Page 10 of The Lawyer & the Christmas Tree Farmer

Ethan, looked up, only giving her a curt nod before going back to what he was doing, using a brass-bristled brush to clean one of the saw blades that customers would use to cut down their trees.

Laura’d been in Pueblo all morning filing paperwork, taking the first steps towards clearing up her grandfather’s estate. Thankfully, he had a notarized will, and Laura was the only beneficiary. While there were a few things to take care of with his insurance and getting everything changed over to her name so that she could then sell the business, the process was in motion.

Now it was all just a waiting game. Well, a waiting game with a judicious amount of nudges involved, but Laura knew how to handle that. Still, it was going to take longer than she’d expected, and she’d already contacted the firm to tell them she needed to extend her leave.

The fact that nobody really seemed to mind was a little blow to her ego, but she’d mull about that later. For now, she knew she needed to patch things up with Ethan.

The truth was, he wasn’t a bad guy.

Actually, in a lot of ways he was a really good guy.

Sweet, hardworking, handsome… and come on, the man had taken care of her feet with a lot of kindness the day before. And how had she thanked him? By insulting him!

“You know.” She tried again. “I used to soak those in a PVC pipe filled with gasoline. Broke down the sap, and made it easier to scrub the blades later.”

“We had an incident,” Ethan explained curtly. “Nearly set the farm on fire with it. And after some of the forest fires that tore up the area a couple of years ago, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Elbow grease isn’t going to set anything on blaze.”

“Look, I’m trying to say sorry, okay?” Laura said.

Ethan’s brush paused.

“I get it, this place is important to you. And I stomped on it a lot yesterday. And I know that me selling this place means… well, a good chance that you’re going to need to find a new job. That sucks, because you’re a really nice guy, and you’ve got a heart bigger than those biceps you’re sporting right now. I’m sorry. I’m… I’m really sorry.”

Ethan set the brush aside, and looked at his arms. “My biceps, huh?”

Laura shrugged, blushing a little.

“You’re wearing just your undershirt right now,” she pointed out. “I hadn’t seen you in anything but flannel yet.”

“I like flannel,” Ethan replied. “And thank you for your apology, Laura. I was thinking about it too, and I’m sorry I snapped at you too. I don’t agree with your idea of selling this farm, but I understand you’re going through a lot right now. Mr.Bennett was a great man, and you’ve got regrets there. And the hassle of settling his affairs. Can I ask, when are you doing a funeral? I’d like to go.”

“Actually, he wanted his body donated to the med school down in Pueblo,” Laura said. “That was part of what I did this morning, signing that paperwork. What they’ll do is have medical students learn from him, and then afterwards, he’ll be cremated. I’ll be notified when that happens.”

“Oh, I see.”

“But still,” Laura added, “I will hold a memorial gathering for him. I don’t know who of his friends are still in the Rockaways, but?—”

“I’ll take care of it,” Ethan said, and Laura smiled gratefully. “In some ways it’ll be nice. You’ll be able to see how Mr.Bennett played a role around the area. Where would you like to have it?”

“At the house?” Laura offered, and Ethan flashed her a thumbs up. “Maybe for Saturday afternoon?”

“Sure thing. Now, any other questions?” Ethan asked, and Laura nodded. “What’s that?”

“So where did you get those biceps from, anyway?” Laura asked, wondering if she still had the “oomph” to flirt. It had been a long time, if she was being honest. But Ethan smiled warmly, and his eyes sparkled when he did a little flex for her.

“Don’t think I got them just working here on the tree farm?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“I know the business, remember? You might need to put in one full day a week for three or four months out of the year, and sitting around watching trees grow isn’t exactly hard work.”

Ethan laughed softly.

“True, true. Mr.Bennett helped me find another part-time gig at the gym down in the shopping center. I help with maintenance there, and one of the perks is I get to work out for free. Not that I need it right now, work’s more than enough.”

“Okay,” Laura said, smiling. “So are we… you know, good?”

Ethan nodded. “I’m not giving up on trying to have you keep the farm, you know.”

“I know.” She whispered walking away.

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