To further distract Emily from putting up the inconvenient tree, Krista offered to take her to Comet’s for lunch. Of course, the drive-in restaurant, like everything else in town, was decorated to the nines with fifties-style lights and ornaments.

  “It looks so pretty. Don’t you just love Christmas?” Emily said as they pulled in.

  Krista feigned enthusiasm she didn’t feel. Mostly she felt she would love Christmas when it was behind her. January couldn’t come soon enough.

  After Krista dropped Emily off, she saw Julia removing a box from a van parked in the driveway next door. “Hey, Krista,” Julia called out. “Come see the house.”

  Krista hadn’t really intended to visit the Christmas House, but didn’t see a gracious way of avoiding it now. It wasn’t that she was opposed to the general idea of giving away a house, but it bothered her that Emily was so enamored with the whole thing. Still, she was curious.

  “I like the exterior,” she told Julia as she joined her on the little front porch. “Is this part new? I don’t recall this when they were moving it.”

  “Yes, Conner felt it needed a porch. And a pair of hickory rockers are coming later today.”

  “The colors are really attractive.” Krista ran her hand over the recently painted shutter. “It’s Christmassy, but not garish.”

  “Come see the inside.” Julia balanced the box as she opened the door. “It’s nearly set up.”

  Krista went in and gazed around in wonder. “I can’t believe this is the same house that was being moved down the street just two weeks ago. Everything looks so good.”

  “It’s been a real rush job.” Julia set the box on a cream-colored sofa. “But everyone has helped.”

  “It’s so beautiful.” Krista looked over the gleaming hardwood floors and comfortable-looking furnishings. “And yet it’s homey and welcoming. It even smells good.” It was a delightful combination of cinnamon, vanilla, and pine.

  “We continued the sage-green, cream, and burgundy color scheme in here.” Julia removed a lamp shade from the box, setting it on a pretty lamp base.

  Krista went over to the kitchen, which was open to the living room. Sage-green cabinets with glass knobs, white marble countertops, and vintage-look appliances only added to the overall charm. “It’s quaint but looks efficient.” She ran her hand over the cream-colored farm sink. “It’s perfect. And it even has an island.”

  Julia led her around the rest of the house, showing her the two smaller bedrooms, complete with attractive furnishings. One was set up as a bedroom, one as a handsome office. “And this is the guest bath. Small but fresh and pretty.”

  “Very nice.” Krista ran her hand over more white marble.

  “This is the master suite.” Julia opened up the door to a slightly bigger bedroom with pale green walls, fluffy white bedding, and a burgundy easy chair.

  “Very inviting,” Krista said. She peeked into the master bath, which had a color scheme similar to the other bath. “It’s all just perfect. Whoever wins this house will be very lucky.”

  “And the color scheme is such a great backdrop for Christmas decorations. Doesn’t it make you want to start decorating?” Julia said with enthusiasm.

  Krista wasn’t too sure about that but nodded anyway.

  “The designer is coming over later to do that. She’ll put up lights and garlands and a noble fir tree in front of the big living room window. It’ll be absolutely gorgeous.”

  “I’ll bet this place will be like Grand Central Station tomorrow,” Krista said as she walked back through the living room, pausing to admire the stone fireplace. “Thanks for letting me have a sneak peek today. It’s truly beautiful.”

  “Thanks. It’s been a real community project.”

  Krista opened the front door but was reluctant to leave.

  “I’ll probably see you at the ceremony tonight,” Julia called from the kitchen. “Be sure to dress warmly. I hear it’s going to be cold. But no snow forecasted yet.”

  “Emily and I will be wearing lots of layers,” Krista called from the front porch, thanking her again as she closed the door. Then she stood there for a moment, imagining what it might feel like to relax in a rocker here, to live in a home like this. And for some unexplainable reason her eyes filled with tears at the thought. She hurried to her car, hoping that no one would see her. Really, it was silly to get emotional over a house. What was wrong with her?

