Kelly watched as the houses went by. Leaving the house wasn’t the best idea but being outside for even a few minutes helped clear her head. Having a husband and wife who were reputable to the nth degree, helped any worry about whether her babysitter choice would come back to bite her.

Hannah had smiled warmly as they crossed paths. The two really didn’t have time to talk. As soon as they pulled up in the drive, Jake held Kelly’s hand as he directed her to his car. She kind of waved at the couple helping them out, but Curtis was still getting the kids out of the car as they reversed out of the driveway. She knew there was a thank you in order. As good as Kelly was at holding grudges, it took a real friend to drop everything and show up to babysit on Christmas Eve.

“Now that we’re out of the house, are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

Jake had been driving for twenty minutes, so Kelly assumed they were getting close. The timetable she’d heard him working out with Curtis on the phone only allowed for a thirty-minute drive, and that was if they were turning right back around.

Squeezing her hand, Jake lifted it to his lips and gave it a quick kiss. It reminded her that those lips had touched hers not more than an hour ago. They’d had the sloppy kiss in the car, but Kelly didn’t remember exactly what was real and what was her imagination that day, so she considered the one on the couch their first.

Drugs weren’t needed to feel like you were floating outside your body at the touch of Jake’s lips. She licked hers just thinking about how warm and delicious they’d been. The minty taste of him still lingered on her lips, but the flavor was fading.

Jake’s other hand flipped the turn signal, causing Kelly to return her gaze out her window. There was a large parking lot with only a couple cars in it. The parking lot seemed to be for a small red building that didn’t look like it warranted the big lot.

Kelly tilted her head, trying to figure out if it was some kind of mini-outlet mall or something. She hadn’t been lying about getting the kids toys, so she wasn’t sure why they needed to go shopping. Before she could open her mouth to ask where they were, she saw a sign out the corner of her eye.

Christmas Trees

She’d been focused on the building and not the fact that to the left of it was a forest of evergreen trees. She thought the lights strung everywhere were just normal Christmas decorations.

Looking over at Jake, she saw he was staring at her expectantly. The car was already parked, which she also hadn’t noticed. Kelly looked back at the building to try to gather her thoughts.

How in the world could Jake be so perfect? Kelly had thought about the whole tree thing, but she hadn’t had one in years. The kids had been so busy worrying about Santa that they hadn’t asked about one. Since Kirsten had sent photos of the kids opening presents by a tree, she knew they’d had one in the past.

“We going to go see a guy about a tree? Or do you want to head back and worry about things you can’t do anything about today?”

Kelly brought her eyes back to Jake and nodded her head. She couldn’t bring her sister back, but she could offer her kids the best Christmas within her power. When Tuesday rolled around, she’d figure out what her next move was. With Monday observed as a holiday, she had an extra day that she could at least pretend she wasn’t about to lose everything.

“I have no idea how we’re going to get a tree home in this thing, but let’s try.”

If Jake had mentioned his plans, she would’ve suggested they take the SUV in the garage. She assumed it had gas, but she hadn’t touched it. Even Kirsten’s sedan that she usually drove would’ve been better than the sports car. At least it wasn’t a tiny sports car. The engine sounded mean and loud, but it was almost as big as the sedan.

“We’ll figure it out,” Jake said as he opened his door and got out.

Kelly hurried to follow, slipping her white mittens on as fast as she could. The wind bit at her cheeks as snowflakes drifted in the air. She stuck out her tongue, just past her lips, to try to catch a few of the flakes on it. When she and Kirsten were kids, they ran outside as soon as the snow started falling to see who could catch the most flakes on her tongue.

“Come on. Curtis said it was open until ten, but I’m guessing they won’t hesitate to close early if they think the customers are all done for the night.”

“I can’t believe they’re even open,” Kelly said as she took the hand Jake offered. With her mitten, she couldn’t wrap her fingers around his, but just holding his hand was nice too.

