Chapter Thirteen

When Norah arrived at Wilson-Dawes house on Sunday, she found Crystal on the back porch surrounded by red and green totes of every size and shape.

“This is a lot of Christmas decorations.”

“It’s a big house.” Crystal turned to fully face her. “You look dangerously happy. Did you and Perry fly to Vegas and get married?”

Norah laughed. “If we had, I wouldn’t be standing here now. I’m happy because we’re heading into my favorite time of year.”

“Something tells me that isn’t the only reason.”

“You’re right. Perry has something to do with it, too. Do you have a system for how we tackle this?”

“You know me. I always have a system. Todd and I are working on the outside. I’d like you to start on the inside. I’ve got pictures from last year to use as a guide. I’ll send them to your phone. Do the trees first. By the time you finish with those, I should be ready to help hang the garland and the wreaths.

“What happened to Kathy?”

“She woke up with a sore throat and a terrible cough. I told her to stay home.”

“The poor thing. Her father just got over pneumonia, and now she’s sick.”

“I know. When it rains, it pours.”

“How many trees do I need to do?”

“Four. Two on the first floor, and one each on the second and third. Lance set them up. They’re all pre-lit. All you have to do is add tinsel and ornaments. The boxes of decorations are already inside so you should be ready to go.”

“It was nice of Lance to help us.”

“I thought so, too. None of our previous owners ever pitched in to do anything. If you’ve got any questions, you know where I’ll be.”

Norah went to the staff room to put away her jacket and purse before returning to the main hall. The huge pedestal table that usually sat in the middle had been replaced by a tree that looked to be at least twelve foot tall.

“I’ll definitely need a ladder,” she said out loud.

“Just what I was thinking,” a deep voice said from behind her.

She startled and then swung around to face Lance. He was leaning against the doorframe looking enormously vital in jeans and a faded hockey jersey.

“Hey, now. I can’t help being short.”

“I guess not. Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?”

“Yes, I did. How about you?”

“Other than dealing with yet another matchmaking effort by one of my sisters, mine was nice, too.”

She laughed. “I take it you were able to avoid capture.”

His lips twitched. “You are correct. Getting back to your ladder problem, we only have one, and at the moment, it’s being used by Todd. But you’re in luck. I happen to be tall, and I’ve got what my sister Summer calls gorilla arms. If I stand on a chair, I should be able to reach the top half of the tree.”

“I’m sure you’ve got better things to do.”

“I can’t think of anything. I’m caught up with my paperwork, Jody and Logan are out shopping, and Carolyn shooed me out of the office. She prefers to decorate alone.”

Not for the first time, Norah wondered why Lance didn’t have a girlfriend. Carolyn had said he didn’t want to get married, but that didn’t preclude spending his free time with someone. Didn’t he ever get lonely? The thought bothered her more than it should have.

“I never turn down help,” she told him as she reached for her phone. “We better look at the pictures Crystal sent so we have an idea what to shoot for.”

Lance’s low laugh reached her ears. “I didn’t think there was a wrong way to decorate a Christmas tree.”

“There isn’t. Don’t be difficult.”

“Difficult? I’ve offered to help, and I’m patiently awaiting my instructions.”

“Then get over here and look at these pictures.”

He pushed away from the doorframe and came up beside her. Although he wasn’t touching her, she was aware of his closeness. This was intensified when she caught the scent of his cologne mixed with something musky and masculine. Confused, she lifted her glance from the phone to his profile, seeking an explanation and finding nothing but more questions. As quickly as the impression came, it passed, leaving her relieved and acutely embarrassed.

“What’s that stuff on top of the tree?”

Lance’s question jerked Norah’s glance back to the phone where it should have been all along.

“It looks like…red feathers.”

He straightened. “What’s wrong with a nice old-fashioned star?”

“I take it you don’t like the feathers.”

“Do you?”

“They wouldn’t be my first choice or my second.” He raised his eyebrows. “Okay, maybe not even my third. The bottom line is: this is your house and your trees. If you want stars, that’s what we’ll do.”

“It’s true I own the house, but before I start making changes, I need to discuss it with Crystal. She might have a good reason for wanting what looks like red flames shooting out of the tree.”

“That’s very considerate of you. To ask Crystal, I mean.”

“You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

Norah laughed. “My grandfather used to say that.”

“So does my Aunt Anita. Be back in a sec.”

As Norah opened boxes looking for tinsel, her mind slipped back to those few seconds of inner turmoil when Lance stood so close to her. Was she reading too much into something that meant nothing?

* * * * *

Lance found Crystal on the front porch helping Todd untangle strings of Christmas lights. During the course of a short conversation, he was told the red feathers had been the brain child of Mr. Barrett’s wife. Crystal was only too happy to go along with his suggestion that they return to a more traditional look. She told him an approximate location for where he would find some other options.

