Page 27 of Fire in My Heart

He gave a side glance. “You have an interesting take on what’s exciting.’”

“I love meeting new people and finding out what they like.” He walked so fast I had to skip to keep up.

When he noticed, he slowed.

“So what do we do? Do you cut down the tree for them? Or do you show them how to do it themselves?”

“We do whatever they want. Some prefer the full experience, and others want me to cut down the tree. I look for a family that looks lost and then ask them if they would like help.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” I scanned the area around the barn for anyone who looked like they wanted help.

There was a little girl who was holding her dad’s hand, pointing in the direction of the fields, but he was digging in his heels, saying, “I don’t know.”

Teddy approached. “You need some help?”

“My daughter wants me to cut down a tree. But I’ve never done it before.”

“I’d be happy to help. I can take you to the field, help you pick one out, and cut it down,” Teddy offered in a tone I hadn’t heard from him before.

“Does that cost extra?” the man asked him.

“It’s part of the experience. No charge.” He held his hand out to him. “Teddy Calloway.”

The man shook his hand. “Noah. So, you own the place?”

“My father does. The entire family works during the season. Except for my brother, Axel. He’s in the military for a bit longer.”

We started walking in the direction of the field. I fell in step with the mother.

“I’m Gina, and this is my daughter, Eliza.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Charlotte.” I purposely didn’t give my last name. I didn’t want to detract from the farm with the fact my family owned a competing farm. I had nothing to do with my cousin’s farm, but the public didn’t know that. “I’m learning the ropes around here. I hope you don’t mind if I tag along?”

Gina smiled. “Not at all. We can use all the help we can get.”

I noted the dad’s shoes were a shiny leather, not the ones you’d ordinarily wear on a farm. They came here for the experience but didn’t want to get dirty. I catalogued that information to write down later.

I tuned out Teddy’s now-familiar spiel on the types of trees, content to listen to the sounds of the outdoors. We occasionally ran into other groups coming down the hill with their trees. I was surprised when Teddy greeted each one. I shouldn’t have been because he’d have to interact with the public in his job. I just hadn’t expected him to be so congenial.

Maybe he was only grumpy with me? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

I represented change, which he obviously didn’t like. I wonder if I could get him to loosen up in other ways.

CHAPTER 8

TEDDY

Iwas aware that Charlotte was scrutinizing every move I made. I usually enjoyed these hikes, despite the fact I had to talk to people. I liked sharing my knowledge about trees.

For this group, size was the most important. We hunted until we found the roundest and tallest tree on the field.

“This is it,” Eliza declared as she threw her arms around the tree, then jumped back when the needles pricked her face. I expected her to cry, but instead, she said, “It smells so good.”

“Your house will smell like evergreen until Christmas,” Charlotte gushed.

“You want to do the honors?” I asked Noah.

“Nah. I’m okay with watching from afar.”

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