Chapter 18
Another night, another nightmare. It had been just after midnight when Millie had finally retired to bed, the girl trying to get some sleep. Again she'd been woken by a nightmare, this one however different from the usual one. This time, it had been a nightmare about Cade finding her and what he'd do to her when he did. She'd woken on the verge of panicking, her nightgown soaked in her sweat as she breathed heavily. Sitting up in bed, she hugged her legs close to her chest as she tried to calm herself down. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? Why was she having nightmares now? She hadn't before when she'd been on her own so why were they tormenting her now all of a sudden?
She finally couldn't hold it in anymore and buried her face in her knees as she began to cry, unable to hold back her tears any longer. It all was just too much. Everything had been building up, the nightmares, worries about her future, visiting the children at the orphanage and the memories of her time in the one at Carson City, thinking about her mother, the life she had before everything had taken that horrible turn, Cade finding her; but it was the knowledge that poor kitten was probably dead by now that was the final thing that finally had sent her over the edge.
Of all the things that could have broken her, it had been knowing what fate awaited that poor defenseless little kitten.
Her sobs started to become louder and so that she didn't wake anyone by her noise, she clasped her hands tightly over her mouth to stifle her cries. Why was the world so unfair and uncaring? Why did everything bad have to happen to her? The nightmare was still fresh in her mind, a senseless one but one enough to frighten her to this end. Cade didn't know where she was and there was no way he was going to be able to find her; she'd made sure of that. The nightmares were just her mind playing tricks on her, she knew that, but it still didn't make it any less horrific for her. She'd witnessed before just what Cade was capable of in the past but what lengths would he go to if he did manage to find her? What would he do to the folks kind enough to take her in if he found her while she was living with them?
It had taken her sometime to finally fall asleep and after awhile, the nightmare had started. She'd been in the barn, alone, there was no one else around. Cade had come in and taken her into the house; Jarrod had come down the stairs and tried to stop Cade from taking her. Cade had killed him and left with her, taking her back to his ranch. As he was about to kill her too, Millie had finally woken herself out of the nightmare as the gun had gone off.
"Hey, hey. What's the matter sweetheart?" Jarrod came over to her bed, sitting down on the mattress beside her. Millie didn't seem to notice him and he hesitated for a moment before placing a hand on her back. "You're alright honey. It's alright." He soothed softly, the girl having worked herself up into quite a mess. He'd been heading to bed when he'd heard her cries as he'd walked past and had stopped to investigate. "Ssssh, you're alright." He kept speaking softly to her, rubbing circles on her back in an effort to bring her out of her spell and calm her down. "You're okay. It's alright. I'm here."
Slowly, it dawned on Millie that she was no longer alone and her crying slowly faded away as she came out of her episode. "J-Jarrod?"
"Yes sweetheart. It's me." He replied gently as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. Millie blew her nose and wiped her face then took a few deep breaths as he kept rubbing her back. "You want to talk about it?"
She shook her head. "I'm alright."
"Are you sure?"
Millie nodded, forcing down the lump in her throat. "I'll be alright now. I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No, I was on my way to bed when I heard your crying."
"Good. Good I didn't wake you." She sniffled. "Woke Nick a few nights back. Didn't mean to."
"Do you want me to sit with you awhile?"
After a moment, Millie nodded again. "Please."
Rising, he went over to the desk and brought back a chair, taking a seat beside her bed. "Lie down honey, I'll sit here till you fall asleep again. It's alright, you're safe here." She lay down again, Jarrod tucking the covers in around her. "Nothing bad is going to happen, you're safe." He began stroking her hair and after some time, Millie closed her eyes. "It's alright, you're safe now. You're gonna be alright."
Sitting there, a faint glow from the lamp on the table beside him casting its soft light around the room, Jarrod kept watch over the young woman until he knew she'd fallen asleep again. Stroking her hair one last time he stood, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead before he quietly left the room. As he made his way to his own bed to get some sleep, he couldn't help but wonder what had gotten her so upset. He could take a guess that it had something to do with her past but why didn't she want to open up about it? When he'd found her crying there alone, his heart had ached for her. She was such a sweet little thing and how anyone could be so cruel to her made him furious. If only he could encourage her to speak about her past he could understand her better and figure out how to help her. Until then though, there was nothing else he could do except be there for her.
