A Seagrove Christmas (South Carolina Sunsets #6) - Rachel Hanna Page 0,23

Christmas. Of course, they had made it a beach theme as well by painting some plastic crabs red and green and peppering them throughout the decor.

It was much like a moving department store window that one would see in a big city. Except this one was floating on water. As they came around the bend, she could see that the crowds that had formed on all the little docks that were dotting the shoreline.

“Do you have the candy ready?” she asked William. He was having a hard time maneuvering himself much, what with the big pillow belted around his midsection. Always in good shape, she found it funny to see him look so portly.

“I’ve got it. You’ve asked me that three times,” he said, shaking his head.

“Well, I’m sorry. There’re dozens of little kids up there who would be very sad if you didn’t throw some candy at them.”

William laughed. “This is supposed to be fun, Janine. Put a smile on your face and stop worrying so much.”

She knew he was right. All the yoga in the world didn’t help her when she was under a stressful situation. She could meditate until the cows came home, but anytime she did something outside of her normal box, she got anxiety. It was just a part of the fabric of who she was.

“Look at them. All those grinning faces and people waving.”

William raised up his white gloved hand and started waving back at the crowd. Every so often he would yell out “ho ho ho” in his deepest voice. It made Janine giggle, but she turned her head.

“Merry Christmas!” she yelled as they passed the first part of the crowd. She tossed a handful of red and white curved candy canes into the crowd, hoping most of them didn’t fall to the ground and shatter at the feet of the children.

She could see Julie and Dawson waving and grinning. Of course Dylan was right up at the water’s edge trying to catch all the candy he could. He had his old Halloween container in his hand and was steadily grabbing pieces as the boat went by and tossing them into the bucket.

She could see her mother waving as well as Dixie and Harry. There were just so many faces she recognized in the crowd, and it made her happy. The people of Seagrove had become her extended family.

All of those years of traveling around the world teaching yoga, Janine had been searching for something. Part of it was searching for herself and who she really was. But the other part had been searching for an anchor. Roots. A place where she felt like she was at home. Seagrove was that place, and the people in it meant more to her than anything in the world.

As she watched William continue to yell ho ho ho and Merry Christmas over and over, she marveled at how much he had changed since she’d met him. When he had first come back to town, he was at odds with his mother and really conflicted within himself. There were so many things that he was holding in and not dealing with, but now he was more open and honest than ever. He seemed happy. Running his own business and being outdoors had changed him in ways she had not expected.

They spent more time together, often out on the boat, winding their way through the marshes full of seagrass and local wildlife. They studied the flora and the fauna and kept their eyes open for alligators, of course. Some of her happiest moments had been out on those marshes with William, the sun setting in the distance and providing a spectacle of orange and pink in the sky.

For the next thirty minutes, they wound their way through the marshes, waving at people and throwing candy before finally coming to the end. When they pulled up to the dock and stopped the boat, William sighed with relief.

“So, do you think we did enough to win this thing?”

She took off her elf hat and kicked off the curly shoes, moving her toes around since they had been way too small. “I think we have a great chance. That was a lot of fun!”

He unbuttoned his Santa suit and pulled the pillow out, waving his hand in front of his stomach to get a breeze. “Never let me get that chubby. I didn’t know how hard that would be.”

Janine laughed. “Don’t worry. You’re dating a yoga instructor, so I will always