Page 16 of The Christmas Keepsake
“That’s fascinating.”
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hm. I like to play calm, soothing music for my pediatric patients on my floor at the hospital. Music is a powerful tool.”
“When I’m able to take more foster dogs, I’m going to use music to regulate their nervous systems.”
“Wow. I love that,” Mallory said, genuinely interested as they approached rows and rows of trees. She bounced softly on the balls of her feet. Her excitement turned to a fluttery, dancing feeling in her chest. “There’s something about a tree farm that still makes me feel like a little girl.”
“That’s a nice change. All I’ve seen of Mallory Blue lately is the grown-up version with too much responsibility on her shoulders. I like this side of you. Childlike Mallory is nice.” He stepped closer and nudged her gently with his shoulder. “It’s good to see you smiling and laughing.”
They were walking casually down the lines of trees, looking from side to side and inspecting each one as they chatted.
“In general, being at a hospital with sick or injured patients doesn’t lend itself to smiling and laughing. Neither does watching my grandmother struggle with dementia.” The childlike feeling slowly faded as her day-to-day worries returned to the forefront of her mind. So much for trying not to think about all the things onher plate and having one carefree hour. Her chest suddenly felt tight. “I don’t want to be the person in the room who is all work and no play. I want to be the laughing, smiling Mallory of old. I do.”
“Hey.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not criticizing you. I’m looking out for you.”
“Do I strike you as a woman who needs looking after?” She felt her hackles rising, which was more about herself than Hollis, and she knew it. She prided herself on being self-sufficient, and over the last month, she was hanging on by a thread. Could he see that?
Her gaze dropped to his hand on her shoulder, and he immediately drew it back. “You remind me of your grandmother. No one could ever accuse her of being anything less than self-sufficient. But she allowed me to have an ego boost every now and then by letting me offer up a helping hand.”
“Nan is good that way. She did that for me too.” Mallory hated talking about Nan in the past tense. Nan was still alive, for goodness’ sake. She wasn’t as present as she once was though, and it stung like the cold on Mallory’s cheeks right now.
Taking another step forward, Mallory’s gaze caught on one of the trees. “That’s the one!” she said, practically jumping up and down.
Hollis turned to observe the tree that had caught her eye. “Really?”
Mallory could tell by his tone that he didn’t agree. “You don’t think it’s amazing?”
His expression told her he didn’t. “If you’re just tired, I can carry you through this farm. I don’t mind.” His tone was teasing.
“No, I’m serious. Look at this tree.” She flung one arm forward, gesturing at the beautiful blue fir. “It’s perfect.” It was almost as if the tree had an aura around it, making it glow without a single string of lights. “This is the tree. I love it.”
Hollis gave his head a subtle shake. “I’ve been working this farm with Pop for the past decade. It never ceases to amaze me what folks end up picking. A tree says a lot about a person’s personality.”
Mallory narrowed her eyes. “Okay. What does this tree say about me?”
Hollis studied her. “You’re simple, yet classy. You don’t need the biggest tree or the one with the deepest or brightest color. Imperfection is actually what you find endearing…”
Mallory felt exposed as she listened.
“That means there’s hope for a guy like me,” he said, his words coming out jokingly.
“Hope for what?”
He looked away and didn’t answer the question. “Anyway, doesn’t matter what I think. All that matters is that you like this tree.” Bending, he reached into his pocket, grabbed a tag, and used a zip tie to attach it to the tree’s base. “There we go. I’ll wrap it up and deliver it to Memory Oaks.”
“Now?” Mallory had thought he would need to take his time to pack it up and deliver it.
“No time like the present, right?” He nodded his head in the direction of the parking area. “Want to come along?”
Mallory usually braced herself to see Nan these days. There was a process for getting into the right headspace for greeting her grandmother, who might, or might not, remember her. “Um…” She looked up at Hollis, into his hopeful brown eyes. He was a hard man to say no to. “Sure. I think I should be there when the tree arrives, just in case Nan gets upset. She’s not a fan of change these days.”
“These days?” Hollis led her toward their vehicles. “Nan has always followed a calendar. Some things never change.” He glanced over. “There’s comfort to be found in that.”
She hugged her arms around herself as a cold breeze blew through.
“You go ahead and get in your car. I need to grab the utility vehicle to get the tree and drive it back up. Then I’ll wrap it, toss it on the truck’s bed, and we can head over to Memory Oaks.”
