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Nestled somewhere in the Rocky Mountains is a quaint little town by the name of Pine Valley. It’s very much as charming as it sounds with its small population and independent stores. The most magical thing about it though is the way it does Christmas. People flock to Colorado to go skiing in Aspen for the holidays, completely missing out on the perfect Christmas that’s right around the corner. It’s by definition a hidden gem, and whilst its residents would welcome outsiders with open arms, there’s something so comforting about the feel of knowing everyone you may bump into on the street during Christmas Time.
It’s 11pm on November 30th. The hustle and bustle timed with the start of the festive season has calmed and five of the town’s residents find themselves sitting around a table in the bakery, sipping on hot chocolate that may or may not be laced with a little brandy, just to add some festive cheer. It’s not unusual for this group of people to hangout, but there’s something a little different about this evening.
“I’ve gathered you all here today because we have a serious problem.” The owner of the bakery is a diminutive figure, but her personality is as big as anyone’s you’ll ever meet.
“You know, as the mayor, I’m the one who’s supposed to call town meetings.” Jane Tennant has never been one to shy away from someone with a big personality. She’s the first female mayor the town has ever had and some of the older folks are definitely more open minded thanks to her influence.
“As the town’s elder, I don’t feel like that rule should be applicable to me.” The 82 year old has her own rules, and somehow that’s just a given.
Jane rolls her eyes, though she may have the gold necklace, the power she holds is nothing compared to Betty’s. There are some kinds of respect that can only be gained from being in a place your whole life.
“Anyway, like I said we have a p-” Betty gets interrupted before she can finish.
“Wait, where are Kate and Lucy? We can’t have a town meeting without them.” Jesse the sheriff, who has been unusually quiet until now, finally pipes up.
“Firstly, this isn’t actually a town meeting, it’s an intervention of sorts. And the two people missing are the whole reason why we’re here.” Betty sighs like she’s holding the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I can survive another Christmas of those two making heart eyes at each other and no one making a move. The sexual tension is going to cause an avalanche if we don’t do something soon.”
“Betty. We’ve had this discussion before, you know we shouldn’t get involved, they need to come to it on their own.” Jane is always the voice of reason. She can at least attempt to rein Betty in, although it’s likely to be fruitless.
“That’s why I suggest we put it to a vote, like any town meeting.”
“You said this wasn’t a town meeting.” Jane contends.
Betty ignores that, not wanting to waste time on anything that doesn’t suit her own agenda. “All in favour, say ‘I’.”
“Wait a minute, since when are Kate and Lucy into each other?” Kai asks dumbly.
“Dude, have you been living under a rock? I saw them in your diner last week sharing a slice of pie.” Jesse says with exasperation.
“I-”
Betty stands up and points a finger at Kai accusingly before he can even get a word in, “Wait a minute- you have been selling pie on my turf?!”
Kai holds his hands up in defence. “I uh- I- it was just as we agreed. Diners serve pie so I have to, but I’ll only do apple and cherry.” He looks absolutely terrified of the woman, it’s like being scalded by your grandma.
Betty laughs. “I know, I was just messing with you.” Before he even has the chance to look relieved, she smacks him around the back of the head.
“Ow!”
“That’s for being a dumdum. Everyone knows that those two hotties have the hots for each other. So how about we vote. Say ‘I’ if you agree we should intervene.”
It’s a tiny group, but there’s still a chorus of ‘I’s’. Betty and Jesse are a yes, Jane and a very confused Kai are a no, so that leaves Ernie as the decider.
“Yes! Why haven’t we done this before now, seriously those two are perfect for each other.” Ernie runs a remote IT help desk so isn’t on the front line in town like the rest of them, all that means though is he sees everything, and he definitely hasn’t missed the flirting between his favourite blonde and brunette.
“It’s settled then. Operation Kacy Christmas is a go. Now let’s talk strategy.” Betty may have been a secret agent in the past, or she may just be magic. One thing for certain is, no one’s going to mess with the evil mastermind expression on her face right now.
*****
Lucy Tara is the heiress to Tara Lumber. It’s not the biggest corporation in the world, but her parents have definitely done well for themselves. She studied business with every intention of taking over one day, but when she happened across a small town in Colorado on the way to one of their processing locations, she fell in love. Pine Valley immediately felt like home. Maybe it was all the trees, but Lucy could never see herself leaving once she arrived. She remained in the lumber trade, but decided to go down a much more hands on path.
As a lumberjack, Lucy spends a lot of the time up at her little lodge in the mountains, only coming into town once a week. That all changes around November/December time when she opens up her Christmas tree farm for the season. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Seeing people’s faces as they pick out their perfect tree, getting to see the town all lit up and snowy, stuffing herself with baked goods. More importantly though, she gets to see her friends more. There is one friend in particular who has made her want to spend a lot more time in town since she arrived a few years ago.
“Good morning hot stuff.” Betty gives her the usual greeting and it never fails to make her smile.
“Good morning yourself cutie, how’s business?” The flirting is a fun part of their unique friendship.
“You just missed the morning rush.”
Lucy looks scared for a moment. “Please tell me you’ve still got a custard danish for me.” Puppy eyes are out in full force.
Betty looks at her with disappointment. “Have I ever let you down? I put one aside for you . Ernie tried to snaffle it but I told him I thought I saw Dalia out of the window, that quickly stopped him.”
They both share a laugh. Dalia isn’t a local. Ernie had a holiday fling with her five years ago thinking that there would be no pressure for commitment because she’d be leaving at the end of the month, but she comes back every December. It was a valuable lesson to all of them never to get involved with tourists.
“You’re so mean, I love it!” Her eyes glaze over as Betty hands her the danish. “Come to mommy.”
“You know you should be careful what you say around here, people are going to start thinking something is going on between us.” Betty teases.
“Are you kidding me? I should be so lucky.” Lucy winks.
“Should be so lucky about what?” She hears over her shoulder, coming from the voice of an angel.
Lucy spins around sharply and is met with playfully inquisitive brown eyes. “Kate! Hi! I was just telling Betty that uh-” She pauses for a short moment, desperately willing her mind to come up with an excuse. “That I‘ll be so lucky if I get a break this weekend. The lot is going to be slammed given it’s the first one in December.”
“Oh yeah, I can imagine. Hello by the way.” Kate adds shyly.
Betty looks between the two lovesick idiots and comes up with a spur of the moment idea to kick the gang’s plan into action.
“This may be a crazy idea, but seeing as you're going to be so busy, how about Kate heads up there to help! Even if just for a few hours.” She makes it sound really convincing.
“Oh, I uh- I-” Lucy wants that, she really does, but she also feels incredibly guilty for accepting help, so she struggles to come up with an excuse.
