Page 26 of It's a Wonderful Knife
“I’m sure that was just an isolated incident,” I drawled.
“Let’s hope.” Max met my gaze. “I agree, people seem a bit… on edge.”
“Maybe it’s the holidays,” River said brightly. “They tend to make people crazy.”
“Maybe that’s it,” I said.
We followed them out of the dining hall. Since our cabins were in the same direction, it would have been odd not to walk together. I knew Max probably wasn’t thrilled at the situation, so I felt a bit tense. But then Max slipped his hand in mine, and I relaxed. I didn’t need to worry because Max was just going with the flow.
“I heard there’s a huge rainstorm coming in a few days,” River said. “I really hate paying all this money to be here, only to be trapped in our cabins.”
“The farm will do its best to keep us entertained,” I said. “They can’t control the weather.”
“True,” River agreed.
Lucas grunted. “I’m still hoping to duck out on the whole crafting thing.”
Max nodded. “I’m dreading that too.”
“Yeah?” Lucas smiled. “That’s why I like you, Maxwell. You’re a lot like me.”
Max looked flustered at the compliment.
“You two are just party poopers.” River sniffed. “I think it’ll be fun to make something for the tree. Don’t you agree, Royce?”
I grimaced. “Uh, I think it might be fun.”
River gave a self-satisfied smirk. “Looks like Royce and I are twinsies too.”
“Oh, brother. Don’t pretend you like crafting, River,” Lucas muttered.
River shrugged. “I like handmade decorations.”
“Since when?”
“What about those reindeer thingies I bought. I love those.”
Lucas laughed. “Are you talking about those Juliska ornaments from Neiman Marcus? Those cost a fortune. You can’t count those.”
“Why not? They’re handcrafted.”
“Not byyourhands. And to be accurate, they’re mouth-blown glass,” Lucas said. “My guess is Mona will have us making ornaments with clothespins and sequins at best.”
“Well, I think I’m going to have a ball crafting.”
Lucas pushed his hands in his pockets. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“I have my eye on a Mackenzie-Childs ornament online,” Max interrupted. “I keep going back and forth on whether I should buy it or not. Since my clinic burned down, I don’t have anywhere to put a tree.”
I frowned. “We’re sharing a tree, remember?”
“I wasn’t sure how you wanted to do things.”
“I figured we’d both go in on the tree. Since you’re staying at my place, it would be both of ours.” I smiled. “How’s that sound?”
“Sounds good.” Max nodded. “I’ve never decorated a tree.”
River looked horrified. “You don’t usually have a tree?”
