Page 68 of Gumdrops and Garland

“Was Bradley having fun?” I asked, handing her a cookie I’d already frosted and decorated. “I saved that one for you.”

“Thanks, Indie,” she said, taking a chomp of it. When she swallowed, she pointed at the door she’d run through. “Lance will be right in. He was making sure Bradley was safe. That little rascal will get inside the horse stalls and get trampled if you don’t put him in his cage.”

“Thanks for passing along the message,” I said, waving as they headed to the story area to find a seat.

With everyone occupied, I made quick work of carrying the extra cookies back to the storage room so I could clean the table of all the frosting and sprinkles. Lance came back in as I finished wiping off the table and he put his hand on his hip. “I’m impressed. Now I have nothing to do.”

“Wrong,” I said, handing him the empty frosting containers. “Would you get these soaking in the sink? I already have another batch set up for the next group.”

He juggled the empty containers away from his shirt in an attempt to stay clean on the way to the kitchen. I organized and stacked the sprinkles back on the table and carried the half empty candy containers to the back for a refill.

“At the rate you’re going, we might have time for a walk through the tree grove before the next group,” Lance said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist while I filled theM&Ms. He stuck his nose in my neck and inhaled. “You smell so sweet I think I just got a cavity.”

I almost dumped theM&Mswhen I laughed. “If you promise to let me finish this, I’ll gladly go for a walk with you in the grove. I could use some fresh air before the next round. How does Becca do this twice a month?”

“It’s easy when you love something this much. Or someone,” he answered vaguely. “Besides, the holiday season is one of the biggest for her eggnog, so she has to be on her game for it.”

“That’s true,” I agreed. “When you’re invested in something you love, it doesn’t feel like work.”

“Leave the candy here so no gremlins get into it before we get back. I’ll grab your coat.” He kissed my cheek and then ran up the stairs to Cameron’s office where we had left our things.

I needed a walk in the fresh air and sunshine. I wanted to smell something other than sweet frosting for a little while, and fresh evergreens was just the thing to help me get into the holiday spirit. It helped that the man going with me was as sweet as the frosting on the cookies and always made me smile.

After sneaking a few gumdrops, I met him at the stairs and shrugged my coat on, then we snuck out the side door while everyone was engrossed in the story Stephan was reading. He might be the store manager at the farm, but no one was going to convince him that story reading wasn’t part of his duties. He lived for it, and truthfully, he was the reason so many families came out on family day. Everyone loves Stephan and his exuberance for the holidays.

Lance grabbed my hand when we stepped out into the sunshine. I drew a deep breath in and held it, my gaze sweeping the gorgeous Christmas scene before us. The evergreens were tipped with snow and the sun shone brightly upon them making them sparkle as though the whole farm had been covered in glitter.

“Becca is so lucky to live out here,” I said as I let the breath go. “Can you imagine waking up to this view every day?”

“I can’t, but then I already wake up to a beautiful view every morning, so maybe I just can’t appreciate it.”

I leaned into him as we walked, his words bringing a smile to my lips. “Smooth, Lance.”

“It’s true,” he insisted. “I love waking up knowing your gorgeous face is going to be sitting at my breakfast table.”

“You’re going to give me a big head,” I teased as we entered the tree grove.

It was his turn to inhale deeply as the scent of Christmas enveloped us. “I love the scent of a real Christmas tree.”

“That reminds me. Are we putting up a tree this year?”

He was silent for a full minute as we walked and I finally pulled up on his hand and held him in place.

“What’s the matter?”

His shrug was aimed at being nonchalant but I could tell it wasn’t. “See my mom was allergic to pine trees.”

“Okay?” I asked, my head cocked.

“I have our tree in the basement. An artificial one that we decorated every year.”

“But you don’t want to put a tree up?”

“I just don’t know if I want to put that tree up.”

I was quiet for a few moments while I tried to work out what he was actually saying to me. “This has nothing to do with the tree reminding you of Michelle, right?”

He shook his head. “I mean, it would, but that’s not the problem.”

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