Page 38 of The Christmas Keepsake
This wasn’t easy though. It was maybe the hardest thing Mallory had ever gone through. “How’s the new foster dog?”
“He’s coming along. Learning to trust me.”
Mallory tilted her head, letting her hair brush along her shoulder. “I’m guessing maybe you’re the first owner to treat him well.”
Hollis expelled an audible breath. “Except I’m not his owner. I’m temporary.”
Mallory shrugged. “You don’t have to be.”
“A dog trainer who takes in rescues needs to have boundaries. Can’t keep ’em all.” A light shone in Hollis’s eyes when he talked about his dogs. Mallory admired his passion. A passion that visibly lit up a person was rare. Nursing used to be that for her, but admittedly she was in the thick of burnout. Nursing colleagues had warned her of caregiver burnout for years, and she’d always said it wouldn’t happen to her. She’d considered herself invincible.
Surprise.She wasn’t.
Working long hours and feeling like there were invisible chains strapped to her, preventing her from caring for her patients the way she wanted to, had taken their toll. “How’s the plan for the new business going? I know you said you were planning to purchase a building and open full-time next year.”
The light in his eyes dimmed just slightly. “Working on it. But, well, Matt needs help with the crew. I hate to leave him high and dry.”
“High and dry? You’ve given ample warning, and there are lots of people around here eager to work.”
“Maybe so.”
“You’d still work Pop’s Farm though, right?”
Hollis shrugged. “As long as Pop has a say. If it were up to Matt, the tree farm would have been sold off by now though. He hasn’t said it in so many words, but he’s annoyed that I’m keeping it going for Pop. He’d rather take the property to expand his construction business. We need a warehouse and a place for more equipment and trucks.”
The injustice of selling someone’s life work angered Mallory. “Bloom needs Pop’s tree farm.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Just like Bloom needs Nan’s community theater.”
Mallory’s argument caught in her throat. He was right. She wasconsidering the same thing that Matt was. “Why does growing up have to involve so much change and compromise?”
Hollis massaged a hand on his forehead. “The other night, Matt invited me to a consultation on a project scheduled for next year. As if I haven’t told him a half-dozen times that I’m starting my business in the new year. He actually laughed when I reminded him about my plans.”
That didn’t sound like the Matt that Mallory knew. Matt was a great guy.
“Guess he thought I was kidding. Or maybe it was genuinely funny to him. He’s always harped on how proud he is of building his business from the ground up. He did it. Pop did it. They’re man enough to make it happen, but I’m not.”
Mallory placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yes, you are. Make him understand that you’re serious. Sit him down and make him listen.”
Hollis met her eyes. Between the touch and shared gaze, she forgot to breathe for a moment. “That was my plan this week,” he said. “I even rehearsed what I was going to say.”
“And?”
“And Matt sprung the news on me that he plans to retire in the spring.” Hollis’s expression was pained. “And he wants to leave the construction business to me. The whole company to me, a kid that no one ever really believed would amount to anything, a foster care kid from juvenile detention that everyone assumed would end up in prison as an adult.” He laughed, even though they both knew it wasn’t funny.
“Not everyone.” She removed her hand from his shoulder. “He, um, must trust you if he’s planning to leave you his business.”
Hollis nodded. “I’ve never earned someone’s trust like that. The idea of breaking it…” He released a long, pent-up breath. “I don’t want to do that. I won’t.”
“But you deserve to do what makes you happy. You deserve to live your own life and have your own dream.”
Hollis cleared his throat. “Do I? Esther Woods doesn’t even think I deserve a part in Nan’s play.”
Mallory gritted her teeth. She had half a mind to take Esther’s role away from her. Esther didn’t deserve a spot if she was so ready to treat others the way she had Hollis the other night. “Anything wrong you’ve done in your past was just the actions of a wounded kid who deserved a family.”
“A family that I finally got when Matt and Sandy welcomed me into their home. Which is why I’m going to work construction for the rest of my life. Dogs are a hobby. Anyways…” Hollis headed toward the door to leave. “I need to get back to Duke and Buster.” He glanced over his shoulder. “You going home too?”
“In a bit.”
