“She’s making us presents?” Ricky looked shell-shocked as he asked the question.
“If you’re anywhere near her during the holidays, you get a present.” I just hoped she’d only bring the hats and scarves, though I knew those were the headliners. They’d both get Christmas bread, some homemade jam, and probably fruitcake too.
“We don’t have anything for her.” Ricky’s voice sounded like it was on the way to wailing.
“Oh, uh, yeah. She doesn’t expect anything in return from you.” I grinned. “But if I don’t get her something, she’ll act really hurt. Even though she understands that I’ve just graduated and will be starting a new job.”
“Would she like a cookbook?” John looked as worried as Ricky.
“Sure. She collects them, reads them, and is always experimenting from them. Why?”
“I could give her a copy of my cookbook.” He muttered so softly I almost missed it, but he was watching me as I caught his words.
“You wrote a cookbook?”
“Yeah, when Adam was writing his, the agent asked me if I’d write one too. It’s called Everyday Hints from a Master Sous-Chef.” He looked unsure. “Or I could get Adam to sign one of his books.”
“No. She’d love to have a copy of your book. She’ll brag that her son, the plant doctor, has a famous landlord.” I looked him straight in the eyes. “I’d like to have a copy too. If you’ve got a spare one.”
Ricky was squirming around us. “What can I get her?”
“What do you usually get older women relatives?” I asked.
He blinked at me as if it was an impossible question.
“Nothing. I don’t have any of those. I don’t have any family.” Ricky sounded okay with his reality.
I’d put my arm around John who was studying something on the ground. I gave him a squeeze, and his eyes popped up to meet mine.
“What about your family?” I asked him. “Other than your aunt.”
He shook his head. “Adam’s my family now. And David and Ricky, I guess. And…you?”
“Absolutely.” I gave him a kiss, my heart about to burst with happiness.
Then Ricky started getting antsy, and the mood shattered.
“Look, I gotta run.” I told them. “I’m supposed to be meeting David at the Star.”
John sighed. “Yeah. We need to drop Ricky at the police station, and then I’ll go with you to the restaurant.”
* * * *
At the Silver Star, David hurried toward us, a flamboyantly dressed guy following in his wake.
“John, the Thug kahuna’s been looking for you already.” David eyed the two of us.
John snorted a laugh and then turned and kissed me. “He’s always looking for me. See you later.” John moved from my side to veer off toward the kitchen.
“So I wasn’t far off about boyfriends, huh?” David asked me.
I shrugged. I guess we were a couple. Maybe. Probably.
The man in the bright red pants and garish Christmas plaid sweater had sidled over to me as I watched John standing inside the kitchen. Suddenly I felt his eyes boring holes in my neck.
“Hey! What do you want?” I jumped away from him. I’d seen him a time or two in the nursery and around town. He never bought anything from Cuttings, I didn’t think. But he looked around a lot.
“Fredi, quit it! You’re making Fen nervous,” David chided him.
The guy turned to me with a charming grin on his face. “Sorry. The ink is so beautiful.”
He looked like he was moving toward me to get even more up close and personal about my tattoo, but fortunately David separated us as if he were a sheep dog.
“Fen, I’m not sure if you know Fredi Zimmer. He’s an artist and designer.” He turned to Fredi and eyed him with a frown. “Fredi, this is Fen, Beth’s nephew. He’s working with her at Cuttings.”
“Just for the holidays,” I broke in. Beth had told me about Fredi and the amazing houses he’d designed from scratch and those he’d renovated in the area. She and Kate swore they were going to get Fredi to renovate their tiny two-bedroom home when they won the lottery.
“I asked Fen to come up with a new decoration design for the Star, but he felt uncomfortable doing it. So I thought since he makes beautiful wreaths and swags, you and he could collaborate. What do you think?”
Fredi gave me the once-over, like he was going to hit on me. But I saw the wedding ring on his finger and knew it would never happen between us even if he tried. He was only a few inches taller than I was and willowy thin. I could take him down in a second.
“You made the live wreaths and swags at Cuttings?” His eyes lit up as he looked from my tattoo to my face.
I nodded.
“Honey,” he said, grabbing on to my arm, leading me to a table in the corner, and pulling back a chair for me, “we must get to know each other.”
He proceeded to gush over my work, and within minutes we’d become BFFs—at least on his side—and Beth suddenly had a lucrative new customer. Not only did he want me to make the Star’s holiday decorations, for which he’d bought antique sheriff stars, stirrups, and other hardware, but he had talked me into selecting plants and making decorations for his other clients. I was caught up and whirled around in the vortex named Fredi Zimmer. I noticed when David and John passed by us, they both grinned at me. David also winked, and John just shook his head.
* * * *
That night after dinner, when John and I had gotten Ricky calmed down and he was watching TV, we snuck upstairs to my place. We kept the inside doors open so we could hear Ricky if he needed us.
We were lying in the tower room at the foot of the tree, two short guys
