A Christmas Worth Billions (Countdown to Christmas Book 4) (6 page)

“You’re welcome. Like I said, you’re
helping
me too.” He set Patrick down, then pulled out the mugs and poured the water while Lily took the snowy clothes off Patrick and Mary.

Lily took the jar down from the cupboard and scooped powder into the mugs, then added spoons. She handed one to David and then set the others in front of Mary and Patrick.

“Where are we going to get the tree?” Patrick asked, wiping hot chocolate off his face.

“Well, I used to go out into the woods to pick the perfect one, but since you’ve all been sick, I figure we can try the Christmas tree farm just outside of town.”

“What’s a Christmas tree farm?” Mary asked.

“It's a big farm filled with trees where you can pick out your favorite one to take home. Why don’t you two hurry and get your warmest clothes on, and we’ll go.” Lily ruffled Patrick’s hair and picked up the mugs to put into the sink. She put water into each of the cups to soak and turned to see David watching her.

“Are you sure you’re okay with going outside? I don’t want you to get even sicker.”

Lily sat down across from David and put her hand on his. “If I get tired, I’ll sit in the car. This means the world to my kids, and I wouldn’t miss it.”

David left his hand under hers for a moment before pulling away, looking uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. “That sounds good.”

“I’ll go make sure they’re ready.” Lily stood just as Patrick and Mary came bounding into the kitchen.

“Ready!” Mary announced. She held out Lily’s old coat and a worn pair of gloves. “Here. I brought these for you.”

“Thanks, sweetie.” Lily kissed Mary’s forehead and slid the coat on. Patrick held out her stocking cap. “I think that's it.”

David opened the door. “We’ll have to squish inside my truck. I’d take my other car, but it doesn’t have four-wheel drive.”

“This is perfect.” Lily grabbed her blanket and locked her door before climbing in next to Mary. David closed the door and ran around to the other side. Lily rubbed her hands together, wishing she’d brought another blanket with her. The cold seemed to go right through her jacket.

They drove through town and stopped at a new, rather large house. David hesitated before turning to Lily. “I’ll be right back. I need to grab something.”

“Okay.” Lily watched him run inside. She’d walked past these newer homes many times, but had never been this close.

“Whoa. This is his house?” Patrick asked, his eyes wide. “He must be rich!”

Lily laughed. “He is. Very rich. He owns a huge company in New York City.”

“Whoa,” Patrick whispered.

David came out with a black fur coat and climbed in the truck. His eyes were slightly red and swollen when he handed the coat over, but he smiled. “You can borrow this for today, if you want. It’ll keep you warm.”

Lily took the coat from him, amazed at the softness of the fur. She could feel the warmth as she laid it on her lap. She wanted to hand it back, but she had to admit, she was freezing. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” David swallowed hard and pulled out of his driveway. “Okay, who’s ready to go get a tree?”

The kids cheered as they left the small town behind them. The storm had lightened up enough that they were able to enjoy the drive. Plows had been through, but there was still packed snow on the ground. Mary and Patrick talked nonstop about school, what they wanted for Christmas, and how cool it would be to sled down the hills. It allowed Lily to stare out the window at the scenery around them. She hadn’t been out of the city for so long because it cost too much money to license her car—let alone paying for the gas to run it—and it felt good to get out.

They pulled up to a farm and parked next to the entrance. Lily climbed out and slipped the coat on. It was heavier than anything she’d worn before. The sleeves fit perfectly, and the coat hung down to her knees. David pulled the hood up onto her head.

“Thank you. Wow, I think I could survive Antarctica in this thing.” Lily made sure everyone else was wearing their gloves before they walked into the farm. The lot was packed full of several different varieties of pine trees. She watched Mary and Patrick dart from tree to tree, trying to find the perfect one.

“So, were you a fake tree or real tree person growing up?” David asked. He stood close to Lily, and it was hard for her to concentrate on anything, including breathing.

“Fake. An old pink one that had tinsel hanging off of it. It's been passed down ever since artificial trees were invented, I’m pretty sure. My mom didn’t have the heart to get rid of it, so we just kept on using it.”

David laughed. “So where is it now?”

“In the attic. Where it belongs. The kids and I used it a few times, but it’s falling apart.” Lily searched for Patrick and found him next to a large fir tree. “I think Patrick found one he loves.”

“Looks like it.” David followed Lily over to the tree. “Wow, this is a beauty.”

“I want you to get this one. It’s so big.” Patrick’s grin melted Lily’s heart.

Lily looked at the price tag. There was no way she'd let David spend that much on a tree. “Sweetie, this one is too much, I think.”

Patrick’s face fell. “Okay.”

“It’s okay, Lily. It would look perfect in the family room.” David walked around it. “I might have to get more ornaments, though.”

“It's fine if you want to pick a smaller one.” Lily avoided the disappointment on Patrick’s face and searched for another one. Mary was looking at a small tree that was just a little taller than her. Lily walked over and put her hand on Mary’s shoulder. “How pretty.”

Mary nodded. “Can we have this one?”

“What do you think, David?” She turned to find him missing. “Where’d he go?”

“I don’t know. Look, though. The price is good, and the note says that they don’t drop needles as much as some of the others.” Mary held out the note for Lily to read.

Lily read the note, impressed at the work Mary had put into finding one. “We can ask David when we find him. Speaking of which, do you know where Patrick is?”

Mary nodded over to the far corner, where Patrick sat in the snow with his head buried in his arms. Lily walked over to him and knelt down.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I just wanted that tree. It was the best one they had, and I thought it would look good in David’s ginormous house.” Patrick sniffled.

Lily patted his shoulder. “I know, sweetie. I’m sorry. It’s just … wait. Look what David’s doing.”