Kate saves her. “I can if you want, you know. I’ll close the store for a few hours, people can buy books anytime. It wouldn’t be any trouble.”
“Really? It’s going to be cold.” Lucy warns, not wanting to subject Kate to that if she isn’t sure.
Kate smiles. “I’m sure you can keep me warm.”
Both of their eyes widen in tandem at the implication.
“I meant by putting me to work! Not that you would- or we would- you know.” She awkwardly mimics a hug, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
Betty wants to bang their heads together so badly, but she refrains.
“Thank you, I really appreciate the offer and I’d love some help. I can also offer warm cider to keep you toasty.” Lucy feels warm and toasty just speaking to Kate Whistler, the woman has always had that effect on her.
“That would be very nice of you.”
Before they can change their minds or say something dumb, Betty is quick to seal the deal. “Ok great! That’s settled then, the two of you will spend tomorrow together. Now stop clogging up my counter Lucy so I can serve Kate.”
“Bye Kate.” Lucy offers dreamily.
“Bye Lucy.” Kate responds, equally as smitten.
Never one to be concerned about interrupting a moment, Betty makes sure her presence is known. “What am I, chopped liver?”
That startles Lucy out of her little love bubble. “Sorry Betty, thank you, I’ll see you in the morning!”
With that she rushes out of the bakery, leaving behind an amused Betty and a blushing Kate.
“Now what can I get for you sweetheart?” Betty turns her attention to Kate.
Kate narrows her eyes. “You never call me sweetheart, what are you up to? And why did you just volunteer me to help Lucy?”
“I’m merely trying out a new name for you, but I think it may be a little cutesy for me. I’ll stick to calling you legs.” She grins as she recalls the first time she met Kate. She was crouched down behind the glass case in the bakery and as she slowly rose up to greet her new customer, she felt like she saw miles of leg before she reached the gorgeous face. The nickname stuck, and the two became fast friends.
“Yeah, it’s definitely too sincere for you.” Kate laughs. “Anyway, I’m not actually here to support your business, I’m here for you to support mine. That book you ordered has just arrived this morning and I wanted to stretch my legs so you get the premium delivery service.” She holds out a book wrapped in brown paper and tied with string.
“Oh excellent! I don’t know if I told you but the author is an old flame of mine, she’s very good at writing erotic novels and I have a lot of fun seeing if I can spot anything familiar.” She winks at Kate.
Kate blushes, still not used to Betty’s bluntness after all this time. “Um- good for you I guess. I better be heading back. Enjoy your bo-” She stops herself from falling into a trap that will have her turning even more red. “Bye Betty.”
Betty laughs as the flustered blonde rushes out of the door. Embarrassing Kate is something that will never get old. She also lucked out that she managed to distract her from the Lucy question. Jane finally relented but only to giving them a little push in the right direction. She can’t go handing out all the answers.
Step one is complete.
*****
Kate Whistler has always adored Christmas. Whether she was at home with her parents in Chicago, or visiting her brother and his wife in New York, she made sure to always get that perfect snowy Christmas. Her first love though, is books. Ever since she was a little girl, you’d always find her in a cosy nook somewhere, reading and getting lost in a different world. She even made a career out of it, getting pretty high up the chain at Barnes and Noble. But the corporate life began to suck the joy out of reading and she couldn’t bear it. That’s how she found herself moving to the middle of nowhere three years ago. To a place that combines her two loves; owning the little bookstore of her childhood dreams and having the most magical Christmas year on year.
What really makes this place though, is the people. Her closest friend Jane and her favourite confidant Betty hold a special place in her heart. Then there’s Lucy. The person who she spends more time with than anyone else. Lunches, dinners, movie nights whenever Lucy comes into town. Possibly her favourite person. That’s why Kate has no qualms about giving up a Saturday to help her out.
The Christmas tree farm lot is a short drive outside of town but not anywhere near as far as Lucy’s home. Kate goes there every year to pick out her own tree for the store
and it’s always such a fun experience. She can’t wait to get involved.
It’s empty at 8am on a Saturday. As Kate steps out of the car to look for Lucy. She’s nowhere in view, but Kate can hear a rhythmic banging sound so she knows someone is here. She makes her way towards the little hut where hot drinks and other festive fare are served during special times of the day. It’s naturally closed, but Kate can tell the sound is coming from just behind it.
What she finds there is something that has her stopping in her tracks and almost dropping the things in her hands.
It’s Lucy. She’s wearing tight jeans and sturdy snow boots. A red flannel is tied around her waist and a ribbed white tank top adorns her torso. Despite the below freezing temperature, Kate finds herself feeling hot. Because not only is Lucy dressed like every lesbian’s wet dream, she’s also chopping logs.
There’s sweat running down her chest, a look of concentration on her face, her arm muscles and abs ripple with every strike of her axe.
It has Kate wondering if she might still be tucked up in her cosy, warm bed, dreaming this instead of it actually being real.
She doesn’t know how long she’s stood there with her mouth open when Lucy finally notices her.
“Kate!” She yells in pleasant surprise. “I hope you haven’t been waiting for long. Ernie asked me for some logs last night and I wanted to get a headstart on it.” It was a very odd request given that Ernie doesn’t even have a log burner, but sometimes it’s best not to question him.
“Um- hi- yeah not- not long.” It may barely be a sentence but it’s a lot more than she was expecting to manage to get out in the face of what she just witnessed.
Lucy lodges the tip of the axe in the chopping stump and makes her way towards Kate, hands on her hips. “I hope you’re wearing layers under the cute abominable snowman jacket, it may be suitable for the temperature you feel whilst standing still, but this is an active job, no matter what part you’re doing.” She chuckles.
Kate looks down at the white puffer jacket, marginally embarrassed, but she did have the forethought to dress in layers so she can confirm that. “Yeah, I’ve got thinner athletic gear on underneath, I’m ready to be put to work.”
“Excellent!” Lucy exclaims, clapping her hands together. “First job is to finish unloading the fresh crop of spruces I cut down yesterday from the trailer.”
When Kate turns and sees the selection of trees piled high, her eyes widen. She’s very glad that she rests from her workouts on a weekend because she’s going to need all the strength and energy she can get.
“I’ll climb in and get them all out, if you can start stacking them in the fenced off area, then I’ll join you.”
“Is there any particular order to do that in? Height? Tree type? Bushiness?”
Lucy holds in the laughter that threatens to spill out. Especially for that last option; she’s never been more relieved Betty isn’t here to make it dirty. “When you pick out your tree every year, are they in order?”
Kate has to think about it for a moment. “No”
“Well that answers your question then. Rooting around for the perfect one is what makes it magical.” She loves her job, but it’s this time of the year that she loves it most. She’s not just chopping down trees for paper, or cutting up logs for people’s fires or managing her sustainable replanting program. She’s bringing people joy, giving them an experience to cherish and a focal point in their homes for the entire festive period.