  Whatever it was continued later that evening. The opening ceremony was complete with old-fashioned carolers who led the crowd in singing, a dance company that performed the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the high school marching band that played some lively Christmas songs. Finally Mr. and Mrs. Claus made their appearance in a horse-drawn sleigh—then ceremoniously pulled the switch to light the enormous tree—and the crowd cheered wildly. Krista was glad that it was dark out as she wiped a stray tear.

  “We officially open Christmasville to the public!” Santa (aka Mayor Barry) announced. “We have something for everyone. The ice rink will be open until nine o’clock tonight. And the missus and I hope you will come visit us in City Hall. Mrs. Claus has cookies fresh out of the oven in her Christmas kitchen.”

  “And hot cocoa and coffee,” Mrs. Claus added. Krista wondered if Emily recognized her principal.

  “My elves will be busy in my workshop,” Santa continued. “And you can find me putting my feet up in my cozy den—ready to listen to all my little friends’ Christmas wishes. You can even visit my reindeer in their corral behind City Hall. We have all sorts of fun and games lined up. So I wish you, one and all, a very merry evening.”

  As Krista led Emily—or maybe Emily was leading her—through all the trimmings and trappings of Christmasville, she thought that perhaps this festival was a good thing after all. It was fun to feed a reindeer a carrot. And even more fun to greet their new friends here and there. Some, like Krista and Emily, were simply strolling about and enjoying the festivities. Others were actually in costume and at work. Conner and Anna, dressed like elves, were busily “making toys” in Santa’s workshop. Although they were careful to remain in character, Conner did pause from hammering on a wooden wagon to wink at Krista. All in all, Christmasville appeared to be a real success. And Krista could see how having much of it indoors was a real plus. Even with the heat turned off, it was warmer than being outside.

  “When do we get to be elves?” Emily asked as they exited City Hall.

  “I’ll have to check with Mrs. Morgan,” Krista told her. “But I think next Saturday will be our first time.”

  “And we’ll wear costumes like Anna had on tonight?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Oh, Mama,” Emily gushed. “I just love Christmasville. And I love Winter Hill too. Thank you for moving us here.”

  “I’m glad you love it, Em. I love it too.”

  Emily looked up in surprise. “Really? You love it? Christmasville too?”

  “I think so.” Krista felt slightly teary again. “The whole thing has grown on me.”

  “Does that mean you love Christmas too?”

  Krista sighed as she unlocked the car. “It means I’m working on it, Em. But you’ll have to be patient with me, okay?”

  “Okay,” Emily said cheerfully.

  As Krista drove them the short distance home, she wondered how it was possible that this quirky little town had made such major changes in her thinking in only two weeks. It was nothing short of miraculous. But she was glad for it. For Emily’s sake, she was very, very glad. Tomorrow they would put up a Christmas tree. But not that silly artificial tree. Krista would take Emily to the Christmas tree lot and they would pick out a real tree. Not a huge one, but one that would fit into their little apartment.

  11

  Krista couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in such good spirits—in December. But as the first week of her most dreaded month peacefully passed, she felt like she’d conquered her anti-Christmas demons. She and Emily had gotten a real tree that smelled delightful and was now decorated with all new ornaments that they’d purchased at Mrs. Claus’s Christmas Shoppe on Sunday afternoon. And after a week of doing a bit of lunch-hour shopping, Krista even had placed several wrapped gifts beneath the tree. Naturally, Emily was ecstatic over these new developments.

  Emily had also been acting rather mysterious. Krista suspected that Anna Harris was helping Emily with some kind of homemade Christmas present because Emily had been in contact with her off and on throughout the week. Not that Krista minded Anna picking Emily up after school now and then. Handy since the high school was only a few blocks down the street. Krista had even offered to hire the teenager to watch Emily after school, since she knew Anna wanted to earn money for Christmas, but Anna had mysteriously refused payment. She claimed that she was hanging with Emily “for the fun of it.” Still, it helped to break up Emily’s week of after-school care in the school’s gymnasium. And perhaps Anna would agree to be hired, with pay, to watch Emily during Christmas break. That would sure make life easier.