Patrick looked up, and his eyes grew wide. “We’re getting it?”

“It looks like it. Let’s go help get it in the truck, okay?” Lily stood and watched as Patrick ran toward David, but she took her time. The energy she’d had that morning had worn off, and she was feeling weaker than she cared to admit. Mary took her hand, and they walked out to the truck.

Lily helped the kids into the truck and watched as the farmers brought not one, but both of the trees and secured them into the bed of the truck. David really needed to stop spoiling her kids. It would get their hopes up, and then he’d leave. They always did. She wanted him to be different, but there was just no knowing.

After thanking the farmers, Lily and David climbed in and headed toward his house. The cab was louder than it had been on the way to the farm, and that was saying something. Lily was surprised at David’s patience with the giggles and yelling. It would have set other guys on edge.

They pulled into the local department store, and David turned off the truck. “I need to grab some more decorations, along with a few other things.”

“Okay.” Lily headed into the store. “Let’s split this up. What else did you need?”

David studied Lily for a moment. “I’m sorry. I should have realized you’d be worn out. I can take you back to the house, if you’d like.”

Lily shook her head. “I’m fine. I’ll just need to sit down soon. Want me to grab the decorations or something else?”

“Why don’t you and the kids pick some good ornaments, and I’ll grab some stuff for dinner. I’ll meet you by the decorations when I’m done.”

"Do you have any specific theme or colors in mind?"

David shook his head. "No, I'm good with whatever you choose. Oh, and can you grab a star? My other one broke.”

“We can do that.” Lily walked over to the Christmas decorations and stared at the vast number of ornaments they had to choose from. “Whoa. Where do we even start?”

Patrick pointed at the lights. “We need lots of those. Let’s do blue.”

“Then we need some of these.” Mary pulled down a box of ornaments. “I like the red and gold. What do you think?”

Lily checked the price before she set the ornaments in her cart and walked along the aisle. Even if it was David's money, she still had a hard time paying a lot for the decorations. “That would be good for the big tree. What if we did fun ornaments on the small tree?”

“Like these?” Mary found some rubber duck ornaments. “Or these.” She held up some glittery bows and reindeer.

“Hmmm. What do you think, Patrick?” Lily asked.

“We need some footballs. Like these.” He held up a package.

Lily laughed. “Okay, fine. Oh, we need a star.”

Mary walked farther down the aisle and stopped in front of the stars. “This one will look good with the small tree.”

The star had colored lights, and it was a little on the tacky side, but Patrick seemed to like it too, so she let them get it. She searched for the perfect star for the big one. The variety was pretty big, but there weren’t many gold stars. She found a larger one that was shiny enough that it showed her reflection. She pulled it off the shelf to examine it. The price was reasonable, and it matched the other decorations.

“Pretty. Let’s get that one.” Mary took it from Lily and put it in the cart.

“Lily?” a voice asked from behind. She turned to find Ann standing there.

“Oh, hey, Ann. How are you doing?” she asked, fully aware of the ornaments filling the cart behind her.

Ann glanced between it and Lily’s kids standing next to her. “I’m glad to see you out and about. You really had everyone worried.”

“I’m glad to be up. We’re just here helping pick out some stuff to decorate a tree.” Lily could feel her face burning.

“I see that. You must have quite the tree.” She stopped, and her eyes grew wide when David walked up beside them. “Oh.”

David set the items he’d picked out in the cart. “Oh, hey. You work at the diner, right?”

Ann nodded and held out her hand. “I should actually be there now, but it’s pretty slow, and we needed a couple of things. Hailey has it under control for the moment. I’m Ann.”

“I’m—”

“You’re David. I know. I mean, we all know. Um, I’m going to go now.” Ann backed up. “Lily, can you call me? I need to go over tomorrow’s menu with you.”

“Sure. I’ll call later tonight.” Lily tried not to laugh out loud. She was pretty sure Ann didn’t want to talk menu items, and she couldn’t help the giddiness she felt inside. It had been a while since she'd had a man in her life.

Ann walked away, and David turned to Lily. “What was that all about?”

“Nothing. She just saw me filling the cart and wanted to know how I was.” She gestured toward the ornaments. “What do you think? We might have gone a bit overboard.”

David lifted up a few of the boxes and smiled. “These are perfect. They’ll accent the ones I already have really well.”

"Great. I was hoping they wouldn't clash.” Lily pushed the cart toward the front of the store. She could have let David do it, but she was exhausted, and the cart was holding her up.

They paid for the items and headed out to the truck. David stuck everything behind the seat before having them climb in. He had to drive slowly because the roads were getting icy from the cold, but they finally got back to his house. The kids took the groceries and decorations in while David pulled the tree out of the truck and tried taking it in by himself.

"I can help, you know." Lily grabbed on to the bottom of the tree, careful not to get any sap on the fur coat.

"I didn't want you to wear yourself out. I feel bad enough already." He walked up the steps into the house.

Lily had branches surrounding her while she carried the tree, but from what she could see, the house was beautiful. It was definitely decorated by a man, but it was well done. She still wondered what had happened with his wife, but didn’t want to ask.

“Okay, let’s put it here.” He waited for Lily to set her side down and then did the same. “I have the stand somewhere in the attic. I’ll be right back—you guys make yourself at home.”

“Thank you.” Lily pulled off her coat and sat down on the couch.

Patrick and Mary sat close to her and looked around the room with big eyes. When Lily was rested, she stood to look at the pictures on the mantel. His wife was beautiful. She had long blonde hair, and her smile lit up her face.

Awards for his company lined the walls, and pictures of different magazine ads were framed alongside the awards. Some of the businesses, she recognized. She knew he was super rich, but she hadn’t heard what he actually did for work.