Page 38 of Fire in My Heart

My heart rate picked up. Was it that obvious? “With who? Charlotte?”

Wes just gave me a look. “Yeah, Charlotte and you.”

I snorted. “Of course not.”

“I saw a fire coming from her place the other night. Dad said she hasn’t had any guests.”

The ache in my back intensified under his scrutiny. “She can’t have a fire without guests?”

Wes shrugged. “I was just wondering if she’s spending time with anyone.”

“Not that I know of.” I hated lying to my brother, but I wasn’t ready to talk to anyone about my inconvenient attraction to Charlotte. I was supposed to hate her. I wasn’t supposed to want to sleep with her, especially when she was helping us out on the farm.

We finished placing the tables to Charlotte’s specifications. Then Wes was called over to the bailer to help with a large tree.

“What’s next, boss?” I asked Charlotte, who was looking at the screen of her tablet.

Barely looking up, she said, “Let’s set up the barn for the Santa photos.”

Inside, Charlotte turned on the overhead lights that were dim.

The sound of the holiday music and crowd outside was hushed here. It felt like we were hiding from everyone.

My pulse increased as I looked at Charlotte’s profile. She was studying the interior, probably working out how she was going to set things up. But I was fixated on the delicate arch of her brow. The tilt of her chin.

“What do you think?” Charlotte turned to ask me.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “About what?”

Her forehead creased. “Weren’t you listening?”

I stretched my neck from side to side. “Sorry, it was a long day.”

Her face smoothed into something that looked like concern. I wasn’t used to that emotion coming from anyone but family.

She gave me a sympathetic look. “We can do this in the morning if you’re tired.”

“Let’s get it done.” When I had a list of things to do, I couldn’t rest until every single one had been ticked off. Even if it was technically Charlotte’s itinerary.

My words didn’t ease the concern I saw in her eyes. “If you’re sure.”

I moved toward the red velvet chair in the middle of the room. “Is this Santa’s chair?”

“You’ll be sitting here. The line will come through the door against the far wall. The kids will talk to you for a minute or two, we’ll snap the picture, and I’ll hand them a candy cane and their parents a post card with a QR code to choose their pictures online.” Charlotte opened one of the boxes to show me piles of postcards with the new Calloways’ Pine Valley Farm emblem.

It was her idea to make the name Pine Valley Farms smaller and emphasize the family name. “You’ve thought of everything.”

“It’s either that, or we had to set up computers for them to choose their pictures now. I’d rather have them do that at home. Abby, the photographer, can handle their orders.”

I opened the boxes, finding tall candy canes and more lights. With Charlotte’s help, I set up the presents and candy canes around the chair and where the line would be.

When we were done, it was quiet outside. “The farm is closed.”

“We’re alone?” Charlotte asked, looking around as if she could see outside. But there were no windows in this barn.

“Should be. Wes probably didn’t realize we were in here. He would have handled closing the gate on the bottom of the lane.”

Charlotte looked around the room. “I think everything looksgreat. I might add something else, but I’m not sure what. Let me think on it.”

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