Bright Lights, Big Christmas(46)

Patrick was still propped up on the pillows, with the blanket pulled up over his bare chest. And he was dead asleep.

She sat down on the bunk and tentatively touched his face. He didn’t move. She put her hand on his chest. It was a nice chest, muscled, not overly hairy. She lifted the blanket and peeked. He’d stripped down to his boxers. They were red, with a festive pattern of prancing reindeers.

“Patrick?” She put her lips to his ear and whispered, “Patrick?”

His eyelids fluttered.

Kerry went back to the bathroom to fetch the clothes she’d just struggled out of.

He was snoring softly when she joined him on the bunk. She shook his shoulder. “Patrick. Hey, wake up.”

“Huh?” His voice was hoarse with sleep, and he seemed confused to find her half dressed.

“You fell asleep,” she said.

He sat halfway up, and groaned as he sank back down onto the bed.

“It’s the damned antihistamines.” He grabbed her hand. “But I’m awake now.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “Don’t worry about it. It’s late and I’m beat too. And there’s no telling how soon Murphy will come rolling in here.”

The mention of her brother brought Patrick fully awake. He raked his fingers through his hair, sighed, and reached for the clothes he’d discarded on the floor.

“Probably not a great idea all around, huh?”

She leaned in and kissed him hard, on the mouth. “Sometimes even the best ideas don’t work out. Ya know?”

He kissed her back and touched her cheek. “Can I get a rain check? Can we have a real date—just the two of us?”

“I’d like that.”

She helped him bundle Austin in the sleeping bag, and tucked the flashlight and binoculars into the child’s backpack before walking Patrick back outside with his son slung over his shoulder.

“One more thing,” she called, as he started back across the street.

“What’s that?”

“Promise me, when we have our date, you’ll wear those cute red reindeer undies?”

He blushed, then winked. “It’s a deal.”



* * *



After Patrick and Austin were gone, Kerry walked all the way around the Christmas tree lot one last time. It was nearly midnight. She saw the lights blinking off at Lombardi’s, saw the last of the help straggling out the door and locking it behind them. Traffic was light, and the snow was still softly falling on the damp pavement of Hudson Street.

She took out her phone and called her brother.

“Yo,” Murphy said. He sounded as tired as she felt.

“Everything going okay?” she asked.

“Just super. Mom had to practically hogtie Dad to keep him from riding back with me. How’s it going there?”

“Pretty good. We’re down to less than half a dozen trees now. How far away are you?”

“Another couple hours at least. I’m gonna pull over in a truck stop pretty soon and get a couple hours’ sleep. I should be there by no later than five.”

“I’ll be here,” Kerry said. “Hey, Murph?”

“Yeah?”

“Drive safe, okay?”

“Always, little sister.”

Kerry disconnected the call. She pulled the bungee cord across the entrance and posted the CLOSED sign. Then she whistled for Queenie, who followed her back inside the trailer.





chapter 34





Kerry was floating somewhere beneath the sea, or maybe it was the clouds. She was dimly aware of muted sounds: low voices, thuds, footsteps. But she was beyond touch of the earth, floating free, relaxed. Time and space did not exist.

Until she was rudely yanked back to earth. The trailer door slammed, hard. She battled her way back to the surface. She sat up and blinked, shocked at the blinding sunlight streaming through the open door.

“You up?” Murphy held two cups of steaming coffee and now he handed her one.

“I am now.”

“About damn time.”

Kerry breathed in the coffee fumes. “When did you get here? And what time is it?”

Outside, rows of freshly cut Christmas trees were stacked up three deep.

“How did you unload all those trees by yourself? You should have woken me up.”

“I got one of the busboys over at Lombardi’s to help. We got the trees unloaded, then I took the trailer back to the yard in Brooklyn, dumped it, and headed back here. Didn’t want to wake you up, so I slept in the truck. And by the way, it’s nearly nine, and I’m dead on my feet.”

“Sorry,” Kerry said, grabbing for her clothes. “I’ve gotta get a shower at the Kaplans’. I’ll be back in ten minutes. Okay?”

He collapsed onto his bunk. “Do not wake me when you get back.”



* * *



A fire was blazing away in the oil barrel when she returned to the tree stand, and her brother’s snores could be heard from the sidewalk.

Kerry worked her phone, calling all the customers who’d left orders for trees over the weekend, to let them know the new shipment had arrived. In between calls she managed to craft a few more wreaths, and even sold three trees to people from the neighborhood.