“You know what, you’re right. I always think about it logically, trying to find the perfect height, and width, and symmetry and number of branches, but the process of finding the tree that’s individual to you is magical.” Kate smiles as she comes to the realisation, and the smile becomes even bigger when she sees from the expression on Lucy’s face how much that meant to her.
“You get it!” Lucy exclaims as she climbs up into the trailer. Grabbing the first tree she shouts “catch!”
Kate panics that a tree is about to fall on her head, she stumbles backwards but is unable to keep her balance, she can’t stop herself from falling. “Aaahhhh.” She yells on the way down, bracing for impact and is relieved by the cushioning of the untouched snow beneath her.
Lucy quickly jumps off the trailer and is kneeling by Kate’s side in seconds. “Kate! I’m so sorry, it was a dumb joke, are you hurt anywhere?” She frantically looks over the body in front of her for injury.
“Just my pride.” Kate huffs to blow away the loose strands of hair that have fallen in her face.
Lucy stands up and reaches down to pull Kate onto her feet. As soon as their hands connect, a mischievous look passes over Kate’s face and before Lucy can even think, she’s being pulled down into the snow next to Kate with an “ooomfff.”
They both lay on their backs in silence for a moment until they suddenly burst out laughing. When it finally subsides, Lucy is the first one to speak.
“Seeing as we’re down here, do you wanna make snow angels with me?” It’s said with such childlike innocence. That’s another magical thing about Christmas, even adults can be silly for the month.
Kate snorts. “It must be 20 years since I last made a snow angel.”
“Really?” Lucy asks, shock painting her face. “I made one last week.”
That doesn’t surprise Kate at all. One of the things that has always drawn her to Lucy is how carefree she is.
“Ok then, let’s do it!” She agrees excitedly, moving away from Lucy to give them both space and then laying back in the snow and moving her arms and legs in a fanlike way.
They do it for five minutes. Getting up and finding fresh patches of snow to make pretty indents in. When they get up for the final time, Kate comes to a horrific realisation. Lucy isn’t even wearing a jacket.
“Lucy! Why did you just do that? You could get hypothermia.”
Lucy shrugs, used to getting wet from the snow in very little clothing. “I’ll be fine. If you’re really worried though, we could take a very early hot cider break, warm ourselves up a little.”
“That would be perfect, thank you. And put on a jacket for a while !” Kate definitely had to fight some intrusive (horny) thoughts to get that second sentence out.
Once they’re sufficiently warm, they get along with the rest of the day. Working very well in tandem. Despite the cold temperatures and manual labour, it may just have been the perfect day.
Later that night, Betty is getting an update on the progress of the operation.
“I’ve been flying a drone over periodically throughout the day. The log chopping idea worked, the high resolution camera even picked up some drool on Kate’s face.” Ernie feeds back from his covert operation.
Betty laughs. “Perfect. I can’t say I’m surprised. And how about the rest of the day?”
“Plenty of heart eyes when they thought the other wasn’t looking, Lucy had made hot cider and brought it in a flask for them to share because the hut wasn’t open until the evening, they even made snow angels together.”
Betty grins. “Oh this is going to be so easy, we’re barely even having to do anything.”
Step two is complete.
*****
Jane runs a town meeting every first Tuesday of the month. It’s an opportunity for the residents to meet and catch up, for issues to be raised, and for information to be disseminated. The December one is particularly important.
“Right. Onto the final item on the agenda, I think you all know what I’m talking about. The annual Christmas Eve party!” Jane’s announcement is met with a round of cheers. “I thought it might be efficient to pair people up this year, you all have your usual jobs but bouncing ideas off each other might lead to some innovation. Kai and Betty, you’re our culinary team.”
Betty looks over at Kai. “We’ll be doing it my way, prepare to learn from the master.”
Kai just gulps and nods his head to Betty’s delight and the amusement of everyone around him. They’re such a funny pairing. Having been born in the town, Kai has known Betty his whole life, but he’s still terrified of her in the most hilarious way.
“Ernie and Jesse, you’ll be on music and lighting. And Jesse, we’ll need you for the heavy lifting.”
“I don’t know Janie, Lucy’s pretty good at doing the heavy lifting.” Betty winks in Lucy’s direction.
Lucy looks smug, flexing a little for show. Whilst Kate practically swoons.
“Kate and Lucy, you two will be on decoration and drinks.” She still doesn’t agree with Betty’s plan, it’s always best to let love grow organically, but what the pair do whilst they’re taking care of their tasks is their own business, Jane isn’t forcing anything.
The two of them look at each other with bright smiles.
“And finally, I’ll be taking care of the financials.”
“Why do you get to fly solo and I get stuck with Jesse who’s technically inept?” Ernie asks, earning an offended “Hey!” from Jesse.
“I’m not. Jessica has finished her final tour of duty, she’ll be home on Friday. No more Christmases apart.” Jane’s eyes well up as she says that. She knew what she was getting into when she married a navy commander. They’ve coped remarkably well with long distance, they’ve both grown as individuals personally and professionally, but it’s time to start the rest of their lives together. To adopt the little girl they’ve dreamed of sharing, to never spend another important moment apart.
She’s ambushed by a group hug, everyone crying happy tears as they congratulate her on the news. Each and every one of them would say Jane is the strongest person they know, and she deserves her happy ever after with her wife. The sentimentality of it all has her hoping Kate and Lucy find theirs with each other too. Damn you Betty.
When the meeting officially comes to a close, Kate pulls Lucy aside. “So, when do you want to get together to start planning?”
“I dunno, the 17th? That would give us a week.” Lucy suggests.
Kate laughs. “You’re kidding, right?”
Lucy really isn’t sure what the correct answer is here. She goes with a tentative “No?”
“That’s nowhere near enough time if we’re going to do this properly. I was thinking we should start tomorrow which is the 6th. We’re probably going to have to spend time together every day if we want to succeed.”
Lucy can’t deny she’s a little turned on by Kate’s apparent planning and team leader experience. She’s also very excited at the prospect of spending more time with the other woman, so she wholeheartedly agrees. “Tomorrow would be perfect. We’ll do evenings so it doesn’t conflict with work.”
“That sounds great. Come to the bookstore at 7, I’ll provide dinner and you can help me decorate the tree whilst we’re at it.”
Lucy smiles as she thinks about the cute little festive evening they’re about to have. “It’s a date then!” When Kate flushes a bright shade of pink, she quickly backtracks. “I mean- uh- it’s good to organise a date so we can get planning. A date as in December 6th, not any other sort of date.”
