by ID Johnson
“You know them personally?” she asked, giggling. “Like, do they have names?”
He stopped and stared at her for a moment before proceeding. “Maybe. What’s wrong with naming a tree? They’re living creatures, too.”
Her giggle turned into a hearty laugh. “I guess that’s true.”
“You should name your trees. And talk to them.”
“As long as they aren’t talking back,” she replied.
“Well, of course not. I mean… not usually.”
She broke into a full-fledged laugh, the kind that required an arm across her midsection, and he was happy to see he was able to entertain her so well. He let go of her arm to retrieve a saw from the collection they kept on hand for visitors who wanted their own lumberjack experience. “If you’re quite all right, I think we can head out now.”
“Give me a minute,” Delaney replied, wiping tears from her eyes. “I can’t breathe.”
“Listen, Bill is calling for me, so I’ve got to go.”
That renewed her laughter, and he took her free hand and began to walk toward the tree lot, dragging her along behind him. “Bill? Is that the name of the tree you think might work for Nana?”
“Sure. Then there’s Ed. Or Roger. But definitely not Mona. She is a spitfire, that Mona.”
“Does she moan-a-lot?” Delaney asked, catching up to him so he was no longer pulling her along.
He couldn’t help but laugh at her awful joke. “I see my sense of humor is starting to rub off on you.”
“Oh, I’ve got plenty of dad jokes,” Delaney explained. “My dad is the king of bad dad jokes, so I learned from the best.”
“Is that so?” Josh asked as they began to weave through the trees. He honestly did have one in mind he thought she would really love if no one had cut it down earlier in the day. Since the chances that anyone trudged out this far in the snow were unlikely, he was hoping it was still there. “Well, I might not be a dad yet, but I’ve got plenty of bad uncle jokes. Just you wait and see.”
“I believe it,” she replied, still giggling. “You do know where we are going right?”
“Nope, not at all,” he said, playfully. He turned to wink at her and felt his heart warm at her smile. Even though they both had on gloves, holding her hand felt natural, and using the ruse of getting her started in the right direction had been a nice way to see if she would be okay with it. She wasn’t pulling her hand away in protest, so he felt like she didn’t mind either.
About ten minutes into their walk, he saw the tree he had been thinking about off in the distance. It was a Douglas fir, a little over six feet tall with full branches and a lovely green coloring that had really stood out to him. He waited until they had almost reached it to say, “Okay—what do you think about that one?” gesturing in the direction he wanted her to look.
Delaney’s face lit up. “That one over there?” she asked, and when he nodded, she let go of his hand and hurried to step in front of it. She took a deep breath and said, “Oooh,” as she slowly walked around it. “It’s really nice.”
“I thought so. I’ve had my eye on it for years. It hardly needed any pruning at all.”
“I love it,” she said, beaming. “I think it’s just about the right height, too. I bet Nana will appreciate how full it is. Do you think it will leave a lot of needles?”
“Nah,” he said, still smiling at her giddiness. “Douglas firs don’t really lose their needles as much as some of the other trees.”
“It really is nice, Josh,” Delaney smiled. She was looking around as if she were trying to find a tag. “How much is it?”
The tag was on the side of the tree next to him, and he quickly pulled it off and shoved it in his pocket. “I guess if there’s no tag, it’s free,” he said with a shrug.
She looked at him skeptically. “I don’t expect you to give me a free Christmas tree. I know this is your family’s business.”
“Are you kidding? You’ve alleviated my mother’s cocoa nightmares, you put up with the awful burnt coffee stench in the house, and you helped clear the snow off of the hillside. On top of that, you’ve put up with my corny jokes. I can’t possibly charge you for this Christmas tree.”
Though she was still smiling, she stepped up next to him, and crossing her arms against the front of her bright red coat, she slowly said, “I insist on paying for the Christmas tree.”
Josh opened his mouth as if he were about to respond to her but then he leaned in toward the tree instead. “What’s that, Bill? Oh, yes, I agree. Okay, I’ll let her know.” Turning back to Delaney, he said, “Bill here says I should let you know that he’s going home with you one way or another, and your money is no good here. So….”
Delaney giggled and her serious tone morphed into a more lighthearted one. “Well, you tell Bill here that I want to contribute to the Taylor Tree Farm so that there are many more years of Christmas magic to come.”
“I can’t tell him that,” Josh said, shaking his head. “Besides, he heard you. It’s not like he can only hear me just because I’m the only one that can hear him. Although, I bet by Christmas Eve, you’ll be able to hear him, too.” Setting the saw he was holding down on the ground as she continued to giggle at him, Josh placed his hands on her arms just above her elbows. “Listen, Delaney, I know what you’re saying—you didn’t come out here expecting for me to give you a tree. But we always give family friends free Christmas trees. It’s part of my dad’s culture of giving back, and I have had such an amazing time with you today, there’s no way I could take you into the shop and ring up this tree. That would be ridiculous. So please, consider it a Christmas present if you must, but take the tree. Bill really wants to go home with you, and I want to know that, when you’re home with your Nana, basking in the light of a thousand twinkling stars, gazing at this tree, maybe you’ll also remember this wonderful, magical day that we shared together. What do you say? Will you accept my gift and take home the tree?”
