Page 33 of Follow My Heart

He rolled out of the way, and I mimicked his position as best I could. But when I put the saw where he indicated and moved it, nothing happened. “Um. Ryder?”

He squatted. “Yeah.”

Sweat prickled my brow. He’d made it look so easy. “It’s not doing anything.”

“Let me help.” He dropped to the ground and moved behind me. I was very aware of his chest pressed against my back. He leaned over me to cover my hand with his. His palm was warm and reassuring. “You just need more pressure.”

I felt surrounded by him, his strength, and the smell of evergreen. It felt like heaven.

This time, the saw made an indent, and I was able to make some progress. After a few seconds, Ryder pulled back, then shifted to his feet so he could grab the tree when it swayed.

When the saw moved through the trunk and the tree fell to the side, I was elated. Other than opening the shop, I couldn’t think of a time I felt more accomplished, and all I’d done was cut down a tree.

“You did it,” Faith said.

Ryder grinned at me like I was his daughter learning to ride a bike for the first time.

“I did.” I loved learning new skills.

We helped Ryder drag the trees to the truck. He hefted them into the bed, and then we got into the cab. “Should we stop and talk to your family?”

Ryder nodded. “We should if you’re okay with that?”

I heard the vulnerability in his voice. He was used to Stacy telling him not to see his father and siblings. My heart squeezed. “I’d like to thank them.”

At the barn, he parked, and an older gentleman approached the truck. Ryder got out to greet him, and I joined him.

“I thought that was your truck. Getting a tree for the rental?” he asked Ryder.

Ryder waved in my direction. “Violet needed one for the shop, so we got one for her house too. We cut three. Did you want me to pay for them?”

The man frowned. “Family doesn’t pay for trees.”

“I’m not family though,” I pointed out.

“If Ryder showed you the family lot, then you don’t pay.” He held his hand out to me. “I’m Al.”

“Violet. I’m friends with Daphne and now Ryder.”

“Violet owns Sweet Scoops,” Ryder added.

Al nodded. “Ah. You’re the shop that mixes her pie with ice cream.”

“That’s the one.”

“I should thank you for giving Daphne a chance when she was just starting her business.”

“It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and we’ve become good friends.” Friends who should probably talk about the fact I was hanging around her brother. “Besides, her pies speak for themselves.”

“That’s what I told her. You know when she was a teen, she spent hours working on her pie recipes. I thought it was a hobby at first. But she never gave up. She experimented, watched baking shows, and finally perfected them.”

“I can barely keep up with her apple and pumpkin-pie ice-cream flavors this time of year.”

Al smiled proudly. “I knew she could do it.”

I wondered what it would have been like to have that kind of unwavering faith from one of my parents. My grandmother bought me an ice-cream maker, but my parents thought it was merely a toy, not something to create a career out of. One would need to go to grad school for that.

Ryder inclined his head. “We have some tree decorating to do.”

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