As he changed into his night clothes and prepared to go to bed himself, Jarrod vowed to himself that no matter what, he'd do everything in his power to protect that poor girl from being hurt ever again.
With Jarrod keeping watch over her until she had gone back to sleep, Millie had been able to sleep more that night then she had for the past couple of weeks. When she woke at the crack of dawn, what had happened during the night had quickly returned to her. The nightmare, Jarrod coming in to sit with her, him staying till she'd fallen asleep. She was embarrassed that he had found her crying, the last thing she wanted was for anyone to find her how he had, but at the same time, she had been glad for his comfort. It had been the first time in years someone had actually seemed to care about her. The first time that she had been made to feel safe in just as long.
What though, if she was made to leave this place?
What would she do then?
Crawling out from beneath the warm covers she went over to the window and pushed back the curtains then raised the blind. The sun was just beginning to appear over the snow covered landscape and Millie could see that more snow had fallen during the night. In the sunrise, as far as the eye could see, everything was covered under three inches of snow. Upon seeing the snow, she smiled just a little. It looked like they would be having a white Christmas after all.
The last year she'd had Christmas with Hosea and Ruth, she'd woken Christmas morning to find that it had snowed. A wider smile came to her lips as she remembered the ensuing snowball fights they'd had, it had been such grand fun. She couldn't think of a time that Christmas had been more fun or special than it had been that year.
Lingering at the window for a little while longer, Millie went and changed into her day outfit then softly crept downstairs. The house was fully decorated for Christmas by now and what a transformation had taken place. Bright green and red ribbons decorated the staircase and banister with more decorating the archway. Wreaths made from pine boughs and decorated with smaller ribbons and red berries had been hung on the doors and on the handrail. In the living room there were more pine boughs and wreaths and placed here and there were pine-cone decorations. The only thing missing now was a tree, which the collecting and decorating of one was the morning's planned activity.
After putting on her coat, hat, muffler and gloves, Millie slipped outside into the cold morning air. Everything smelt fresh after last night's snowfall and she breathed in deeply of the air as she made her way to the barn. She would take a quick ride before breakfast, a little habit she had been creating for the past week. It gave her time to be alone and think through her thoughts.
Tomahawk greeted her with a soft whinny and she smiled a little as she rubbed his forehead. "Ready to go then hey?" She questioned with a soft chuckle. "Well, I won't keep you waiting then." After giving him a quick brush she put her borrowed bridle on and led him outside, the stallion tossing his head impatiently as she mounted up. "Alright, alright. Let's go."
They trotted out of the ranch yard towards the hills, Millie having no set destination in mind but rather just going wherever Tomahawk wished to go. She was starting to get a feel for the land and find her bearings, though she still didn't venture too far from the ranch just yet. Though she felt safe near the ranch she was still cautious of how far she would go. It always paid to be careful.
As she rode on, her thoughts turned to the kitten from yesterday. She truly hoped that the boy had been able to find it a home. It had reminded her of her cat, a gray tabby that she'd been given the first Christmas she'd been with Hosea and Ruth. She didn't have much growing up but she had that cat. She'd absolutely loved and adored that little tabby. Growing up, Princess had been her constant companion and when first Hosea then Ruth had passed, having that cat had gotten her through. She'd been the one thing in her life that made it bearable.
She'd loved that cat and Cade knew it. He knew just how to hurt her and a few times, he used Princess against her. Once he had almost drowned her just to see her cry and beg for him to not kill her. It was after that she knew she had to get away from him. While she'd put up with his beatings and punishments for years, when he started on her cat that had been the final straw for her. Cade was a deranged, sick, twisted individual who enjoyed nothing more than to cause her pain and suffering.
Tomahawk trotted on, Millie letting the stallion set the pace and direction. God, she missed that cat and seeing that little kitten yesterday had brought it all back to her. Her poor cat had met a horrible end and it had been her fault. After she had tried running away the first time, Cade had shot her dead in front of her as punishment. He'd taken away the one thing that she had to love and cherish. It had broken her to lose that cat and he knew it.
If she could have, she'd have taken that little kitten in a heartbeat.
