17. Tag

17

TAG

T ag watched the kids walking ahead of him through the park as the streetlamps turned on one by one, feeling sentimental as he imagined the two of them growing up.

He’d been feeling like this all week. It was almost like kissing Charlotte Kendrick had freed his imagination and his emotions, and he hadn’t even known they were locked up. Instead of worrying about what could go wrong today and tomorrow, he kept finding himself thinking about next month and next year, dreaming up so many good things that could come their way.

“I can’t believe he won,” Charlotte said, her eyes on Chance.

“I can’t believe he hasn’t smacked that thing into someone,” Tag chuckled.

Chance had been pulling the sled along behind him all day. He wouldn’t even think about letting Tag put it in the truck. And Tag hadn’t really wanted to take it from him anyway. He liked seeing Chance have a goal and do all he could to make it happen. The fact that his sister helped him in the end only made it better.

After the prize was awarded, they’d gone to the café for lunch and then to the ice cream shop. Chance and Olivia sat at a table, trying to come up with more flavor names and planning out which hills they were going to try the sled out on tomorrow. Tag and Charlotte looked at the freezers to try and figure out exactly how much ice cream they could stock so they wouldn’t run out next time there was a big event in town, and he grabbed the bag of wrapped gifts for the Giving Tree that he had stowed behind the counter.

Time seemed to slip away, and now the sun was sinking fast. It would be perfect timing for the town tree lighting. The church choir already stood in the pavilion, singing “The First Noel” as townsfolk wandered into the park.

The way the light reflected on the snow made him think of the pictures in the holiday book Olivia had loved when she was small. He had read it to her so many times that he was surprised the pages hadn’t fallen out.

“Come on, Dad,” Chance said excitedly, turning back to them. “You too, Charlotte. We want to get a good spot.”

Tag smiled at the idea. The tree was so enormous that you would have to leave the park to miss it, no matter how far back you were.

“Here we come,” Charlotte told Chance, picking up her pace. “Don’t worry.”

Chance gave her a lovelorn smile and Tag felt warmth spreading in his chest. He really loved the way she was with his kids. She seemed to know instinctively what it had taken Tag years to learn—that it didn’t cost them anything to do a silly little thing like walk a little faster, even if it didn’t make sense. She knew it was a small price to pay for one of Chance’s smiles.

“What are you smiling at?” she teased, looking up at Tag with those hypnotic hazel eyes.

“Nothing,” he growled.

He didn’t mean to be so grouchy. It was just that he wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her and kiss her again. She laughed to herself, as if she had read his mind, and then jogged to catch up to the kids.

Everyone was gathering in the park now, and his heart ached at the sight of his parents, hands entwined as they gazed up at the big tree. They made being happy look so easy. The teens from the snowball fight were back, and he was impressed to see that they were all carrying wrapped gifts for the Giving Tree as well.

Chance and Olivia secured their spots in the front row, and Tag and Charlotte stood behind them, leaving space up front for more children. The choir made their way over from the pavilion, past the fountain to the tree, singing as they came.

Mayor Fontaine stepped forward to welcome them as they filed their way into a semi-circle around the podium that had been set up for him, facing the small crowd. His white hair and beard were freshly trimmed, and he wore a festive red scarf that looked like the handiwork of his wife, Anna, who stood at the front of the crowd, wearing a matching one.

The song ended and the last few notes seemed to float over the silent gathering, swirling around the streetlamps and bare branches of the trees before disappearing into the night.

“That was so lovely,” the mayor said softly, with a twinkly eyed smile. “We’re very lucky in this town. We’re lucky to have each other, and to have a choir who can transport us with their voices. And we’re lucky to have such a beautiful Christmas tree. Ruth Ann, come on up here and get ready to turn on the lights.”

A teenaged girl, Seth Radkin’s daughter, came up. She was wearing a pretty dress under her coat and she clutched her gloved hands nervously, but her eyes were shining with pride.

“Ruth Ann helped us out a lot this year,” the mayor said. “She went store to store after school every day for a month, collecting donations for our Giving Tree event.”

There was applause in the audience. Somewhere behind them, Tripp let out a familiar whoop that made Chance and Olivia glance at each other and giggle.

Tag remembered that Ruth Ann had stopped by the ice cream shop back before Charlotte was running it. Lois had called him to ask about a donation. He’d had her take a little cash from the register to donate, since ice cream didn’t keep well enough to go under a tree.

“In honor of the work she did, Ruth Ann is our Christmas Star this year,” the mayor continued. “So she’s going to turn on the lights for us tonight.”

They all watched while Ruth Ann and the mayor crouched in the snow as the mayor pointed out the plug to her.

“ Ten ,” he called out.

“ Nine ,” the crowd called back happily. “ Eight. ”

The countdown continued, with Chance getting more excited with each number, until Tag thought he might just wiggle right out of his snow pants.

