He hugged her tightly and traced her jawline with his forefinger. “Only the belly dancers. You are so beautiful, Liz.”

“You say that to all the girls, too?” she asked.

He sighed. “Only the ones who can walk the fence better than me.”

Gemma yelled from the bottom of the ladder, “What are y’all doin’ up there?”

“Looking at the yard ornaments. We’re on our way down,” Raylen hollered.

“Well, hurry up. Food is getting cold, and I don’t like cold mashed potatoes,” Gemma said.

“We’re on our way.” Liz started down the ladder. “What kind of food have you got?”

“I brought leftovers from Chicken Fried. Jasmine said she’d have to toss them so I figured we could eat while we look through boxes. Today’s special was roast and potatoes, so she sent a container of that, some gravy, some green beans, and a few yeast rolls. It’s still warm, so hurry up. I’m starving,” Gemma said.

***

Liz didn’t think she could swallow a bite what with the nervous jitters flitting around in her stomach. It was a good thing Gemma interrupted them or Liz would have tossed caution out the loft window and turned passion loose right there in the barn with baby Jesus looking on from the nativity scene.

“What all did you find up there? Did Haskell make a new lawn piece for this year?” Gemma asked.

“Yes, he did, and it’s of me sitting in a cactus, and I’m wearing my belly dancing costume,” Liz answered. “I wonder how many pieces are up there.”

“About thirty-five, near as we can figure,” Raylen answered, “and remember that there’s lights for every one of them. We always say that Haskell is the Clark Griswold of Montague County.”

And all the lights won’t make as bright a light as went off in my head when Raylen touched my bare skin or kissed me. I’m still too giddy to swallow food and too wound up to sit still.

Gemma nodded. “He had thirty-four last year so one more would make thirty-five. You can count on me and Raylen and Dewar to help you get them up. It will be fun to help, won’t it, Raylen? Daddy and Mama put up lights around the house and an enormous wreath on the door, and sometimes she makes Daddy drag those wire reindeer things out of the barn to go in the yard. Dewar has one of those pre-lit trees that sometimes he shoves in a corner of his house and sometimes he forgets all about.”

Liz had entertained visions of just her and Raylen doing the decorating.

“We might need to ask Dewar,” Liz said. “He might not want to help.”

“Sure, he’ll help. And I’ll get Jasmine and Ace, too. The more hands, the quicker the work will get done. I think Dewar likes Liz, don’t you?” Gemma said. “The way he was flirting around with her was kind of cute. And he is the next one in line.”