Page 15 of The Lawyer & the Christmas Tree Farmer

Laura groaned, Irene was good like that. It was what made her trial work so effective.

“Maybe.”

“Details. Now,” Irene said, but she didn’t sound like an attorney as she said it. “Is he cute?”

“He’s very cute,” Laura gushed. “Problem is, he’s the manager of the tree farm. If I sell it…”

“Ouch, now I’m double-glad that I told you I won’t give you any advice about that sale,” Irene said. “Have you two, you know… trimmed each other’s tree yet?”

“No, and ouch yourself!” Laura replied, cringing. “We’ve been working at the tree farm together. It’s given me something to do while waiting for everyone to get their paperwork in order, after all. I can’t just sit around all day in this house looking at ghosts and trying to decide if I want to build a snowman or not.”

“Snowing there?”

“Three inches last night, roads are still clear.”

“Watch your butt driving,” Irene said automatically. “You’ve spent how many years now riding the subway everywhere?”

“Don’t worry, I’m being careful,” Laura said. “I just… Irene, I’m at a crossroads. Either I sell the farm and have the money to become a partner, or I don’t become a partner for years… if ever.”

“Is there a middle ground?” Irene asked. “For example, sell the family house, keep the tree farm? I mean, what kind of house are we talking here?”

“Something that you’d never, ever find in the city,” Laura admitted, looking around. “Roughly fifty-year-old construction, wood framed, two floors with enough square footage to raise multiple generations in.”

“So in other words, it’s the sort of place that everyone talks about retiring to some day, and most of us never do, or only do it after it’s too late,” Irene said. “Why’d you ever leave in the first place?”

“Because it’s Podunk as you can get without worrying when your neighbors start playing their banjos,” Laura explained. “And because it’s the sort of place that sure, you can raise a family… only to see them move away if they want real opportunities to make it in life.”

“Seems like people are making it there, though.”

“Do you want me to quote you the number of people in this area who are on food stamps?” Laura shot back immediately. “This area’s got exactly five main businesses to work at. A tiny, understocked Walmart, a truck stop, a ‘green’ dispensary, a clanky gym, and ranches that’s mostly seasonal work. Almost everyone else is small, single-family businesses, or they’ve got to drive into Pueblo to find a job. Or they’re retired. That sound like the sort of place you want to raise a kid, Irene?”

“I’ve heard of worse, I’ve lived in worse,” Irene replied. “Including in this very city, Laura. Look, I’m not trying to sway you one way or another on this. What you need to do is take a little bit of time andthink. You’ve got a big, beautiful brain tucked between those ears, you know. So use it. Do you care about this guy? Do you care about him enough to look at not being a partner here at the firm? Do you want to be a partner enough to give that up, and the property, to pay for your buy-in? Because to give you the sales pitch for here babe, you know that partners, even junior partners, pull in mid-to-high six figures on a yearly basis. Senior partners start their annual compensation at seven figures, and it just goes up. You get yourself a good civil case, and we’re talking you can buy yourself ten Christmas tree farms, and raise your kids on summer vacations in Ibiza if you want.”

“What sort of psycho would take young kids to Ibiza?” Laura asked.

“Cheaper than Disney World, last I checked,” Irene said. “You get my point though. This isn’t about money, Laura. This is about your heart. Do you want to be a high-powered lawyer? Or do you want Mr. Christmas Tree? Farm’s secondary to that.”

“I… I don’t know,” Laura admitted. “You know, I’ve put on five pounds since coming back? When was the last time you felt comfortable gaining weight?”

“Not since having to get my first suit tailored,” Irene said. “Look, I’ve got a meeting with John Steele in five minutes, there’s one of those civil suits I talked about coming down the pipe, and I think John wants me on the defense team.”

“Big client?”

“One of the biggest,” Irene said. “Anyway, if you want anyone to listen again, give me a call tonight. Or midafternoon your time, what time is it there, anyway?”

“Nine seventeen.”

“Yeah well, early enough,” Irene replied. “Talk to you later, bye!”

Irene hung up, and Laura groaned. Irene was right, this had nothing to do with money. It had everything to do with her heart. Getting up, she walked to the front door and went out on the porch, where she looked out on the front yard. Her family house was built on a half-acre of scrub woodland, connected to Granite Road, the main road for the Rockaways, by little more than a well-beaten dirt driveway that had four foot high posts driven into the ground to mark the path for winter. The yard was pristine now though, the yellowed winter grass hiding underneath the blanket of pure snow that covered everything.

It was the world when everything was quiet, and even Granite Road looked like it could be a lot further away than the hundred or so odd feet it was. The one tall pine, far too tall to ever be a Christmas tree, thrust its way into the searing blue sky, and as Laura watched, a blue jay screamed its harsh cry into the winter air before taking off, probably looking for something to eat. There were a lot of people in the Rockaways who’d put out various feeders for birds, squirrels, and chipmunks in winter, figuring that their animal neighbors could use a little extra to get by. For a long time, Grandfather had put out sunflower seeds he’d get from the store, until he learned that it was better for the animals to have unsalted seeds.

This was her home, from as far back as she could remember. She wanted it.

She wanted Ethan. No man had ever been so even with her, determined but honest, fair, sweet, and strong. He wasn’t some fake alpha male, bossy and insecure in his manhood. He wasn’t threatened by her legal degree, trying to talk himself up because of it. He was just… himself.

And he could kiss her and make her swoon without even trying.

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