The Christmas Plan

by Samantha Chase

  For her and for them.

  “Gabe? You back here?”

  Great. His father was looking for him. Glancing down at his watch, he realized he had been back here on the farm accomplishing nothing for over an hour. He silently muttered a curse before responding. “Yeah, Dad! I’m…I’m back here by the fourth row!”

  Paul Andrews came strolling up the aisle pulling a massive sled behind him and a chain saw over his shoulder. You’d never know by looking at him just how strong he was and Gabe knew his father was capable of cutting and hauling more trees than men half his age.

  Once they were side by side, his father pulled a thermos out of the bag he had attached to the sled. “Your mother sent some cocoa for you.”

  Gabe gratefully accepted the thermos and poured himself a cup. “That was nice of her.”

  “She’s worried about you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  Before he answered, his father lowered himself to sit on the sled and motioned for Gabe to join him.

  “You’ve been back here for a while and I haven’t heard any cutting. Everything okay?”

  He took a sip of the hot beverage first and shrugged. “I guess my mind wandered. Sorry.”

  “Nothing to apologize for. I know this isn’t a job you particularly enjoy.” He let out a long breath. “With any luck, this will be the last season you have to help with.”

  Gabe coughed and choked on his drink. “What are you talking about?”

  His father gave him a couple of swift pats on the back. “This is a young man’s game, Gabe. It’s a lot of work; it takes a lot of time and energy that I just don’t have anymore.” Turning his head, he looked at his son. “But that’s not why I came looking for you. You were gone a while and, like I said, I didn’t hear any cutting. I figured you needed a little alone time, but…I was concerned. So was your mother.”

  It was like they were talking in circles. “Why are you both concerned?”

  “Well, she saw you head back here and you’re not usually gone that long so there was that. Add to that the fact that there’s obviously been a turn in your relationship with Aspen and we all know she’s moving back to California after the holidays. The timing just seemed a little odd and you’ve both been so quiet about it that it’s left us curious, Son.”

  “Oh.”

  “You know we think the world of Aspen and I’d be lying if your mother hasn’t had her heart set on the two of you falling in love, but…”

  “She basically told the whole town we were dating before we even got here, Dad. It made things awkward.”

  “So what does that mean–are you and Aspen just pretending to be a couple because your mother spoke out of turn?”

  “No, it’s not like that.”

  “Okay, so then…why do you look so miserable? What’s going on?”

  Ugh…where do I even begin?

  Scratching his head, Gabe straightened his hat before it all came tumbling out. “Years ago, I seriously thought I’d ask Aspen out,” he began. “But I wasn’t brave enough and we settled into this friendship and I found that I needed that more than a romantic relationship.”

  Beside him, his father nodded.

  “Then a few weeks ago, she drops this bombshell that she’s moving back to California, that she lost her job, and it was like…she didn’t come to me and talk to me about it until it was done.”

  “What could you have done if you knew sooner?”

  “I don’t know, Dad! Something! Anything!” He jumped to his feet and paced a bit in the snow. “I would have told her not to make any rash decisions like letting go of her lease on the apartment. I would have helped her find a job.” He let out a vicious curse simply because he couldn’t stop himself. “I would have told her not to leave.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father nodding again.

  “Bringing her here to Silver Bell Falls seemed like a nice escape for her so she wouldn’t obsess about the move and everything, and selfishly, I wanted the time alone with her because she was going to be gone before I got back to Atlanta.”

  “It was a very nice gesture and she seems to really be enjoying herself. It’s almost like she’s one of the natives here and you’re the visitor,” he commented. “It’s been slightly fascinating to watch.”

  “Yeah, she’s fallen in love with the town but I think it’s just because it’s like a chance for her to do something different. There’s no pressure on her and she’s doing what she loves and people are appreciating it. Plus, she is a little obsessed with the holiday angle of the town–how it’s like the kind of town you see in a Christmas movie.”

  “Hmm…that’s accurate. Your mother makes me watch those sappy holiday movies and now that I think about it, Silver Bell is a lot like the towns they feature.”

  “Aspen suggested I do a docuseries on holiday towns.”

  “Wow! That could be very interesting. Are you going to do it?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. She just mentioned it like a week ago and I’d have to run it by the production company and it would be something that would take at least a year to do. Plus, we’ve been busy at the tree lot, so I haven’t had much time to think about it.”

  “I’m sorry that I’m keeping you from your job, Gabe,” his father said wearily, pouring himself a cup of the cocoa.

  “You’re not, Dad. This is something I always come home to do, and I always work my schedule around it. And like I said, it’s not like I can start the project now. There’s a lot of planning that has to go into it, so…I’m happy to be here to help you.”

  But his father waved him off. “Gabe, you and I both know that this was never a job you enjoyed. You did it because it was expected of you, but as soon as you had the opportunity to leave, you did.”

