“Reid is so cute!” Sarah whispered, taking another step closer to Melody.
Looking over her shoulder to make sure Michael wasn’t paying attention, Melody’s eyes became darts. “Mother! Shhh!” she insisted. “Michael can hear you, you know.”
“Oh, he’s not listening. Besides, he’d probably just assume I was talking about him. And he is a cutie, too. But that’s not who I was talking about.” Her voice went up at the end, and Melody crossed her arms again to keep from shaking her.
“Mom! We are just friends,” Melody reminded her, trying to keep her voice even.
“We’ll see,” Sarah said, a little twinkle in her eye. “I’m going to go check on the cookies.”
Melody shook her head, reminding herself she should have known better than to bring Reid home with her just yet, especially since her mother was already so fond of him through the conversations she’d had with her friends about the quality of his work. Now, she was going to be pestered repeatedly about whether or not they were dating. Feeling her face grow hot, she decided she needed some fresh air. “Michael, I’m going to go see if your dad needs any help, okay?”
“Okay,” he replied, not even glancing up from his Santas.
Just looking at him brought a small smile back to her face, and she felt herself calming down just a bit as she made her way back to the door. As soon as the wind hit her face, she felt relief flood over her, hopeful that her cheeks weren’t red. Reid had the tree out of the truck and was lugging it up the porch. She stepped out onto the porch, holding the door open for him. “You got it?” she asked.
“I think so. Yours is the easy one. It’s ours that will be a bit of a challenge.”
“Oh, do you want me to come and help you with it?” she asked as he went past her with the tree.
“That’s okay,” he said. “We’ll manage. Besides, I think we’ve taken up enough of your Saturday.”
While she wanted to assure him that it was absolutely no problem at all, that she would love to go help him with his Christmas tree, she didn’t want to be pushy, and she also wasn’t sure if he was saying no to be polite or if he really had had enough of her for one day, so once he had the tree inside, she followed in silence, thinking any kind of an insistence would be met with more negativity.
The tree really wasn’t all that big, and once he had it inside, it only took a moment to get it into the adjoining living room. “I’ll drop it in the stand, and if you’ll hold it, I’ll tighten it up,” he explained.
“Sure,” Melody nodded, and Michael dropped the Santas to come and watch. As soon as Reid had it in the stand, Melody grabbed ahold of it, which wasn’t difficult since the Taylor family made sure it was wound up tightly with lots of rope.
“Is it straight?” Reid asked from his position near her feet.
“I think so,” she replied, trying to determine if it needed altering at all. “Michael, does it look straight?”
“It looks straight from here,” Sarah said, coming back into the room. “It’s… lovely,” she said, and Melody could tell instantly she didn’t like it.
“What, Mom?” she asked. Reid finished tightening the last screw in the stand and climbed to his feet.
“Nothing,” Sarah said, a forced smile on her face. “The color is very nice, and it smells very fresh.”
“And?” Melody asked.
“And nothing,” Sarah assured her. “It’s very nice.”
Melody took a step toward her mother. “Mom, what is it? Too small?”
“Well, maybe a tad,” Sarah finally admitted.
“I wanted something I could reach,” Melody explained sticking her hand up next to the tree.
“That’s what ladders are for,” Sarah shrugged.
Frustrated but not wanting to start an argument with her mother in front of Reid and Michael, Melody took a deep breath. “I knew you should have come with me.”
“Maybe we should switch?” Reid offered. “You could take our tree, and Michael and I could take this one.”
“Oh, no, we can’t take Michael’s perfect tree,” Melody replied, shaking her head.
“Thank you for offering, Reid,” Sarah said, “but this tree is just fine. It’s lovely. It really is. I’ll get used to it. Besides, just because we’ve always had a tall tree in the past, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have a smaller tree now. Things change.”
Melody wasn’t quite sure exactly what she was getting at; she’d been talking about changes a lot lately, and she was beginning to think her mother was hinting at more than just Christmas. “We could put it on a table, if you’d like,” she suggested, her voice more even now.
“No, I like it just the way that it is,” Sarah said with a final nod. “Now, who is interested in some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies?”
“Me!” Michael shouted, bounding off toward the kitchen behind Sarah.
“Don’t spoil your lunch!” Reid shouted after him, and then, checking his watch, he shook his head and muttered, “It’s way past lunch. I’m a terrible father.”