But now, that little kitten was probably dead too.
As a tear slid down her cheek, she quickly wiped it away on the back of her glove and swallowed the lump in her throat. No, she wouldn't allow herself to dwell on it now. Christmas Eve was tomorrow, she was supposed to be festive and happy. No one needed her to ruin the holiday and as she turned Tomahawk back towards the ranch she resolved that she would try to forget about everything for now. After all, Christmas was almost here and though she didn't believe in miracles or Christmas wishes coming true, she hoped, just hoped, that maybe, this year, she'd had a good Christmas.
Arriving back at the ranch she halted Tomahawk outside the barn and dismounted, leading him inside. Heath was there as she came in, taking care of morning chores and he smiled. "Good ride?"
"Good enough." She replied, returning the stallion to his stall. "We went up to the ridge overlooking the ranch to see how it looked with all this snow. It's one of my favorite spots up there."
"It's one of my favorites too."
"Really?"
Heath nodded. "Might show you a couple of my other favorite spots too one day."
"I'd like that." Millie smiled a little as she haltered her mustang and tied him up in his stall. "So, this tree gathering thing. Can I come along or is this just a family thing?"
"If you to come with us I guess you can." He shrugged.
"Great. I've never been Christmas tree hunting before."
"Neither had I. We never decorated much for Christmas growin' up. Sure is right pretty though, the house here. Never seen anything like it."
"I haven't either." She agreed, pouring Tomahawk's ration of oats into his manger. "It sure was fun helping decorate though. I really enjoyed it." Giving her stallion one last pat she walked back out of his stall and headed for the house, leaving Heath to finish his chores. Hanging up her hat and coat, she heard footsteps behind her and saw Jarrod coming down the stairs. "Good morning."
"Morning." He greeted, noticing it looked like she'd been outside. "Where have you been this early?"
"Out riding." She replied as she carefully removed her winter gloves. "I've been giving Tomahawk exercise before breakfast. I hope that's alright."
"Just as long as you don't go too far from the ranch, that's quite alright. Now Millie, about last night-"
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"You didn't let me finish." Jarrod said, placing his arm around her shoulders as they started towards the dining room. "I just wanted to say if you want to talk about anything, you know I'm here. I'm a good listener."
"Thank you. And thank you for sitting with me last night… Meant a lot to me."
He smiled, encouraged that maybe, just maybe, he was making a little headway with her. "And you're alright now?"
Millie nodded. "I'm fine."
"Good. Good." They were the first to arrive for breakfast, Jarrod pulling out Millie's chair for her. "Now, my brothers and I are going to head out after breakfast to go find a Christmas tree. Usually, while we're out doing that," With Millie seated, Jarrod took his spot at the end of the table. "Mother and Audra are making popcorn strings and preparing the decorations to go on it once we've brought it back. What would you like to do? You can come with us or you can stay and help Mother and Audra."
"Could… Could I come with you and your brothers? I asked Heath earlier and he seemed to think it'd be alright."
"Of course. We'd be happy for you to tag along."
"But should you really be going out in this weather? I mean, you've just gotten over pneumonia and the doc said for you to take it easy."
Jarrod chuckled a little, touched at her concern for him. "And that, my dear, is why all I'm doing is finding the tree and leaving the cutting down of it to younger folk. Who knows," He continued as Nick came to join them. "maybe you'll be the one to find the perfect tree this year."
Once breakfast was over, it was time for them to head out in search of the perfect Christmas tree that would be the centerpiece of the living room. Millie was the first to have her horse ready to go, seeing as she didn't have a saddle the only tacking up she had to do was put Tomahawk's bridle on. "I'll wait out front." She informed them as she went to lead the stallion out, the others having their horses in varied stages of being ready to ride. "Come on boy."
Tomahawk stepped willingly after her and she led him out of the barn, stopping again in the ranch yard. He sniffed at her pockets and she chuckled as she reached in and withdrew part of the apple she had saved from her breakfast for him. "Yes, yes." He sniffed at it eagerly before taking it from her gloved hand. "There you go." She smiled as he munched away on it and she rubbed his forehead. "Who's my good boy, hey?"