Delaney was quiet for a long moment, and Josh thought he saw tears forming in the corners of her beautiful brown eyes. He wasn’t exactly sure what he might have said to elicit such a response, but just when he was about to ask if she was all right, she said, “Thank you, Josh. I would love to take this tree home to Nana, and you can be sure I’ll remember this day for many, many years to come.”
Josh felt warmth spreading up his body from where his hands still rested on her arms. She was smiling up at him, and this close, he could smell the scent of peppermint and cookies he’d always noticed when Delaney was around. She was so beautiful with her hair billowing out around her in the light breeze, her cheeks flushed from the chilly air. Now would have been the perfect time to lean in and press his lips to her luscious mouth. But he truly believed Delaney was a lady unlike any he’d ever met before, and she definitely deserved to be treasured. Taking his time getting to know her and giving her the respect she merited was very important to him, so even though he thought he saw her tilt her head up slightly, as if she were also pondering what it might be like to share a kiss, he took a deep breath and a step backward.
Smiling at her, Josh moved his hands off of her arms and said, “All right then, let’s get this tree in your truck so you can get it home where it belongs.”
He dropped to the ground, and even though she asked if there was anything she could do to help, he declined, and it only took a few minutes for him to have the tree cut down. Normally, he’d take it in with the tractor, but since it wasn’t that big, he was fairly certain it wouldn’t be a problem to haul it back to the village.
“Can I help?” she asked as he began to tug on the trunk.
Looking at the tree and then at Delaney, Josh replied, “You can carry the saw, if you’d like.”
She took the tool by the handle and he began to drag the tree behind him as they walked back to the village. The snow was beginning to crust over a bit as it grew colder, which mad the surface a little easier to glide the tree over, and it really wasn’t
a problem at all to get it to move.
“Are the rules the same for saws as they are for scissors?” Delaney asked as they headed back in.
“Oh, yes, for sure,” Josh nodded. “You never run with a saw.”
She giggled. “Did you learn that the hard way.”
He let out an over-exaggerated sigh. “Unfortunately, I learn most things the hard way.” She laughed, which was his intent, but he was glad he didn’t have to tell her he wasn’t really joking. It seemed like there were a lot of things in life he’d had to mess up once before he got them right. This time, however, if he decided he was going to date Delaney, he wanted to do it right the first time. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized she wasn’t the type of girl one dated a time or two and then decided to never call again. She was the type of girl you brought home to your parents. After all, he’d already done that, and they both seemed to love her. That spoke volumes about her personality and character, two things that were critical to Josh.
Once they reached the village, virtually everyone else was gone, though Josh could see his mother’s outline through the window in the shop where a soft glow illuminated from the Christmas lights she liked to use inside as well as out. He hauled the tree over to the shaker station. He assumed Travis was around somewhere, though Payton probably left already since it was getting late and his mother preferred for him to be home before dark. He took the saw from Delaney and returned it to its rightful position. Then, Josh set the tree into the shaking machine, and turning to Delaney he said, “You might want to cover your ears.” She complied, and he flipped a button, starting up the machine which began to vibrate the tree back and forth dislodging any loose needles, bugs, and basically anything else that might fall on the customer’s flooring and make a big mess. It didn’t eliminate all shedding, but it was definitely better than nothing at all.
After a few minutes, the tree seemed to stop losing needles, and he turned the machine off.
“Boy, that things sure is loud!” Delaney said, removing her hands from her ears.
“I know. Sometimes I hear it in my sleep,” he mused. “I’ll tie the tree up so that you can get it inside more easily.” Grabbing some of the rope they always kept on hand for customers, he wrapped it around the tree several times so that the branches were secure.
“Thank you,” Delaney said, once he had it all packaged up. “That should make it easier to get it through the front door.”
Josh took the tree down and began to hoist it toward her truck. Delaney followed along, her feet crunching through the snow. “Do you have someone that can help you get it set up?” he asked.
“My dad can come over if he needs to,” she explained. “He only lives a few minutes away. But I think I should be able to manage. So long as Bill cooperates.”
He chuckled at her reference to his earlier joke. “And you have a stand?”
“Yep. I got it down from the attic earlier this week.”
They reached her truck, and Josh could see the tree would fit in the bed with no problems. He put it inside, and then just to be sure it didn’t become a projectile once she reached highway speed, he secured it to the truck to keep it from flying out. Once that was all done, he climbed back down. She was waiting next to the truck, her hands folded in front of her, her lips drawn together tightly, her eyes on the ground.
“Everything okay?” he asked, offering her a small smile.
She looked up at him and blinked before returning his smile. “Yes. Everything is… perfect,” she replied. “I just want to thank you for being so nice when I showed up announced like this.”
He scoffed. “Are you kidding? I’m so glad that you did. I had an amazing day, Delaney.”
