Chapter 16

Lucy hated to admit it, but maybe glitter hadn't been the smartest decision she had made today. She had found some really cute ideas on Pinterest for holiday crafts for her class, and full of enthusiasm, had assembled all the materials. After lunch, when she explained to the children that they were going to be making Christmas decorations, they had been so excited, and everything had been going so well until it suddenly wasn't. In hindsight, Lucy realized she really should have known better than to mix glitter, glue sticks, and twenty kindergarteners.

For starters, she hadn't counted on Emma sneezing directly into her small mound of glitter, which resulted not only in glitter scattered all over the table, but also a fairly alarming amount of snot being deposited on her construction paper, causing the five-year-old to burst into tears. Naturally, two of Emma's classmates, Olivia and Sophie, began crying in support of their best friend. (It was astonishing how quickly the shiny stuff adhered to tear-stained little faces.)

As she was trying to console the girls and clean up the mess, as well as keep an eye on her other students, Lucy was aghast to discover at least two boys at the next table gnawing on their glue sticks like they were push pops. Dropping Emma's snot and paper mess in the trash can, she rushed over to the boys and grabbed the glue sticks from them, but it was too late. Both boys' mouths were ringed in purple glue stick. Thank goodness the stuff was non-toxic (note to self: need more research on glue sticks), and after she had wiped their faces, turned around to see Travis and McKenzie flinging glitter at each other and laughing hysterically.

Lucy briefly closed her eyes as she fought to subdue the wave of panic rising up in her chest, and decided she needed to bring in reinforcements. She managed to clean off her glittery/glue-covered fingers, and pulling her phone out of her bag, hastily sent a text to Rufus. Lucy tried to tell herself she was overreacting and had it all under control, but one look at her friend's horror-stricken face when he stepped into the classroom a few minutes later only confirmed her worst fears.

She hurriedly grabbed his sleeve when he immediately tried to turn around and leave, imploring, "Rufus! Please don't go, I need your help!" "Really, Lucy? I hadn't noticed," he quipped dryly before sighing patiently, "Okay, what do you need me to do?" She thrust a container of wipes at Rufus and directed him to start cleaning up as many glittery little hands and faces as he could while she tried to help Jamie and several other students who were actually doing a pretty good job with their craft.

An hour later, the ambitious project was finished and nearly all the glitter had been removed from her students, with some actually ending up on the homemade Christmas tree ornaments. By the time the dismissal bell rang at 3:30, Lucy and Rufus had even managed to sweep up most of the glitter and construction paper scraps from the tables and floor. After the last of the parents and their happy students had left the classroom, Lucy was exhausted.

She slumped down at her desk and grinned up at Rufus, who was standing there trying to brush glitter off his clothes, to no avail. "You are a lifesaver, Mr. Carlin," she praised, and chuckled at the half-hearted glare he wore. "You owe me big time, Miss Preston," he groused, and before Lucy could respond, she looked up to see Wyatt and Jamie standing in the doorway.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked in pleased surprise as she jumped up and taking Wyatt by the hand, pulled him into the classroom. Leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek, he shrugged and looked down at his son, who eagerly volunteered, "Miss Preston, I want to show Daddy my tree thing cause it's all shiny, and Daddy laughed when I said that Emma sneezed her snot on the table and Joey and Danny were eating glue sticks and your face was all red, but you didn't yell, and Mr. Carlin was saying 'no, Alex, please don't eat the glitter' and we had so much fun..."

The three adults all laughed at his vivid, yet apt, description of the afternoon's activities, and Lucy took the opportunity to introduce Rufus to Wyatt, "Wyatt, this is my good friend, Rufus Carlin, who is the technology genius around here, and Rufus, this is Jamie's dad, Wyatt Logan." The two men shook hands as Rufus gestured towards the other man's fatigues, dark green tee, and dog tags, "So, you're over at Pendleton, then?" Wyatt smiled easily and responded, "Yeah, a Training Instructor." Jamie piped up proudly, "My Daddy is a Master Sergeant." Wyatt ruffled his son's hair, "Thanks, buddy," and when the little boy tugged on his arm, said, "It's great to finally meet you, Rufus, Lucy might have mentioned your name once or twice," and smirked at her indignant expression when Rufus nodded, "Same here, Wyatt."

