Tidings of Joy: Based on a Hallmark Channel original movie by Nancy Naigle

Author:Nancy Naigle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hallmark Publishing
Published: 2020-08-06T16:13:16+00:00

As the sun set, others who’d joined in to help decorate the balsam fir in front of Daisy’s Country Store had left, leaving Katie with Lisa to finish the job. It was a delightful surprise for Katie when six o’clock rolled around and all at once the white lights came on, outlining every single building in town for as far as she could see.

Lisa raised her hand in the air. “And this is just one more reason I love this town so much.”

“It is…” She stopped short of saying “magical.” What was the right word?

“Surprising. Right?”

“Yes,” Katie agreed. At every turn, Evergreen was most surely surprising. She felt like a kid again, excited and anticipating something special. “You’re so good at this,” she remarked.

Lisa laughed, then realized Katie wasn’t joking. “You didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Before I bought the store, I used to stage stores for a living. Christmas was our specialty. Our business was based in Boston, but we traveled all over.”

“Well, no wonder. It’s like you know exactly where to put everything to make it go from good to amazing.”

Lisa moved one of the big poinsettias. “Ah, well, I’ll share a little secret with you. You see, the trick is to place things just a bit off-kilter. It attracts attention that way. If you ask me, symmetry is just lazy design.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good to know. I’ve been doing it all wrong.”

“Now you know.”

“How about I stick to putting the hangers on the ornaments and let you do the magic?”

“Works for me.” Lisa moved a couple of ornaments, then tucked a red one in the open spot before stepping back and giving the placement an appreciative glance.

“So you lived in Boston. We’re kindred spirits. A couple of city girls.”

Lisa nodded. “Yep. I lived here for a while, but then we moved away, and I always had such a sweet spot in my heart for this town. I came back, sort of expecting it to be nothing like I remembered, but falling in love with it even more.”

“So you weren’t kidding when you said you came here on vacation and ended up staying for good.”

“No. All true. Daisy’s had been closed down for years and was in disrepair. Ezra had inherited it from his aunt but needed to sell it. I was here at the right time. I offered to help him put some lipstick on the old pig by staging it to help him get top dollar. In the process, I fell in love with the handyman. Realized my dream of owning my own store that I could stage every day was right in front of me. And here I am.” She moved a strand of lights deeper between the branches. “Best decision I ever made.”

“Really?” Katie couldn’t imagine giving up the city for this…as charming as it was. “And you don’t miss the city and that kind of life?”

“Sometimes, but to be honest with you, I had to learn how to be surprised. Like, for instance, I never thought in a million years that I’d be dating a guy who is essentially running a logging camp.

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