And this year she’d have Dean and Maya to shop for too, she thought to herself, and it made her smile.
“That reminds me,” she went on, “has Maya added anything else to her Christmas list yet?”
Dean stopped in his tracks and stared at her. “Was she supposed to?”
“I just thought she would. When we talked about it that night we baked cookies, she only had a few things on it. I figured with her making friends and settling in a little bit more that she’d find more stuff to ask for.”
“Is that something I should ask her about?”
That had her chuckling. “I would have thought she shared it with you already. I know when I was growing up my Christmas list was done before Thanksgiving – or it was supposed to be! But I was continually adding stuff to it right up until...” And then she stopped and caught herself. “Sorry. I’m sure with everything going on...with losing her mother and the move...I’m sure it’s the last thing on her mind.”
“Mine too,” he murmured.
They walked along and Abby couldn’t help but feel sad for both Maya and Dean. This would be a difficult Christmas for the both of them. Nothing she could do was going to make up for their loss – and she certainly wasn’t going to even pretend to try – but she did want to do something to make it special for them.
“Are your parents coming for Christmas?” she asked.
“No. They really can’t stand the cold weather anymore. Once they got a taste of the warm winter temperatures in the South, they vowed to stay where they were. They’d gone to Karen’s for Maya’s first few Christmases, but then they stopped. And I would go to her house as well because...” He stopped and shrugged. “We were all each other had.”
“At least Maya’s close to you and you already have the tradition of spending Christmas together. Now you get to change it up a bit and make it your own.”
“I have no idea how to do that.”
His honesty twisted her heart.
Squeezing his hand, she moved a little bit closer to him as they walked. “You could make a special meal for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Have a special breakfast that you’ll only ever have on Christmas morning. You can bake cookies that are only for Santa...I know my mom and I have a ton of Christmas-related traditions and even when she’s not here, I still do them.”
She was about to elaborate but she couldn’t.
She found her tree.
Stopping, Abby pointed and Dean looked in that direction and smiled. “That’s the one, huh?”
Nodding, Abby pulled her hand from his and walked over to the six-foot Fraser fir. She touched it and smelled it as she walked around it, smiling the entire time. Yes, this was her tree. “It’s perfect.”
Dean walked off to get one of the attendants to help them and within minutes, the tree was getting trimmed, wrapped and loaded onto the top of his car. Abby was practically bouncing on her toes. She loved this. The cold, the carols, the smell of pine in the air...and now...Dean standing beside her keeping her warm.
“You ready?” he asked as the attendant wished them a good night.
“Did you see any that you were interested in?”
“I did, but I want to let Maya pick out the tree tomorrow on her own. I don’t want to bring her here and guide her. I want this to be something she gets to do and can be excited about.” He laughed quietly. “I guess that can be our first new tradition.”
The sheepish look on his face was so sweet and adorable that Abby couldn’t help herself. She came around to the driver’s side of the car and kissed him.
When she moved back, he was smiling at her. “What was that for?”
“Because you’re amazing.”
His dark eyes went wide. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “You are. I think that you are off to a very good start on the Christmas traditions and you’re going to make some great ones as you go.”
He looked at her as if he didn’t quite believe her. “I wish I had your confidence.”
“That’s okay because I have enough for the both of us. Now let’s go home and get this tree inside and I’ll make us some hot chocolate.”
Before she could move, Dean reached for her hand and tugged her back in for a longer kiss. “Hot chocolate sounds good, but I believe we discussed another round earlier.”
Oh my.
She snuggled closer and almost purred. “I believe you’re right. Maybe we can combine the two.”
Dean kissed her one more time. It was hotter and wetter than the last one and if they weren’t in public, she’d be all over him.
“Let’s get you home,” he murmured against her lips. “And maybe we’ll come up with a new tradition or two for celebrating finding a Christmas tree.”
She was definitely on board with that. With a small giggle, she pulled free and ran around to her side of the car and climbed in, giddy with anticipation.
Nine
“Soooo...I can pick any tree that’s here?” Maya asked the next afternoon, shouting to be heard over the Christmas carol that was playing loudly over the sound system. It was even colder than it was the previous night and snow flurries were blowing around.
“That’s right,” Dean said, silently praying that she’d find a tree quickly so they could get out of the cold.
“But there are so many! How am I supposed to pick just one?”
Beside her, Abby crouched down. “Do you want to know how I pick my tree?”
Maya nodded.
“I always want one that is really green and really fat. I check to make sure there are no big gaps in the branches and no brown spots. And then I try to picture how he’ll look in the corner of my living room.”
“He?” Maya asked, her brows scrunched in confusion.
Abby giggled. “I always think of my Christmas tree as a he. I don’t really know why, but I always do.”
“Oh,” Maya replied seriously. She looked up at Dean. “Do you think the tree is a he?”
“Uh...”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Abby said cheerily. “Let’s start looking around and we’ll look for all the important things.” Then she turned to Dean. “Where do you put your tree?”
“In the corner of the living room between the window and the TV,” he replied. “I tend to go more for a tall tree. I have ten-foot ceilings so we have the space for up to a nine foot tree.”