The apple gone, Tomahawk sniffed again at her pockets trying to determine if she was withholding something from him. "It's all gone." She laughed, gently pushing his muzzle away. "No more." The stallion let out a heavy sigh and she giggled, rubbing his forehead again. "I know. I'm so mean, aren't I?"
As she waited out front with her horse for the others to finish tacking up their horses, a cheeky grin spread across her face as a thought came to her. Wouldn't it be such a shame if when they stepped from the barn, they got pelted with some of this lovely, fresh snow? Feeling in the mood for some Christmas mischief she quickly led her stallion out of the way and tied him securely to the hitching post outside the ranch house. Returning to the barn she found a nice hiding spot behind one of the trees and set to work. Scooping up a handful of snow she quickly formed it into a ball then started making another, having made a nice sized pile by the time the barn door opened again.
Eugene led the horse he was going to ride out and she grinned mischievously, she finished forming the snowball in her hands. Stepping out from behind her cover, she called out "Heads up!" as she let the snowball fly.
Eugene looked up just in time to be greeted with cold white powderiness exploding right in his face. Wiping the snow from his eyes he shook his head at the girl as she laughed merrily at him. "Millie, seriously...! Really?"
She tossed a snowball up and down in her hand playfully. "There's more where that came from Gene, believe me. Perhaps you should move out of the line of fire, I think Heath's coming out."
'Why you-' A sly smile spread across his face and quickly he moved his horse out of the way then came to join her, picking up a snowball from her pile. 'Alright, I think it's only fair that brother Heath gets snowballed too.'
'Mmhmm. My thoughts exactly.' She agreed. "Here he comes."
Heath led Charger out of the barn only to be greeted in the same manner as Eugene. 'Come on…' He grumbled as he brushed the snow off of himself. "Haven't you two got anything better to be doing?"
Eugene and Millie looked at each other then back at Heath. "Nope." Millie replied with a giggle, picking up another snowball. "Besides, what's more fun than a snowball fight?"
"Seriously, Gene-" He turned to his younger brother. "You too?"
"The charm of girlish innocence has been a bad influence on me." Eugene added with a grin, another snowball in his hand also. "Who do you reckon we'll get next? Jarrod or Nick?"
"Jarrod," Millie replied. "I think Nick's still getting the team harnessed."
'Care to join us Heath?"
"Come on." She begged. "Three's better than two."
"Alright, alright." He led Charger over to where Tomahawk and Dusty had been tied up then joined the two mischief makers to lie in wait for Jarrod. "I think Jarrod's coming out."
Millie giggled as she smoothed out her snowball. "Poor Jarrod, he's got no clue what he's in for."
Jarrod emerged and three snowballs hit their target solidly, much to the amusement of those doing the throwing. Shaking his head, he brushed the snow from his coat as he led Jingo by. "I should have known you three were up to no good. It was too quiet out here."
"But you didn't." Heath pointed out with a chuckle, enjoying himself.
"It was Millie who started it." Eugene winked at him, his brother smiling slightly as an unspoken message was exchanged between them. "Blame her."
"Come on, move Jingo out of the road and come join us." Millie invited. "We're gonna get Nick good."
Jarrod did so, coming to join his siblings and Millie handed him a snowball. "Thank you."
She grinned cheekily. "Nick's not gonna know what hit him."
The four of them laid in wait for their final victim, their patience paying off when Nick finally walked through the doors, leading the team that would pull the wagon for the Christmas tree. He didn't have time to react when he noticed his brothers and Millie lined up with snowballs in hand and four snowballs exploded on him with one getting him in his face. Taking a deep breath, he wiped the snow away as Millie and his brothers cackled hysterically and he bent down to make some snowballs of his own. "Alright, whose idea was this?"
"Millie." Eugene replied.
"Millie." Heath added.
"The resident mischief maker." Jarrod said.
"Hey!" She protested as they all pointed the finger at her, Nick tossing a snowball up and down in his hands. As she turned to run away, two sets of hands caught her and held her back.
"Uh ah. No getting out of it. You started this, you're gonna get snowballed too." Heath told her. "Only fair."
She looked up at Heath then Jarrod and heaved a huge sigh. Well, there was no getting out of taking her medicine-
"Alright Nick," Jarrod said with a chuckle as the girl admitted defeat. "let her have it."
