Keeper of the Stars by Robin Lee Hatcher

Author:Robin Lee Hatcher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2015-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

It was soon apparent that the Cartwright family didn’t do Christmas in a small way. There were six large plastic storage bins to be carried into the house, each of them filled to capacity with decorations.

“The tree’s outside next to the garage,” Rodney said after the last bin had been brought inside. “We can—”

“I’ll get it.” Trevor didn’t bother to put on his coat. He wouldn’t be outside all that long. He exited the house through the mudroom and made his way to the far side of the garage. Tall and thick, the tree lay on top of a pile of shoveled snow. Trevor could see that it would fill the corner in the living room where Rodney had indicated it would go.

He managed to carry the tree into the house without too much trouble, and together he and Rodney secured it into the tree stand. Then they stepped back to admire their handiwork.

“Beautiful tree,” Rodney said. “Even without ornaments. Our friends got it for us when they went to chop down their own tree.”

“This one isn’t from the lot in town, huh?”

Rodney shook his head. “When the kids were little, my wife and I always made a day of it for the family. Going into the forest in search of the perfect tree. Coming back home and drinking hot chocolate while we decorated it. Those were such good times.”

Trevor felt a sting of envy. His childhood memories were mostly of arguments, angry words, and slamming doors. Not that his mom hadn’t tried her best to make the season bright, but his father—

“This year,” Rodney continued, “well, this year neither Penny nor I had the energy to do it that way, but it still wouldn’t have felt right to buy one off the lot. So we were thankful when Tom and Janet volunteered to get a tree for us while they were getting theirs.”

Trevor’s father had never had much in the way of Christmas spirit. William Reynolds had been more of the bah-humbug type. He’d complained about the crass commercialization of the holiday, but he just hadn’t liked to shop for gifts. As for decorating a Christmas tree—they’d had an artificial one—the man had never hung so much as one ornament on a single branch in all of the years Trevor was at home.

“Ah, here’s Penny,” Rodney said, intruding once again on Trevor’s wandering thoughts. “Now we can get started.”

Penny walked to her father and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before looking at the tree in the corner. “It’s a beautiful tree, Dad.”

“That’s what I said. Wasn’t it, Trevor?”

“Yes, sir. It was.”

Rodney walked over to the entertainment center and fiddled with a few controls. Moments later, soft Christmas music came through speakers in opposite corners of the room.

“Hot chocolate now or wait awhile?” Penny asked.

Her dad answered, “Let’s wait.”

In unison, father and daughter popped lids off two of the bins. Trevor grinned as he watched them pull out strings of lights and all manner of other festive decorations.

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