“Baby, we brought everything that you had stacked by the door.”

“I know, I just wish I could remember what I’m forgetting though,” the blonde sighed.

“Sam, I’m sure you didn’t forget a thing.” Brooke put the truck in gear and started to pull out into traffic.

“You’re probably right,” Sam shrugged, “…but it just keeps,” the blonde paused. “Damn,” she slapped her jean-covered thigh, “I know what it was.”

“What?” The truck came to a halt as Brooke slammed on the brake, almost causing her load to shift.

Quickly bracing herself against the dashboard, Sam waited for the truck to stop rocking before wrinkling up her nose and looking over to Brooke with the most innocent of faces.

“What?” Blue eyes studied her intently, fearing that they’d left something of great importance behind.

“I remember what it was that I was forgetting.” Sam looked down to the dashboard as she readjusted her seat. “I…ah…” she looked over to Brooke and spoke in a shy voice, “Could we stop at the grocery store?”

Brooke looked into the rearview mirror. “Do we have room for whatever we need to get?” She winked at Sam teasingly.

“Hey,” Sam shifted in her seat to face her more fully. “How many people do you actually know that could pack up their whole life and belongings into one small…” she let her eyes drift over the very large interior of the truck and chuckled. “Well, not so small truck, huh?”

Brooke grinned, then began to chuckle. “Sam, you are just too cute.” The driver grabbed the blonde’s hand and kissed it. “We can stop wherever you’d like.” Brooke took her foot off the brake and eased it back onto the gas pedal. She stole glances of the woman as Sam blushed.

Sam hid her face with her hand, trying to shield the growing redness of her face from Brooke’s view. “Thanks,” she giggled, “I forgot the cookie dough.”

“Cookie dough?” Brooke took Sam’s hand in hers and raised it to kiss the small palm.

“Hey, Christmas means cookies, okay?” Sam sighed, “Besides, they’re refrigerated so if we can’t fit them in here, we could always just tie the tubes to the roof rack.” Sam cast a sideward glance to her lover.

“I guess we could. I love you.” Brooke took her eyes off the road long enough to wink at Sam.

“I love you too, Babe,” Sam smiled back at her.

“It’s gonna be really nice having these next few weeks with you. I don’t think you know what this means to me, Sam.”

“You’re not regretting it already, are you?”

The driver shook her head and smiled, “Not at all. Starting tomorrow, I can sleep in late with you every day, make you breakfast in bed…”

“Hmm…sounds like I must have been a very good girl this year, huh Santa?”

“Oh yeah.” The broad grin across Brooke’s face said it all.

“Maybe next year you’ll have been the good girl and Santa will bring you everything it is that you want.” Sam winked and smiled back.

“Yeah? Well, that’ll be easy. I only want one thing.”

“Hmm, would that be something big…or expensive?” Sam teased, ” I mean to only want one thing.”

“Nope,” Brooke tightened her lips together and shook her head. “It’s not big, and not expensive, either.” She smiled, “But it’s just right.”

“Now that sounds like the proverbial ‘Peace on Earth’, wouldn’t you say?” Sam glanced out the side window then back to Brooke. “You’d better tell me now so I can put your order in for next year,” she teased.

The driver smiled, then made her wish in a hushed whisper, “All I want is you.”

It took a moment for the words to sink in, causing the blonde to give Brooke a strange look. “But you already have me, Brooke. So, what’s to want?”

The older woman winked at her lover. “And that’s why I’m happy. All I need is you.”

“Hmm…now that, I can live with.”

Sam looked back into the truck that boasted of not a single square foot of unused space, and marveled at their ability to find enough room for the two small bags of groceries. There wasn’t a nook or cranny left to put even the tiniest of things into the vehicle when she noticed that the truck was turning from the main road.

“Brooke, what’s wrong? Why are we stopping here?” Sam looked back to the loaded cargo. ” I didn’t break your new truck, did I?” She gazed over to Brooke, then out of the side window where she saw a small shack surrounded by pine trees and illuminated with rows of strung together light bulbs.

“We need a tree, Darlin’.”

“A tree?” Sam’s eyes lit up, “You mean a real tree? I didn’t think people still did real trees.”

“Of course I mean a real tree.” Brooke unfastened her seatbelt as she watched a family passing by with a tree in tow and smiled fondly. “We are going to get a real tree and decorate it with the kids on Christmas Eve. What do you think?”

