Snowfall on Haven Point(36)

“It wasn’t that hard. I made one in preschool before, only that time my teacher helped me cut out the paper and use the glue. This time my mom did it.” Will glanced at her, then back at Marshall. “She uses a lot more glue than my teacher did. We had to glue and glue and glue.”

Marshall shot her a curious look, probably wondering why she and her children were going to so much trouble to decorate a tree he likely wouldn’t even turn on after they left. Her reasons had far more to do with her children than him. That was what she told herself, anyway.

“I’m climbing up the ladder,” she announced. “Once I get up there, hand me your garland.”

She set the stepladder next to the tree and started up.

“Careful,” Marshall said. “That ladder’s not the steadiest in the world.”

Warmth spilled through her, sweet and comforting, though she knew it was ridiculous. He was probably more concerned about the ladder than her.

“I’m fairly certain I’ll be okay. I’m only three feet off the ground,” she pointed out.

“You never know,” he said. “What if an earthquake hits while you’re up there? You could still fall and crack your head open.”

“Mom, be careful,” Chloe said, eyes wide.

“I’m not going to fall,” she assured her daughter. “And there’s not going to be an earthquake. Isn’t that right, Sheriff Bailey?”

“Probably not,” he admitted. Amusement sparked in his eyes, but he still didn’t smile. He caught her looking and the amusement slid away, replaced by something glittery that made her stomach jump, and she quickly turned her attention back to the paper loop garland.

She stuck the end loop on the topmost branch of the tree, then began spiraling it carefully around the tree.

When she glanced over again, Will had picked up Sadie and was holding her up for Marshall to admire.

“Yes, she does look like a good dog,” he said, apparently in response to something Will had said. “I haven’t met every dog in town so I can’t say for sure, but I would guess she’s one of the best. How about that?”

Will said something she couldn’t hear and Marshall’s mouth quirked a little. He looked inordinately handsome, even with the fading scrapes and bruises on his features—like some kind of sexy MMA fighter who had just won a tough round.

Those nerves jumped in her stomach again. She seriously had to knock it off.

“How’s this so far?” She directed the question to the room in general.

Chloe, busy sorting her snowflake ornaments by size, looked up. “That’s good. I can do the rest, just like you showed me when we decorated our tree.”

“Come and grab this end, then,” Andie said. “Will, you had better help. It’s a two-kid job, I think.”

Her son unceremoniously dropped the little dog onto Marshall’s lap and headed toward the tree. The sheriff winced a little and repositioned the dog, though he didn’t seem inclined to set her back on the floor. Instead, he earned Sadie’s undying devotion by scratching her between the ears in that particular spot she loved.

Andie pulled the stepladder away while her children worked together to hang the garland the final three feet to the ground. When they finished, it wasn’t designer-perfect and sagged on one side, but she thought it looked beautiful, especially because of the sincere effort behind it.

“Great job,” she exclaimed. “Don’t you agree, Sheriff?”

“Sure thing. I’ve never had a tree with such a nice garland.”

She suspected he spoke truth, likely because he’d never had a tree with any garland.

“Okay. Now can we hang the ornaments?” Will demanded.

“Yes,” Andie answered. “But make sure you don’t only hang the snowflakes you made. Mix it up a little with some of the ornaments Wyn already had. They’re in those boxes by the tree.”

“But we can do mostly snowflakes, right?” Chloe asked.

“Ask Sheriff Bailey.”

“Sheriff Bailey, can we do mostly snowflakes?”

“I love snowflakes. And you know, you don’t have to call me Sheriff Bailey. You can call me Marsh or Marshall.”

“Like Marshmallow?” Will said with a giggle.

“Just like,” he said, and Andie wanted to roll her eyes. The man was about as similar to a marshmallow as this plastic Christmas tree was to a soaring Douglas fir.

After she ascertained the children were carefully hanging the ornaments and weren’t likely to knock over the tree, she turned to Marshall.

“If you’re here to keep an eye on things, I’ll go put your dessert in the oven, then.”