“I’m actually in the middle of creating my own nonprofit. Same vein, with some differences. But essentially using nature, sports, counseling, and biblical principles to help teens who need a second chance.”
“Wow.” Holly blinked a few times. “That’s really…noble.”
He sat up a little taller. “That camp I got sent to changed my life. The least I can do is pay it forward.”
“It obviously made a big difference for you.” Holly smiledteasingly. “Unless, of course, you’ve been vandalizing the barn out back and I don’t know it.”
“Funny.” He’d meant it sarcastically, but it was.Shewas. Because she wasn’t making fun of him—she was lightening his load. Something his family had never been able to do.
“So Christmas stands for everything you hated about your childhood. And the fact you almost went to jail one holiday.” Holly winced. “I’m starting to feel a little guilty about Frosty.”
Nick sputtered a laugh. “Frosty, I could handle. These sweaters might put me over the edge, though.”
“Too late.” She pointed with a glue stick. “We’re quite a pair, huh? Sitting here decorating holiday wear when we’ve both been personally victimized by Christmas.”
Nick squinted at her. “Is that supposed to be aMean Girlsreference?”
She leaned back in her chair. “For someone who says he never watches movies, you sure do get a lot of my pop culture jokes.”
“I’m educated.” Nick grinned. “So what do you normally do for Christmas, if you don’t come home?”
“Hide.” Holly set down the glue stick. “Go out to dinner with girlfriends, try to make it a normal night. FaceTime with my family, maybe watch a few non-Christmas movies. And feel guilty for not being here.” She shrugged. “What about you?”
“Ramen noodles.”
“And here I’ve been worried about being pathetic.”
“It’s my go-to holiday meal on Christmas Eve. I even have a special bowl I use just for that.”
“The Grinch should take notes. That’s about as non-Christmas as you can get.” Holly handed him the glue. “You’re losing a pom-pom there.”
“I think the fact I’m even making this sweater means I’m losing my marbles.”
She laughed then, his favorite one—the one that meant she was caught off guard and genuinely amused. The sound was contagious. His own grin spread wider. “Maybe we should watchThe Grinchthis year.”
“I think I could recite that movie in my sleep.” Holly glued another piece of felt to the cat shape she’d created. “They used to play it at work in the break room. Said it would keep us in the spirit for designing.”
Nick raised his eyebrows as he fixed his loose pom-pom. “I’m guessing since you got downsized, it didn’t work.”
“No.” She hesitated. “Itdidwork in making me throw a garlic stick at the TV once.”
“Crazy they would let such a dedicated employee go.”
“I know, I know.” Holly shook her head. “You sound like my friend Piper. But after a little bit of time away, I’m starting to see I really did like my job—just not the content I got stuck creating.”
Nick nodded. “Too much Christmas.”
“Waytoo much. I couldn’t get passionate about it for a third of the year, and I think that came through in my social media designs. Everything was kind of flat. Forced.”
The fact she could realize that about herself was pretty huge. That took a lot of humility. He started to say so when Grace walked into the kitchen.
“You two sure are busy.” Grace checked on the cookies, then stood by the island and peered at their projects. “Are those for tomorrow night?”
“Yep.” Holly kept stuffing pom-poms into her glue pile. “We’re going all in.”
“You’ve never been so invested in the party before, Holly.” Grace leaned one hip against the island and tilted her head. “Didn’t you wear all black last time you came?”
Nick snorted. “Nowthat’sfestive.”