Betty has been observing the whole time. It was going so well until that ending. She finds herself wanting to go in and intervene, but she promised not to. Either way:
Step three is complete.
*****
Weekdays at the tree farm lot tend to be a bit quieter so Lucy spends her time prepping and dealing with the business side of the operation. She loves that she gets the best of both worlds, being hands on and making the most of her degree. The lighter days also mean she can be packed away and with Kate to fulfill their party responsibilities pretty early.
She enters the bookstore at 6:59pm, to prove her punctuality, she won’t admit to Kate that she’s actually been pacing outside for 20 minutes. Every time she comes here she feels warm. It’s always so inviting with its ornate shelves, perfect lighting and variety of seating options to suit any reader. The thing that makes her feel that way the most though is the store’s owner.
“Lucy, you made it!” Kate greets cheerily, silently praying she’s managing to curb her giddiness at least a little.
“Of course, I promised I would.” Lucy responds softly.
“So I figured we’d do the decoration planning tonight first, then we’ll do the tree. Kai’s going to deliver food at 8 so that should give us enough time to make progress. Let’s sit over here.” Kate directs them to a pair of the comfiest looking armchairs in the corner and they each take a seat.
“I wanted to come prepared so I’ve had a couple of ideas. I was thinking we could do clean and modern, white fairy lights, ornaments in metallics. Or we could go more old school Christmas and have red and white. Lollipops and candy canes and Santa hats everywhere.” Lucy was not prepared at all, those literally just came off the top of her head, but she doesn’t want to let Kate down.
The smile Kate plasters on can only be described as fake, but she doesn’t want to upset Lucy, so she tries to make it seem like she likes those ideas. “Wow. Yeah. Those things are definitely good options.” She’s failing miserably. “I was thinking more along the lines of natural given your area of expertise. A few trees of varying sizes, wreaths and garlands, snow dusted pine cones, warm white lighting. Maybe some gold ribbon. You could even create something out of logs, I’ve seen people make some really cute reindeer like that.”
“That’s amazing. Oh my gosh, I love that idea so much. Please please please let’s do it.” She gets excited like a small child. “I can so work with that.”
Kate chuckles at her eagerness. “Ok then, that was easy. If you can source the natural elements I’ll sort the rest and then we can work together to combine it all.”
“Perfect! What about drinks?” Lucy asks, expecting Kate to have a plan for that too.
“I was thinking maybe we could go to BB’s bar on Saturday and try some stuff out.” Kate suggests tentatively.
“You’re a genius! I wish I was that good. I guess it’s because my family always hired people to do the decorating. I never put any thought into it.” Lucy shrugs.
“Whereas I was brought up by a classic midwestern mom who had an annual holiday Christmas party.”
They laugh as they think about the contrast in the upbringing. Both very Christmas oriented, but different styles.
“So, how do you want to decorate the tree in here?” Lucy asks. Assuming that’s where they’re going next. Kate picked one out when she was helping at the weekend and Lucy delivered it yesterday. It’s only 5 ft, but it looks perfect in the corner of the store.
“Well, I usually go for traditional red and gold to match the feeling in here, but I’ve done some research this year and found some incredibly cute ornaments. Wait here and I’ll go get them.” Kate rushes off excitedly to her office in the back before Lucy can get a word in.
It’s the same when she comes back, she sets the box down in front of Lucy and can’t help herself from immediately taking her through what’s in there.
“It’s book themed ornaments!” She exclaims. Pulling out the first one to reveal an obviously handmade ornament that’s a stack of the classics. Then there’s a mini bookshelf, a quill, recycled manuscript folded into origami stars and bells.
“I was wrong.” Lucy says with a soft smile on her face, relishing in the joy that’s reflecting off Kate. “You’re much more than a genius. I’m not sure there is an appropriate word to describe how amazing you are.”
Kate blushes at the compliment. No one has ever said anything quite like that to her before. “Thank you. Are you happy to help me decorate? I think it’ll be fun. You do the bottom and I’ll do the top.”
She bites her tongue to avoid making a top and bottom joke to ruin a sweet moment. Instead she goes with. “Are you calling me short?”
Kate doesn’t even try to hide it. “Yes. Yes I am.”
“Of course an unnaturally tall person would think that.” Lucy tries to give back as good as she gets.
“Excuse me? Unnaturally?” Kate feigns offence. “Just for that, I’ll leave you to struggle to reach the top on your own.”
When they finally stop bickering and get to work at decorating, they find themselves working together in harmony. Lucy follows Kate’s neat placement approach and the end result is magical. A book tree. All that’s left is to place the star.
Lucy wants the challenge of doing it herself, to prove to Kate that she can. Kate hands her the star and steps back to watch in amusement as Lucy struggles on her tiptoes, her tongue sticking out from the pure concentration and determination.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Kate asks after a few minutes of failed attempts.
An increased sense of determination has Lucy overreaching and losing her balance. She can’t fall into the tree, so the only option is to fall back into Kate.
There’s a winded “ooomphhhh” as they fall down onto the couch behind them. Lucy precariously on top of Kate. Kate instinctually wraps her arms around Lucy’s waist to stop her from toppling off. They are both frozen at the feel of being in such close proximity.
The bell above the door rings. As Lucy spots Kai coming into the store with a brown paper bag in hand, she leaps from her resting place, almost causing a further incident when Kate’s arms aren’t quite quick enough to release her.
“Hey, I brought your-” he finally looks up and notices them both acting shifty. “Are you guys ok?”
“Yeah!” Lucy answers with great enthusiasm. “We were um- just trying to visualise layouts for the party.”
“Okaaaayyy.” He says with suspicion in his voice. “I brought your food.”
“Great, let me just go get my purse.” Kate stands up, ready to walk into her office when Kai stops her.
“No need, it’s all taken care of. Merry Christmas.” He smiles as he places the bag onto the table next to the couch, gives a small wave and heads back towards the door.
“Bye Kai.” They both respond in unison as he leaves.
As if on cue, Lucy’s stomach growls and they immediately forget all about what happened moments before as they dissolve into fits of giggles.
“Let me quickly put the star on top and you can start getting the food out, it seems like you’re ready for it.” Kate manages to get the words out through her laughter.
With most people Lucy would be a little embarrassed by her vocal stomach but Kate makes her feel effortlessly at ease. “Sounds like a great plan, thank you.”
She opens the bag of food and starts removing the containers one by one. There’s a bottle of red wine which is odd given that Kai’s diner doesn’t have a liquor license. She’s expecting burgers and fries, but what comes out is steak, mash potatoes, glazed carrots and some kind of sauce. The weirdest part though, is the chocolate covered strawberries for dessert.
“This is all really thoughtful, but surely you could have ordered pie.” Lucy jokes.
