Tender Vow by MacLaren Sharlene

Author:MacLaren, Sharlene [MacLaren, Sharlene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Whitaker House
Published: 2010-03-31T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Where’s your Christmas tree?” Jason asked Meagan as soon as the door closed behind Rachel and Allie. He’d noticed a box of ornaments and a tree stand in the corner between the fireplace and the front window but no sign of a tree.

“We don’t have one,” Meagan replied, putting on a glum face. “Mommy says she doesn’t have time or gun-shun.”

“No gumption, huh? What about you? Do you have gumption?”

With hands clasped at the top of her head, she did a couple of ballerina twirls, then paused to look at him, bright-eyed. “I don’t know. Is gun-shun fun?”

He snatched up Johnny from his wobbly standing position at the coffee table and jostled him up and down. The little boy giggled with delight. “Oh, yeah, gumption’s fun,” he replied. “Tell me where your mommy keeps your coats and stuff. We have a Christmas tree to buy.”

After bundling up the kids, a chore unto itself, he found Rachel’s van keys hanging in their usual spot, got the kids buckled in their car seats, and set off for the nearest tree lot. Luckily, he found one not a mile away. A church group was selling trees in the parking lot. The pickings were slim, but the three of them managed to find a suitable fir tree with long, thin, soft needles, perfect for hanging ornaments because they wouldn’t prick fingers. Getting it home would be another story, though, as he hadn’t found any rope in Rachel’s garage. With Johnny riding on his hip, it had been difficult to do a thorough search. So, after a little bit of pleading and playing the helpless uncle, he prompted one of the men selling trees to offer to follow him home in his pickup truck, tree in tow.

Setting up the tree was a cinch, as John had purchased the best kind of tree stand. All Jason had to do was trim the trunk at the base, then set the tree in place, make a few adjustments with a foot hoist to straighten it, tighten down a few clamps, and there she stood, as regal as a queen, reaching up toward the nine-foot ceiling.

He had no idea how Rachel would want the tree to look, but since she had no “gun-shun,” as Meagan had put it, he figured however they decided to decorate it—with Meagan in charge, of course—would be fine. Rachel could make adjustments later if she wasn’t happy with the result. The lights went on first. Several strands had burned out, but Jason didn’t feel like bundling up the kids again and heading to the store to buy more. So, he made do with the few strings that did work.

Soon, the tree was sparsely lit and adorned with a multitude of strategically placed ornaments, most of them arranged in strange clusters among the lowest branches. Decorating wasn’t his thing—it never had been—but doing it with Meagan while Johnny watched, draped in garland and playing with several plastic ornaments Jason had placed around him, made the task nothing short of enchanting.

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