How Nick and Holly Wrecked...Saved Christmas (8 page)

In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:1-20 NIV

We sing a verse of
Silent Night
and blow out our candles. Nick grabs mine and tosses it in the box as the service ends and he drags me away.

“I’ll bring her right up, Collette,” he calls over his shoulder.

Nick pulls me outside. My stomach flips and flops with excitement as he leads me away from the door and into the spooky flower garden, now dead and frozen for the winter. Bare branches serve as resting places for new snow, and light from the building filters onto untouched benches and casts eerie shadows.

“It’s still snowing,” I say and hold out my hand as if I’ll catch something. “And it’s cold out here.” I wrap my arms around myself.

“This won’t take long. I need to talk to you—”

“Nick Zernigan! I thought I saw you come out here.”

I’m startled by the creepy figure near the garden. He comes into view and a new chill darts down my spine. It’s a policeman, all decked out from head to toe in winter gear, complete with plastic on his hat to shield it from the snow.

Nick attempts a smile. “Officer Pinkney. What’s up?”

“Is your dad around?”

“No, sir. He’s out of the country. I’m staying here with my Aunt Ivy for Christmas.”

“Yeah, I heard about your uncle. Sorry about that. Is your aunt around?”

“Upstairs. Do you need to see her?”

“Yeah. For a minute.”

“I’ll show you.” Nick moves for the door and squeezes my hand.
Don’t say anything
, he mouths to me as we step inside.

My head is exploding. I run through my mind what Nick and I have been up to. Shopping for chickens, running from underage drinking parties, stealing cats. But that’s what we’ve done together. I have no idea what else he’s been doing.

Or maybe it’s nothing.

Officer Pinkney stomps the snow off his boots in the doorway of the complex. “And you’re seventeen, Nick?”

“Yes. About to be eighteen.”

“And you drive that white F150?”

“Yes.”

Oh. No. It’s not nothing.

Christmas is wrecked for good this time.

We take the elevator, and Nick walks straight to my granny’s door and opens it like nothing is weird at all. He steps aside for me to go first.

And my mom is there to greet me.

My mom?
And Jake?

“Holly!” She rushes to hug me. “Merry Christmas, baby! Are you surprised?”

I am numb. “Yes. I thought you were coming home tomorrow.”

“Ha! We got you,” she says as others come toward the door. “We actually came home yesterday because we had some things to do.”

“Wait. You came home yesterday and you didn’t tell me?”

“It’s nothing bad. We’ll explain.”

She stops suddenly as Nick and Officer Pinkney come further into the room.

“What’s going on here?”

Granny and Ivy step closer and now I feel certain I will pee my pants.

Officer Pinkney clears his throat and pushes his hat back away from his forehead. “I was out here on another complaint and thought I’d ask Nick and Ivy about a call we got this morning.”

“It’s Christmas Eve, Gene,” Ivy says with a bit of snark. “And this is a family gathering so I suggest you get to it.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he answers. I swear he’s afraid of her. “There’s a gentleman who lives out on county road nine way back in the woods and he says he observed Nick in his truck going back and forth out there yesterday.”

“That’s not a crime, Gene,” Collette adds.

“He said one time was after midnight and he was speeding. Was Nick home with you last night, Ivy?”

“He came in late, but he was home.”

“There have been rumors of parties somewhere out there in the woods and this gentleman calls regularly to report suspicious behavior.”

Jake steps forward and puts his arm around my mom. “County road nine. That’s the road to the animal shelter. That’s the only thing out there. Why is Holly in the middle of this if this is about Nick and his truck?”

“She has nothing to do with this,” Nick says. “She was with me outside when Officer Pinkney found me.”

I consider admitting to everything. I did attend an underage drinking party—just not the one Officer Pinkney’s talking about. And I did steal cats. If I have to go to jail on Christmas Eve for that, I will. I won’t let Nick take the fall. I know I’ve been watching too much cop TV but I open my mouth—and Nick clamps down on my upper arm. I glance at him and he is shaking his head as hard as he can without letting on he’s shaking his head. His eyes are as big as snowballs.

Ivy squints until her eyes disappear. “Nick, were you out on country road nine yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“Were you at a party back in the woods?”

“No.”

Ivy turns her glare on Officer Pinkney. “Are you going around to every teenager’s house in the county on Christmas Eve and asking if they were on that road last night.”

“No, ma’am. Nick’s truck is the only one reported.”

“That doesn’t make much sense,” Granny says. “One truck for a whole party in the woods on the coldest night so far this winter? Why don’t you come in and have a cup of coffee, Gene? There’s no crime to investigate here.”

“I can’t, Ma’am, but thank you.” He turns his attention to Nick. “Stay off that road at night, Nick. And behave yourself while your dad’s out of town.”

“Yes, sir.”

I unclench my fists. Did that really just happen?

Nick is pale, but starting to breathe again. I feel like turning a cartwheel. Granny closes the door behind the policeman, and I’m expecting to eat cake as if nothing has happened.

We wander into the living room and everyone is staring at us.

My mom crosses her arms. “What have you two been up to?”

“We weren’t at a party in the woods,” I say.

“But you were on that road together,” Jake says.

“Yes,” Nick admits, “but it’s not what you think.”

Ivy sits on the edge of a chair. “Honesty, please. Everybody knows something happened. Even Gene knows something went on; he just doesn’t have any idea what it was. Or any proof. If he did think you two committed a felony, believe me, he wouldn’t have left.”