“What do you mean?” Kate asks in confusion as she walks towards the table. “What’s all this?”
“The dinner you ordered.” Lucy says, like it’s obvious.
“I didn’t order this, I asked for your favourite cheeseburger burger and fries with the apple pie for dessert.” Kate explains in exasperation.
“Aww, that’s so sweet.” Lucy’s expression softens. “Maybe Kai’s just branching out. I’m not going to say no to a free steak dinner.” She laughs.
“It does look delicious. Smells good too.” Kate reluctantly relents.
Sensing Kate is still a little disappointed, Lucy tries to lighten things up. “Ok then, let’s get stuck in before my stomach monster makes another appearance!”
It has the desired effect. Kate laughs uncontrollably. Lucy feels like the luckiest person in the world to be able to draw that out of her.
Kai had thought of everything. They had plates and cutlery, glasses and napkins too. The meal starts off with the occasional moan at how good the food is, quickly followed by intense blushing. Then things become a little easier and the conversation starts to flow.
“I just realised, I’ve known you all this time and I’ve never asked what your favourite book is.” Lucy exclaims randomly. “That’s probably a question you get all the time and I’m sorry if it’s boring, I’m just curious.”
“Actually, it’s very rare I get asked that. People like to talk about the books they’re interested in, not necessarily the ones I’m interested in.” Kate’s expression is tinted with sadness at that but it doesn’t overshadow the pure joy covering her face that Lucy has asked such a sweet question. “It’s actually a rather fitting time to discuss it because it was gifted to me by my grandfather for Christmas when I was 8 years old. I’d always been an advanced reader and a book was always the perfect gift for me. My favourite is The Hobbit. It may seem a little nerdy, but I find it charming and fantastical and adventurous. It has stuck with me ever since.”
Lucy looks in awe at Kate whilst she talks so passionately about one of her loves. She’s never been more grateful to have asked a question.
“Do you have a favourite?” The question gets turned back on Lucy.
“Not really.” Lucy answers, slightly embarrassed. “I do like to read, but I don’t really feel like I’ve found my genre, you know? I’d be happy to accept some recommendations if you have any though.”
Kate smiles. “I think I’d like to put a bit of thought into that one so I can find something you’ll really love. Leave it with me.”
The evening continues in a similar fashion. Soft looks, some banter, interesting conversation. They both struggle to keep their cool as they eat dessert, but it’s clear that they both enjoy it; the food and the covert lust filled glances.
Meanwhile, Betty sits across from Kai in her booth in the diner. Even the mayor doesn’t get her own booth, but Betty does.
“I made them a romantic dinner, just like you asked. No word on how that went though, I left as soon as I dropped it off.” Kai feeds back to the boss.
Betty waves him off. “Don’t worry about that, I had Ernie bug the place, I know what was said. I just couldn’t get away with setting up a camera so I need to know what you saw.”
“Y-you did what?” Kai asks in surprise, his eyes looking suspiciously around the dining room.
Betty laughs. “Don’t worry, it’s clean here. I have no reason to bug this place.” She waits for him to look relived before she adds “yet” with a devious smile.
It’s safe to say he’s officially terrified of this woman’s power now, something about the scare shocks a memory out of him.
“Oh! I did actually see something interesting when I entered the shop. Kate was sitting on the couch and Lucy was sat on top of her with Kate’s arms wrapped around her waist. Lucy jumped up when she heard me. I wasn’t sure if my mind was playing tricks on me but they were acting suspiciously.”
A shit eating grin erupts on Betty’s face. “Well, well, well. Sneaky girls. It seems that my plan is working even better than I’d hoped.”
Step four is complete
*****
It’s not long before they make plans for their next date- um- meeting to discuss their party plans. Just a few days later, Saturday December 9th, they arrange to meet at BB’s bar at 8pm to decide on drinks.
Kate arrives later than Lucy, although still in plenty of time. She takes a seat next to her at the bar. “Hi.”
Lucy turns on her stool and smiles at her. “Hey yourself. How has your day been?”
“Ugh.” Kate groans frustratedly as she unravels the scarf from around her neck and shrugs off her coat, quickly acclimatising to the temperature in the bar. “Remind me next year that offering a gift wrapping service is not a good idea. I’m too much of a perfectionist and I don’t have time for it.”
Lucy laughs. “I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“Thanks. How was your day?”
“Not to rub it in or anything, but my day was pretty awesome. Lots of people brought their dogs with them to pick trees today and I got to be the photographer for puppies in the snow.” It’s one of the perks of the job. Lucy loves those little family memories she gets to create for people.
Kate’s face becomes the image of the happy teary eyed emoji. “That’s adorable. I wish I could open the shop to dogs but I learned the hard way that they like to pee up bookshelves, and I can’t afford the inventory loss.”
They both lose themselves in laughter at that comment, not even noticing that the bartender has appeared in front of them.
“I thought you were here to try drinks.” A monotone voice cuts through their hysterics.
Kate is quick to apologise. “Sorry BamBam, yes we are, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this for us.”
BamBam is one of the owners of BB’s bar. She shares it 50/50 with her brother BoomBoom. They both spent their early childhood years in the foster care system until they were adopted by the Gates family and moved to Pine Valley. They both shared the same sense of humour and quickly became fast siblings. Their nicknames for each other became what they were known by, hence the name of the bar.
“You’re paying me. It’s not like it’s a favour.” BamBam shrugs. “I’ve got 10 drinks for you to try. Let’s get started shall we.”
Neither Kate or Lucy had expected the experience to be so intense, but they quickly nod their heads and get to drinking. The creamier options of snowballs and eggnog. The spicier options of picantes and clementine margaritas. The sweeter options of peppermint mojitos and sugar cookie martinis. The warmer options of hot buttered rum and mulled wine. The very alcoholic options of “holy shit” and “why can’t I feel my face”.
Those last two weren’t the actual drinks, but neither of them could tell you what they were. By the end of it, they’re both north of tipsy and Kate’s scoring system has gone to shambles.
They’re being super loud and giggly. Drinks are being spilled on the bar. Lucy has started throwing peanuts for Kate to catch in her mouth. She doesn’t even have the coordination for that when she’s stone cold sober so they’re ending up all over the floor and getting trodden in when she stumbles to try to catch the next one.
“I think that’s enough for you two, time to go home.” BamBam appears out of nowhere.
“I think we’re good, but thank you.” Kate says politely, if it weren’t for the slight slur to her voice, you wouldn’t be able to tell she’s drunk.
“It wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order.”
“Oooooh. Someone’s using their bossy voice.” Meanwhile Lucy has regressed to a giggly teenage state.
Kate takes the tone seriously though. She grabs Lucy by the arm and whispers (shouts) in her ear. “She’s not joking. Let’s get out of here.”