Before Nick could throw the snowball she elbowed Heath firmly in the ribs at the same time as she stamped down on Jarrod's foot. Wriggling free from them she ran, Nick's snowball whizzing past her head as she reached Tomahawk. Grabbing a lock of his mane she went to vault on but miscalculated the jump and overdid it, yelping in surprise as she slid off his back down the other side into the snow.
Laughter rang out, the Barkley brothers quite amused at her karma as she sat up from the snow and began wiping the snow from her face. Tomahawk turned around to see if she was alright and she giggled softly as he nibbled at her snow covered hair. "I'm alright boy."
The Barkley men were having a good laugh at the events that had unfolded, but Heath being the gentleman despite her elbowing him, went over and gave her a hand up. "Having fun are we?" He asked with amusement.
"It would appear you lot are." She brushed herself off as the others joined Heath to check she was alright. "At least I had a soft landing. Guess that's what I get for teasing you all."
"Well, if we're all finished with our childish games here-" Jarrod interrupted with a warm smile on his face. "Then perhaps we might see to collecting our Christmas tree now?"
"Sure Pappy." Nick nodded. "You got the ax Gene?"
"I thought you had the ax."
Heath brushed the snow the girl had missed from off her back. 'Well someone needs to get the ax unless the tree is magically going to fall over for us." He looked down at Millie. "Would you mind?"
"Alright, I'll go grab it."
"It should be leaning up next to the door in the blacksmithing shop."
She nodded and left to go find the item. Entering the blacksmithing shop she found it after a moment and heading back outside, was greeted by four snowballs upon her exit. Dropping the ax she ran for cover as they laughed and she chuckled, preparing another snowball. "So we're gonna play this game hey?" She called out as she peeked out from behind her cover, aiming the snowball at Nick. "There's more where this came from."
That was all the invitation they needed for a moment later, snowballs were flying back and forth across the yard. Being on her own, Millie could barely keep up and after a moment, she had to admit defeat. "Okay, okay." She laughed as another snowball exploded on her and she held up her hands in surrender. "Four against one isn't fair! Can we at least even up the odds?"
Jarrod chuckled and looked at Eugene. "Shall we help her? You, Millie and I against Nick and Heath?"
"Sounds like a good plan." He agreed. "What do you think Millie?"
"Yep, works for me."
"Now just wait a minute here." Nick protested. "Why do you get to decide how we're gonna play? It's gonna be three against two."
"Worried a girl's gonna kick your butt, Nick ol' boy?" Millie teased with a grin.
"Hardly." He picked up another handful of snow and began forming it into a ball as Jarrod and Eugene ran to join Millie. "You've met your match, Millie ol' gal."
After their snowball fight, the Barkley's and Millie headed out in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Their destination; Bridge Peak. The atmosphere was festive and jolly as the group headed up to the mountain, Nick leading out in the singing of Christmas carols as he drove the team along. Millie joined in on the songs that she knew, she and Tomahawk leading the way with Jarrod and Heath, Eugene and Nick following behind.
Soon they arrived at their destination and they spread out in search of a suitable tree. Millie looked around carefully, weaving her stallion through the pine forest. The trees she found were either too little or too big, too leafy or too bare and she wondered if they'd find anything suitable here.
Guiding Tomahawk through another grove, her eyes landed on what she decided was the perfect tree. Dismounting, she took a closer look. It was about fifteen feet tall to her guess with branches evenly spread around, tapering off up the top in an almost perfect cone shape. With a little trimming, she expected that it would work. "Hey guys-" She called out loudly. "I think I've found one."
Heath was the first to appear from the trees and he grinned as he saw the tree Millie was standing beside. "Boy howdy, that sure is a fine tree."
She smiled. "I think so. What do you think Jarrod?" She questioned, the eldest Barkley joining them followed by Nick and Eugene.
"I think it'll be perfect." Jarrod replied after assessing the tree for a moment. "Alright Nick and Heath, you two have the honors."
"And now the hard work starts…" Nick said with a slight grumble, returning to the wagon for the ax and a saw. "You gonna help Jarrod?"
"I am, I'm supervising. Doctor's orders."
