Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 43870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
“The Parent Trap. Popcorn, black licorice, and an extra-large slushy combo of cherry, cola, and that blue crap did me dirty,” I groused while he laughed like a loon. “The Butterfinger candy bar was one sweet too many.”
Still laughing, Tanner’s eyes creased against the sun, the light breeze blowing his hair, his dogs jumping at his feet.
I felt…free with him.
Light.
Happy.
Tanner had no clue how very surreal that state of mind was for me. Like unlocking a sweet memory, unearthing the dregs of joy that had been long dead and buried. Something that was mine alone. Not tied to my child’s happiness.
How did you explain that to someone? And how did you show appreciation in a way that didn’t involve sex?
I thought about asking Jax or Hudson, but I wasn’t prepared to invite speculation. I’d have to figure Tanner out on my own.
However, the only pressing matter on his mind in the month of December was—the holidays.
“I hate to rush you, but you gotta get the lights on that bungalow, big guy,” Tanner said, throwing the ball again and turning to make eye contact, which I took as his way of saying he was done fucking around. Those lights were a priority.
“No problem. Phee’s watching a movie at Abby’s house now. It’s probably a good time to do it. I can surprise her.”
He whistled for the dogs to come. “Great. I’ll help. I’ll take Lila and Gordy to Jax’s and meet you at your place in five minutes.”
And that was how I found myself on a ladder, stringing lights on the roof.
“Looking good. But…no, that bulb is crooked.” Tanner squinted from the lawn where he was busy wrestling some plastic snowmen out of a box. “Can you maybe…yep, point them upward. Perfect!”
We worked liked that for fifteen minutes or so—Tanner managing the action and doing…whatever he was doing.
“What’s that?” I asked, brushing off my hands, my gaze darting from the colorfully lit roof to the huge plastic sheets on the ground.
“Blow-up figures for the yard. I found Frosty, Rudolph, and Santa in your storage unit. We have to run electricity from the house to inflate them. But first…we gotta put lights on the tree.”
“What tree? I haven’t picked out a Christmas tree yet.”
He pointed at the huge olive tree nearby. “The olive tree. Tiny lights go on the trunk and they get wrapped around each limb.”
I scratched my nape, knocking my hat over my eyes. “That’s a damn big tree, Tanner. Gonna take a while.”
“Not if I help you. C’mon. It’ll be fun!”
The thing about putting up lights in your neighborhood is that your neighbors see you and they want to give an opinion or tell you about their lights, the fresh wreath they picked up at the garden store, the sale on poinsettias at the farmer’s market in Santa Ynez, or the skinny Santa sighting at Rudolph’s Fudge Shop in Christmas Town.
Nonstop talking.
I tried to be polite, but my grin-and-bear-it meter ran low most days, and stringing lights was a tedious chore.
“Why’s everyone so worried about skinny Santa?” I grumbled, twisting lights on a branch. “It’s just a volunteer in a suit.”
“Maybe so, but he’s off-brand and it’s something to gossip about. Small towns, you know? And Oak Ridge is basically a village offshoot of Christmas Town. Like it or not, everyone ends up being the subject of the local tea at some point or other.”
I figured as much.
“Hmm. And what’s the newest gossip?” I didn’t necessarily care, but I liked the sound of Tanner’s husky voice, and I liked doing something with him that wasn’t oriented around barn animals.
“Donna and Chip from Donner’s Diner—their son, Mick, brought his new girlfriend home over Thanksgiving. They’ve been dating for a few months. Nice girl. Everyone thinks so…except his ex. Mick and Lauren got into a tiff in Moody’s bookshop, and it wasn’t pretty. One of them threw a stuffed teddy bear, and apparently, Moody lost his ever-lovin’ mind. Ask Hudson about it. It takes a lot to ruffle Moody’s feathers, and I guess it was quite a show.”
“Ouch. I bet.”
Tanner chuckled. “I know. That’s all I got. Truth is, I’m always the last to know anything newsworthy. I’m more of an expert on animal gossip.”
“Animal gossip?”
“Oh, yeah. For example—one of the pigs, Big Sheldon, sneaks Corker’s portion of slop when he’s not looking. Corker never notices.” He paused, his eyes twinkling and settling on my mouth for a beat. What the fuck were we even talking about? “And there’s Nelly, too. She’s a human sponge. Goats are social animals, but I’ve never seen anything like her. She sneaks her way into houses and offices like a cat burglar. But she has favorites.”
“I think I’m one of them.”
“Take a number, buddy,” he huffed. “That goat loves me.”
Yep, this was one of the silliest conversations I’d had with a grown-ass adult in a while, but I played along.