Rachel Van Dyken (9 page)

****

The butterflies in her stomach seemed to dance more vigorously as she descended the stairs to the living room
. T
heir
unsettling conversation
a few minutes ago had muddled her.

Captain Graham was standing by the front window. One of his favorite thinking places, apparently. But as she neared him, he spun around with a twinkle in his gray eyes and a broad grin, something she hadn’t seen once since he’d arrived. The sight took her breath away.

“I have an idea. How long will it take you to be ready to go tree hunting?”

“Tree hunting?”

“For a Christmas tree. It’s the eighteenth! We need one, don’t you think?”

“Well, um… I don’t know. I would have to find someone to stay with Mr. Graham. I could call Mrs. Smith, I suppose. She was planning to do the shopping today, I think.”

“Yes. Give it a try. I’m going to take the pickup into town to fill up. Can you be ready when I get back?”

“I…
I think so,” she stammered. His sudden excitement about Christmas took her by surprise. This was a far cry from the man who had entered her life two short weeks ago.

He was gone in a moment, remembering for once
, she noticed,
to grab his coat from the kitchen
as he
rush
ed
out the back door.

Smiling in bewilderment, she walked to the kitchen to use the phone.
In all the upheaval of the last couple of weeks, she hadn’t thought much about Christmas approaching.

“Arlington-4277, please,” she spoke into the receiver, unable to keep the anticipation from framing her voice.

The unexpected
uh-ooga
of the Model A’s horn made Mara jump. It had been awhile since she’d been honked at like that. She had
n
ever been out with anyone other than Michael – not
that she believed
this was a
date
. Her stomach flip-flopped at the thought
.
Pull yourself together. A couple
sentimental
moments, and you’re turning into mush
.

“It should only be two or three hours. We’re going to cut a Christmas tree. Brighten up the place
a bit. I think it will bolster Mr. Graham’s spirits,” she explained to Mrs. Smith, trying to cover her response to the sound of the horn.

The older woman raised an eyebrow at her. “I haven’t known Mr. Graham to celebrate Christmas since his wife’s
passing
. Are you sure
about this, my dear
?”

“I’m sure
. It’s
time. Are you okay to stay
until we get back?”

“Yes.
Though
I may have to leave
for a short time
to pick up the grocerie
s before the market closes.
I’ll wait as long as I can.”

Mara
buttoned her coat and hurried out the door. “Thank you, Mrs. Smith. He should be asleep for another hour or so. I have lasagna in the oven. He’ll be ready to eat when he wakes up. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

****

Stepping into the house
and
shaking the snow out of his hat, Blaine faced her.

“Ready?” He shook out his winter coat. Mara couldn’t keep the smile from her face as he held out her hat and gloves for her to put on. Anticipating the rough weather, she had already put her winter gloves and hat on the nearest counter top.
It had been years since she’d gone Christmas tree hunting
;
she wasn’t sure how bundled up she needed to be.

Shyly, she took the gloves and hat, taking extra care to put them on so the bitter cold wouldn’t seep through. She wasn’t used to the cold winters just yet. Bla
in
e’s boyish grin was infectious as he opened the door to let her out into the chilly mid
-
afternoon air. They stopped briefly
at the shed
for a
saw
.
It was difficult for Mara not to read into Blaine’s kind gesture, but she told herself he
was merely being kind, wanting to provide her and his
father with a happy Christmas.

“Follow me
.
” He held out his free hand. Taking it
,
she shivered as the warmth from his fingers spread up her arm
,
s
lamming hard into her chest. He opened the door to the truck and helped her in.

“How far is it?”

Blaine
gave her a teasing look
.
“How far do you want it to be? It’s entirely up to you
.
We could always cut down th
at tree
.” He pointed to a tiny
,
n
eedle-less
and poor excuse for a tree
standing
at the edge of the driveway.

Mara couldn’t hold back her laughter. “No, that has to be the most depressing tree I’ve ever laid eyes on! We can’t cut that down, it would be…”

“Criminal
,
”
Blaine
finished nodding his head
.
“So shall we venture a little
farther
out of
town? On my way from the gas station
,
I noticed a tree farm about ten miles out.”

“Lead the
way!” Her heart felt
light and happy
,
and
a genuine smile
spread across her lips
.

The truck was warm, comfortable. It reminded her
…
Well, she wasn’t sure she wanted to think about those memories
–
t
he
painful ones
which
involved happier times with her family. They had only celebrated one happy Christmas she could remember. Her father and
she
had gone in his Ford truck to pick up a Christmas tree. It was the same day he told her she would always
be his little girl.

Shaking the dark thought from her head
,
she turned her attention to happier things.
H
er treacherous
gaze
scanned the man beside her. He possessed a quiet confidence that was rare in men these days
,
especially after the war. It was his greatest characteristic and also his worse fault
,
for it made it difficult for him to s
wallow his own pride and guilt.

Comfortable silence ensued as they pulled onto the main stre
et that led out of the suburbs.

“You going to
try your hand
at the saw when we find the tree?”

“
Try my hand
?” Laughter bubbled out of her
.
“I’m not sure you want me aroun
d any sort of tool. I may
do more harm to myself than the tree.”

“Now
,
M
r
s
.
Crawford
,
you aren’t telling me you
’
r
e
afraid to try
,
are you?”

