Page 9 of It's a Wonderful Knife
“Next time I buy moldy food, you’re the first person I’ll come to,” Max said.
“Good.” I smiled. “Man cannot live on corn nuts alone.”
Further conversation was halted when Jax called out, “Climb aboard, folks. We leave in five minutes.”
There were other people besides our little Rainy Dale group hovering in the parking area too, and they hurried toward the tractor. Maxwell hung back a little, and I stayed with him. When I put my hand on the small of his back, he smiled at me. That warm smile made my pulse speed up a bit. I was definitely looking forward to some alone time with Max. I felt like I’d barely seen him the whole trip, probably because I hadn’t.
Max and I climbed into the back of the trailer and found a seat next to each other. Before sitting, Max gave the bale of hay an uneasy glance, and he wiped at it with his handkerchief. I had to stifle my laugh because he had to be so far out of his comfort zone at the moment. But his attitude was good, which was all I needed.
Once everyone was seated, Jax climbed back in the tractor and started it with a loud roar. A thick plume of black smoke rose into the blue sky, and the trailer jerked into motion. Max grabbed my arm to steady himself, and Girdy let out a happy little squeal. The tractor bounced over the dirt road and scraped the thick trees growing on either side. The owners made sure to hide fun little details along the journey. There were inflatable Santas and snowmen around every corner. White lights twinkled in the trees overhead, and Christmas music boomed from a pair of speakers attached to the trailer.
Max’s fingers tightened on my arm every time we hit a big bump in the road, which was often. The age range of our group was all over the place. Most of the guests were thirty and up, but there was one kid about sixteen who was with an older man I assumed was his grandfather. Richard Walker was also on the trailer, looking about as thrilled as Maxwell.
The weather was cold and breezy, which made me glad the ride to the farmhouse wasn’t long. Overall, everyone seemed to be in good spirits, with the exception of one couple at the end of the trailer. The guy had a dark goatee and a man bun, and he seemed to be arguing with his girlfriend. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and she wore a tight Gucci T-shirt. The man kept glancing around as if embarrassed, but the woman didn’t seem to care if anyone noticed they weren’t getting along.
When we finally left the thick trees, the farmhouse and bed-and-breakfast cottages came into view. The main house was a long white building with a huge wraparound porch. Smoke spiraled from a big brick chimney, and there was a gigantic oak in the front yard with a red swing big enough for three people. The guest cottages were built around the main house in a horseshoe shape, with enough distance between each one for maximum privacy. A group of people stood out front and as we neared they moved up to the tractor with welcoming smiles.
Mona Montgomery was a middle-aged woman with short gray hair and rosy cheeks. Beside her stood her husband, Ezra. He was a tall, thin, dour-looking man with a shiny bald head and thick black beard that touched his chest. Mona exuded warmth, while Ezra looked like he was greeting us because it was expected of him. In addition to Mona and Ezra, their son, Dakota, was there, smiling shyly. Also a part of the welcoming committee was the cook, Elle, and her daughter, Chloe.
When Jax stopped the tractor, the silence was almost deafening. Jax jumped down and came around the back of the trailer, where he helped everyone down. Elle approached quickly with a tray of hot chocolate with or without whiskey.
“Good to see you again, Elle,” I said cheerfully, grabbing two of the spiked cocoas and handing one to Max.
Elle smiled, her chubby cheeks pink. “Royce, how the heck are you?”
“Can’t complain.” I grinned and glanced at Max, who stood beside me silently, sipping his cocoa. “This is Maxwell. He’s with me.”
Max swallowed quickly. “Hello,” he said.
“Nice to meet you, Maxwell.” She winked at me. “He’s cute.”
“Yeah, he is.” I laughed and glanced at Max, who looked self-conscious. “Elle will be in charge of most of our meals.”
“I look forward to sampling the cuisine. Royce can’t say enough good things.”
Elle beamed. “That’s awfully nice to hear, although I can’t take all the credit. My daughter, Chloe, helps out with all the meals too.” Sighing, Elle looked over to where her daughter was handing out drinks from a tray. “Chloe is talking about going away to college next year. UCLA if she can swing a scholarship. Not sure what I’ll do with her so far away.”
“That will be hard on you, for sure.” I smiled sympathetically.
“She’s talked about going there since she was a kid. Her dad went there.” Elle sighed. “I guess she wants to make going there a family tradition, even if it breaks my heart. When she turned sixteen, her dad gave her a big sweatshirt and necklace from his alma mater. I think even then he was hoping she’d go to his old school. He was grooming her.” Elle laughed.
“She must have been very close to him,” I said.
“She sure was.”
“It’s natural she’d want to explore her independence,” Maxwell said, watching Chloe move among the guests. “All kids do it.”
“It’s just hard when you’re the parent left behind,” Elle said.
“Oh, right. Of course. I suppose it would be… difficult.” He glanced at me. “I just meant developmentally, that’s a normal thing for a young adult to want to do.”
I got the feeling Maxwell was worried he’d said something to offend Elle, so I added, “It is normal. When I was Chloe’s age, I was chomping at the bit to spread my wings too.”
Elle laughed. “Come to think of it, so was I.”
Mona made her way into the middle of the group. “I want to welcome everyone to Giggly Elves Farm.” She wore a bright pink-and-blue checkered shirt that went along well with her cheery demeanor. “I hope your trip here was good?”
“We’re happy to be here finally,” Penelope said.
