Page 66

I pull a chair over to the desk, scooting closer until my knee touches hers. The sample has a strong beat. It’s got a decent rhythm. I suppose it could work, but I don’t think it’s the one. “Meh.”

Paisley opens another file to play. “How about this one?”

“Too bouncy.”

“This one?”

“Too disco.”

“Okay, what about…?”

I listen to the steady, driving chugga-chugga train beat, and it’s definitely got me wanting to tap my toes. “This could work.”

I don’t have an idea yet, at least nothing tangible, but I can feel it just out of reach as I listen to the beat.

December 15

I’m noodling on my electric guitar, trying to pin down a memorable riff, when Paisley breezes into the studio a little after nine a.m.

My fret hand slides down the neck of the guitar and the strings squeak. I have to do a double take to make sure it’s really her in that getup.

She’s dressed in a festive elf costume—a knee-length green dress with fluffy white fur trim and shiny gold accents over red-and-white-striped leggings tucked into fur-lined, shiny black ankle boots. Unlike her usual minimal-makeup, fresh-faced look, she’s gone big and bold with bright scarlet circles of blush on her cheeks, shimmery gold eye shadow dusted across her eyelids, and ruby-red lipstick that makes her mouth look full and enticing. A green felt Santa hat with jingle bells spaced out along the brim is pulled down over her bright red wig, which is a riot of corkscrew curls.

“Sorry I’m late,” she says, passing me a cardboard to-go cup, her jingle bells jangling as she moves. “Trisha called in sick this morning, so I need to cover for her at the reindeer photo op. It took me a while to get all elfed up.”

Our fingers brush when I take the cup from her. “You’re worth the wait,” I say. And BAM. It hits me like a bolt of lightning. I have an idea for a song. It’s still just a tiny spark, but I know that if I let it smolder a bit, it’ll catch fire.

“I look ludicrous,” she says.

“Nah. You look cute,” I say before taking a sip of hot cocoa. “Very Dolly Parton meets Buddy the Elf.”

“Just the look I was going for,” she says with that dimpled grin that makes my heart soar. “Though, I’m hoping no one will recognize me.” She slides on a pair of red cat-eye novelty glasses with rhinestones all over them. “Think I can pull off the Clark Kent/Superman, hidden-in-plain-sight thing?”

“I think you can do anything you set your mind to, Paisley,” I say. The mood in the room goes serious. I wasn’t trying to kill the playful back-and-forth we had going, but I want her to know how incredible I think she is.

Paisley’s familiar brown eyes meet mine, and she blinks her eyelashes bashfully behind those ridiculous rhinestoned glasses. “Thanks,” she says so softly, I almost can’t hear it.

“So, I think I might have just gotten an idea for a song. What do you think about this?”

Paisley’s eyes light up as I tell her what I’m thinking. Her jingle bells shake as she nods. “I think it could work. Let’s give it a try.”

Track 23

Laying Down Tracks

Paisley

December 15

It has been the longest day of the year, even though we’re only a few days away from the winter solstice and the amount of daylight is dropping on a daily basis. I crawled out of bed when it was dark. I haven’t crawled back into it and it’s dark already. And I didn’t get a lick of rest all day.

I shouldn’t complain. Hidden Acres needs a solid fourth quarter to float the tree farm for the rest of the year, even with the extra boost of having the Hideaway booked for Kash’s stay. I’m finally living my dream of being a working songwriter. And I’m definitely not mad about getting to spend time with Kash.

But I feel like I’m being pulled in a million different directions. Mom needs me at the gift shop. Dad needs my help selling trees. Dunder and Blixem need attention. And Kash is counting on me, too. At the end of the day, there’s not much time left for me.

I glance over at my lyric book, sitting on the shelf. It’s only been a few days since I cracked it open to put down my ideas, but it feels like it’s been forever, given how many snippets of music and phrases are floating around in my mind. I know I should probably try to write them all down before they disappear, but I just don’t have the energy. I’m spent.

As much as I’d love to make it all happen, I can’t be in two (or more) places at once. It wasn’t too hard to juggle it all before, but now I feel like I’m constantly rushing around, about to drop the ball and let someone down. And with Trisha out sick, now I’m pulling double duty as Holly Parton, the elf. It’s exhausting.