“Ugh. Fiiinnnnee.” Lucy sulks at being told what to do but they both get wrapped up in their winter jackets, bid the remaining patrons a farewell and head outside into the snow.
The cold air is mildly sobering, but they’re both still very giddy.
“Oh, I know what we should do now!” Lucy yells as she jumps away from Kate. She crouches down on the ground, scooping up some of the fresh snow that has fallen since they’ve been indoors and forms it into a ball. She heaves herself back up and takes a few steps back with a mischievous look on her face.
“Lucy.” Kate warns in a deep voice. “Don’t even think about it.”
Lucy ignores the warning. She cranks her arm back and releases. Even though she’s only a few feet away, she gets some good power on it and it hits Kate square in the chest.
Kate looks down in disbelief as she brushes the remnants of snow off her jacket. “You did not just do that.”
“Oh yes I did.” Lucy smirks.
“You just messed with Northwestern’s star varsity softball pitcher for four years running.” She wants to take her gloves off for effect, but she’s going to need those so she opts for a power stance instead. Little does she realise that she looks more like Bambi on ice in her drunken state.
“You think that’s scary. I carry trees for a living. I’d bet I’ve got a better arm than you.” Lucy goads.
Kate doesn’t even dignify that with a response. Whilst Lucy was bragging she was already gathering ammo in preparation for her attack. As soon as Lucy finished talking, a perfectly formed snowball was launched her way. It hits her in the small gap between her scarf and sweater.
“Aghhhh.” She cries. “Some of that went down my shirt.” She dances around, frantically shaking the bottom of her sweater and jacket so the excess snow drops out.
“That’ll teach you to mess with me.” Kate shouts back, smugly.
A fire is lit in Lucy’s eyes. “Oh, it’s soooo on, Whistler.”
It turns into a full blown snowball fight. The scale of which neither of them has experienced since they were kids. They each find cover, quickly scrabbling to create as much ammo as possible before launching their next attack. Kate hides in the doorway of her storefront and Lucy shields herself using the sign on the sidewalk outside Betty’s.
As Kate keeps getting hit after hit on the sign, it begins to wobble. Neither of them notice because they’re too into the battle. Then suddenly, there’s a crash as it comes falling down, breaking in two as it hits the icy ground.
It’s at that exact moment that the sheriff appears. “Hey! What’s going on? I’ve had some drunk and disorderly complaints from the residents along this street.”
They both stand stock still, like kids who’ve been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. “She started it!” is yelled in unison as fingers are pointed and offence is taken.
Jesse sighs. He shouldn’t have to deal with kids at home as well as work. “I don’t care who started it. I’m ending it. You’re going to have to come with me to the station.”
“What? For having a snowball fight?” Kate asks, suddenly feeling a little more sober.
“Public intoxication, drunk and disorderly conduct and destruction of private property.” Jesse reels off.
“Seriously Jess. You can’t just let us go. Pretty please.” Lucy uses the puppy dog eyes.
“Sorry Luce, my hands are tied. Go get in the car.” He directs them towards his cruiser.
The car ride and booking process are spent in silence. It’s only once they’re alone together in their shared cell that they break it.
“I’ve never been in trouble for anything before.” Kate says, shell shocked by the whole experience and definitely feeling sober now.
“I’m so sorry Kate.” Lucy apologises solemnly. “If I knew this would happen, I would never have thrown the first snowball.”
“Are you kidding me?” Kate laughs. “I haven’t had that much fun since I was a kid. I mean ideally I didn’t want to end up here, but if I have to be here with anyone, I’m glad it’s you.”
Lucy smiles softly at her and responds with the only word she needs. “Same.”
Elsewhere in the station, Jesse’s having an interesting conversation with a different troublemaker.
“How did you know that was going to happen? Sure you assigned them drinks, but you can’t possibly have known they’d get drunk and disorderly so I could arrest them.”
Betty shrugs but there’s a glint in her eye. “I’ve been on this earth a lot longer than you, I know how people work, especially two women who have massive crushes on each other but don’t even realise it.”
Jesse chuckles. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“I may have heard it a time or two.” Betty admits coyly. “Now it’s late. You should close up and go back to that hot wife of yours.”
“You really need to stop flirting with Heather, she enjoys it way too much.”
“I can’t help myself, I’ve always had a thing for redheads.” Betty winks.
Jesse scoffs. “Get out of here old woman, I need to get home before you start making plays to steal my wife.”
“Not before you release the idiots. Let’s just say I paid their bail.” Betty suggests.
“If you say so. A night in the cells might do them some good though.” Jesse is very much onboard with getting those two together. He’s eager to play his part in this little operation to the fullest.
“It probably would, but I still have a few more things to execute, we’re not ready for the grand finale yet.” She smiles knowingly. “All in good time.”
Step five is complete.
*****
A week after being bailed out of jail in the middle of the night, when they’re only eight days away from the party, a bombshell is dropped at an impromptu meeting. They’re doing Secret Santa this year. Kate descends into panic immediately, the last minuteness of it all not suiting her approach in the slightest. There are similar grumbles from everyone else, but they all agree to do it.
Silence falls on the room as each person draws a name from the bucket that’s being passed around by Betty. The responses vary from eye rolls, to small smiles, to complete poker faces. Kate and Lucy are last to draw.
Kate takes hers first. Taking a deep breath as she opens it. She’s hoping for Jane or Betty, they’re easy to buy for. The name she actually gets makes her panic even more.
Lucy takes the last one. Hoping for Ernie because she knows he’s in the market for a new keyboard after smashing his favourite last week. It would be such an easy buy. It’s not to be though, the universe is testing her with the name she pulls.
The next morning sees both of them seeking out their best friends for advice.
“Why did we even have to do Secret Santa?” Kate whines as she sits on the couch opposite Jane.
“Betty thought it would be fun, and you know she makes the decisions on everything around here.” There’s definitely a little bitterness in her tone.
Kate huffs. “I swear that woman has been trying to make my life more complicated this festive season.”
Jane sips her tea and says nothing about it.
Kate takes the silence as a cue to continue. “If it was anyone else I could just get you anything, I can’t do that with Lucy, it needs to be something meaningful.”
“Good to know where your priorities lie. It’s not like I’ve been your best friend for three years or anything.” Jane says sarcastically.
“You know what I mean I-”
Jessica interrupts as she appears out of nowhere next to Jane. “What she means is that she has the hots for Lucy and wants to get her a good gift so she can get in her pants.”
“Wha- I- that is not what this is about at all.” Kate vehemently denies the accusation.
Jessica shrugs. “I call it like I see it. And if I can see it when I’ve only been around you two a handful of times in the last three years, then it must be very obvious.”