The cars in the lot indicated someone else was there, so she was hopeful they hadn’t missed their chance. It was almost nine, so surely the person, or people, running the shop had other places they’d rather be.

Before they could get to the door of the building, a man with a thick beard and a huge brown coat with white fur lining stepped outside. Between the facial hair and a stocking cap, it was hard to see anything more than his eyes and his bulbous nose.

“Hiya, folks. You got here just in time. With the weather starting to turn a little nasty, we thought about calling it a night.”

Jake squeezed Kelly’s hand, making her look in his direction. His brow lifted as he tilted his head to the side. Kelly got a “what did I tell you” vibe.

“So how does this work?” Jake asked.

“It’s pretty simple. You take this saw and we head out on the lot to find the tree you want. Depending on the kind, it costs twelve or sixteen bucks per foot. Sound easy enough?”

Kelly couldn’t fathom cutting down a tree and hauling it around, but Jake was quick to agree. Since he was going to be the one doing all the work, she thought the answer was a little eager, as was how quickly he grabbed the offered saw.

It wasn’t a small saw, or at least Kelly didn’t think it was. The saw had to be about two-feet in length.

“Perfect. Hop on the back of the cart and I’ll take you around. When you see a tree you want to check out, just holler.”

The man hadn’t given his name, but he was built sort of like a bear, so Kelly decided to call him that until she heard otherwise. She doubted she’d say the name out loud, but she had to have something to call him as they followed him to something that looked kind of like a golf cart but had thick tires and was a little beefier than a typical golf cart.

Jake and Kelly had barely settled in their spots on the back, when Bear put his foot down to get them moving. The jerk was a little unexpected, but Kelly managed to not lurch off the cart. It helped that Jake held her hand firmly, counteracting the force trying to dislodge her.

“Do you have a clue what we’re looking for?” he asked, leaning over to whisper in her ear.

She pulled her head back and looked at him quizzically. He was the one with the saw. That should’ve meant he knew what they were doing.

“A tree, preferably green?”

Kelly had no clue what worked for a Christmas tree. Since they were on a farm specifically carrying those kinds of trees, she thought any of them would work. As they went by more of them, she saw none of the trees looked exactly the same.

The shapes were generally the same, but there were various kinds of needles, shades of greens and fullness. Some trees had bald patches and sat a little crooked. They weren’t going too fast, but the trees seemed to be flying by.

“You two newbies? I don’t mean to listen in, but even through my hat, I have exceptional hearing.”

Jake smiled and turned to face the guy. Since Kelly was sitting directly behind him, it was impossible for her to do the same.

“I guess we are. Do you have any guidance? I’d say we’re probably looking for something about eight feet, but that’s about all I know.”

His eyes darted to Kelly to get her confirmation. She wasn’t even sure about that much but nodded.

“I’d like something without bare patches,” she added.

On short notice, she knew she couldn’t be too choosy, but there seemed to be plenty of trees to pick from. At least one of them had to conform to the perfect tree she saw in her head.

“I’m sure we can find something. Do you have a lot of heavy ornaments? Some trees hold them better than others.”

Kelly hadn’t thought that far ahead. She assumed Kirsten had some ornaments somewhere, but she hadn’t been through the basement to take inventory, and she wasn’t sure they had enough time to dig through boxes to find them.

“I was told you sell packages. You know, tree and all the trimmings. We’re going to need the full she-bang.”

Well, at least Jake was thinking ahead. It made his question about what they were looking for even more suspicious. He had to have done some research.

“How about scent? Do you like a strong tree scent?” Bear asked.

Jake looked at Kelly to answer that question. They were only two questions in, and Kelly was already ready to just point at a tree and say it was the one.

“I guess that would be okay,” Kelly said. “It should probably not have sharp needles, if that happens to answer another question. There are two small kids who are going to be unwrapping presents, and I don’t trust them to not touch the tree to see what it feels like.”

  “That was my next question. I think we’re looking at a traditional balsam fir for you two. It’s not as soft as a Douglas, but it will give you a nice smell, and it’s got a nice shape I think you’ll like. They’re right over here.”

