This last statement she murmurs close to my ear.

I pull out of her arms with a laugh, going to grab my cup, which was just set on the counter. “I’ll never tell,” I say as I head for the front door.

“Tease!” Stella calls after me.

I offer her an exaggerated wave in response.

And can’t keep the smile off my face the entire walk back to the jewelry store.

Eighteen

Isaac

I’m whistling along with the cheery Christmas song playing on the speakers throughout the farm as I haul yet another tree over my shoulder and lug it toward a customer’s car. The woman is fretting, literally wringing her hands. Worried that somehow during the drive home the tree will get damaged, and I do my best to reassure her.

“I’ll tie it down real good,” I tell her with a faint smile. My gaze goes to the two kids standing behind her, both of them watching me shyly as they suck on candy canes. “The tree will be in perfect condition when you get it home.”

“If you say so,” the woman draws out skeptically.

“Honey, stop,” her husband chastises before sending me an apologetic smile. “Last time we got a real Christmas tree a couple of years ago, it fell off the top of our car on the drive home. We were able to salvage it, but the tree took a beating thanks to rolling along the highway.”

“I want this Christmas to be perfect,” she stresses, glancing over her shoulder to smile at her children. “Santa will be here soon and they can’t wait.”

She’s worried for the kids. How can I complain about that? “I’ll make sure it’s tied down tight,” I reassure her. “That baby will be going nowhere. Trust me.”

Once I strap the tree down with so much twine it’ll take them hours to undo it all, I send them on their way, waving at them as they pull out of the lot.

“You’ve sure got a way with the customers, Jonesie,” I hear someone say from behind me. I turn to see my boss standing there, his hands on his hips and a grin on his face.

Yeah. An actual grin. Can’t lie, it’s startling to see. Charlie doesn’t smile much. Though he’s been doing it pretty much nonstop since returning from his honeymoon. We figured we were in for a major grump upon his return. He never leaves during this time of year. Ever. We did our damnedest to make sure everything ran smoothly at the farm while he was gone, and I feel like we did a good job.

Apparently, we must’ve. Charlie hasn’t complained once upon his return. He constantly smiles and says the place looks great. He’s impressed with the daily sales totals. He compliments his sister, Victoria, on keeping everything in working order while he was gone, which caused a fight because she told him it was insulting that he didn’t believe she could manage it in the first place.