While Wyatt let his son drag him over to a table at the back of the room to see his tree ornament, Rufus looked over at Lucy and teased, "So, you're actually dating G.I. Joe?" Lucy beamed at him in response, "Yeah, I guess I am," and shot a fond look at the two Logans. "Well, now that your glitter crisis is over, I need to get out of here. I feel kind of itchy, like there's glitter in my underwear or something," and he grinned when Lucy snickered. "Thanks again, Rufus, I do owe you one. Maybe you and Jiya and Wyatt and I can go out to dinner sometime, my treat?" "Sure, we'd like that. I'll check with her and let you know."

After Lucy bid her friend goodbye, she turned to find Wyatt and Jamie standing there, both wearing expectant expressions. "Can I ask her, Daddy, please?" At his dad's nod of consent, an exuberant Jamie grabbed her hand and began, "Miss Lucy, I mean Miss Preston, Daddy says we can get a Christmas tree today, and we get to go to the farm where the trees grow, it's a lot of fun and Daddy lets me help him pick out a tree, cause he says I'm a good picker, and you can go, and Daddy says we can go see Miss Nina for pizza, too, so please can you go with us?"

Lucy smiled at his earnest invitation, and looking up at Wyatt, replied, "I would love to, sounds like fun. Thank you for asking me," and leaning down, gave the excited five-year-old a big hug. Wyatt tugged Lucy to her feet and pulled her close for a quick kiss. Running a finger down her soft cheek, he suggested, "Now, while I definitely think you look very pretty today, Miss Preston, you will probably want to change clothes before we go to the tree farm. How about we pick you up around 5:00?" Mentally calculating how much time she would need to get ready, Lucy readily agreed. Wyatt stole one last swift kiss from her before taking Jamie's hand and heading home.

Both Lucy and Jamie looked so delighted with his last-minute plans that Wyatt was glad he had decided this morning that it would be a good day to pick out their tree. It was already December 1, and just about time for the annual outing that he and his son had shared since the Christmas Jamie was two and a half. Wyatt had happy memories of firmly holding his young son's chubby hand as they carefully walked around the tree farm before choosing a small tree for their apartment, and after Thanksgiving with Lucy went so well, he felt it was time to introduce her to more Logan "traditions." Secretly, he hoped that some day, they would be her traditions, too (maybe sooner than later?).

They picked Lucy up promptly at 5:00, and Wyatt thought how attractive she looked in a bright red sweater and black jeans, with a matching red knit cap on her dark glossy curls, as she climbed in the Jeep. "Wait, don't leave just yet," she ordered Wyatt, and turning around to the back seat, said, "Jamie, please shut your eyes for a second," and when the child obeyed with a polite, "Yes, Ma'am," leaned over to Wyatt and kissed him very thoroughly.

The whole world fell away as her soft mouth and nimble tongue caressed his more-than-willing lips, and he nearly forgot where they were until a small voice from the back seat asked plaintively, "Miss Lucy, are you done kissing my Daddy on his mouth yet?" and Lucy pulled back abruptly, all rosy cheeks and glowing dark eyes. "Yes, we're done, Jamie, thank you," she replied, before murmuring in a low undertone for Wyatt's ears only, "For now." And he suppressed a shiver at the promise in her eyes and voice.

As soon as a now-satisfied Lucy was buckled in, Wyatt inhaled deeply and pulled from the curb, suddenly anxious to get to the tree farm (someone is in a playful mood today). Listening to Lucy and Jamie amuse themselves by singing Christmas songs, Wyatt realized with some wonder he had never heard Lucy sing before, and that his girlfriend had a really nice voice.

