Conner had been up since first light getting everything ready for the 9:00 opening. But even perfect preparation couldn’t keep some things from going wrong—like the phone call from one of the two high schoolers they’d hired to tend the fire and refreshments. He was sick and wouldn’t be able to work. So they were already short-handed.

Daniel would be here, but Conner had hired him mostly as a way to get Megan back to the ranch. The kid could greet customers and invite them to look around, but trusting him with fire and hot liquids might be pushing things. Travis and Rush, who’d promised to be here, would be busy selling trees. Conner would be driving the sleigh. Somehow they would just have to manage.

At least the weather was cooperating. The chilling wind was gone, and the sun shone like a new penny in the cloudless winter sky. Hopefully, it would be a great day for business, both here and at Hank’s Hardware, which was also stocked with their trees.

At a quarter to nine, two vehicles appeared, coming down the lane from the highway turnoff. One was Rush’s Hummer. Behind it, he recognized Megan’s Toyota.

Rush pulled into the side yard, strode around the Hummer, and opened the passenger door. A little dark-haired girl in a red coat tumbled out and raced across the yard to fling herself at Conner’s legs.

“Clara!” Conner swung her off her feet. She giggled as he lifted her high. “Good golly, Miss Molly, but you’re getting big!”

When he put her down, she ran to hug Travis. Then it was Bucket’s turn. The dog wagged his tail like a maniac, whining with joy and licking her face.

Conner had seen Rush’s stepdaughter last summer, but she was five now, and growing like a little weed, all long legs.

“I hope you don’t mind my bringing her,” Rush said. “When she heard I was coming here, she wouldn’t be left behind.”

“And she’s got you wrapped and tied in a bowknot around her little finger,” Travis teased. “Sure, we don’t mind. But she’ll have to promise to stick around the house and not go wandering off. Okay, sugar?” He gave her a stern look.

“Okay.” She grinned, still hugging the dog. Delighted as he was to see her, Conner added the little girl to his mental list of concerns.

Megan parked her car next to the shed, leaving plenty of room for customers to park in the driveway. Conner watched her climb out of the car. She looked pretty this morning, her face flushed with cold, her hair mostly covered by a pink hat with a little white pom-pom at the crown.