As the crowd yelled One , Ruth Ann plugged in the cable, and suddenly everything was illuminated by the brilliant lights of the massive tree.

“Oh,” Charlotte said softly, with tears in her eyes as she gazed up at the beautifully decorated evergreen.

Tag couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental himself as he watched her take it all in. He had fond memories of so many Christmases in this town, enjoying the activities and bundling up to see the lights go on. But this was her first time.

Seeing her response made him feel good all over again about making his life here, and letting his kids grow up as much like he had as possible.

The choir had begun singing “Oh, Christmas Tree” and townsfolk joined in, so that the whole community seemed to be singing with one voice. Up at the podium, Ruth Ann Radkin was singing too. By the end, Charlotte wasn’t the only one with tears in her eyes.

“Wasn’t that lovely?” the mayor said when the song was finished. “Now, I know we’re all excited to begin our Giving Tree event. As you can see, we’ve laid out blankets under the tree to protect the gifts. And you can also see the many gifts that are already under the tree. Those were given by our merchants, or bought with the funds they donated, all with Ruth Ann’s help.”

There was light applause and murmuring at the number of gifts that were already there. It was pretty impressive, given how small the town was.

“We all know it’s the season of giving,” the mayor said. “And we also know it was a tough year for some here in Sugarville Grove. But it feels good to give whatever we can, from the heart. If not for your generosity, some of the children who will receive these gifts wouldn’t have presents under the tree this year at all. So we thank you all for sharing what you can, as you always do.”

Chance tugged at Tag’s sleeve and looked up at him with serious eyes.

“What is it?” Tag whispered.

“The kids really won’t have presents?” Chance asked.

“Some families aren’t as lucky as ours,” Tag told him. It hurt his heart to tell the child the truth, but it was important that Chance know why they were giving gifts today. “Isn’t it great that we can help? And maybe when they have a better year, their families will help too. It’s how we all take care of each other.”

Chance nodded, but he still looked sad.

Tag grabbed a wrapped toy from his bag and handed it to Chance, and another to Olivia. He also gave Olivia the bag of clean used kids’ clothing in good condition, packaged the way they’d been told. There were boxes set up behind the podium for the clothing donations.

“So if everyone is ready,” the mayor announced, “let’s begin with our front row.”

The kids to the left of Chance and Olivia moved up to the tree, placing presents underneath it and one or two had clothing gifts to place in the boxes, too. Olivia and Chance were the last in the row, with Chance still dragging his new sled along behind him. When it was their turn, they put the wrapped toys under the tree and Olivia went to the donation boxes with the bag of clothing.

But Chance stood in front of the tree for an extra moment, looking at all the presents. Tag figured he was probably hoping he’d have just as many under his own tree.

Olivia came back to join her brother, taking his hand and murmuring something to him, probably a reminder that they had to move along. There were plenty of other people waiting with their gifts.

They headed back to where Tag and Charlotte waited, but before they made it the whole way, Chance pulled his hand away from his sister’s.

“Hang on,” he squeaked, running back to the tree.

Tag watched in wonder as his little boy tugged at the string attaching his beautiful new sled to his wrist and managed to get it off.

Chance lifted the sled, which was as big as he was, his eyes drinking in all the details he’d been mooning over every time they passed the shop window. Then he lovingly placed it under the tree with the other presents, nodded to himself, and darted back to his sister.

The whole crowd went silent for a moment and then burst into applause. Chance looked up at Tag worriedly, like he thought Tag might be mad at him for giving away his wonderful prize.

“I am so proud of you,” Tag told him, crouching to pull the boy into his arms. “That was a very generous thing you just did.”

Chance hugged him back really hard, and the park around them was a little blurry as Tag blinked back tears of his own. When Chance let go and Tag straightened up, he saw Charlotte was also swiping at the corner of her eye.

“Don’t be sad, Charlotte,” Chance told her. “I’ll win another one next year and you can have a ride on it.”

“Did you know that sometimes grownups cry a little when we’re happy?” she asked him. “I was just thinking what a wonderful person you are, and how lucky I am to know you.”

“Oh,” Chance said, sounding surprised. “That’s nice.”

More people were moving forward, depositing gifts under the tree and clothing in the boxes before filing back to their places.

“It’s just lovely what he did,” Edna Thornton said to Tag as she passed. “What a kindhearted young man you’re raising.”

“You guys must be so proud,” Dale Stravinsky said, stopping to clasp Tag’s shoulder and give Charlotte an appreciative smile. “And I think your girl here is a good influence on this family.”

Charlotte’s face turned red, and Dale marched off before Tag could correct him.

As more people greeted them, it occurred to him that most of them probably assumed he and Charlotte were a couple. And no one was teasing him about her being younger, or acting like she was anything but a good addition to the family.