“Jane, call off your wife.” Kate whines.
“Sorry Kate, wife trumps best friend. I like sleeping in my bed at night.” She doesn’t even sound the slightest bit apologetic.
“You two suck.” She flops back on the couch in despair. With a week to go and zero help from the people who supposedly have her back, she’s completely screwed.
Across town, Lucy is in Ernie’s lair experiencing a different kind of despair.
“So this Secret Santa thing, I know there’s like a $50 dollar spending limit but it wouldn’t be wrong if I went just a smidge over that, right?” She asks tentatively.
Ernie turns to her, intent on an interrogation. “Who did you get and what are you planning?” Even though he already knows, he’s giving nothing away, this could be a fact finding mission.
“You know the rules of Secret Santa mean I can’t tell you that.” Lucy takes gift giving things very seriously, especially at Christmas.
“Why are you here then?”
“Can’t a girl come and hangout with her best friend without any ulterior motive than getting the answer to a simple question?” Lucy asks innocently.
“If you want my advice, I’m going to need some tea.” Ernie counters. Friendship can be selfless, but it can also be mutually beneficial.
She thinks on it for a moment, grinning when she comes up with the perfect thing. “Betty switched the English Breakfast tea at the bakery to decaf and hasn’t told anyone.” She can barely keep a straight face as she says it.
“You get points for creativity, I’ll give you that.” He chuckles, shaking his head at her. “Here’s my advice, if you have something special in mind, something that will put a smile on the face of your gift’s recipient, then you have to do it. It’s what the season is all about.”
“Thank you Ernie.” She says excitedly. “It might be hard to source in a week but I know exactly what I’m going to get.”
Step six is complete.
*****
When the day of the Christmas Eve party arrives, the whole town is abuzz with excitement. It’s the event of the year. Truly a magical experience no matter how it’s organised or who’s there. This year is set to be one of the best yet.
It’s held in the town hall, but it’s not just your usual stuffy old town hall; it’s a beautifully converted barn. Once used to shelter horses, it’s now a warm, rustic and homely place for the whole town.
There’s the main hall with a few other rooms coming off it, like the kitchen and restrooms, as well as a small first floor up in the rafters, mostly used for storage and to hold small gatherings.
Kate and Lucy spent the whole day here together yesterday. Given that it’s so close to Christmas, they both shut up shop and invested their time in making the place a winter wonderland. There’s a 10 ft tree in the corner, decked out with the finest gold ornaments. Each table has its own mini tree in the centre. Warm lighting is draped from the rafters, almost creating the effect of a twinkling night sky. Garlands are wrapped around the beams and laid over the mantle piece above the log fire. There’s a wreath on every door, some twined willow, some spruce, all decorated with gold ribbon.
The pièce de résistance though, is Lucy’s reindeer creations. A chunky log sat horizontally for the body with 4 thinner sticks coming out of the bottom as the legs, a further stick for the neck with a smaller log attached for the head, and beautifully sourced multi branched sticks for the antlers. When Kate first saw them she was mesmerised; given that they were her idea creatively, Lucy has already promised that one is hers to keep after the event is over.
The drinks started flowing as soon as everyone arrived, they went with traditional eggnog and mulled wine in the end, with peppermint mojitos for anyone who fancies something a little more refreshing. And of course Heather’s famous, nonalcoholic Christmas fruit punch bowl.
The smart casual dress code brings a whole array of outfits from dresses, to shirts, to tasteful Christmas sweaters. Lucy is wearing her signature all black with shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows and Kate has opted for a knee length, long sleeved red dress that has a bit of sparkle. They compliment each other perfectly, which Betty isn’t afraid to say in front of everyone.
“Did you two plan to come dressed as a hot power couple or is this some sort of telepathic connection you’ve developed since you’ve been planning partners?”
Lucy goes wide eyed as Kate blushes. They had actually checked what the other was wearing. Just so they don’t clash of course, nothing should be read into the fact that Lucy’s two top buttons are sewn on with red thread.
Jane takes pity on them and decides to get the Secret Santa exchange underway. “Let’s get this thing out of the way, then we can all drink a little more and be merry.”
They go round the circle clockwise, each person handing their gift to the person whose name they picked and watching them open it. Jane got Kai a movie night gift basket complete with popcorn, candy, hot chocolate fixings and a Netflix gift card so he can watch his favourite rom-coms. Jesse got Ernie the exact keyboard Lucy was planning to get him, wonder how he got that idea. Betty got Jessica some fur lined handcuffs, much to her amusement and Jane’s exasperation. And so on. By the end of it, it’s obvious that Kate and Lucy have each other. They both laugh at the realisation.
“Merry Christmas Lucy, from your secret Santa.” Kate hands over the meticulously wrapped gift. Sustainable Kraft paper with a white tree print, red raffia string and a thin bark tag with Lucy’s name burned into it. The perfect style for someone whose life revolves around trees.
“I almost don’t want to open it.” Lucy takes it delicately, admiring the wrapping in awe. “It might seem a little narcissistic but I think I’ll use the tag as a tree ornament, it’s so pretty.”
“I think that’s adorable.” Kate responds softly, it’s like there’s only the two of them in the room.
Lucy carefully begins to open the wrapping. Untying the string, sliding her finger under the paper tape to detach it.
Kate is increasingly anxious as she watches Lucy work, picking at her fingers and biting her lip, fretting over her choice being perfect.
The paper finally unfolds to reveal a pair of tan deerskin leather gloves. They have a thin fur lining and the left hand is monogrammed with ‘ In my heart is a Christmas tree farm’
When Lucy doesn’t say anything, Kate feels the need to explain. “When I was helping you out at the lot, I noticed that yours were starting to wear through. I did thorough research and these are the right level of tough and I know it gets cold out there so they’re warm and-” A soft hand touches hers, stopping her mid ramble.
“No one has ever got me such a thoughtful gift. I love them Kate. Thank you, truly.” Lucy says sincerely, her eyes glistening at the gesture.
Kate breathes a huge sigh of relief. She’s not given too long to rest though before her own gift is being thrust at her.
“By process of elimination, it’s obvious that I’m your secret Santa. Please can you open it now, it’s been killing me to wait.” Lucy laughs nervously. They’re both still seemingly oblivious to the group of people surrounding them.
Kate accepts the gift, it’s an easy to wrap rectangular shape but Lucy’s wrapping skills leave something to be desired. It’s green paper covered in candy canes, no bows or string, just simple. She opens the paper a little quicker than Lucy did, not wanting to delay the inevitable.
She can feel the smile appear on her face, it’s so big it makes her cheeks hurt. If Lucy thought her gift was thoughtful, this is on a whole other level. “Lucy, I can’t accept this, it must have cost you a fortune.”