Curious, he asked, "Do you like to sing? Because you have a pretty voice," and she blushed before responding, "I do like to sing. I was in choir and ensemble in high school, and might have done some community theater in my time." An impressed Wyatt raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Oh, so you're one of those artistic types?" "I guess I am," Lucy admitted, "although it's been years since I've sung for anyone." Reaching over to take her slim hand firmly in his, Wyatt assured her, "Well, you can sing for me anytime," and winked at her pleased smile.

The drive to the Christmas tree farm usually took around a half hour, but Wyatt was so entertained by Lucy's retelling of "Glitter Wars 2016" (as Rufus had sarcastically dubbed the day's art project) that he was vaguely surprised to see they were just about to their exit already. He found that he liked this side of Lucy very much–so animated, confident, and happy, and it dawned on him that their relationship had reached the point where his level of personal happiness and contentment corresponded directly with hers. And Wyatt decided that he was more than fine with that.

At the next red light they came to, he impulsively brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to the palm of her hand, causing her to stop laughing with Jamie. And when Lucy raised an elegant dark eyebrow and smiled at him, he asked in a husky voice, "Have I told you today I love you?" As she pretended to think about his question, he gently nipped her finger, and pulled her closer to breathe against her lips, "I love you, Lucy," and Wyatt Logan felt like the luckiest man in the world when she nuzzled his stubbled cheek, and whispered, "Love you, too, Wyatt."

A few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of the tree farm, and as soon as Wyatt turned off the Jeep, his son was unbuckled and out of the back seat and trying to open Lucy's door before his dad could even get out. She chuckled at the child's excitement when he grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the entrance, chattering in a high-pitched voice about trees and Christmas and Santa Claus.

While they stood in a fairly short line to be waited on, Lucy admitted to Wyatt with a shy grin that she had never been to a "cut your own" Christmas tree farm before. Faintly astonished by her confession, he explained what was involved in the process. "There's not much to it really. They will give us a map that shows the different varieties of trees for sale and the sizes, and a plastic ribbon. Basically, it's just us walking around to hopefully find the tree that we want, we tie our ribbon to it, and then come back here and wait while someone goes and cuts it down for us."

Jamie chimed in helpfully, "Yeah, Miss Lucy, and we get to drink hot chocolate and go look at the farm animals while the nice man gets our tree. I like the sheep 'cause they go 'baa-baa' when you pet them. Sheeps feel like a rug, Daddy says." She looked suitably impressed with that information, and confided to him, "I have never petted a sheep before, Jamie. Do you think you could show me how?" and his son's face lit up as he nodded enthusiastically.

Lucy and Jamie stood to the side admiring all the pretty wreathes and greenery for sale while Wyatt got their map and ribbon, and then with the little boy between them, they started the search for the perfect tree. About fifteen minutes later, Wyatt thought they had a winner, a Monterey pine that wasn't too tall or full for his living room and smelled just like Christmas. He called to the other two who had wandered away to look on their own, and just by the look on Lucy's face when she inspected his choice, Wyatt knew this tree was the one. "Oh, Wyatt," she breathed, "It's perfect. You're really good at this," while his son stared in awe at the tree. "Daddy always picks the best tree," he declared, and Wyatt got a little choked up at the child's unwavering confidence in him.

Taking out his phone, he asked Lucy and Jamie to pose in front of the tree (our first Christmas tree together), and took a few pictures. He then quickly tied their plastic ribbon on the top of the tree, and they made the trek back to the front gate where a couple of workers with chainsaws waited. Wyatt picked up Jamie and taking Lucy by the hand, they walked a few yards away to the barn to see the farm animals while they waited on their tree.

It was always enjoyable to see his son with the animals, but he got a real kick out of city girl Lucy's first experience with petting a sheep as her initial look of wonder turned to panic when the creature turned its head and bleated at her. Wyatt tried, but just couldn't hold back a guffaw as she jerked her hand back like the sheep was going to attack her. And the ferocious frown she turned on him just flat out made him lose it, as an offended Lucy stuck her pretty little nose in the air and pronounced solemnly that "someone was not going to get any more kisses tonight."