Could it really be this easy?

In Tag’s experience, good things took work. A calf might have to be bottle fed, then she would eat her own weight every two months, and drink gallons of water every day for two years before she gave her first drop of milk. Trees took years to grow, and the dogs and horses had to be carefully nurtured and trained.

And whenever you tried to take shortcuts, things went very wrong.

This is a relationship, not a farm, he told himself inwardly. It’s okay if she fell into our laps.

But as the crowd dissipated and folks gathered in small groups to catch up, he felt more and more off-balance with every knowing smile and encouraging interaction.

“Hey,” Zane said to him, grabbing his arm. “Are you okay?”

Tag glanced over to see that Olivia was pushing Chance on a swing while Zane’s boys pushed each other on the one next to it. And Charlotte was chatting with Edna Thornton from the bookstore.

He turned to his brother, meaning to keep it all in.

“Everyone thinks we’re together,” he blurted out instead.

“Are you?” Zane asked.

“I… I’m not sure,” Tag admitted.

Zane nodded, making it seem like that was an acceptable answer, though Tag knew that it very much wasn’t. Charlotte was a nice girl. He couldn’t just go around kissing her and then getting mad when people thought they were a couple.

“Does Allie know?” Zane asked.

“She’s going to kill me,” Tag remembered out loud, thinking about how livid his baby sister was going to be.

“Oh wow,” Zane said, his lips tugging up at the corners.

But it wasn’t funny.

Tag glanced over again and saw that Charlotte was talking with Mrs. Surkin, Chance’s kindergarten teacher now, a furrow in her brow.

“I should go,” he said, without waiting for Zane to respond.

“Well, he’s obviously a good boy,” Mrs. Surkin was saying. “Yesterday was out of character, and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“Yes, I think a little context will be helpful,” Charlotte said.

Confusion and anger rose in his chest as he strode the last few steps to land in front of them.

“Did something happen with Chance at school yesterday?” he demanded, his voice a little too loud.

“There was a small incident during library time, Tag,” Mrs. Surkin said gently. “I think Charlotte heard more about it since she picked him up yesterday.”

“ She’s not the boy’s mother ,” Tag heard himself roar. “And you aren’t supposed to discuss my children with strangers.”

Mrs. Surkin opened her mouth and closed it again, obviously mortified.

A flash of guilt shot through him, and he looked to Charlotte.

She was gazing up at him with an anguished expression, and the moment his eyes met hers, he could see all the trust and care he had built with her crashing down before his eyes right before she turned and ran back toward the shop.

Everything in him told him to run after her, to apologize and tell her that his defenses had been built up for years and it might take time for him to let her in.

But his feet were planted too firmly, and he clenched his fists as he watched her go, not even hearing Mrs. Surkin’s apologies and admonitions over the pounding of his heart as Charlotte’s figure grew smaller, then disappeared.

It’s for the best, he told himself. I’m a grown man. I can’t be playing house with her. It’s better to burn it down now, before the kids get even closer with her than they were before.

But when he turned back, Olivia and Chance both just stared at him from the swings, the smiles gone from their faces.

Other people were staring too. Everyone in earshot probably thought he had lost his mind.

“Let’s go,” he growled to the kids.

“Dad—” Chance began.

“Come on,” Olivia told Chance in a low, sweet voice. “Let’s go home and have a nice snack.”

“But why did you shout?” Chance asked as they walked for the truck.

“Because I’m your dad,” Tag said, feeling awful about it already. “What happened yesterday at the library?”

“I got in trouble for yelling,” Chance said. “But?—”

“But nothing,” Tag told him. “I’m guessing that you saw tonight how much people hate yelling.”

“This is why we never want to tell you anything,” Olivia snapped. “You don’t listen. You just get mad. Charlotte listens to us.”

“Where is she?” Chance asked quietly.

That was actually a really good question. And one he couldn’t answer. He thought about places she might have gone, but his phone buzzed in his pocket before he had the chance to look for her.

Charlotte:

I’m going to ride back with Zane and Allie.

Scowling, he shoved the phone back in his jeans. He shouldn’t be disappointed. Let her spend time with Zane. Bitter jealousy roiled in his belly, but he did his best to ignore it. Zane was probably a better match for her anyway. And he was actually lonely. Tag never wanted another woman in his life, and a night like tonight was a good example of why.

They loaded into the truck in silence that only made him angrier. The kids were acting like they were at a funeral or something. He started the truck and pulled away from the twinkling lights of the village.

“ No, ” Olivia whispered as they turned onto Fox Hollow and headed into the country. “ No, no, no… ”

“What’s wrong?” Chance asked.

Tag glanced in the rearview mirror to see his daughter staring at her phone screen with a horrified expression.

“Evan Rossi has mono,” she moaned. “I have to play Scrooge.”