michelle and Thomas looked on. Michelle spoke as she picked up two candles, handing one to Thomas. “We met when Thomas was helping me look for candles last year for this. Remember?”
“I do,” he said. “Like it was yesterday. They were on the top shelf in that back storage closet in Daisy’s Country Store.”
“Yep.” She wrapped both of her arms around his bicep. “Best day ever.”
Elliott walked over to Hannah. “I have a little something for you.”
“A gift? I didn’t get anything for you. We’ve never before—”
He caught her hand. “It’s not like that. It’s something I’ve been crafting for you.”
She pressed her hands together. “Those are the very best gifts. You know me so well.”
“I think you’re really going to love this.” He led her over to the counter, where a beautifully wrapped box sat there with a shimmering bow on top.
She moved toward it tentatively. “Should I open it now?”
The others inched in, sensing something big about to happen.
Hannah didn’t waste a second. She ripped through the paper and opened the box. “Elliott? You made this?” It was a perfect miniature replica of the time capsule Christmas advent calendar.
“I did.” He tugged one of the small drawers, about the size of a ring box, open. “All the drawers open