Lucy smiles. “It’s not possible to put a price tag on the look on your face when you opened it.”
The gift is a first edition of The Hobbit; Kate’s all time favourite book and one of her happiest Christmas memories. This moment right here might have surpassed it in the list though.
“Thank you.” She accepts it with a teary eyed smile.
“Ahem.” Someone clears their throat.
Suddenly Kate and Lucy remember where they are and look over at the sound, feeling a little embarrassed at other people bearing witness to their moment. It was Betty who interrupted, who else would it be.
“You two are flouting tradition.”
Lucy rushes to explain. “I know my gift was over the limit but-”
“No, not that.” Betty is swift to cut off her flow. “I couldn’t care less about that, thoughtfulness always prevails. Look up.” Her eyes flick upwards towards the roof.
When Kate and Lucy follow the direction of her eye line, they freeze at what they find.
Mistletoe.
A sprig of mistletoe that definitely wasn’t there earlier because they did all of the decorating and that particular piece of nature was not included in the scheme.
In slow motion, their eyes fall and lock back onto each other’s. It’s like they’re having a silent conversation of ‘we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to’ and ‘tradition isn’t more important than your comfort’. After a few moments, they seem to come to a nonverbal agreement. Eyes flicker between eyes and lips, they slowly start to inch in closer to each other. Neither one of them is even breathing, too afraid to break the spell. Their lips touch, softly and firmly all at the same time, it’s a tentative kiss but there are immediate sparks.
The rest of the room disappears as they break apart, looking into each other’s eyes once more. There’s something new there, fire, lust, attraction, maybe even something more. They can’t help themselves. On instinct they surge towards each other, their lips crashing together this time. Years of the tension and heart eyes that everyone else has seen being poured out all at once.
Wolf whistles and cheers and yells of “get a room” break them apart, but they don’t wait there, all nervous and embarrassed. Lucy grabs Kate’s hand and leads her out of there into the plunging temperatures outside.
As soon as the door closes, Lucy immediately spins around to face Kate, not even giving her a moment to speak. “I have a confession to make. I’ve liked you pretty much since the day you arrived in town. I was sitting having a danish at Betty’s when I spotted the moving truck appear at the vacant store across the street. A beautiful woman hopped out, wearing the cutest red hat, scarf and gloves. The snow was falling and you were laughing. It felt like the perfect hallmark moment.”
A smile, rivaling the secret Santa one from only moments ago, blooms on Kate’s face. She takes Lucy’s hands and holds them in hers. “The first time I saw you, you were eating the biggest cheeseburger I’ve ever seen at Kai’s. You had sauce running down your chin and the most satisfied look on your face.”
Lucy is horrified. “That is really not the first impression I want, you looking like a goddess whilst I’m nothing more than a garbage monster.”
Kate laughs. “No, it was perfect. You were perfect and you’ve been nothing but perfect ever since. I so wanted to meet the woman who could take down a burger like that and when I did, you certainly didn’t disappoint. I’ve always been into you.”
Lucy lets out a wry chuckle. “Have we both been major dumdums?”
Kate shrugs. “Kinda. I mean if you really think about it, we’ve sort of been dating for most of the time we’ve known each other. The movie nights, going to dinner, sharing pie.”
“We have.” Lucy agrees softly. “This month has felt even more like that too. I’ve had a lot of fun with you.”
“Me too.” Kate releases Lucy’s hands and they wrap their arms around each other.
“Something tells me that we’d have got here ourselves eventually, but after that kiss, I’m definitely not mad at a certain naughty little elf for giving us a little push to get there faster.” Lucy laughs.
Kate joins her. “I swear that woman isn’t fully human, there’s got to be some magic going on there! I very much enjoyed that kiss though, how do you feel about another?”
Lucy responds by stepping up on her tiptoes and connecting their lips. It’s less intense this time, they both smile into it and get lost in the feel of each other.
Unfortunately, the scene stealer can never leave them alone for too long. “A quickie outside in the snow, I’m impressed. For two people who moved at such a glacial pace, you sure can move fast.”
Lucy laughs whilst Kate turns a bright shade of red. Lucy finds her embarrassment adorable and squeezes her tighter.
“Are you two lovebirds going to freeze your sexy asses out here all night or are you going to be civilised and rejoin the party?” Betty asks, nothing like guilting them into returning by suggesting they’re being unsociable.
It’s only then that they realise they’re outside in below freezing temperatures without so much as a jacket. They should be feeling like ice cubes, but somehow they’ve never felt warmer.
Looking at each other once more, they have a silent conversation about their next move. Agreeing with a brief nod of the head, they disengage from their hold and walk the few feet towards Betty.
They flank her on either side, giving her no warning for what they are about to do, then each bend down and place a kiss on each of her cheeks. With the height difference, Kate practically has to kneel to do it.
It almost looks like Betty is blushing but she’d never admit to it. “Now what did I do to deserve a Christmas kiss from two hotties?”
“We know you were behind a lot of the things that have happened in the last month.” Kate explains.
“Thank you for being our personal Santa.” Lucy adds.
*****
Later as the happy couple are swaying in an embrace to the sound of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Betty sidles up to Jane and Jessica or JJ as she likes to refer to them.
“Who wants to bet we can get them married by next Christmas?” She knows exactly what reaction she’s going to get, but it’s too much fun to be bad.
Jane has had enough. “Nope, that’s it, you’re done meddling. Let them figure it out for themselves. They look like they’re doing a pretty good job.” She softens towards the end.
The three of them watch as Lucy stands on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss on Kate’s lips and pulls back with the biggest smile on her face.
“You know what, I’ll take that bet.” Jessica cuts through the quiet observation.
“Babe!” Jane exclaims at her wife’s audacity to say that.
“What?” Jessica shrugs. “I’m retired now, I feel like as the First Lady of Pine Valley I should get to do a little matchmaking.”
Jane shakes her head and chuckles. “You’re very lucky I love you.”
Jessica wraps her arms around her wife and unleashes the heart eyes. “Yes I am.”
“I think I’m going to leave before you two start making up for lost time.” Betty fake gags, she loves it really. “It’s good to have my favourite Tennant back, Commander. I’ll be in touch with details, but on New Year’s Day, we ride at dawn. Operation Kacy Wedding is a go.”
Not at all amused by those comments, Jane looks like she’s going to lunge at Betty, but Jessica takes the ultimate sacrifice for her comrade and pulls her wife into a kiss. It’s a hard job but someone’s gotta do it.
As Betty walks away from the scene, she has a proper look around the room. Seeing all of the people she loves having a great time, she can’t help but think this Christmas is one for the books. There’s nothing like a Pine Valley Christmas to make the Yuletide gay-er.