Millie chuckled at their brotherly banter and led Tomahawk out of the way so the tree could be felled. Mounting her stallion she turned around on his back so she was facing his rump and wiggled her way onto his hindquarters, crossing her legs to get comfortable to watch the men work.
Jarrod came to join her, taking a seat on the back of the wagon. "Having fun?"
She nodded. "Thank you for bringing me along."
"You're quite welcome."
Silence fell as they watched Nick and Heath work, Eugene helping where he could and soon the tree had been brought down. After the tree had been cut they prepared the tree for transport, tying ropes around it to help hold the branches together while it was moved. With the tree ready, together the men loaded it into the back of the wagon and they started home.
Millie rode ahead from the group, allowing Tomahawk the opportunity to stretch his legs. She'd ride ahead then circle back so she didn't get too far ahead and end up lost, still not quite confident that she knew her way around the ranch. When they arrived back at the house, Nick brought the team to a halt outside the house and again the men worked together to move the tree from the wagon to inside.
Seeing that they would be busy getting the tree up, Millie offered to take care of the horses and went to take care of them as the men worked with the tree. With six horses to untack and care for, by the time she had finished with them and bedded them down in their stalls once more, she was exhausted. Giving Tomahawk one last pat and a handful of oats she'd taken from the feed room, she headed back to the house.
The tree was up by the time she joined the Barkley's in the living room, the family sitting around drinking cocoa and eating cookies. Taking a seat, Audra handed her a cup of cocoa and as she sipped at it, she looked up at the tree. It had been trimmed so it was tidy and even without having been decorated yet, it was magnificent standing tall there in the house.
"I saved some popcorn for you to string." Audra said as she brought over a bowl of popcorn with a needle and some thread. "You just stick the needle through the middle here and string them on. Do you want to try?"
"Sure." Placing her cup down she picked up the needle and thread with a piece of popcorn and followed Audra's example.
"Good, that's it." Audra encouraged after Millie had strung on a few inches. "Just keep going until it's all filled up."
Millie nodded, continuing to string the popcorn as Victoria returned with the ornament box.
"Would you all mind decorating the tree without me this year?" She requested as she set the box down on the coffee table. "I've got a thousand other things to get prepared for tomorrow night's party."
"Of course Mother." Jarrod replied. "I'm sure we can manage."
"Well, you'll have to manage without Heath and I." Nick returned his empty cup to the tray on the other end of the coffee table. "We've got other work to get done."
"And I've really got to get more studying in." Eugene added. "I'm sorry."
Jarrod chuckled as his three brothers scurried off and he turned back to Audra and Millie.
"Well girls, it looks like it's just us doing the tree this year. Would you like a hand with that popcorn string Millie?"
"Sure." She nodded and Jarrod joined her on the sofa to help her.
"Oh, would you look at this?" Audra complained sadly, pulling out a tangled mess of strung silver beads. "Whoever put these away like this?"
"I dare say that was probably Nick." Jarrod suggested, handing Millie more popcorn. "Will you be able to untangle it?"
"I will but it's gonna take some time. Just look at this mess." She sighed heavily as she placed the strings on her lap to untangle them. "I think I'll be putting the decorations away this year, save me from having to untangle this again next year."
While Audra worked on the bead stings, Millie and Jarrod kept stringing popcorn until it had all been strung. "What do we do with this now?" She questioned as she tied it off so the popcorn couldn't come off the string. "Where does it go?"
"We string this around the tree, starting from the top and work down to the bottom." Grabbing the popcorn strings Jarrod climbed the ladder and began working it around the tree. "How's those beads coming along Audra?"
"Almost finished…" She was fighting with one exceptionally stubborn tangle but finally, she won. "All done."
"When I'm finished here, hand them up."
Sitting back, Millie watched as Jarrod first stung up all the popcorn strings then the beads onto the tree. "What goes on now?" She asked as Jarrod climbed down from the ladder. Compared to the tree that she'd seen in one of the stores in town, this one didn't look finished just yet. "It still looks a little bare."
"Ah, now, Millie, my girl. We hang up these." Opening the box, he pulled out a smaller box that contained some of his ornaments that he'd collected over the years. "Each of us has our own ornament collection that gets added to each year. This box here is mine. Here, you can start hanging these ones up while Audra and I work on the others."