(Well, that sounds like a challenge, and he never was one to back down from a challenge.) After he looked around to see if they were (mostly) alone, Wyatt tugged Lucy to him and kissed away her protests until he leaned back, amused at the dreamy look in her dark eyes. At the sound of someone clearing their throat, however, her face reddened in embarrassment, and she turned away to take Jamie's hand while Wyatt thanked the man who informed them their tree was ready to go.

After Wyatt paid for the tree and it was secured on the top of the Jeep, he called Galelli's to let Nina know they were on their way since it was a school night, so she could make sure their order would be ready by the time they arrived. Galelli's usually wasn't very busy on a Thursday night, and they were seated after just a few moments by Nina herself. She greeted all three of them enthusiastically with hugs, and knelt down to listen attentively to Jamie tell her all about their trip to the tree farm, and managed to hide a smile at how "Miss Lucy" got scared by a sheep.

Sighing in resignation, Lucy asked, "I'm never going to live this down, am I?" "What do you think?" responded a smirking Wyatt. "I meant what I said about kisses," she whispered mutinously near his ear. "We'll see about that," he promised, blue eyes shining with amusement. While Wyatt got Jamie settled at their table, Lucy excused herself to use the restroom, and as she was walking back to their table, she was surprised to see Nina gesture for her to come over to the hostess station. "Yes, Mrs. Galelli, is everything all right?" a puzzled Lucy asked.

The older woman smiled warmly at her, "Oh, yes, bella, I quite think so. In the weeks since Wyatt first brought you to meet me, I already see quite a wonderful change in both of you, but especially him. Wyatt is a good man who has grieved for his wife for several years, and then he meets his son's bella school teacher, and now, he is a different man because he has found love again. You have been good for him, Lucy, and for his sweet son also who desperately wanted a mama of his own. The shadows are gone from Wyatt's eyes now, and I think that is to your credit. As someone who has known and loved the Logans for many years, I thank you with all my heart," and she gave Lucy a firm hug and kiss on the cheek.

Lucy's eyes filled at the unexpected praise, and she leaned back and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Galelli, for always watching out for them." "Nina, please, I insist, Mrs. Galelli was my mother-in-law, may she rest in peace," she replied with a twinkle in her dark eyes. "Nina, then," Lucy acquiesced, and placing a kiss on her soft cheek, hurried back to the table just as their pizza was brought out. At the quizzical expression on Wyatt's face, she mouthed, "I will tell you later," and he nodded in acceptance.

Unlike their "non-date," both adults were well aware it was a school night, and they made quick work of the delicious meal. Jamie was already starting to yawn when Wyatt asked Lucy if she was ready to go, and when she agreed, he went to pay the bill while she wiped the little boy's face and hands. Wyatt picked up his sleepy son, and after bidding a smiling Nina good night, they headed straight back to Lucy's place.

Before Wyatt could get out to open her door, she put a gentle hand on his arm, and said, "Hey, it's okay, I can walk in by myself this time," and when he started to protest, reminded him, "No, you have to get Jamie home, and get the tree inside, too. Thank you for inviting me, I had the best time," and leaning in very close, murmured, "Good night, Wyatt, I love you so much," before pressing a sweet kiss to his lips.

"Love you, too, sweetheart. I'll see you tomorrow night, and don't forget to pack a bag for the weekend, okay?" he replied and smiled when she nodded. Glancing into the back seat, Lucy told Jamie good night, and grinned at his drowsy, "Night, Miss Lucy." And giving them both one last fond look, Lucy turned and went inside, eager to tell her sister all about their visit to the Christmas tree farm and her unexpected but very pleasant conversation with Nina Galelli.

A/N: Just some fluffy stuff after a slightly angsty last chapter. I have wonderful memories of taking my two sons to a local Christmas tree farm annually over the years, and it seemed to me like something the Logans would enjoy. Hope all of you enjoy this chapter. Thanks very much for the continuing support and encouragement for this story (can't believe it's gone over 50,000 words, and there's lot's more to come). You guys are awesome :)