Christmas In Silver Bell Falls (11 page)

And when he closed the door behind him and slowly undressed her, she gave him a sexy smile and returned the favor.

They didn’t need to talk about it.

They didn’t need to think about anything beyond this moment.

And right now, this moment—in Josiah’s mind—was the most perfect one yet.

****

Two days later, she found him sitting on the front steps of his tiny house frowning.  Pulling her coat tightly around her, she walked over.  “Are you okay?”

For a minute, it didn’t seem like he’d heard her and then he looked up.  “You know how sometimes something seems like a really good idea but then you realize you didn’t really think it through?”

She felt a wave of panic for a moment, fearing he was referring to them and their relationship.  Instead of speaking, she simply nodded.

“Yeah, well…I was all about downsizing and saving money so I could buy this property, that I didn’t realize how much I was giving up by living in such a small space.”

She sat down beside him – which wasn’t easy considering how narrow the steps were.  “Like what?”

Turning his head, he looked at her for a minute and then turned away.  “You know what?  It’s nothing,” he said dismissively.  “It’s not a big deal.”  He stood up quickly and held out his hand to her.  “What would you like to do today?  How about we go to lunch at that sandwich shop you like so much?”

Melanie knew he was trying to change the subject, but she wasn’t about to let that happen.  “I don’t want to go out to lunch.  I want you to tell me what’s bothering you.”

He frowned at her.  “I already told you it’s nothing.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Seriously?  You make me tell you everything.  I share all of my stupid feelings with you and you’re not willing to do the same?”

His shoulders sagged and he sighed.  “Okay, but once I tell you, you can’t complain that you didn’t really want to know.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

The look of disbelief he gave her spoke volumes.

“Josiah…” she whined.

“Fine,” he growled and took a few steps away and began to pace.  “I picked this place because it had everything I needed.  I was able to declutter and get rid of a lot of stuff I didn’t need and it seemed perfect.  I still have a storage unit because I knew I wasn’t going to live here forever.”

“O-kay,” she said slowly.

“Anyway…” He sighed and stopped pacing to look at her.  “Don’t laugh but…I miss having my Christmas decorations up.”

Melanie wasn’t sure what she was expecting him to say, but that wasn’t it.  “That’s it?  That’s what has you all sad and mopey?”

“Mopey?” he repeated incredulously.  “I am not mopey.”

“Sweetheart, you are the poster-child for mopey right now.”  She walked over and hugged him.  “Okay, so why can’t you decorate?”

He pulled back and looked down at her and the frown was back.  “You’ve seen the inside of my place right?”

She nodded.

“There’s no room for a tree or a manger or…anything!”

“Well maybe not all those things but I’m sure you can do a few of them,” she said.  “You can hang a stocking and maybe some twinkly lights.”

He shook his head.  “I know you don’t get it but…” He shrugged.  “I like having a tree.  I like decorating it and seeing gifts under it.”

“You have one at the office, right?”

Releasing her, he moved away.  “Just…let’s just forget about it.”  He fished his car keys out of his pocket.  “Come on.  Let’s go into town and grab something to eat.”

She knew he was smiling but that it wasn’t genuine.  While she might not understand what all the fuss was about, it was clearly a big deal to him.  “Let me just go and grab my stuff,” she said and walked back into the cabin.  A quick glance around showed her it was pretty sparse inside.  It was decorated but not in anything from this century and it was actually kind of…depressing. 

Grabbing her purse, she was about to walk out the door when she had an idea.  She knew she may regret it, but Melanie also knew she wanted to do something to make Josiah smile, just like he had done for her so many times since they’d met.

Feeling a little more excited than she thought she would, Melanie walked outside and walked right up to Josiah and kissed him soundly on the lips.

“You all right?” he asked.

Taking his hands in hers, she pulled him close.  “It occurred to me when I went to get my purse that there is a lot of open space in the cabin.”

Josiah looked over her shoulder toward the house and then back to her.  “You want to go to the mall and get some furniture?”