“Wow,” Maya said. “That’s like a giant tree!”
“Well...let’s go find you a giant tree then!” Abby said, taking her by the hand and leading her toward the first row of trees.
Dean stood back for a moment and simply watched. The snow was falling, and even though they were all bundled up, Maya’s cheeks were rosy. Her eyes were wide with excitement as she listened to everything Abby said. He could hear them laughing and then observed as they stopped at one tree and began inspecting it while discussing the pros and cons.
They were making a memory.
A tradition.
A tradition that he was missing because he was too busy standing back and enjoying watching them! Clearing his head, Dean caught up to where they were standing and chatting. “So, what the verdict on this one?”
“He’s very green,” Maya said diplomatically.
“And he smells wonderful,” Abby added.
“Hmm...” Dean said, pausing to inspect the tree himself. “I think we can go a little taller. This one’s only about seven feet tall.”
“Yeah! A bigger one!” Maya cried out excitedly. “Where are the bigger ones?”
Dean pointed toward the end of the row. “The taller ones are usually in the back. Let’s go check them out, okay?”
Maya skipped ahead of them and while she did, Dean took one of Abby’s hands in his and squeezed it.
“I think she’s having a great time,” Abby said as they walked along. “She’s taking it all very seriously so I’m pretty sure you’re going to end up with a great tree.”
“I wasn’t worried about that. I jus
t want Maya to feel like she’s a part of the whole holiday and...the tradition.”
Abby smiled at him. “You’re a good uncle.”
“Thanks.” They found Maya standing in front of a long row of really tall Christmas trees. In comparison, she looked even smaller than usual. Dean walked over to her and crouched down beside her. “What do you think? Any good ones?”
“I don’t know,” she said, looking around. “They’re all really big.”
“How about...we do this?” Dean scooped Maya up and sat her on his shoulders. She laughed hysterically as he got her situated. “What do you think? Does this help?”
“This is awesome! I’m as tall as the trees! Look at me, Abby! I’m as tall as the trees!”
“Wow! You are super tall right now!” Abby said with a laugh. “You’ll be able to find all the good ones from up there!”
“Yeah!”
Together, they walked around and looked at just about every tree that was taller than eight feet and in the end, it was the very last tree on the lot that they deemed to be perfect.
“I need to get down, Uncle Dean! I need to see the bottom part of it too!”
He lowered his niece to the ground and then stood back with Abby and watched her do the final inspection.
Finally, Maya looked at the two of them and nodded. “Yup. This is the one. This is our tree! Can we get it? Can we take it home now?”
“Absolutely,” Dean said. The snow was coming down harder and he motioned for one of the clerks to come and help them. He picked Maya up and held her close to keep her warm.
“Maybe we should go and wait in the car and have some hot chocolate,” Abby suggested.
“But I want to see what they do to the tree to get him ready!” Maya cried. “Can we have the hot chocolate out here while they work on him?”
Chuckling, Abby nodded. Dean handed her the keys to the car and watched as she walked away.
“Abby’s the best!” Maya said and Dean was a little too engrossed in watching Abby walk away to think before he spoke.
“She certainly is.”
“And she’s really pretty...”
“Beautiful,” he murmured.
Maya tightened her grip on him and hugged him, then kissed him soundly on the cheek. Dean pulled back to look at her and couldn’t help but smile. “What was that for?”
“Because you’re the best and we found the best tree and it’s snowing and...and...it’s the best day ever!”
“That’s a lot of bests,” he said, and tapped her gently on the nose. “Let’s go and watch our tree get trimmed so we can get in the car and warm up!”
“Okay!”
They walked up to the front of the lot where they watched as the attendant cut the tree back a little and then wrapped it. Abby joined them and they each drank a small mug of hot chocolate as they waited. Unable to help himself, Dean pulled Abby in close so they were all huddled together. He tried telling himself it was for warmth, but he knew he was only partially lying to himself. It just felt good to have her near. He loved the feel of her beside him, loved being able to simply reach out and touch her.
“Dean?”
He turned and realized Abby was speaking to him. “Huh?”
“You zoned out there for a minute. Bill asked if you wanted help tying the tree to the car,” she said patiently, smiling.
“Oh...uh...sure. Yes. Thanks.” He stepped away from Abby and Maya to help get the tree secured to the car. Ten minutes later, they were all warmly ensconced in the heated car and heading toward home.”
“Are we going to go and get my ornaments now?” Maya asked.
Dean knew he had promised, but the snow was really starting to come down. “We need to take the tree home and get it in the house and into a stand first. Then we’ll need to see how the snow is doing. It’s not safe to be out driving in it for too long.”
Then he braced himself for the pouting and disappointment that usually followed when Maya didn’t get her way, but surprisingly, she simply said okay and let it go. He mentally shook his head because just when he thought he had her figured out, she did the unexpected.
The drive home was hampered slightly by the weather but it didn’t do anything for Maya’s mood. She chatted on and on about the tree and the kind of decorations she wanted to get for it and how she couldn’t wait to put presents under it.
