AllFreeNovel
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A family emergency could be anything from I got cold feet about meeting you because I’m married to I’ve lied to you about everything, even the snowmen I supposedly made.
The tiny voice in her head chided her that he could be telling the truth, but her track record with men outweighed her benefit of the doubt.
“Whoa, where did you go off to?” Holly asked, waving her hands in the air.
Merry shook off the dreary thoughts with a shrug. “Nowhere, just thinking I want a cinnamon roll now.”
“No argument here. Oh, speaking of things you want, it’s still a no go with Declan. He is adamant he doesn’t need to order a tree. I even offered to decorate it for him.”
“Damn. I really wanted to end up with at least seventy trees and he was the crown jewel on making this year’s festival a success.”
Holly held up her hand and in a British accent, announced, “Fear not, dear sister, I have one last card to play before I fold.”
“What the heck was that?”
“Practicing my stage voice. I convinced the Mistletoe Theater Troupe to donate a tree by agreeing to be their on-call understudy for the year.”
“What the heck is that?”
“If they have a last-minute drop-out before performances start, I fill in.”
“Why you?”
“I’m assuming it has to do with my following on Instagram and YouTube. And I am quite the actress.”
“You are a daredevil elf on social media, not Julia Roberts.”
“Just you wait, sister Merry, just you wait,” Holly sang with a terrible Cockney accent.
“Stop butchering My Fair Lady.”
Holly sniffed. “I thought I nailed it. I also called in favors at The Pipe Doctors, Light Bright Electrical, and Games and Gadgets, that new nerd store on 5th.”
“That puts us at seventy trees!” Merry dropped the needlework project in her hands and tackle-hugged her sister, falling on top of her with a squeal. “How did you do it?”
“I own a holiday store where they can get ornaments at cost and I offered to decorate for them…with a nominal fee attached.”
Merry hugged her again. “You are awesome.” Merry stood up and after going back to her seat, added, “But I still want Declan.”
“Oh, you can have Declan. He’s a poop.”
“Not like that. I still want you to work on him.”
Holly cracked her knuckles with an evil smirk. “I’ll work him over, free of charge. I’m sure there’s a metal pipe lying around that store of his.”
“You’re terrible.”
“Yes, but only because it’s him.” Holly whipped out her phone and tapped away at the screen. “By the way, whatcha making there?”
Merry held up the project she was working on with a grin. “A present for Tara. She got dumped by that mechanic and I thought the perfect voodoo doll would make her smile.”
Holly burst out laughing at the pink plush penis with x’s for eyes.
“A voodoo peen?”
“That’s what Tara called it, but I think we can do better. I need to go to the craft store and get some stuffing for him and I was going to add a red button for a mouth. What do you think?”
“That Mom’s going to have a fit when she sees it.”