She laughed.  “No, I don’t want to go to the mall,” she sighed dramatically.  “I was thinking maybe you might want to…set up your tree and your Christmas decorations in the cabin.”

His eyes went wide and then he smiled bigger and brighter than she’d ever seen.  “Really?  You mean it?”

She nodded and then let out a little scream when he lifted her up and spun her around before kissing her.

Yeah, this was definitely the right decision.

Chapter Six

Josiah had thought Melanie would put up more of a resistance regarding the decorations.  Hell, he even thought he was going to have to come right out and ask her if he could do it—he never thought she would have offered so quickly.

Yeah, she was softening toward the whole Christmas thing and the thought made him smile. 

Once the decision was made, they went to the diner for some lunch and then to Josiah’s storage unit to get his Christmas decorations.  They brought everything back to the cabin and stacked all of the boxes in the living room.  Melanie didn’t ask what was in any of them or why there were so many; she simply worked alongside of him.

When everything was stacked up, she turned to him with a big smile on her face.  “Now what?”

Josiah looked around the room and already knew how he wanted to decorate it, but they were missing one key thing.  “Now we go and chop down a tree.”

Melanie’s eyes went wide.  “Chop one down?  Don’t…don’t you have…like, you know…an artificial one?”

He made a tsk-ing sound.  “Never in my entire life have we had a fake tree.  We always went and cut one down.”  Taking her by the hand, he gently tugged her behind him as he went back outside. 

“Now?  We’re going to go and do this now?” she cried.

Josiah nodded.  “If it’s all right with you, I think we can find a great one right here on the property.  Carol used to plant them as seedlings years ago.  I think we’ll be able to find a good one.”  He looked at her and smiled.  “You up for the hunt?”

Melanie looked around.  “How big is this property again?”

“About fifteen acres.”

She groaned.  “Maybe…maybe you should go alone and do it.  It will be faster that way.  I’ll stay here and make some cocoa.”

His eyes lit up.  “I have an even better idea,” he began.  “I have a thermos at my place.  Why don’t you make the cocoa while I go and grab the thermos and some supplies and we’ll head out together?”

“Josiah…”

“It’ll be fun,” he said.  “I promise.”  He gave her his most charming smile in hopes of winning her over.  She looked at him and he could see the reluctance in her eyes and knew he had to be careful not to push too hard or all of this could just blow up in his face.  “Please,” he added softly.

Melanie’s shoulders sagged as she nodded.  “Okay.  Let me get started on the cocoa.”

Josiah reached for her and pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the tip of her nose.  “Thank you.”

She looked up at him curiously.  “For what?”

“The last few years, I’ve gone out and done this myself.  Before that I had my dad with me or at least one sibling.  It’s nice to have someone with me for company and I’m really glad it’s you.”

Everything about her seemed to soften at his words.  “I’m not swinging the axe though,” she warned.  “I’ll be more than happy to stand back and watch, but I’m definitely not cutting anything.”

“That’s fine,” he smiled.  “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”  He watched Melanie walk back into the cabin before going over to his own place and getting the needed supplies. 

With his backpack filled with everything they needed, Josiah walked back over to the cabin and let himself in.

“Just in time,” Melanie said from the kitchen.  “Cocoa is ready.  Do you have the thermos?”

He held up a large silver thermos.

“Good grief,” she chuckled.  “How many cups is that thing?”

“It holds six cups,” he said nonchalantly.  “Why?”

“How long do you plan on us being out there?”

“I don’t think we’ll need to drink all six cups but it’s the only one I have so…” he shrugged.  Noticing she was still a bit wide-eyed, Josiah walked over to her and poured the cocoa into the thermos himself and then put the lid on.  “Ready?”

“I just need to grab my hat and gloves,” she said as she walked to the front closet to get them.  “How long does it normally take you to find a good tree?”

“It varies.  I mean, some years I’ve walked into the woods and spotted it right away. Other years it’s taken a couple of hours.” 

