Page 120 of Deck the Hauls

Silence fell as we piled our plates with food, broken by exclamations as, one by one, my family members tried the lasagna.

As we ate, we chatted about Jake and Kelsey’s building plans—they’d had designs drawn up to build a house on the farm, and were currently seeking quotes—then on to the battles my parents and Jake had been having with an infestation of stink bugs and Emily’s experience filming The Christmas Tree Farm.

“We should watch it tonight,” Mom said.

Should I let her know about my cameo as Grumpy Waitress? I grinned. No. That could be a nice surprise.

“This green bean casserole is delicious,” I announced instead, smiling at my parents in their blue and purple paper hats and then looking around the table, at Jake, Kelsey and Emily.

While it was smaller and quieter than Emily’s family gatherings, the love was still there.

I’d missed this. I had no regrets about not trying earlier—I wouldn’t have been ready. But now, with Emily by my side and three years under the bridge, it was good to be home, celebrating Christmas as a family.

I squeezed Emily’s hand under the table and shoveled another forkful of lasagna into my mouth.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

EMILY

“Do you think we’ll ever catch it?” I asked.

Snow crunched under foot as we passed through the firs, hand in hand, the afternoon light streaming through the branches. In Dana’s other hand hung an empty trap.

Dana sighed. “I have been wondering if we should just give up. We’ve had the trap out for two months now. Not only is it a pain constantly having to check it, but the temperatures are going to plummet next week, and I’m worried about anything being trapped in the cold for too long.”

“But what about the trees?” I asked.

Dana shrugged. “We’ve been able to save most of the trees it has damaged. It’s not ideal, but hopefully there are enough people like your family who will overlook a few imperfections. And Olivia can use the rest for wreathes.”

“Well, I’m sure my parents would love a Red Tractor Farm tree that’s been vandalized by a mysterious creature.” I grinned. “Perhaps we could take them one next year?”

Sure, we had only been officially dating for six days and next Christmas was a long way off. But I was perhaps foolishly confident that we’d be together this time next year.

I squeezed Dana’s hand and gazed at her, my heart full. Behind her, a small black-and-white bird jumped from one snow-covered branch to another.

“Hey, look! It’s a chickadee. Do you think it’s the same one we saw the night of the snowstorm?” I asked.

“Quite possibly,” Dana said. “They usually stay in the same area.”

The bird flew down to the snow-covered ground.

“Look! Are those tracks?” Dana asked, pointing to some indents in the snow. “I think they are!”

Dana took a few steps toward a ten-foot fir. “They stop here.”

Her brow crinkled as she examined the base of the tree. “No signs of any damage to the bark.” She looked around. “Maybe it was another animal, not our bark-eating mystery creature.”

Movement at the top of the tree caught my eye.

My head shot up.

I blinked.

There was an animal balancing on the very top of the tree, eating its tip. It had dark brown fur, with long white quills.

“Dana, look!” I pointed. “Is that a…porcupine?”

Dana squinted. “It looks like it.” She grinned. “Well, I think we’ve found our culprit.”