“It was me,” Nick says.

I roll my eyes. “No, it wasn’t Nick. Stop taking the blame for this, Nick. I’m pretty sure this cat thing was all me.” I pull out my phone and prepare to show my movie.

Jake stands and extends his hand to Nick. “Hi, Nick. I’m Jake.”

“Nice to meet you. How was your trip?”

“Fantastic.”

“Anyway,” I interrupt. “I asked Nick to take me to the shelter yesterday because I wanted to look at cats, but they were closed. Someone dumped a box on the porch and we went back to check last night after the dance to make sure someone found it. It was still there. So we took it. It was close to midnight and freezing so we took the box of cats.”

My mom has that deep crease in her forehead. The one that shows up when she’s super mad or super confused or both. “You took cats from the shelter when they were closed?”

“They’d been dumped there, Mom. It’s not like we broke in and took them. They were abandoned.”

“What did you do with them?”

“They’re here. They’re Granny’s Christmas present.”

My mom glances around the room. “We talked about this, Holly. We hadn’t made a decision.”

I grit my teeth.
Of course we didn’t. Because you ran off with your boyfriend before we could.

“Giving pets for Christmas is tricky,” my mom continues to drone on. “You have to be sure the person is ready for them. And seriously. Taking abandoned cats from the shelter? I don’t condone dumping pets—it’s lower than low, but maybe there’s something wrong with them. Sickness, behavioral problems...”

“Don’t talk about me and my cats as if we’re not here,” Granny says. “Honestly, it’s worked out well for everyone. Especially the cats. They’re adorable. I love them.”

“I’m helping Granny take them to the vet next week.”

Jake rubs my mother’s back. “C’mon, babe. No harm, no foul. Yes, there was a better choice here. I don’t know what it was, but I’m sure you’ll explain it to me.”

She smiles at him and pushes a lock of light brown hair off his forehead. He’s a goofy guy with wire-rimmed glasses and has been known to wear a pair of tube socks with his dress shoes. But he settles and calms my mom like I’ve never seen her settled and calm.

“And,” he says. “We have other things to talk about.”

Nick grabs cheese off the table.

“Oh, yes,” Granny says and pulls a small box off the counter. “Your mom and Jake are back early because they were helping me. It was part of a ruse. Open it.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

I lift the lid on the square box and pull out a set of keys.

KEYS!!!!

“Oh, my gosh. Does this mean...? Wait. This key ring says Camaro. Are these the keys to your Camaro?”

“
Your
Camaro.”

I scream.

Nick drops his cheese.

I jump up and down. “Are you serious? Oh, thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
” I hug granny until something creaks and cracks in her back and she has to sit down.

I think I broke Granny.

“But it’s your car,” I say while wiggling with excitement. “How will you get around?”

She waves her hand. “I don’t go out much, but I have the shuttle for when I need something. It’s convenient.”

“There are some things you need to know,” my mother says. “But you’ll see when you go out to look at it.”

“It’s here? The car is here and not at Melvin’s? Nick!” I scream again and hug him. “The car is here! Thank you so much, Granny.”

“My pleasure. I’m downsizing. I don’t need all these things around here. I’m not buying gifts anymore. I’ll simply be passing things along from now on.”

Jake grabs his jacket. “Get your coat, Holly. Let’s go take a look.”

Nick moves toward the door like an anxious puppy.

Jake pats him on the back. “Give us a few minutes before you come down, would you Nick?”

“Sure,” he says and goes back for a croissant full of Granny’s best chicken salad.

My mom isn’t moving. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Go ahead, baby. Jake’s been working on the car, he knows the details. I have food to set out. More guests are on their way.”

I pause in the hallway. Something’s up. My mother does not miss an opportunity for a lecture, and I know she wants to go all raging maniac on me about the cats and Nick and my crime spree on county road nine. This is her opportunity and she’s passed on it. Merry Christmas to me.

Jake sprints by the elevator and heads for the stairs. “Quicker this way,” he says. “It’s parked on this side. You have the keys?”

“Yes. I can’t believe you and mom came back yesterday.”

“We had to get the snow tires on the car and do some paperwork. We also had to add it to the insurance and make sure it’s ready for the cold. Melvin and I worked on it. Your grandmother hasn’t driven it in the winter for years.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“Collette asked your mother about it a month or so ago. I came over and we went to Melvin’s. Now here we are.”

Jake pushes the door open and lets me walk through. The shiny red car sits under a streetlamp. Beautiful, fluffy snowflakes drift from the sky and land softly on its roof and hood.

I squeal. I hop around a while. I try to hug it.

Jake opens the door. “Get in and start it.”

Like he’d have to ask me twice...

He climbs in beside me and we listen to the sweet sound of freedom in the hum of a boss engine.

“There are a few rules,” Jake starts.

I drop my head back against the seat. “
Ug
... I knew it was too good to be true.”

“It’s not that bad, but you should remember this is a classic car. It’s not suited for winter in this climate. The chemicals they treat the roads with cause erosion, and the car has a light rear end which means there’s not much traction on slippery roads.”

“You said it has snow tires.”

“Yes, but you have to be careful. And forget driving on ice. You don’t want to slide off into a ditch. Or worse. Your mother thought you should only drive it when the roads are dry until you get used to it.”

“So no driving unless it’s dry and sunny? I might as well put it back in storage until July.”