Chapter 2

But in lieu of proper ornaments, they’d decorated with string after string of popcorn.

Ellis’s smile had turned into a frown when he’d realized they didn’t have anything to put on the tree, but Casey had refused to let a small detail like that discourage him. He’d skipped the few feet to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets until he’d found a bag of corn kernels. In their largest pot, he’d put a big dollop of butter, and on a whim, added red food dye before pouring in the kernels.

The popcorn had turned out surprisingly red, even though a lot of the coloring had stuck to their fingers as they’d strung the popcorn and covered every branch and twig with the strings.

The effect had been very cheerful in Casey’s opinion, and judging from the hard kiss Ellis had planted on his mouth when they were done, he agreed.

“I love you, tree,” Casey mumbled and kissed the sprig he held in his hand, ignoring the tiny prick of needles on his sensitive lips. “If only I had a gift for Ellis to put under you.”

Casey sighed. No matter how much he wanted, he couldn’t afford to buy anything for Ellis. If they were lucky, they would be able to buy some turkey deli meat for their Christmas dinner, but that was about it. They had to make their money last into January, since the library was closed for the holidays, and he worked a lot fewer hours in December.

One day he would cook Ellis a big ol’ turkey for Christmas. Casey knew Ellis missed his family’s holiday celebrations, even if he never said anything. He’d always eaten Casey’s momma’s Christmas mac and cheese and smiled his widest smile as if it had been a real feast.

Casey’s heart ached when he thought about it.

This year they wouldn’t even get the knitted socks. He wiggled his toes and looked down at his feet, adoring the rainbow-colored socks his momma had made them both. He was going to have to be careful with these; he’d never get another pair.

He squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to let out the burning tears. “I’ll think of something. I always do.” He let go of the tree and jumped to his feet. Time to make dinner for Ellis. 2

December 23rd

Ellis

“Ellis?”

Eager to finally leave work after a long day, Ellis was already halfway into his beloved truck, the one Casey had named The Rust Bucket, when the female voice from behind stopped him. He looked over his shoulder and did a double take when he saw the speaker.

“Edie?”

What was his sister doing here? They hadn’t spoken for God knows how long. A year and a half, at least?

“Got a minute?”

He scratched his sideburn and glanced at his watch. Dinner would be ready soon, and he didn’t wanna keep Casey waiting.

“Please?”

He groaned and stepped out of the truck without closing the door, turning toward her. Visible lines bracketed her mouth and spread out in a fine net around her heavy-lidded eyes. She looked so much older, thinner, so now she wasn’t just half his height, she was half his width too.

“What do you want?” he asked as she stopped a few feet away. The instinct to reach out and tug on her unruly curls—like he’d always done when they were kids—was strong, but he resisted. They weren’t close anymore, and his touch wouldn’t be welcome.

Not that he really wantedto touch her, but old habits were hard to break.

She didn’t comment on his lack of courtesy but got right to the point. “Mama isn’t feelin’ well. We’re celebratin’ Christmas at our house this year. I’d like you to come.”

His breath caught. “What?”

“I reckon you haven’t had decent turkey in years.”

That was true. Even when Casey’s momma was alive, they hadn’t eaten turkey with all the trimmings for the holidays. But he couldn’t let himself think about that; there was a more pressing issue to consider.

“What about Casey?”

“Hush your mouth.” She looked around, as if she wanted to make sure no one had heard what he’d said, even though they’d been alone outside the garage since she’d first caught his attention. “You know we don’t talk about…that,” she hissed between clenched teeth.

Ellis stared at her and huffed out an annoyed sound, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“And if you don’t mention that boy to Mama, I’ll even pack some leftovers you can bring home to…eh, home.”

“Aw, bless your heart.” He didn’t even try to sound polite. He’d had it with her and the rest of the family. This was the reason he never saw them anymore.