Holiday Sparks Read Free

effect whether you’re the type or not.”
    “Christmas is ill-mannered people, impatient lines and the screams of overtired children that have been dragged to eight stores in three hours.” Darcy Tucker’s eyes were pinched and her mouth was now a grim line.
    He swiped his thumb down the tree in his tattoo. “Christmas is alive and well no matter how awful things get.” Her dark-green eyes softened and she opened her mouth to say something but he lifted his hand. As she said, it was her place. “I’ll have them down tomorrow. Do you mind if I enjoy them tonight?”
    She nodded slowly. “One night.”
    “Sorry to inconvenience you.”
    She snapped her stepladder shut, averting her eyes. “Thank you,” she said softly and slipped inside.
    Ben collected the clips off the deck and stuffed them into his pocket. It had been an unusually bitter month on the all-around. His niece was wrapped up tight with a shoulder harness thanks to a bad fall from her bike. So instead of the art lessons he usually used to keep her occupied, she was moping around his shop, Luna Hart. With any luck she’d get the sling off before Christmas.
    His brother was working extra hours to pay for her medical bills, which made Brittany even more bratty. And he’d just dented his savings to buy updated equipment for the shop, so he couldn’t help.
    Putting up a bit of Christmas cheer had calmed him. Now he’d have to bring the lights over to the shop instead. It didn’t exactly suit the tattoo parlor, but Cesar would have to deal with it.
    And maybe he could finally get Brittany to smile. She liked to order him around, and getting her involved in the decorating would distract her.
    He gathered the white lights that sagged from the awning and took them down because now they just looked stupid. He worked quickly. Thanks to his height and Darcy Tucker’s rampage there were only a few left. He wasn’t sure why she’d taken them down on his side first. He shook his head. Now the house looked as though it was winking. He made a mental note to add that into his programming ideas.
    It was too bad Darcy Tucker was so unhappy about Christmas.
    She sure was pretty under the twinkle lights.
    * * * * *
     
    Darcy watched the flicker and flash from her bed. Icicle lights divided the large picture window overlooking the cul-de-sac, ruining her favorite view. Gingerbread-perfect houses and well-tended lawns lined up perfectly. Her neighborhood was crisp and clean, so unlike the places she’d grown up in. Her mother had done the best she could, but each apartment had been worse than the last.
    She’d worked hard for this view. To be able to afford her own house and her own lawn, her own space that wouldn’t be taken away.
    She wouldn’t feel bad about Ben Hartley and his Christmas lights, darnit.
    Even if they did make beautiful swirling patterns on her creamy duvet. Ben’s lights were a pristine white, not the ugly neon cast of her childhood.
    She rolled over and closed her eyes against the lights and the memories. She needed to sleep.
    When she woke to her bleating alarm it was still dark. She groaned and drew her blankets over her head. Back-to-back twelve-hour shifts were taking their toll. In the warm cocoon of blankets, her eyelids grew heavy. Before she let herself fall back to sleep, she flipped her covers back.
    The room was dark save for the cool blue numbers on her alarm. Ben must have put the lights on a timer, or shut them off well after she’d drifted off. Her toes hit the cool floor, dragging her the rest of the way into consciousness. She stumbled down the stairs for coffee and a bagel.
    It was too early to focus on her to-do list. Instead she opened her laptop. A notice from her mother’s Facebook account made her smile. She spent a few minutes clicking through pictures she’d posted from her latest cruise. Her mother had finally found love last year and James Fontana spoiled her rotten. It was about time her mother had someone to