  “Dad…”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m not saying that to make you feel bad, I’m just saying it because it’s the way it was. Like I said, it’s not something I can keep up with anymore and we’ve had some interest in the farm and…we’re considering it.”

  “But…what about the house and the rest of the property? Would you move? Retire?”

  “I haven’t gotten that far yet. I don’t think we want to move. If anything, the deal would cover the actual tree farm and not the property that the house is on.”

  “How does Mom feel about it?”

  “I think she’d be thrilled to move to someplace warm part-time. You know, become snowbirds.”

  In his mind, Gabe couldn’t see it. Sure, his mother talked about vacationing someplace tropical every now and again, but to move? No.

  “Where’s this all coming from, Dad? I know we’ve talked about how I didn’t want to take on the business, but you never mentioned selling the farm or…or…moving.”

  “What did you think was going to happen to all of this? Eventually I’m going to have to retire and then one day I’ll be gone. There’s no way I’d just leave the farm to get overgrown and die out. People here in Silver Bell Falls rely on us for their Christmas trees. The only option is to sell.”

  “And you’re okay with it?”

  “It’s not like I have much of a choice. No one lives forever and you’re our only child, so…”

  “I get that but we have other family. Have you offered it to any of them?”

  Paul simply waved him off. “Your generation isn’t interested in farming trees, Gabe. And honestly, if you still lived in the area, I probably would have pushed a little more for you to just be a figurehead here and set you up with a crew who handled all the physical work. This way it would stay in the family. But with your career and all your traveling, there’s no way I’d tie you to this.”

  Now this was making him feel bad all over again. They didn’t normally talk about this sort of thing until the end of the season. How was he supposed to get through the next few weeks with this hanging over his head on top of his issues with Aspen leaving?

  As if sensing his thoughts, his father gave him a loving
clap on the back. “Don’t worry about the trees. Honestly, I’m more concerned about you and Aspen.”

  “There’s nothing for you to be concerned about. Really.”

  “Are you sure? Because it seems to me like this has disaster written all over it.”

  Okay, that was…surprising. Staring at his father, he asked him why.

  “Don’t get me wrong, if this were something the two of you have been dancing around for years, then it was bound to happen. But I hate the thought of the two of you taking this friendship to another level and then she leaves and…I don’t know…I’m just curious how you’re both going to feel when it’s over. It’s like you know there’s a breakup coming so…” Then he shook his head. “You know what? Don’t mind me. I’m like a dinosaur. Just like your generation doesn’t want to work with the trees, you’re not into long-term relationships either.”

  “That’s not true…”

  “Oh, please. I hear about it from a lot of our friends–how their kids don’t get married anymore; they just live together. Everything’s casual. Everything is disposable, for crying out loud. I can’t say I understand it, but it’s not my life so who am I to say anything?”

  “People still get married and they do believe in committed relationships. If things were different with Aspen, I’d want this to go on.”

  “Then why did you agree to get involved now when you knew she was leaving?”

  Gabe inwardly groaned. This really wasn’t something he wanted to discuss with his father, but…

  “Because I’d rather have had this small amount of time with her–loving her–then never having it at all.” He shrugged. “I already know it’s not going to be easy when she leaves, but there’s a part of me that wanted to give her everything that I could before she had to move.”

  “And you really don’t think she’ll change her mind about California?”

  “In a perfect world, Dad, she’d have enough money to live on without worrying for a little while and then invest in a business of her own.”

  “So she just needs some investors?”

  “Dad…”

  “What? It’s a simple question. I’m not saying it’s something we could do–after all, I have no idea how much it costs to start up a chocolate business–but I believe in Aspen’s talent.”

  “Me too.”

  “Heck, she could probably move here just for the holiday season and have a chocolate shop–you know, a portable or temporary one like we have on the tree lot. I bet she’d be very successful at it. It’s drawn a lot of people to our tree lot this year. I bet if we built her a little she-shed type of structure, people would line up around the block!”

  “I’m sure she would, but it won’t solve the problem for the other ten months of the year. Any money she made wouldn’t be able to go into a full-time business. She needs some backup, you know?”

  “Any chance you could invest?”

  “I’m not exactly independently wealthy either, Dad. I’m still shooting documentaries that nobody watches so…if anything, I should be looking for investors so I can produce better quality films.”

  “I’m sorry, Gabe. I wish there were more I could do to help.”

  “You’ve already done so much for me,” he admitted. “You believed in me enough to let me go and pursue my dream even though you knew it was going to be a struggle for both of us.”

  “Well, I was lucky that I loved having this farm. Always have. But I knew from the time you were little that this wasn’t for you and I never wanted you to feel trapped.”

  “I don’t.” Letting out a long breath, he sat back down. “And I’ll keep coming back here every year to help until you’re ready to retire. You have my word on that.”

  “Thanks.” They sat in companionable silence finishing the hot chocolate. Once it was done, they got up and spent the next several hours cutting and moving trees. By the time all of them had been hauled off to the lot, Gabe was fairly certain that every inch of his body hurt. Even his hair.