Melody laughed. “He had cinnamon almonds and a caramel apple at the farm.”
“You’re right,” Reid nodded, “and now cookies. No lunch but lots of junk food. That confirms it. I’m a terrible father.”
“Oh, stop,” she insisted, swatting him on the arm again. “It’s what? Two o’clock or something? People eat lunch this late. And he’s had nuts—which is protein. And an apple. He’ll survive.”
“Man, I wish you were my mom,” Reid joked. “If that was the kind of fruits and vegetables I had to eat growing up, I’d have been in heaven. Of course, I’d probably only be two feet tall and weigh four hundred pounds….”
Melody was laughing so hard now, she put her hand against her stomach. “You’re awful,” she said. “I’m not saying I’d let my kids eat like that every day, but, you know, on special occasions, why not?”
“Why not? Tell you what, I’ll call you when he’s up bouncing off the ceiling at midnight okay?” he asked, but he was grinning at her now, and Melody realized just how closely they were standing again.
She stopped laughing, his scent clouding her senses. “Okay,” she said quietly. “You can call me.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, but his grin didn’t dissolve. “I think… I should go rescue your mom.”
“Right,” she said, clearing her throat and studying the toes of her boots. “The kitchen is this way.”
It was hard work prying Michael away from the cookies, but once he was outside, bundled back up in his coat, he was ready to play in the snow, and Melody watched from the porch as he ran around her front yard, catching snowflakes on his tongue.
“That would keep him busy all afternoon,” Reid laughed, one foot on each of her top two steps.
“He’s so silly,” Melody replied, watching Michael dart around like a squirrel. “Is he coming to rehearsal tomorrow afternoon?”
“Yes,” Reid assured her. “There are three things the child cannot stop talking about—Christmas, the festival, and you—though not necessarily in that order.”
Melody felt her face grow warm again. “Are you coming with him?” she asked, hoping her tone seemed innocent enough.
“No, not this time,” Reid answered quickly, and Melody saw a shadow pass behind his eyes.
“Oh, okay.” She pushed the toe of her boot into the mounting snow on the edge of the porch.
“I’ll be there for the festival though.”
“That’s good,” she said, looking up at him and forcing a smile. She wanted to ask what was so important that he couldn’t be there for his son’s practice, but she knew it was none of her business. She also knew it must be significant, or else he would be there. He definitely wasn’t one of those parents who passed their kids off on other people.
“I put his booster seat in your car when I came out to get the tree,” he told her, changing the subject. “And the sign is in there, too. I got you all set up with the school to pick him up.”
“Great,” Melody said. “I’m excited to go get him on Monday afternoon.”
“Yes, it’s very exciting,” he said, sarcastically. “Be sure to bring a book or something else to do because you may be sitting there a while.”
Melody laughed. “I meant to see him, not to sit in the carpool line. But I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”
“Thanks again for your help,” he said, and Melody could see he sincerely meant it.
“Thanks for all of your help with the tree and my mom….”
“Your mom is great,” Reid said with a shrug. “She’s a very sweet lady.”
Rather than launch into all of the reasons her mother often drove her crazy, Melody decided to stay positive. “I can’t complain,” she said with a smile. Then, she asked, “When do you think I might see you again?” her eyes still focused on the snow beneath her boot.
“I don’t know,” he replied, glancing back at Michael. “But if he has anything to say about it, it won’t be long.”
Melody laughed, not sure what else she could do. Silently, she kicked herself for being so bold. “Have fun putting up your tree,” she said, taking a step back.
“Have fun decorating yours.” He smiled at her, and Melody felt her knees begin to buckle. “See you later, Mel,” he called as he went down the last two steps. “Michael, tell Miss Melody goodbye!”
Michael looked up at his dad questioningly and then dashed off across the snow, headed in her direction. He slammed into her hard enough to almost knock her backwards. “Bye Miss Melody. I’ll see you tomorrow at church.”
“Bye, sweet boy,” she said patting him on the head. “Have fun putting up your tree.”
“Have fun eating those cookies!” he said, smiling up at her and then dashed off toward his dad’s truck where Reid stood with the door open waiting for him to climb in.
Melody decided she’d said enough for one day, and after giving them one last wave, she went back inside, thinking asking personal questions and staring at someone as they drive away might be a bit too much for one afternoon. With a sigh, she closed the door, thinking Michael’s idea about stuffing her face full of chocolate chip cookies was a good one.