Taking the box, Millie selected an ornament to hang and set to work. Out of the corner of her eye she watched how Jarrod and Audra were distributing the ornaments and she did her best to copy them. She'd never decorated a tree before, she didn't know how things should go but she made sure that she kept them evenly spaced and hoped it would suffice. Finishing with that box, she went around the tree to where Jarrod was decorating. "I've finished with that one, is there more?"
He nodded. "You'll find more in the box over there. Once we've finished with the ornaments we then have to put on the candle holders. Then we'll be finished."
"Does where I've been decorating look okay? I mean, I've never done tree decorating before."
Coming around to her side, Jarrod placed his hand on her shoulder. "It looks just fine Millie. I'd try adding a few more around here though." He pointed out a spot that was a little sparse in decorations. "But I'd say you've done a lovely job."
Millie's smile reached her ears at his praise and she went to find more ornaments. Taking out another small box she returned to the tree and after climbing up the small ladder, returned to work. Taking out a red glass bauble with white reindeer painted on it, she stopped to admire it for a moment. "This one is pretty."
Jarrod glanced over. "That's one of Nick's favorites. We were in San Francisco for Christmas when he was five, that bauble is part of the set he chose."
As she went to hang it on the tree, the bauble slipped from her fingers and fell, shattering into pieces on the floor. The noise of the bauble breaking made them all jump, Millie fighting back tears. "I-I'm so sorry. It just slipped out of my hand. I-I didn't mean to break it."
"It's alright." He held his hand out for the rest of the ornaments and she handed the box back to him. "It was an accident. I'll hang these up, go find a dustpan and brush to clean it up."
Nodding, she climbed down from the ladder and went to the kitchen. The bauble had been so pretty and she'd broken it. Tears of frustration came to her eyes. Why couldn't she do anything right?
"Millie, what's the matter sweetheart?" Victoria questioned as the girl came into the kitchen. "You look like you've lost your best friend."
"I broke one of Nick's favorite ornaments. I didn't mean to. It was the one with the painted reindeer." She hung her head in shame. "It was so pretty and now it's ruined because I dropped it."
"Oh Millie." She left what she was doing and went over to her. "It's alright, you didn't mean to break it. These things just happen. Nick will understand."
"I hope so. I really didn't mean to drop it."
"I know."
"I came to get the dustpan to clean it up." She paused for a moment. "Will Nick be angry at me? For breaking it?"
"No honey, of course not. He might be a little disappointed that it's broken but he won't get angry at you."
Millie nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I better get it cleaned up, where's the dustpan?"
"Under the sink."
Finding what she needed the girl headed back out to the living room and swept up the broken glass. The bauble hadn't completely shattered, it had broken into large pieces and small pieces and as she went to throw it out, she hesitated. Maybe she could glue it back together again? Detouring, she went up to her bedroom and placed the broken pieces on her desk. She'd try putting it together again and if she couldn't, she'd tried at least.
When she returned to the living room, Jarrod and Audra had finished putting the rest of the decorations on the tree and were in the process of putting on the candle holders. Seeing that she had returned, he glanced back at her as he clipped on another candle holder to the branch. "I've got a special job for you Millie."
"Just as long as it's not something I can break." She replied softly. "I'm real sorry about breaking that ornament."
Audra came over and put her arm around her. "We've broken many ornaments by accident over the years, it's alright. It won't be the last time it'll happen. Promise." She told her kindly. "Now let's see that pretty smile of yours come back."
Millie smiled a little. "Thank you Audra."
She smiled back at her then continued placing the candle holders on the tree.
"What do you need me to do?" Millie questioned, turning back to Jarrod.
"Well, the tree is almost finished. It's just missing this." He replied as he turned back to her, holding in his hands a large silver star. "I'd like you to put this on top."
"Me?"
"Do you see any other Millie's here?"
She chuckled. "No."
"Then alright. Hop up that ladder and finish off the tree, Miss Anders."
Grinning, Millie took the star and after carefully climbing up the ladder one more, placed the star on top of the tree. Climbing back down, she looked up at it as Jarrod placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen."
Jarrod smiled. "Merry Christmas Millie."
She smiled back at him. "Merry Christmas Jarrod."