“Oh.”

“Come on, Mel,” he said, taking her hands in his.  “Don’t be like that.  You’re looking for it to be over before it’s even begun.”

Her shoulders sagged.  “It’s just…you know how I feel about all of this,” she began diplomatically.  “I’m willing to have the decorations and all, but…I just don’t see why we need to walk around in the freezing cold to find a tree.  There are dozens of Christmas tree lots all over town.  Why can’t we just go to one of them?  It would be faster, we wouldn’t have to lug a tree all over the property and we can be back here snuggled in front of the fire much sooner.”  She batted her lashes at him.

“So you’re saying if I opt to get a pre-cut tree—and totally break Stone family tradition—you’ll have a better attitude about the entire process?”

Melanie nodded.  “Work with me, Josiah,” she said sweetly.  “I’m already in this for decorations and a damn parade.  Don’t get greedy.”

Her words could have been firm, but her lips were tilted in a sassy smirk and Josiah knew when to quit pushing his luck.  He hated the thought of not cutting down his own tree, but if it meant Melanie wouldn’t be quite so hostile about it, then maybe it was a fair compromise.  After all, maybe next year he could ease her into going out into the woods to cut down their tree.

Whoa…wait a minute
.  He needed to stop that right now.  It was hard enough just getting her through this Christmas.  There was no guarantee what was going to happen next year.

But a man could hope.

“Okay, fine,” he said casually.  “We’ll hit the tree lots and see what we can find.”

“Good.”

“But,” he added quickly, “I want you to actively help me choose.”

“What?  Why?” she asked nervously, nibbling her bottom lip.

Josiah stepped in close.  “Because I didn’t suggest us doing this so it could be torture for you.  It’s something fun for us to do together.  We’ll find a tree and come back here and trim it and decorate it.”  He grinned.  “And it’s much better when you go into it with a good attitude and not snarl at the tree.”

“I haven’t snarled at anything,” she grumbled.  “Yet.”

“My point exactly.”  He kissed the top of her head.  “If I can’t go hunting to cut down my own tree, you can’t snarl.  Deal?”

She eyed him suspiciously, but agreed.  “Deal.”

****

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style…

If it wasn’t for the blaring sounds of “Silver Bells” playing in the Christmas tree lot, Melanie would have to admit she was having a good time.  She and Josiah were slowly walking up and down the rows of trees critiquing each one—too tall, too skinny, too fat, bald spots—she had no idea there was so much consideration that went into finding a Christmas tree.  Back when they did celebrate, Melanie and her father had an artificial tree they put out every year.  This live tree thing was a completely new experience.

“Okay,” Josiah said, interrupting her thoughts.  “What do you think?”

In the air there’s a feeling of Christmas.

Melanie slowly walked around the tree, as Josiah taught her to do.  She inspected it from every angle—touching it, searching for any gaps and bald spots—before answering.  “I think it could be a contender.  No obvious gaps.  It has a good size and color.”  She looked at him hopefully.  “What do you think?”

Children laughing, people passing…

“I do like it…”

‘But…”

“But,” he said, “I just don’t…love it.”

Melanie rolled her eyes.  It wasn’t the first time he’d said that phrase.  Seriously?  He had to
love
the tree?  What in the world?

“I can hear you mocking me from here,” he said.

“I didn’t say a word!” she laughed.

“You didn’t have to.  Your face said it all.”  Josiah placed the tree back in its spot and faced her.  “Well?”

She sighed.  “Okay, fine.  I don’t understand what all the fuss is!  It’s a perfectly good tree!  It’s the fourth perfectly good tree we’ve found.  I just don’t get what the big deal is!”

Afraid she had hurt his feelings or perhaps made him angry, she was surprised when he gave her a lopsided grin.  “You’ll understand when we get it home and decorate it.  Trust me.  When it’s the perfect tree—one that you love—it makes all the difference.”  Looking over his shoulder, Josiah glanced around the tree lot.  “Maybe we need to go to another lot.  I’m just not feeling it at this one.”