Her smile broadened. “Me, too.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, not knowing exactly what he should say next. Finally, he managed, “Well, uhm, can I have your phone number? I mean, you might have tree related questions….”
“Bill might need to call and chat.”
“Right,” he laughed, “and we’ll need to figure out what to do with the cocoa—assuming you’re still okay with my mother’s request. That is, I hope you don’t feel obligated to help.”
“Oh, no, that’s no problem at all,” Delaney replied, waving him off with one hand as she fished her phone out of her coat pocket with the other one. “Your mother is so sweet.”
“She is, but once she gets her mind wrapped around something….” He let the comment trail off. No reason to get into his mother’s obsessions at this juncture. He took off his glove, unlocked his phone, opened the contacts, and handed it to Delaney, taking her phone from her outstretched hand. He entered his information then handed it back to her. It took her a second longer, then she completed the exchange.
He smiled at her and then slipped his phone back into his pocket, not exactly sure what to say. “Well, thanks again,” he said, trying to keep the awkwardness at a minimum.
“Thank you,” she said, returning the smile.
“I’ll call you soon,” he promised.
“Sounds good.” She took a step toward the truck, and he opened the door for her, stepping out of the way. She smiled at him and put one foot in.
He realized it was a long way up and there was no running board. “Here, let me help you,” he offered giving her a hand. She easily lifted herself into the driver’s seat with one hand on his arm and other gripping the steering wheel. “Have a safe drive back, Delaney.”
“I will,” she assured him. “Bye, Josh.” She took her hand off of his arm, and he felt as if all the warmth had left his body.
“Bye, Delaney.” With one last smile, he stepped back and pushed the door closed. She cranked the engine and the transmission clunked into reverse as he backed out of the way toward the front of the truck. With one more wave, she turned and headed out of the lot. Josh stood in the snow and watched her go until he could no longer see the gleam of the truck’s rear lights. Today had not been anything like what he’d expected when he awoke that morning. Today had quite possibly been the best day he’d ever had in his whole life.
Chapter 13
Delaney had managed to get the tree inside that night when she’d arrived home, but Nana had decided to wait until after church Sunday to put the decorations on, so Delaney had decided to do something she rarely had time for. Rather than turning on the TV or getting out her laptop, she curled up next to the fireplace with a good book and listened to the familiar clink of her grandmother’s knitting needles. The romance novel reminded her just how much she loved to read, and she was glad she’d taken a few hours to do that, especially since the book was by one of her good friends, Olivia Kensington, and she’d been meaning to read it for weeks. Now, the next time she came into the bakery, Delaney wouldn’t have to tell the same little white lie that she’d started the book but hadn’t had time to finish it yet. Even though she’d gone to bed with a hundred pages or so to go, at least she’d actually read most of it.
She’d been surprised that Nana hadn’t asked more questions about her day. Once Delaney mentioned Reid and Michael, a lot of the questions had centered around them, and Delaney was able to keep the focus on what Melody had been up to. They’d exchanged a few texts the day before, and it sounded to Delaney like there was a romance blossoming, though Melody insisted that wasn’t the case. Still, they had plans to see each other again, and that seemed like a good sign to Delaney.
It wasn’t until she had begun to put the lights on the tree that Nana, cozy in her recliner across the room, made an observation with the hint of a question. “This tree sure is pretty, darling. It must have cost quite a bit. Do you need me to give you some money, sweetheart?”
The lights were anything but tangled, thanks to her smart storage plan from the year before, but Delaney secretly wished they were in a knot so she could pretend she was so focused on getting it out that she couldn’t answer. Since that wasn’t the case, she said, “Oh, no, Nana. It’s fine. Don’t worry about i
t.”
“Nonsense, child,” was the reply. “You could at least let me pay half. It’s my house, after all.”
“It really wasn’t much,” Delaney answered, winding the strand of clear lights around the top of the tree first and working her way down.
“Good, then you won’t have a problem taking half of not much.”
Delaney let out a sigh and turned to face her grandmother who had her head tilted at the “no nonsense” angle. “Nana, I actually ended up getting the tree for free—sort of like a prize.”
“What’s that? Since when do lots give away trees as prizes?”
“Well, not a prize exactly. I helped them with a few things, and they insisted on giving me the tree for free.” She hated being anything but forthright with her answer to Nana, but she didn’t want to tell her about Josh, not yet anyway.
Nana’s lips were drawn together in a tight line before she asked, “What did you help them with?”
Delaney shrugged. “Mrs. Taylor had some cocoa questions. I’m going to help her with the cocoa they sell at the little shop. I also went on a tour of the farm and met some of the workers. It was nice.”
“So that’s why you were out so long,” Nana replied.
“Yes, it was a nice time. And when I was done, they insisted that I take the tree. I tried to get them to take my money, but they wouldn’t hear of it.”
“Hmmm,” Nana said, her mouth still drawn taught. “Seems… fishy.”
Delaney turned and looked at her before she returned her attention to the tree and put the last of the lights around the bottom. “Nana, they’re just really nice people, and they wanted me to have it. That’s all.”