Page 149 of Timid (Lark Cove 2)

“No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do!” Betty shouted.

I laughed, escaping the kitchen with the garbage bag in hand as the two began arguing over when and where they’d made the deal. When I got back inside, I hovered in the hallway outside the kitchen, just watching.

Willa and Ryder were doubled over, laughing hysterically. Betty and Nate were still arguing, though both had smiles on their faces. I bet they hadn’t had a knockdown, drag-out fight in a decade.

They made marriage seem like the best damn idea in the world.

It was hard to believe that just a few months ago my life had been so lonely. Worse, I’d been okay with it.

I hadn’t even known what I’d been missing.

Willa’s laugh seeped into my heart, filling the last remaining cracks until it was whole.

From the corner of his eye, Nate caught me watching his daughter. He grinned, then went right back to arguing with his wife.

He knew why I was watching, and he knew why I was smiling.

Tomorrow, Willa would too.

“What about that one?”

I followed Willa’s finger to the fir tree she was pointing at, then shook my head. “Too small.”

“Too small. Too big. Too many pine cones. Too thin.” She huffed. “You’re the pickiest Christmas tree hunter in the universe.”

I chuckled and stopped hiking. “Don’t you want the perfect tree for our first Christmas together?”

“Yes.” She stopped by my side. “That’s why we should have bought one from the church’s fundraiser. Those are grown to be perfect.”

“What’s the fun in that?” I put my gloved hands on each side of her face, then bent to kiss her forehead. “How are you doing?”

“Good.” She smiled. Her nose and cheeks were pink from the cold and her chest was heaving as she breathed. “I didn’t realize I was so out of shape.”

“You’re doing awesome. It’s just because the snow is so deep.”

“Should we look around here?” Her gaze ran over all the trees around us. “Or keep going?”

“Let’s keep going. Just a little farther.”

She didn’t know it, but we were following the trail I’d left here this morning.

“It looks like we aren’t the only ones who have been up here,” she said. “There are tracks everywhere.”

I grinned. “Yeah. Popular spot.”

Ryder and I had hiked up here at first light to find the perfect tree. We’d told Willa that we were going ice fishing when we’d really come up to the mountains. So while she’d spent a quiet Sunday morning at my place, Ryder and I had trekked all over this area of forest in search of the perfect tree.

When we’d finally found it, we’d spent two hours setting everything up before hiking back down the mountain. Along the way, I’d made sure to make note of landmarks and leave a few of my own markings behind to guide us back to the spot.

I turned on the trail and took a couple more steps.

Behind me, Willa followed. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, babe.”

“What’s up with Hazel and Sheriff Magee?”