Sam looked back to the packed vehicle and grimaced. “Well, I guess a little one would be…”

The driver laughed heartily, “Oh no, it’s got to be a big one.”

“A big one?” Sam’s head shifted back and forth from the driver to the packed truck. “Brooke, how…where…” she gave up and finally said what was on her mind. “It’s never gonna fit.”

“Oh, yes it will. It can go on top.”

“So, that’s why you didn’t want the refrigerated rolls up there, huh?” Sam teased.

Damn right,” Brooke winked back at her. “There has to be enough room for you and I to fit under it.” Brooke’s eyes twinkled with delight.

“You’re not insinuating that we make…” Sam’s face took on one of shock.

Brooke grinned evilly before she amended her statement. “Well, at least you with a big red ribbon on your head,” she teased right back, looking down at her own long frame. “I’m not sure they have anything here that’s big enough for me.”

“Whew,” Sam breathed easier. “You had me worried for a minute there.”

The rakish grin stayed on Brooke’s face. “Well, now that you mention it…we do have to work on that baby thing.”

Sam poked her tall lover in the stomach. “Now, don’t go getting any ideas.” She started into a slow grin. “Well, not until after the kids go home.”

“Nope.” Brooke shook her head, remembering what had happened when they tried making love with Julie in the house. “No way, besides, we’ll have plenty of time before they even get there.”

The younger woman thought for a moment, then agreed. “We do, don’t we?” Sam smiled coyly, then wiggled her eyebrows. “So, what are we doing here? Let’s go pick out a tree.”

Brooke stood there for a moment, sizing up the situation. Here, in one hand, she balanced the tall pine that they had picked out, while she looked over to the two week old Sequoia. It would take her more time and energy than it was worth to unload all of Sam’s boxes to get to the tarp that she’d thrown in earlier. She knew there was no way she was getting sap all over the roof of the brand new vehicle. Her options were limited as she reached for her cell phone and punched in her youngest sister’s number, waiting to hear her familiar tones.

“Hello, Sis, what’s up?”

“Hey Chase, I need you to do me a favor. Can you bring me a tarp?”

C.C.’s voice came back in a teasing manner. “And what kinky kind of games are you two playing this weekend, huh?”

“Do you really wanna know or can you just bring me a tarp so I can take home this tree?”

“What the hell do you need a tree for, Brooke? You’ve got a huge bed.”

“It’s a Christmas tree, Chase,” Brooke said, a little perturbed.

“Oh, sorry. I guess I forgot about you having to get a fresh one every year.”

“Come on, I need to put it on top of my truck and I don’t want to mess up the paint job.”

“Still pampering it, huh?”

“Of course, I am.” Brooke let a long sigh escape her lips.

“Hmm…I guess that means you haven’t broken in that back seat yet,” she teased.

“Uh…” Brooke raised a lone eyebrow in response when she figured out what C.C. was getting at. “The tarp, Chase. Please don’t give me any ideas I shouldn’t be having in a public place, okay?”

“Oh,” C.C. giggled naughtily. “Then do you think I should take back your present, I mean…if you’re not going to really utilize that truck.”

“Present?” Brooke sounded intrigued.

“Yeah, the plate for the front. You know, ‘If this truck is a rockin’, don’t come a knockin’.”

The older woman shook her head and laughed, “C.C.?”

“Yeah, Sis?”

“You are a goober. So, are you gonna bring me the tarp?”

“Ah…do I get to put the plate on your truck?”

“I’ll let you ask Sam about that one.”

“Forget it, I’ll bring the tarp.” C.C. paused for a moment, then asked, “Are you at the same place as usual?”

“Yep, see you soon.” Brooke took in a deep breath as she disconnected with her sister. She looked over to the blonde who was waiting patiently and chuckled thinking about C.C.’s proposed Christmas gift.

Brooke opened up the back of the sport utility vehicle and stared at the assortment of boxes waiting to be unloaded. She couldn’t believe that all of Sam’s worldly possessions were here in her truck. The tall woman glanced back over her shoulder at the young blonde as she dusted off her hands on her way back to the vehicle.

“Any place in particular that you want these boxes, Darlin’?”

Sam looked at the packed vehicle and sighed. “Maybe we should just let them go for tomorrow.” She turned to look up at the darkening sky of the early evening.

“Are you sure?” Brooke asked tentatively.

“Yeah, I’m bushed,” the young woman smiled as she turned back to the porch where their Christmas tree was resting. “I never thought we’d be able to get the tree down from the truck roof with just the two of us.”