lighting.
And she looked at me for thirty seconds before she said, “We’ll see.”
She turned out the light.
I went to sleep.
CHAPTER SIX
T eri had been responsible for decorating the town tree for the last four years. On the night of the lighting, she was crazy busy. But for the first time, she was also nervous. In fact, the butterflies in Teri’s stomach had gone militant.
She was worried about the lights because she’d switched out the multicolored ones for plain white. And she’d done that because Tom was bringing Aiden to the lighting ceremony. She couldn’t risk having any red lights on the tree this year.
Aiden had never wanted to come to the tree lighting before, and Teri had been happy to continue that tradition. But this year Aiden had changed his mind. He wanted to come. He was insistent. And Tom had taken Aiden’s side, which she most definitely resented.
But then again, how could she resent Tom? For the first time in eons—maybe ever—a man had actually lit candles for her. Every time she thought about Aiden’s reaction, she inwardly cringed.
Of course, Tom had rolled right along with the punches. There had been a moment when they were singing together when she’d almost felt as if they were a family.
Which was another reason for the queasiness in the pit of her stomach.
Tom had upset her equilibrium. She felt as if she were trying to balance while simultaneously walking about three feet off the ground. Tragically, she’d never been any good at gymnastics. A heart-breaking spill inevitably loomed in her future. Not to mention the fact that the members of the Christ Church Ladies’ Auxiliary and the Methodist Altar Guild were sure to notice sooner or later. And since Lillian had stirred up a lot of dislike for Tom, that would be bad for her.
Oh, good Lord, what was she going to do? Falling for Tom Crawford was easy. He was like an answer to her prayers. No one should be so perfect.
And yet his kisses were perfect. The way he’d responded to last night’s disaster had been perfect. And then he’d called this morning and offered to take Aiden to McDonald’s for dinner and then bring him to the lighting ceremony later. And that was the perfect solution for managing Aiden.
Even worse, Aiden wanted to spend the evening with Dr. Tom. Although the allure might have had more to do with McDonald’s fish sandwiches than Tom Crawford himself.
How could she say no? Aiden’s father had never once offered to take Aiden anywhere. And besides, this year was supposed to be about tailoring Christmas to suit Aiden.
So she’d instructed Judy to hand Aiden off to Tom this afternoon.
Still, having Aiden attend the tree lighting was fraught with danger. The Davis High a cappella choir would be singing several secular holiday songs, none of which had any lyrics about angels. Aiden was likely to pipe up at any moment, singing “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” Or, worse yet, he might get upset because someone sang out of key.
Thank goodness Santa wasn’t making a guest appearance. If Santa had been on tonight’s program, she would have insisted that Aiden stay home.
As the hour of the lighting approached, her heart and stomach decided to instigate an internal riot. She refused to faint or hurl. That would be so unprofessional.
She took her place on the steps of city hall right next to Mayor Abernathy and County Executive LaFlore and tried to breathe deeply. Panic would not help. She still had to make sure the tree blazed into glorious light when the time came.
A group of almost a hundred people had gathered in the town square. Tom and Aiden stood in the front row, each of them wearing goofy, green-and-white-striped stocking hats. How on earth had Tom gotten her son to wear stripes?
She didn’t know. But they looked like a couple of Santa’s helpers. Not that she’d ever tell Aiden that. Her neck spasmed the moment Mayor Abernathy kicked the ceremonies off by introducing the Davis High
And she looked at me for thirty seconds before she said, “We’ll see.”
She turned out the light.
I went to sleep.
CHAPTER SIX
T eri had been responsible for decorating the town tree for the last four years. On the night of the lighting, she was crazy busy. But for the first time, she was also nervous. In fact, the butterflies in Teri’s stomach had gone militant.
She was worried about the lights because she’d switched out the multicolored ones for plain white. And she’d done that because Tom was bringing Aiden to the lighting ceremony. She couldn’t risk having any red lights on the tree this year.
Aiden had never wanted to come to the tree lighting before, and Teri had been happy to continue that tradition. But this year Aiden had changed his mind. He wanted to come. He was insistent. And Tom had taken Aiden’s side, which she most definitely resented.
But then again, how could she resent Tom? For the first time in eons—maybe ever—a man had actually lit candles for her. Every time she thought about Aiden’s reaction, she inwardly cringed.
Of course, Tom had rolled right along with the punches. There had been a moment when they were singing together when she’d almost felt as if they were a family.
Which was another reason for the queasiness in the pit of her stomach.
Tom had upset her equilibrium. She felt as if she were trying to balance while simultaneously walking about three feet off the ground. Tragically, she’d never been any good at gymnastics. A heart-breaking spill inevitably loomed in her future. Not to mention the fact that the members of the Christ Church Ladies’ Auxiliary and the Methodist Altar Guild were sure to notice sooner or later. And since Lillian had stirred up a lot of dislike for Tom, that would be bad for her.
Oh, good Lord, what was she going to do? Falling for Tom Crawford was easy. He was like an answer to her prayers. No one should be so perfect.
And yet his kisses were perfect. The way he’d responded to last night’s disaster had been perfect. And then he’d called this morning and offered to take Aiden to McDonald’s for dinner and then bring him to the lighting ceremony later. And that was the perfect solution for managing Aiden.
Even worse, Aiden wanted to spend the evening with Dr. Tom. Although the allure might have had more to do with McDonald’s fish sandwiches than Tom Crawford himself.
How could she say no? Aiden’s father had never once offered to take Aiden anywhere. And besides, this year was supposed to be about tailoring Christmas to suit Aiden.
So she’d instructed Judy to hand Aiden off to Tom this afternoon.
Still, having Aiden attend the tree lighting was fraught with danger. The Davis High a cappella choir would be singing several secular holiday songs, none of which had any lyrics about angels. Aiden was likely to pipe up at any moment, singing “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” Or, worse yet, he might get upset because someone sang out of key.
Thank goodness Santa wasn’t making a guest appearance. If Santa had been on tonight’s program, she would have insisted that Aiden stay home.
As the hour of the lighting approached, her heart and stomach decided to instigate an internal riot. She refused to faint or hurl. That would be so unprofessional.
She took her place on the steps of city hall right next to Mayor Abernathy and County Executive LaFlore and tried to breathe deeply. Panic would not help. She still had to make sure the tree blazed into glorious light when the time came.
A group of almost a hundred people had gathered in the town square. Tom and Aiden stood in the front row, each of them wearing goofy, green-and-white-striped stocking hats. How on earth had Tom gotten her son to wear stripes?
She didn’t know. But they looked like a couple of Santa’s helpers. Not that she’d ever tell Aiden that. Her neck spasmed the moment Mayor Abernathy kicked the ceremonies off by introducing the Davis High
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