Dean carried the tree into the house and set it in the stand he’d put out earlier. Abby and Maya stood back as he worked. After Dean cut the netting off of the tree and the branches started to unfold, they all agreed that it was going to be a beauty.
Maya ran over to the window and sighed. “It’s still snowing hard.”
“I know, kiddo, and I’m sorry. I promise that we’ll go out tomorrow and get those decorations. We won’t put one thing on this tree until you have ones of your own, okay?”
She nodded. “Is it going to snow all day?”
He walked over to the window and looked out with her. “I think so. We’ll be snowed in tonight but the plows will come through in the morning and clear the roads so we should be okay to go out tomorrow after lunch. I’m sorry, Maya.”
“It’s okay,” she said with another sigh. “Can we build a snowman? Sheriff Stone said you can build good snowmen here.”
Dean remembered that conversation. “There’s not enough snow out there yet but later on we probably could. Definitely tomorrow.”
Maya turned and looked at Abby. “Will you build a snowman with me later?”
Abby looked at Dean first and he knew what she was thinking. The snow was coming down hard and fast and she was going to need to go home. Sooner rather than later.
Damn.
****
Sure there had been the weather warnings. Abby heard and watched them all morning and yet...she still went out with Dean and Maya to get a Christmas tree. This was Silver Bell Falls. Snow was the norm in the wintertime and didn’t keep her from doing the things she wanted to do.
Her car wasn’t that great in the snow but she’d driven in worse conditions.
Maybe.
Once or twice.
Okay, once and she got stuck and had to walk a mile home in a blizzard. Not something she wanted to do again, but how could she have missed going hunting for a Christmas tree with them? Seeing Maya’s face as they looked around and when they found the tree was priceless!
Unfortunately, now she had to leave or she wasn’t sure her car would get her home. The look on Dean’s face told her that he understood, but Maya’s was a completely different story.
And then there was the surprise she had planned...
Damn snow.
“I promise to come back and build one with you before we go shopping tomorrow,” Abby said carefully. “But...I really need to get home now.”
“But wait!” Maya cried, stepping away from the window. “You can’t leave! The roads aren’t safe! Uncle Dean said so!” She looked up at Dean and tugged at his hand. “Tell her! Tell Abby that it’s not safe to drive!”
Abby watched the indecision on Dean’s face and decided to put an end to it. “It’s okay. Really. I don’t live that far away and if I leave now, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Abby, I hate to say it but...Maya has a point. The roads were slick when we were driving home here. And they’re going to be worse now and you...well...you don’t have good tires on your car.”
Granted, Abby knew that but she hated that Dean noticed it too. “They’re not so bad and really, if I leave now...”
“I’d feel really bad if something happened while you were driving,” he said, a small smile tugging at his lips. “You should stay here.”
Damn the man. That was what she wanted more than anything but it wasn’t right with Maya in the house.
“We could have a sleepover!” Maya cried happily. “We can put a fire in the fireplace and sleep out here or we can all sleep in Uncle Dean’s bed because it’s really big and we can have popcorn and watch movies and...”
“Easy, Maya,” Dean said softly, even as he chuckled. Then he looked at Abby. “I think a sleepover could be fun.”
Double damn the man.
“Dean...”
“Strictly platonic,” he said softly as he moved closer to her, his smile growing. Turning to Maya he said, “Why don’t you go and see how many packs of popcorn we have?”
“Okay!” she agreed and then ran for the kitchen.
Dean stepped in even closer to Abby. “Now you’ll get to sleep at my house.”
She laughed softly. “I didn’t bring my pajamas.”
He groaned low and deep. “Any other time that wouldn’t be a problem, but I think we can find something for you to wear tonight.”
Tilting her head, she studied his handsome face. “Actually, I have a change of clothes out in the car. I may need a t-shirt or something, but I have some leggings and stuff that I can change into.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you always travel with a change of clothes or was it wishful thinking?”
“Wishful thinking?”
Completely closing the distance between them, Dean placed his hands on Abby’s hips, pulling her flush against him. “That you’d have to stay here tonight.”
“Mmm...” she purred. “It had crossed my mind, but I’m afraid that I’ll have to crush your fantasy. I carry a change of clothes with me all the time. Between the diner and dance classes, I never know if I’ll need something to change into for whatever reason.”
“Oh.” Disappointment laced his tone. “Well that sucks.”
“Not really. It’s coming in handy for tonight.”
“Maybe.”
Sighing, Abby rested her head on his chest. “But we will have to think about the sleeping arrangements for tonight. I don’t want to add any fuel to Maya’s fire where we’re concerned.”
“I’m not worried about that.”
“You’re not?” she asked, confused.
He didn’t answer. Instead he placed a kiss on the top of her head and stepped away. “I’m going to check on Maya.”
For a minute, Abby was too confused to move. What changed that suddenly he was more comfortable with their relationship and how it looked in front of Maya? Dean hadn’t mentioned anything to her and, up until just now, she thought they were still acting casually in front of her.
Christmas On Pointe (A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella) Page 12