Mara bit her lip
.
“I’ll tell you what, I
’ll
pick out the tree
,
but you have to cut it down
.
A
nd if
y
ou do a good job
,
I’ll make you hot cocoa once we get back to the house.”

“You drive a hard bargain.”

“Nothing I ha
ven’t heard before.”

Eyes twinkling
,
he looked at her
,
then back at the road. “
D
eal
.
N
ow hold on.”

“Hold on?” She barely got the words out before the truck began shaking over the rough terrain. Where was this tree farm? She took in the sights around her. Hundreds of trees were set in lines
as far as she could see.
The first tree
i
n each row was decorated
with tinsel and mult
i
-colored ball ornaments, exuding the festive nature of the season
. Blaine parked in front of the giant sign
which read
Markham’s
Tree Farm
and turned off the roaring truck.

Mara unbuckled her seatbelt and waited for her door to open
. Blaine was there within seconds to help her out. When
their gloved fingers touched a tremor
radiated
through her
as
he returned the pressure.
They walked together
in silence
towards
the rows of trees
.
It was enoug
h to just to breath
e
in the cool afternoon air.

“Pick one
,
”
h
e said beside her.

Grinning like a little girl
,
Mara
slipped her hand into his and
led the way down the first row of trees.

“They’re
all so
beautiful, and so tall!” Many of them reach
ed
heights of at least
ten
feet. “It would be glorious to have such a massive tree in the house
,
don’t you think
,
Bl—
Captain
?”

He
appeared to
ignore her slip up
.
“
This tree farm didn’t used to be here, you know. My father used to take my mother and me out to the country to find a wild tree.
Mom always picked it. D
o you see one that ca
ptur
es your fancy?”

Maybe it was in the way he said it, or the way his eyes seemed to darken when he asked that question
–
a
question
which
her
double-crossing
heart le
a
pt at. Indeed, she saw
something
that struck her fancy, and
just
the thought of it scared her to death.

“I
,
u
m
.
..” S
he pushed the escaped hair back into her knit hat
.
“
H
ow about that one?”

The tree she pointed
to
was a blue spruce
,
f
ull and alive with
thousand
s of tiny needles. It was a solid seven feet and would fit perfectly in their—
the Graham’
s home. She needed to stop thinking of it as hers
.
I
t wasn’t hers. Temporary, it was only temporary. This
–
this
thing with Blaine and David
,
it was a dying man
’
s last wish. Nothing more. It couldn’t be, because if it was, she was afraid her heart might not be able to take it.

“She’s a beauty
,
” Blaine said
,
never taking his eyes off hers.

Neither of them
spoke
for several seconds,
and then
a voice
broke through their moment.

They paid him, and t
he man hand
ed
them
some
twine to t
i
e down the tree
’
s wide branches. “Will ya need help
loading
it
in
yer truck?”

“I think we have it under control
,
” Blaine said smoothly
.

Mara felt herself blush for no apparent reason as Blaine took the saw and began cutting at the bottom of the tree. She knew it was rude to stare, especially with one
’
s mouth open
,
but she couldn’t help but be mesmerized as the saw went back and forth with a smoothness and agility she knew she would never po
s
sess. What made men so good at things like cutting down trees and fixing and protecting?

Shielding her thoughts from the unholy
,
she tried to concentrate on something, anything else that would take her away from Blaine
’
s movements, but the noise alone was doing her in
.
Everything about Blaine screamed for her to take notice, even if he was
,
at times
,
the m
ost stubborn man on the planet.

“Watch out!”

Suddenly she was being thrown bodily to the
snowy cold ground.

Blaine was above her pressing her down into the thick blanket of fresh snow, eyes laced with concern.

“Mr
s
.
Crawfor
d,
are you alright? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to tackle you, but the tree nearly took you out.”

She laughed nervously
.
“Yes
,
well, I must have been lost in my thoughts.”
Of you
, she should have added
,
but she was already embarrassed enough. To think she was almost killed by a tree because she was trying not to watch the attractive man cutting it down. Stupidity at its finest.

Blaine didn’t move. Neither did she. For the moment she felt, protected, cherished, wanted. Her breathing was shallow,
and she was
scared if she took in a deeper breath she might shatter the perfect moment.

His hand
softly touched the side of her face. She felt her e
yes close with the pressure of him
leaning
towards her, and
she
thought she
almost felt the faintest touch of his lips
,
and then…

“Sir? Ma
’a
m?
Is everything okay here?
” The man’s face held concern, but then lit with realization, and he averted his eyes
to what he held in his hands
.
“
H
ere
’s
your receipt of purchase and some cookies from the old lady. Merry Christmas!”

What had
Mara
been thinking?

Then
,
as if Blaine was terrified she would somehow give him coo
t
ies, he
leap
ed
to his feet and pulled her to hers.

“Thank you
,
sir, and have a Merry Christmas yourself!”

The man grinned
, shot them a knowing look,
and walked off.

Blaine shoved the plate of cookies into Mara’s hands. “I’ll just get this in the truck then.”

Mara followed awkwardly behind as he dr
ag
g
ed
the tree to the truck and loaded it in. After he slammed the tailgate
closed,
he
lifted his
gaze
to hers. “Ready?”

She nodded
.
W
ords escaped her.
Her mind was still reeling.
Had they really almost kissed?

It was the snow. And Christmas
.
A
nd his emotions
.
H
e was more indecisive and moody than a wet cat.