  “Anna wants me to spend the night at her house tonight,” Emily told Krista on Friday morning. “Is that okay?”

  “She wants you to spend the night?” Krista frowned. “Why?”

  “It’s a secret.” Emily pulled her backpack out of the car. “Is that okay?”

  Krista shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Great. And she’ll pick me up after school today.” Emily hopped back into the car to kiss Krista goodbye. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t forget we’re on elf duty tomorrow afternoon,” Krista reminded her. “We’re supposed to report at noon.”

  Emily nodded. “I know. I can’t wait.” She blew another kiss then pulled on her backpack and ran up the steps to her school.

  As Krista drove to City Hall, she wondered what she’d do on a Friday night by herself. If the apartment had a bathtub, she’d indulge in a bubble bath. But it only had a shower stall. An ugly one that motivated her to keep her eyes closed while showering. Maybe she could watch an old movie or read a book.

  As Krista went through the decorated first floor to the elevator, she was actually looking forward to Christmasville this weekend. The festivities were only on the weekends until the last weekend before Christmas. Then it would be open every night, and Krista had agreed to work several four-hour shifts, along with Emily, between now and then.

  When Krista reached the elevator, Winston was just getting in. And he didn’t look pleased to see her. Probably because she’d been dogging him all week to get her a copy of the budget, and she wasn’t ready to back down. But first she greeted him. “Since you’ve had a hard time getting the budget to me, I asked Pauline to look around to see if someone else still has a copy,” she told him as they went up. “Perhaps someone on the budget committee might loan me their—”

  “There is no budget committee,” Winston told her.

  “No committee?” She frowned. “So only the mayor and the City Council review the budget then?”

  “That’s right.” The doors opened and Winston stepped out in front of her.

  Krista followed him out. “Well, maybe the council or mayor can loan me a copy.”

  “As a matter of fact, my assistant already dropped a budget report by your office, Ms. Galloway.” He sounded a bit smug. “It’s probably on your desk right now.”

  “Well, thank you.” She smiled stiffly. “I look forward to going over it.” As she continued to her office, she was determined not to let Winston get to her. Sure, he was irritating and had rather poor social skills, but if he was a good accountant, who was she to complain?

  “Good morning,” Pauline greeted her. “You’ll be pleased to hear we finally got a budget report. In fact, you’ve got two. One from our CFO and one from the mayor. They’re on your desk.”

  “When it rains it pours.” Krista unbuttoned her coat.

  “You probably won’t have time to review it today. Your schedule is pretty full.”

  “I suppose I could take it home with me.”

  “Or save it for next week, since it doesn’t look terribly busy.” Pauline opened her date book, going over the meetings scheduled for the day. She’d just finished when the phone rang. “It’s for you.” Her brows arched with interest. “It’s my son.”

  “Oh, okay.” Krista pointed to her office. “I’ll take it in there.” Curious as to why Conner was calling, she answered her phone in her usual business tone.

  “Sorry to bother you at work,” he said. “But I wanted to ask you something.”

  “It’s no bother.” She slipped off her coat, laying it on her desk. “Does this have to do with Emily spending the night at your house tonight? I know she and Anna are working on something that’s top secret. I suspect Anna is helping Emily make me a present. But I’m trying not to act overly curious.”

  “As a matter of fact, it’s related to that. I wondered if, since Anna will be with Emily tonight . . . well, perhaps you’d want to spend the evening with me.”

  “With you?” Krista sat down.

  “Yes, I thought we could get some dinner and, well, I don’t know if you like ice-skating or not, but I thought it might be fun to pay a visit to the Christmasville ice rink.”

  “I’ve never ice-skated in my life.”

  “Well, I’m a pretty decent skater. Maybe I can give you a lesson.”

  “Or maybe you could peel me off the ice when I fall on my face.”

  He laughed. “I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen. And you’re such a petite lady, it probably won’t be too difficult to keep you from falling.”