When he stepped into the hall, he smiled at the sight of Norah singing and dancing to “Jingle Bell Rock”. “Getting in the holiday spirit?” he asked in a loud voice.

She laughed as she turned down the volume. “Sorry. I like to play Christmas music while I decorate. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all. I don’t mind the dancing, either.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you making fun of my dancing?”

“I was merely appreciating your unique way of expressing yourself through movement.”

“Very diplomatic, and exactly what I’d expect from an attorney.”

“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“Neither did yours. What’s the deal with the feathers?”

“They were leftovers from the previous owners which means we don’t have to use them. Fortunately, Crystal still had what they used before. Tinsel before ornaments, right?”

“Sounds like you’ve done this before.”

“More times than you, I bet.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m older, for one thing.”

“Not by much. I happen to look young for my age.”

“I hear that a lot, too. I always wonder if they’re just saying that to cheer me up. I see you got a chair for me.” He positioned it closer to the tree and stepped up on the seat. “Do you want the tinsel to go east and west or north and south?”

“North and south.” After a few minutes of watching him in silence, she said, “Not bad for a guy.”

He chuckled. “Another dubious compliment. You seem to be on a mission to cut me down to size.”

“I better stop, or you might take your gorilla arms and leave.”

“Not a chance. I’ve grown a thick skin over the years, compliments of having four sisters and being in the legal profession.” He stepped down and moved the chair to the other side of the tree. “Artificial trees are less expensive in the long run, but they’re not the same. It’s like fake flowers. You can see and smell the difference.”

“I know what you mean. We never had anything but live trees growing up. There was a Christmas tree farm about twenty minutes away from where we lived. I thought it was the greatest place in the world: nothing but wavy lines of trees as far as the eye could see. My grandfather would patiently walk behind me and my grandmother, never saying a word, until we decided which tree was going home with us. It was my job to keep it watered. One year I forgot to do it for a few days and the tree died. I was so upset, but it did manage one thing. I’ve never forgotten since.”

“Failure is a great teacher. Everyone has a tree story it seems like. Ours involved my mom’s cat Jeeves. When he was younger and not so fat and lazy, he decided to jump from the top of the entertainment center to the Christmas tree, a gap of about four feet. He succeeded, but his momentum took the tree down. Glass ornaments flew off like projectiles. More than half of them were broken in the process. This happened on Christmas Eve about an hour before all our relatives were coming for dinner. Needless to say, Jeeves spent Christmas Eve and most of Christmas Day locked in the laundry room.”

“Poor Jeeves. He paid dearly for a bad decision. Oliver tried to climb the Christmas tree a few times, but that was a long time ago. Now he’s content to lay under it and pull the ribbon and bows off the gifts.”

Once the tinsel was pronounced perfect, they started on the ornaments.

“Are you going to the tree lighting ceremony?” he asked her.

She laughed. “I’ve only missed once in ten years.”

“Very impressive. This will be my first time. Logan’s been talking of nothing else since they mentioned it at his school. It’s the weekend after our bachelor auction, right?”

“Yes. There’ll be venders selling all kinds of food as well as arts and crafts. They’ve also got fun activities for the kids, including the opportunity to see Santa Claus.”

“Knowing Jody, we’ll be the first to arrive and the last to go.”

“That’s the way I am. I don’t want to miss anything. I forgot to tell you that I met with the photographer you suggested. Louise came up with a great idea. In addition to the programs, we’re going to turn those bachelor pictures into calendars to sell at the auction.”

“Another revenue stream. I’m all for that. I can’t overemphasize how impressed the board members of Fallen Heroes are with what you’ve been able to accomplish in so short a time. They’ve decided to make this an annual thing, and of course, they’d like you to be in charge.”

“I’ve enjoyed being part of this, and I’d love the opportunity to stay involved. Maybe next year we can change things up. You know; do a bachelorette auction.”

“You could be one of the bachelorettes.”

“No, thanks. I prefer to stay in the background.”

“It’s a moot point anyway. You won’t be single by this time next year.”

She laughed. “Do you know something I don’t?”

“No, but I doubt Perry will let you slip through his fingers again. When you get a second chance to be with someone, you do whatever it takes to make it work.”

“That’s an odd thing to say for someone who doesn’t appear to want to get married.”

“What I appear to be, and what I really am, might not be the same thing.”

“That seems counterproductive.”

“Maybe so, but it’s very effective for avoiding questions. Can you hand me some of those ivory ornaments?”

“Sure.”

They were moving the boxes into the drawing room in preparation for working on the tree he’d set up by the fireplace when Norah’s phone rang. Lance didn’t need the tender smile on her face to know who it was. As he watched her step into the dining room, he realized that love was a funny thing. The fact that Norah was moving further out of his reach didn’t affect his ability to enjoy spending time with her. He could separate the two things; regretting the first and appreciating the second. That wasn’t something he’d been able to do with Holly. Maybe he’d learned something from that experience after all.