Bring Me Home for Christmas

as far as a main road, a local builder, Paul Haggerty, and his crew met it with a big flatbed truck and their hydraulic gear to lift it and haul it the rest of the way. By the time the tree made it to Virgin River, it was dark, but half the town seemed to be present to look at their catch, so to speak. There was lots of “oohing” and “aahing” going on.
    On Saturday, the tree was erected—a process that took many hands and more of Paul Haggerty’s equipment and men.
    “The first time we brought a tree this size into town, it was just Jack, Preacher and Mike Valenzuela standing it up,” Mel told Becca. “During the night, it fell down. Thankfully not on the bar!”
    Becca sat on Jack’s porch between Mel and Paige. They all held hot drinks. Her eyes grew large at the prospect of that huge tree falling on the bar. She couldn’t run, after all. “Should we move?” she asked.
    Mel just laughed. “I think now that Paul’s on board with this project, we’re in pretty good hands. And I think your brother and his friends are kind of enjoying this. Too bad they won’t see it completely decorated.”
    “That must take a long time,” Becca said.
    “A day or day and a half, and at least one cherry picker,” Mel told her.
    It was past noon before that tree was upright and stable. Mel and Paige were back and forth to the porch, taking children in and outside. By afternoon, a couple of cherry pickers had arrived and the stringing of the lights commenced.
    Becca was surprised she wasn’t frozen to the bone, but she couldn’t stand to miss a second of this process. And neither could anyone else! Townsfolk came and went throughout the day, everyone with a new opinion about the tree. By then, night was falling, although it was only about five, and Jack and Denny were fastening up the last of the lights.
    Cars and trucks were pulling into town. Becca gave a wave to Noah Kincaid and his family. Connie and Ron walked across the street from The Corner Store. Lorraine Thickson arrived in a beat-up old pickup with a passel of kids somehow stuffed into it. No husband and father, she noticed. Becca sat up a little straighter as she saw Denny in the cherry-picker basket, going up up up to the top of the huge tree. Mel and Paige came back outside; their kids ran into the street. Everyone seemed to sense that the culmination was near.
    Denny fussed with the top of the tree, then the cherry picker lowered him to the ground again. Jack must have connected the electricity, because the tree came alive! Lights twinkled all over the giant fir and on the very top was a star that positively brightened the sky! There was a collective “aww” in the crowd and as the night grew dark and the lights bright, there was silence. People seemed motionless.
    Then magic happened—a gentle snow began to fall.
    “Unbelievable,” Becca whispered to no one. “Amazing.” She felt her eyes watering from the sheer beauty of the moment. Then the tree went dark and, after her eyes adjusted a bit, she noticed people beginning to disperse.
    Suddenly Denny was beside her, scooting his chair close. “You okay?” he asked.
    “Sure,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “It was just so emotional—seeing all the work done and so many people turn out.”
    “It’s far from done. There are ornaments and trim still to do. The official lighting is tomorrow night, after the rest of it’s decorated. It takes half the town to get it done.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “You’re going to love it. Too bad the boys can’t stay for that.”

    That evening Preacher served up a fantastic pot of turkey soup and it seemed to Becca there were more than the usual number of people stopping by the bar, probably curious about the tree. The temperature dropped and the snow fell gently and she loved the sound of people stomping the snow off their boots on the front porch. Dinner was barely over when Rich pulled his chair closer to hers.
    “You sure this is what you want me to do, Becca? Leave you here and go home?”
    For a second, she wore a shocked expression. How had she managed not to think about Rich and his buddies leaving? Now that he was, she felt oddly vulnerable. But determined. “I’ll be fine,” she said.
    “If you need me to stay and bring you home at the end of the week, I’ll stay. I’ll call in to work, tell them you were hurt and I’m stuck here with you.”
    She shook her head. “You know I’ll be fine with Denny. He would never