Raylen nodded. “Brennan.”

“Y’all have a nice evenin’. We’re off to the movies soon as we get something to eat,” Brennan said.

“Have fun,” Liz said.

When they were seated across the room, Raylen said, “That was interesting. Never had a woman take up for me before.”

“Is she always that bitchy?” Liz asked.

“No, she’s really not. She’s usually a lot of fun,” Raylen said.

“Then she just plain don’t like me. How is that going to affect your relationship with her since y’all are besties?” Liz withdrew her hands and held them in her lap.

Raylen shrugged. “Don’t take it personal. She doesn’t like anyone I go out with. And she really hates Jasmine. She thinks Ace has a thing for Jasmine because he’s always flirting with her, and Becca and Ace were an item back in high school.”

“That was years ago, and besides, I’m there most of the time when Ace comes in. He and Jasmine are the best friends ever.” She caught herself before she said, “Like me and Blaze.”

Chapter 13

The Hobby Lobby store buzzed with excitement. Anything that had to do with Halloween was seventy-five percent off, and Thanksgiving items were displayed on two long aisles. But Christmas was what took Liz’s eye. Several aisles displayed thousands of bright, sparkly ornaments that hung from the floor to above Raylen’s head. Pretty paper, shiny ribbons, glittery garland, and beautiful tree toppers were on another aisle, and Liz could have all she wanted of everything that year. In years past, Marva Jo had set up a two-foot tree on the kitchen table and scattered the presents around it. They’d always put lights on the trees outside Poppa’s trailer, and sometimes he even had a small tree, but nothing that went from floor to ceiling. She’d always wanted to buy lots of pretty decorations and that night she had the basket full before she and Raylen even turned into the Christmas tree aisle.

“From the look in those pretty eyes, maybe we should’ve brought a horse trailer to get all your purchases back to Ringgold,” Raylen said.

She pointed at the biggest tree on display. “Look at that big one. Will it fit in the truck?”

He hugged her tightly to his side. “They come dismantled and in a box, so the answer is yes, however you might want to reconsider. It says right here this tree is ten feet tall. It’s eight feet from your floor to your ceiling. We’ll have to cut at least two or three feet out of the top of that one,” he said.

She cocked her head to one side. “You are saying I should buy a six-foot tree in order to get the topper on it?”

He brushed a sweet kiss across her lips. “That’s right, but look at all the different six-footers. There’s the skinny one that doesn’t take up much room, and there’s a fat one that’ll cover a quarter of your living room.” He pointed as he spoke.