The cart came to a stop, and Bear climbed out. Kelly tried to get a sense of where they were, but she lost sight of the building after only a few minutes on the cart. The trees still looked mostly the same to her, but as Jake helped her off, Bear led them to the trees he thought would work best.

Kelly inhaled, breathing in the smell that she associated with Christmas as a little girl. It had been close to a decade since she got a good whiff of the smell of pine. It brought back so many memories of her childhood and her mother, who tried to be everything for her daughters.

She remembered frosting cookies to make sure Santa got a full belly, and her mom telling her that her dad was friends with Santa, since he was up in heaven, so she was sure to get everything she wanted. Kelly sniffed as her nose started to run a little in conjunction with tears filling her eyes. It had been forever since she’d thought about being that young.

There had been good times, even some moments of happiness since her mother died, but they were few and far between compared to the times when she and Kirsten were back home with their mom. The second she left the comforts of home, the real world came crashing in around her, and at the time, she wasn’t ready for what that meant.

“Can you give us a minute?” Jake asked, making Kelly realize she’d stopped as they’d started following Bear to the trees.

“No problem. I’ll head back to the cart. These two rows here are what I think you’re looking for. Just holler when you find something, and I’ll bring the cart over.”

Kelly glanced over to see the large man walking away. Somehow watching him from behind made him seem like an even bigger man.

“You okay?”

Jake moved to stand in front of her and lifted her chin. Kelly closed her eyes, trying to hide the beginning of tears, but that only caused them to push over her lower lids. She smiled, trying to change the wistful look on her face.

“Yeah, just some memories, but they’re good ones. Are we going to find a tree?”

“Your sister?”

He moved out of the way as he asked, so he couldn’t see the nod she gave him. It wasn’t just about missing Kirsten, though. Fiona and Simon were the last connection she had to her sister, and someone wanted to take them away from her. As much as she fought the idea that she was supposed to raise them, the idea that she wouldn’t was hitting her even harder.

“That’s part of it. We used to make cookies with our mom and leave them on a little table by the fireplace. It’s hard to remember being so innocent that you thought a guy with at least a size fifty hip could make it down the chimney and zoom around the world in a sleigh.”

Jake had pulled her to start walking through the trees. She wasn’t paying close attention to any of them, hoping he’d find one and take care of getting it home. She was just happy being surrounded by the pine scent as she let her fingers brush against some of the soft boughs.

“Life was easy when you didn’t have to worry about anything more than ‘being good’ to make sure you got your Christmas presents. I remember some years that I was anything but good, and still had a stack of presents under the tree,” Jake said.

Kelly scoffed. “I can’t see you being bad. You seem like the kind of kid who’d take apples to his teacher without your mom telling you to.”

Jake laughed and spun Kelly around, so his arms could reach behind her back, pulling her close to him. She looked up to his eyes, seeing them filled with humor.

“I was the kid who pulled little girls’ hair and made mud pies that somehow made it to my teachers’ chairs. I was a little snot, but I eventually grew out of it.”

A smile spread across Kelly’s face as he went on. It was impossible to see Jake doing those things. Reaching her arms up, she pulled him in for a hug as she started laughing.

“Whatever you do, please don’t give Simon any of those ideas. Or Fiona for that matter.”

“Well, I can’t promise I won’t tell them a few stories, but I’ll make sure they understand I’m very sorry for what I did.”

Jake squeezed her and pulled back enough that he could kiss her forehead. She could feel the heat, even through her knit hat. She was as bad as Fiona when it came to how attached she was getting to the man. If he walked out of her life, it would take a while for things to gain any sense of normalcy.

“For now, let’s just find a tree, okay? I’m sure Bear has somewhere he wants to be.”

Raising an eyebrow, Jake let the name go as he turned around and started pointing out trees. It didn’t take long to find the perfect one, soft, tall and filled with branches just waiting for ornaments.