  “Then I accept, Conner. I’d love to learn to ice-skate.”

  “Then it’s a date,” he said. “I’ll pick you up around six if that’s okay.”

  “That’s great. I’m looking forward to it.” She couldn’t believe it as she hung up. Conner Harris had just asked her on a date. A real date. She hadn’t been on a date in years . . . not since Garth, but she didn’t want to think about that now.

  Dinner at Rudolph’s proved both enjoyable and difficult. Being with Conner was fun, and it was interesting to hear about his wife, Brianna. She sounded like a genuinely good person—a good wife, a good mother—and then she got sick. He explained how Anna had been only six when her mother was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma. “It had already spread into her lungs. She spent the next eighteen months in and out of treatments, but we finally realized the cancer was winning. Six months later, we lost her.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s been six years now.” He rubbed his left-hand ring finger, where the wedding band was visibly missing. “I still miss her, but I have Anna.” He smiled. “And a pretty full life. I think I’ve pretty much moved on.”

  They chatted some more, just light conversation, but then he asked her about Emily’s father and she knew it was her turn to be forthcoming . . . and that was when it got difficult. She wanted to be honest. He deserved that much. But hopefully she could keep it brief.

  “It’s been about three years since it fell apart. At the time, I blamed everything on the other woman. But in the long run, I realized that Garth and I were a complete mismatch. We never should’ve married.” She sighed. “But then I wouldn’t have Emily. And I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her.”

  “I know what you mean. A child motivates you to keep moving forward.”

  She nodded. “My relationship with Garth started in college. Although I had a good scholarship, I worked part-time to cover my dorm and expenses. As a result, I felt sort of lost and disconnected from the usual student activities. But Garth always popped in just when I needed a break from the monotony. He had friends and a life, and being with him made me feel connected. When he proposed, I thought we’d live happily ever after. But it turned out that Garth preferred fun to domesticity. After seven years, I found out about his girlfriend and we parted ways. Not long after the split, I learned that he’d been cheating on me almost from the beginning of our relationship. It was just how he was wired.”

  “I’m sorry.” Conner slowly shook his head. “That must’ve hurt.”

  “Yeah, it was pretty painful.” She looked down at her plate. “It made me feel like I wasn’t good enough.”

  “He wasn’t good enough.”

  She nodded, eager to wrap this up. “Garth remarried about a year ago, and they moved to Atlanta. I actually feel kind of sorry for his new wife. I’m afraid history will repeat itself with her.”

  “Probably.” He pushed his empty plate aside. “Is he involved with Emily at all?”

  She described the situation. “Unfortunately, he’s been somewhat negligent. I’ll admit that it’s been easier to have him out of the picture, but I’m sure that Emily wonders. For her sake, I wish her father were part of her life.” She sighed. “But there’s not much I can do about it, and I’m not holding my breath.”

  “Well, if it’s any consolation, Emily seems to be a happy, healthy, well-adjusted child. I think she’ll be just fine.” He smiled. “Anna is quite taken with her. She’s enjoyed helping her on the, uh, the project.” He made a zip-the-lips gesture, tossing the key.

  “I know, I know. The big secret. Did you know that Anna has offered to babysit Emily during Christmas break? I hope that’s okay.”

  “Of course.”

  “Emily is thrilled.”

  They visited congenially during dessert, and then Conner announced it was time to hit the ice. “Not literally,” he said as he helped her into her down parka.

  “I’m praying there’ll be no broken bones,” she confessed as they went outside.

  “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” He smiled down at her. “You’re so little that even if you do fall, it’ll probably be a delicate landing.”

  “You must believe the old adage, ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall.’”

  “Something like that.” He pointed toward the tall, brightly lit Christmas tree in the town square. “I figured we could just walk to the rink, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. The town looks so pretty at night.” She looked around. “I haven’t been much of a Christmas fan . . . ever. But lately, I mean since moving here, I’ve been changing. Trying to change.”