Page 92 of The Christmas Tree Farm

‘Next year? So, you plan to stick around?’

‘Uh … yeah.’

Annie smiled. ‘Great, because I sold a ton of cookies.’

Kira laughed. ‘Very lucrative for both of us.’

‘Come sit.’ Annie scooted over, making space for Kira and it was nice to be wedged in next to her. It was nice to be around people. God, why the hell had she been living like Quasimodo in his bell tower for the last four months?

‘Thanks.’

She was not cut out to be a hermit. And for the first time it was occurring to her that she didn’t actually need to do everythingalonein order to be a self-sufficient, independent person. She could have friends. She could find people she liked here in this weird town.

Huh. What a novel idea.

Jeanie and Logan had rejoined the group after stashing their coats somewhere, and Estelle bustled in and out with more trays and platters of snacks.

‘You could sit for a while, Nana,’ Hazel suggested, but the older woman looked at her like she had eight heads.

Logan laughed. ‘You know she doesn’t sit.’

‘Where’s Grandpa Henry at?’ Annie asked, looking around as though the man in question was hiding behind the enormous Christmas tree in the corner. Somehow, it had the kind of lurid giant lights and silver tinsel that Kira hadn’t seen in real life ever. Didn’t that stuff go extinct in the seventies? Were those lights even safe?

‘He’s attempting a deep-fried turkey again,’ Logan said with a wince.

‘I hope you have a fire extinguisher this year,’ Annie said, dryly, taking another sip of wine.

Estelle waved away her concern. ‘Oh, he’ll be fine. His eyebrows grew back eventually.’

Jeanie looked up at Logan in concern.

‘I’ll go check on him.’ Logan strode from the room and Annie giggled next to Kira on the loveseat.

‘It’s always interesting here on Christmas,’ she whispered to her.

‘So, you don’t spend Christmas with your family?’

‘Nah. We do Christmas Eve together. There’s like a million of us and now most of my siblings have kids so they like to be at their own houses for Christmas morning. Santa and all that.’ Annie rolled her eyes and Kira smiled.

‘Anyway, Estelle and Henry have done this Christmas Day open house for years.’

Kira thought about her mother’s parties, all the guests they barely knew, political connections and business associates. It was a far cry from this worn but cozy living room filled with friends and family.

‘Who needs another drink?’ Noah asked, standing up and heading to the drink cart.

Kira raised her hand. ‘I’ll take one.’

Noah grinned. ‘Red or white?’

‘Red.’

‘You got it.’

‘Me, too!’ Annie lifted her empty glass. Kira smiled. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

She caught Bennett’s eye on the other side of the room, where he stood having an awkward-looking brother-in-law to brother-in-law chat with Logan, who’d apparently decided his grandfather was safe for the moment. Bennett’s lips tipped into a private smile at her and something warm and unfamiliar settled in Kira’s gut. Something comfortable, something content.

Was this what it would be like to be with him for real? To have someone to share a secret glance with across the room at a party? She’d spent so much time running from what her mother wanted for her: a stable man, someone who was ‘husband material,’ someone who wouldn’t embarrass her, that she hadn’t taken the time to consider hownicethat could be.