  Slowly, he made his way into the house and went up to take a long, hot shower. He hadn’t seen Aspen at all today, but knew she was probably equally exhausted from making all her candy. They’d probably see each other at dinner.

  If he could stay awake.

  He was stepping out of the shower a few minutes later when his phone beeped with an incoming text.

  Aspen: Whatcha doing?

  * * *

  Gabe: Just got out of the shower.

  * * *

  Aspen: Sorry I missed that

  And yeah, so was he.

  Aspen: Want to come over for dinner?

  * * *

  Gabe: I thought you were coming here

  * * *

  Aspen: Nah. I told your mom that I was ordering takeout for the two of us

  * * *

  Aspen: Hope that’s okay

  * * *

  Gabe: Are you kidding? It sounds perfect

  * * *

  Aspen: Yay! The food should be here in 30 minutes so I’ll see you then!

  Was it wrong how much he loved that she had taken the initiative to set up a date night for them when he was too clueless to think of it himself?

  I should probably work on that…

  Either way, Gabe suddenly felt more energized and quickly went about drying off and getting dressed.

  Downstairs, he talked for a few minutes with his parents before heading over to the tiny house.

  And he didn’t miss his mother’s knowing smirk when he said goodnight.

  Stepping outside, Gabe could see Aspen’s shadow in the window. She had all the shades drawn, but he was able to see her fluttering around and wondered if there would even be space for them to eat since she’d been so hard at work building up her chocolate inventory. Twinkly lights flashed on and he stopped in his path. Somehow she had managed to hang the lights around the exterior of the house and into a nearby tree. The sight of it made him smile because he could only imagine Aspen up on a ladder trying to make the house look more festive to fit in with the rest of the town.

  He knocked on the door as he opened it and found her dancing around to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” while wearing red flannel pajama pants, a white t-shirt with a snowman on it, and a Santa hat with a jingle bell attached. She grinned when she saw him but didn’t stop singing or dancing until the song was done.

  Looking around, Gabe saw she set up a small tree in the corner of the living area and even had a few strings of twinkly lights adorning the whole space. How she managed to do it all was beyond him. He knew she had picked out the tree at the lot the other day, but they hadn’t talked about ornaments or decorations though. Maybe his mother helped her out.

  The song ended and she came over and wrapped her arms around him before giving him a kiss. “Hey, you. How was your day?”

  “Exhausting,” he said with a small laugh. “I’m clearly not in good shape because this season is totally kicking my ass.”

  “Aww…poor baby,” she cooed as she maneuvered him to sit down at the small dining table. “I got us Chinese food. I hope that’s okay.”

  “It sounds perfect. Thanks. I wish you had told me sooner. I would have paid for it.”

  But she waved him off. “It’s not a big deal.” Then she stepped back and looked at him. “Um…did you bring a bag with you?”

  “It wasn’t necessary. Not really.”

  “So…you don’t want to spend the night?”

  Was she crazy?

  “Um…I do, but…I don’t need an overnight bag for that. If I really need anything, the house is just a few feet away.”

  She seemed to consider that for a minute before she let out a soft laugh. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. Sorry.” Then she sat down opposite him and began taking out containers of food.

  “How much chocolate did you get made today?”

  “Oh, my goodness, I really had a great system going and accomplished way more than I thought po
ssible!”

  “Really?”

  Nodding, she poured her sesame beef onto her plate. “Lots of chocolate Christmas trees and chocolate wreaths. Then I did a bunch of white chocolate snowmen. Tomorrow I’ll work on painting them so they’re a little more colorful. Then I worked on the white chocolate peppermint sticks. Once I’m done painting everything, I’ll move on to doing a bunch of varieties with nuts. I didn’t want to take a chance and cross-contaminate anything. It’s better to start fresh.”

  “That makes sense.”

  After that, they talked about his day cutting down trees and how they were going to transport all of her inventory this weekend to the festival. There was so much joy on her face as she talked about it and he knew it was going to be an amazing day for her. Between the parade, the festival, and all the attention her creations were going to draw, Gabe had a feeling Aspen was going to be riding the high for a while.

  They cleaned up dinner and once everything was put away, she leaned in and kissed him. “Okay, I’m heading up to the loft and I need you to give me five minutes before you come up.”

  “Um…”

  She kissed him again.

  “Trust me. It will be worth it.” Then with a sexy grin, she stepped away from him and slowly climbed the ladder to the loft. Gabe’s eyes hungrily followed her progress. Once she was out of sight, he wondered if he was supposed to just sit quietly or if he could talk to her.

  He opted to wait quietly.

  Pulling out his phone, he checked emails and scrolled through Instagram to pass the time. He could hear movement up in the loft but had no idea what she could possibly be doing that he wasn’t allowed up there for.

  “Okay,” she called out. “You can come up!”

  Putting his phone down, Gabe kicked off his boots and locked the front door before climbing the ladder. At the top, he simply froze.