“Are you sure?  Or are you just not feeling it because it’s a lot and not the woods?”

He looked at her, his smile dropping slightly.  “I’m not going to lie to you, Melanie, this is the first time in my entire life I’m doing this so you have to give me a break.”

“It’s my first time too,” she countered, “and you’re not giving me much of a break.”

They were at a bit of a standoff and she wasn’t sure who was going to cave first.

Ring-a-ling…hear them ring…soon it will be Christmas day.

Josiah seemed to relax a bit and he sighed.  “You’re right.  I’m being a bit overly critical about the entire thing.  Although I do have to say that I’m just not impressed with this lot.  Do you mind if we go to another one?”

Knowing this was a big deal for him, she agreed.  Together they walked back to his car and made their way to the next tree lot which was just two blocks away.  As soon as Melanie stepped out of the car, she groaned. 

Silver Bells…Silver Bells…It’s Christmas time in the city…

“You okay?” Josiah asked as he walked around the car to her.

“This song is…” she stopped and took a deep breath, then let it out.  “It’s just everywhere.”

He chuckled and took one of her hands in his and led her toward the rows of trees.  “It’s the town’s claim to fame.  You get used to it.”

For a minute she wanted to argue and say it would never happen, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. 

They walked up and down the first two rows without much luck when suddenly she saw it.

The tree.

For the life of her, Melanie didn’t know how she knew, but she just did.  Josiah was busy looking at one tree and she walked ahead of him to “the one.”  Without alerting him, she did all the things he had done with the previous trees. 

This is Santa’s big scene…

She moved it out and away from the other trees and then inspected it.  Touching the branches, she inhaled the scent of pine and smiled.  It was a good height, a good width and from what she was able to see, there were no visible gaps.  “How about this one?” she called out to him without really looking in his direction.  It wasn’t until she turned and looked at him that she saw he was only a few feet away and smiling at her.  “What?  What’s the matter?”

Rather than answer, Josiah walked around the tree making his own observations.  Melanie kept waiting for him to say whether he liked it or not—although she couldn’t imagine him
not
liking it because it was perfect.  When he stood next to her and crossed his arms over his chest and frowned, she wanted to stamp her foot in frustration.

“Well?” she finally asked.  “If I’m not allowed to frown at the trees, neither are you.”

“I’m not frowning,” he said quietly.

“It sure looks like a frown.  Or maybe a pout.  What’s wrong?  I thought I did a good job,” she said and suddenly felt a little self-conscious about the whole thing.

After what seemed like an eternity, Josiah turned to her with a slow grin.  “You actually did a great job.  I love it.  This is the one.”

She almost sagged to the ground with relief.  “Really?”

He nodded.  “Yeah, really.”  Taking the tree from her hands, he motioned for one of the employees to come and get it for them.

“So if you liked it, why were you frowning?”

Josiah waited until the employee had taken the tree from them before turning and wrapping Melanie in his arms.  “I guess I’ve gotten used to being the one to find the perfect tree.  And you went and found it first.”

Unable to help herself, she laughed out loud.  “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation over a tree!”

“Not just any tree—a Christmas tree!” he countered.

“Still a tree,” she said.  “But I’m glad you approved.  I was walking toward it and…I just knew.”

His smile turned knowing.

“What?  What’s that look about?”

“I’m just happy that we found a tree.”

Melanie snuggled closer to him.  “Me too.”

Pulling back, Josiah looked down at her.  ‘Really?”

She nodded.  “It’s freezing out here.  I’m ready to go home.”

It wasn’t the only reason she was glad they had found a tree, but she couldn’t quite figure out why.  The whole experience had been more fun than she would have imagined and the smell of pine was actually quite nice.  And the thought of taking the tree home and decorating it with Josiah had her feeling a little bit giddy.

Maybe she’d bake a batch of sugar cookies for them for dessert…